Originally Posted By AutoPost This topic is for Discussion of: <a href="http://www.laughingplace.com/w/blogs/wdw-downtown-disney/2013/08/02/downtown-disney-construction-update/" target="_blank"><b>8/2/13 WDW Downtown Disney: Downtown Disney Construction Update</b></a>
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Thanks for the update! Looks like they're just getting started with all of the work. As bad as parking typically is there, I can't imagine what it will be like while they have large areas closed for the construction of new parking structures. It sure will be a pain for the folks who have ot park at TDO and get shuttled in! Do we know if they will be building completely new buildings on Pleasure Island (demolishing the existing ones), or just putting new facades on the existing ones?
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt I just took a look at the article and all I can say is they've got a tough job ahead trying to make something cohesive out of that jumbled up train wreck of inferior post modern buildings. The architecture in Downtown Disney at WDW has not aged well at all.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros From what I've seen, it looks like most of the postmodern stuff on the West Side (near DisneyQuest and Cirque) will be staying as-is, along with the majority of the 70's era wood buildings in the Marketplace (near World of Disney). It seems like most of the work will be on Pleasure Island and the soon-to-be-former parking lot across from it, with some transitions on either end. It appears that they're trying to have somewhat of a hodgepodge of styles so that they can incorporate a lot of the existing stuff with minimal changes. While the new stuff looks great, I'm worried about what they'll end up with overall
Originally Posted By TP2000 The model of Disney Springs at D23 Expo was... nice. The biggest change here seems to be the two massive parking structures they are building. With a collection of new shopping mall buildings in the middle built around a narrow pond. The 1990's Post-Modern Westside wasn't touched at all on the model. I have a hunch they are struggling to get this off the ground and are currently only slightly more successful than Hyperion Wharf was at this stage in the game. Quite tellingly, they haven't announced a single new retail tenant or dining concept for Disney Springs.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: One very important item to consider is something that happened to a couple of friends of ours who live in Orlando and who like to go to Down Town Disney every now and then. Last weekend when they tried to find parking to go to the AMC movies, it took them 35 minutes to find just one empty parking space. They said they are going to avoid Down Town Disney, as a result of this, because until construction is complete there isn't enough parking space for those who want to go there.
Originally Posted By leemac <<The 1990's Post-Modern Westside wasn't touched at all on the model.>> Sadly there is absolutely nothing that can be done with the West Side. That abomination was run by the Operating Participants team - basically contract negotiators trying to do development. Bud Dare was the moron that ran that group in the nineties. Those units do less than a third of the restaurant sales per square foot than the rest of DTD - and as little as a fifth of the retail. A travesty. That team was wasting money left, right and center for years - they chased after Copperfield for his restaurant concept as well as things like All Star Cafe.
Originally Posted By leemac <<Quite tellingly, they haven't announced a single new retail tenant or dining concept for Disney Springs.>> A couple of preliminary deals have been done. The project was motoring along at a decent pace until it hit a major roadblock. WDW Co. passed the cost of the roads and garage to Reedy Creek under the (wrong) assumption that the property tax millage rate wouldn't go up. Once they got wind that someone else was paying for services WDI decided to load a truckload of scope into RCID's responsibility. Now there is a huge increase in the millage rate. WDW has high property rates and the change in the millage rate didn't go down well at all. A fiasco from start to finish. It should have been a lot easier but for some reason someone decided to play games. Hence the multi-year delays.
Originally Posted By leemac <<I have a hunch they are struggling to get this off the ground and are currently only slightly more successful than Hyperion Wharf was at this stage in the game. >> Honestly participants are lining up to be at Disney Springs - its footfall is huge and therefore a great opportunity to attract RDE tenants. The units will be much smaller than the West Side and therefore it is easier to attract national chains like Mortons, Ruth Kris, McCormicks etc who wouldn't be able to take a unit the size of Wolfgang Puck's. The key is diversification. The biggest concern we had during DTD Anaheim was that the dining was overly reliant on Patina Group. If Nick Valenti and Joachim Splichal's company had collapsed it would have been a huge headache finding new tenants for Tortilla Joe's, Naples and Catal. Those big box concept restaurants just don't work any more. Thankfully Patina has gone from strength to strength in SoCal.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>They said they are going to avoid Down Town Disney, as a result of this, because until construction is complete there isn't enough parking space for those who want to go there.<< There weren't enough parking spaces before construction began either, and I know several people who have avoided it for years. While the growing pains are certainly causing a headache for the moment, it's something that they've needed for years and there's no easy way around it. I've heard that they're using TDO for overflow parking, but I realize most people won't want the inconvenience of taking a shuttle bus to a shopping center
