Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando is made up of multiple properties. Of course, there are the four major theme parks—Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios—as well as the water parks Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. Then there’s ESPN Wide World of Sports, a number of hotels and resorts, and also free-entry areas like Disney’s BoardWalk and Disney Springs.
For this post, we want to talk about that last one. Disney Springs (which was for a long time known as Downtown Disney) is, again, free to enter, unlike most other attractions. It’s about 20 to 35 minutes away for residents of Dr. Phillips, Windermere, and Winter Garden.
This large outdoor entertainment, dining, and shopping destination is tons of fun for the whole family. It’s a great place to spend the day! And with almost 200 stores, eateries, entertainment venues, and other offerings, it’s not hard to pass the whole day there.
We obviously aren’t going to rattle off all 200 of those places, so we’ve picked out some of our favorite spots at Disney Springs and some of its unique offerings to spotlight here.
Some Entertainment Options at Disney Springs
- Cirque du Soleil, the amazing international performance troupe that combines acrobatics and circus elements, has a permanent home here, where it performs its show La Nouba
- If you’re up for some bowling, stop by Splitsville Luxury Lanes, a bowling alley that happens to have unexpectedly tasty food
- Kids (and adult kids at heart) go nuts for all the video games—from arcade classics to state-of-the-art virtual reality experiences—at DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park
- House of Blues often has exciting live concerts
Some Dining Options at Disney Springs
- Indulge your sweet tooth with some treats from Amorettes Patisserie
- Visit The Boathouse if you’re craving seafood or steaks
- Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ is celebrity chef Art Smith’s restaurant featuring southern and Florida cuisine
- If it’s Cuban fare you’re after, head to Bongos Cuban Cafe
- Eat like a Canadian at The Daily Poutine
- Frontera Cocina is celebrity chef Rick Bayless’ Mexican restaurant at Disney Springs
- Bring home some chocolates from The Ganachery
- Celebrity chef Masaharu Morimoto also has a presence here, at his sushi and Japanese restaurant Morimoto Asia
- Creative, contemporary Irish food, as well as live Irish music and dancing, are the specialties at Raglan Road
- STK Orlando offers a quality steakhouse dining experience
- Enjoy Asian-California fusion cuisines at another Disney Springs celebriry chef offering, Wolfgang Puck Grand Cafe
Shopping at Disney Springs
In addition to all the entertainment and dining options, Disney Springs also features over 100 shops. While a number of them are familiar chains, many have unique offerings, especially in the Disney theme. For fans interested in collectibles, art, houseware, decorative items, clothing, accessories, jewelry, toys, gifts, or other miscellaneous Disney stuff, this is an unbeatable shopping destination.