Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I would have prefered to keep the Downtown Disney name." Me too. Disney Springs sounds like the name of a retirement center for Mickey and Minnie.
Originally Posted By tonyanton I would have preferred the old Disney Village name, but oh well. Definitely seems a return to the more relaxed feel of the original village in the '70s and '80s which is a good thing. I didn't even bother going to DD on my last WDW trip as the hodge-podge, tree-less mess that it had become was no worth it to me. I'm glad to see a cohesive look to the whole area come in, the addition of waterways and trees, and more attractive looking architecture. For those complaining this is just more shops and restaurants, that's what it was to begin with. True, back then there was a variety of shops (not just Disney merch...in fact the only Disney merch shop until the mid-80s was very small) run by Disney themselves, but I don't see Disney going back to running those types of businesses anymore, so better quality and more unique outside shop vendors appears to be a good way to go.
Originally Posted By ralphjr It will be nice that they'll finally get a cohesive look and feel to the area, but that name.... "Disney Springs" sounds like a safe place to drop grandma off so she can crochet and catch up on her stories while the rest of the family enjoys the parks. Instead of princesses at a character breakfast, you'd find the "Golden Girls" at an Early Bird Dinner.
Originally Posted By wahooskipper I have an announcement. Please gather around. I'm going to go get some plastic surgery and maybe even have a hair transplant. I will be the same, albeit better, but I'm not really at liberty to tell you what I'm going to change. Is that basically the announcement they made today?
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 I think it going to be very pretty with water features and trees. Very nice.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I'm looking forward to it... anything has to be better than what is there now.
Originally Posted By plpeters70 <<anything has to be better than what is there now>> I'm afraid that's becoming WDW's slogan. Walt Disney World...where anything new has to be better than what is there now...
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Nothing new, other than the visuals. It looks nice enough, but I still agree that the name is dreadful. Then again, this is from the creative minds behind "Cars Land" so maybe we shouldn't expect so much from them. I do like to see that Tom Staggs has taken the time time out of his busy schedule to post some stuff on the Disney Parks Blog himself. : ) He's even responded to some of the comments! In all seriousness, I do much prefer "Tom's" more business-like way of writing than the usual over-the-top magical-sparkly-perky-wonderful way that the Blog and its comment responses are usually written >>I've been told something "Trader Sam's-esque" will be coming to the new area, in what I assume will be "The Landing" area.<< Soooo...basically a scaled-down version of The Adventurers Club? I never got a chance to visit the original, but I can't help but feel like anything that's even remotely Trader Sams-esque will be viewed as a neutered version of what was once there. But keeping with the theme, I guess it's better than what's there at the moment.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Looking at the images, it looks like there will be several areas that feature 2-story buildings. While that will certainly add a lot of charm with the balconies, the stores/restaurants up there may have some difficulty. Much like the discussion in the DL thread about a 2-level Tomorrowland, unless there's a good reason for guests to wander upstairs (or each shop has 2 floors of space, which seems unlikely) there won't be nearly as much foot traffic up there. The bridge from near the Rainforest Cafe to near T-Rex will certainly change the vibe of that area. It makes the waterway feel a lot more clogged, but it makes everything on the land-side appear a lot closer together. Probably a good change, but it will take some getting used to It appears that the bus drop-off will be moving from its current location, over near Planet Hollywood. The current bus loop is way too small to serve all the hotels, and it appears that there will be 3 loops in the new location, so that should be a big benefit. The existing bus loop isn't huge by a transit standard, but it will certainly leave enough space for a pretty large building for more retail/dining space I thought it was odd to include so many of the obviously-staged photos of Tom standing next to the model with various other execs. Yah, I'm sure everybody wanted to be included, but including 4 of the photos all right in a row really points out how phoney they are. Overall, it looks like it will be a nice change. After the Hyperion Wharf concept was announced to a collective thud, I wonder what will happen to this product in the next few months/years. DTD needs a reconfiguration of the parking lots, so something will need to happen pretty soon if they want any noticeable growth there
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<Soooo...basically a scaled-down version of The Adventurers Club? I never got a chance to visit the original, but I can't help but feel like anything that's even remotely Trader Sams-esque will be viewed as a neutered version of what was once there. But keeping with the theme, I guess it's better than what's there at the moment.>> I was a big fan of the AC, and now I am of TS's as well. I don't think the concepts are anywhere near the same, to be honest. One was far more of a show, whereas the other was just bar with some special effects.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I guess I was one of the rare people that just didn't think the Adventurer's Club was all that great. Yes, it was unique. But the shows were rather hokey and not really worth the time it took to really get into them. I far preferred the Comedy Warehouse across the street.
Originally Posted By dagobert does someone know if Babycakes NYC will stay in the new Disney Springs?
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I guess I was one of the rare people that just didn't think the Adventurer's Club was all that great. Yes, it was unique. But the shows were rather hokey and not really worth the time it took to really get into them. I far preferred the Comedy Warehouse across the street.>> You are rare. Not because you didn't think AC was great (many didn't get it), just that you thought the Comedy Warehouse was any good! Haha
Originally Posted By leemac <<You are rare. Not because you didn't think AC was great (many didn't get it), just that you thought the Comedy Warehouse was any good! Haha>> I'd take CW's last show on a Thursday night ahead of AC any day. That show was hysterical - Thursdays were CM nights at PI and not only were the audience raucous but the performers spent the entire show taking the Mickey Mouse out of WDW and its cast. I miss CW just for that one show. It was always a fun night.
Originally Posted By Disneymom443 I wonder when they will officaly change the name, like change the sign and all advertising?
Originally Posted By HokieSkipper <<I'd take CW's last show on a Thursday night ahead of AC any day. That show was hysterical - Thursdays were CM nights at PI and not only were the audience raucous but the performers spent the entire show taking the Mickey Mouse out of WDW and its cast. I miss CW just for that one show. It was always a fun night.>> I was there on those nights. Still found the show to be a snoozer.
