Is Disney Spring worth 1/2 extra day and night stay?

[OhhBother]

I guess I'm in the minority, but I love Disney Springs. We always have at least two shopping outings during a stay, and we go there for dinner multiple nights. I love soaking up the atmosphere, and there are so many fun things to do. The Void is amazing, and we love Splitsville. It's a highlight of Disney for us, and we'd absolutely add a day to make sure we got to go there.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We have found a number of restaurants outside of Disney that aren't available near us in NY. Macaroni's is pretty good, and we had never seen one before. We enjoyed Bahama Breeze quite a bit, and again, we don't have any of them anywhere near us in NY.

Doing some stuff offsite is also a possibility with an extra day. Half the day at Disney Springs, and the other half checking out some of the stuff on I-Drive, and Irlo Bronson Highway could be fun. Old Town is pretty cool. Celebration is beautiful, and has it's own selection of shops and restaurants which could easily fill a few hours.

See we have all of that here. I'm in South Jersey. Along with most stores at DS.

I would definitely see the value in driving in a day early to get a jump start on the vacation but I would rather check into a Disney resort and go swimming.

I'm just not a big fan of the Orlando area. I mean it's pretty and fun but it's a lot like home to me so it's nothing special to me. My ex had family in Sanford so we would spend a day or two with them before our WDW vacations. We did a lot of the downtown Orlando and Old Town stuff but it's just EH to me.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

We really enjoyed Disney Springs last June, but we enjoy walking around with coffees or what not and shopping anyway(that's actually a winter afternoon go to activity for us). It is what it is... It's a fancy open air mall with a Disney touch. If you enjoy that atmosphere then I'd make time, if not, you may have a better time somewhere else or using your time another way.

 

[Tomh]

See we have all of that here. I'm in South Jersey. Along with most stores at DS.

I would definitely see the value in driving in a day early to get a jump start on the vacation but I would rather check into a Disney resort and go swimming.

I'm just not a big fan of the Orlando area. I mean it's pretty and fun but it's a lot like home to me so it's nothing special to me. My ex had family in Sanford so we would spend a day or two with them before our WDW vacations. We did a lot of the downtown Orlando and Old Town stuff but it's just EH to me.

I've never seen palm trees in South Jersey I am from a small town. We have more populated areas around us, but the honest truth is many of the stores in Disney Springs, and a fair few of the restaurants in the general area are not represented near us, so it is pretty nice to have all of those options while we are on vacation.

Now then, the meat of the question is, would I drive in a day early, and spend the extra money just for the shopping, no. Yes, I would do it, but not just for the shopping. It is for the extra time on vacation, the time with my family, the "experience." I don't really care what the shops are. We'll look around, maybe buy something, maybe not. We will enjoy some food, and a drink, we will check out all the gift shops on Irlo Bronson highway, and I-Drive. Maybe we will play mini golf, or visit one of the area attractions. Given an opportunity to spend an extra day on vacation with my family, I will do it. As a matter of fact, just last year, we did exactly that. When my wife's work schedule came out for the week we were leaving, she had the day before our trip off. I also had that day off, and had already arranged to pick up the rental first thing that morning, so we found a hotel for the single night in Orlando, and left home a day early.

We spent our extra morning at Congo River Mini Golf, had breakfast on I-Drive, spent some time at Disney Springs, and checking out gift shops on I-Drive, and Irlo Bronson Highway, and it was a fantastic extra day. Well worth the extra expense, just for the time with family, having fun.

 

[StrawberryChan]

if i'm being honest disney springs is much more catered to locals than tourists, so there are a lot of things that're common elsewhere but you won't generally find in central florida (for instance... uniqlo, poutine stands, etc). they do have some uniquely "disney" shops and experiences, and i've heard a lot of people are going just for the star wars VR thing, which could make it worth your visit if you're into that.

as i can see you're close to florida and you've been to WDW multiple times, it's ultimately up to you. with all the upgrades, DS is now much higher-end than DTD ever was. if you enjoy shopping and dining, and you have extra time to kill after doing everything on your agenda, feel free to check it out. no need to make it a priority, though

 

[LWhitten]

We were in WDW a few weeks ago and went to Disney Springs on our arrival day and the day we left. I wished we had more time there. We did The Void, which was AMAZING. I think Flight of Passage is the only experience in WDW that surpassed it. The restaurants are so much better than the ones in the parks - we've done Morimoto Asia, D-Luxe Burger, Homecomin', and Blaze Pizza (over 3 different trips). I was quite happy with them all. We had a drink at Edison, which was super cool. The Coke store is pretty fun too, with the rooftop bar where you can get lots of fun stuff. I'm not a big shopper, but I will make time for Disney Springs every trip.

 

[scrapquitler]

Haven't been to Disney Springs since they began reimagining it from Downtown Disney. We are planning on starting our onsite stay on Sunday in late may. Had originally planned on driving down Sunday leaving very, very, early in AM. Is DS worth driving down day early on Sat. and spending extra night in off site motel? We like the idea of feeling fresh on Sunday to start our trip to WDW (have done it like that numerous times) but not sure if worth $250-350 more by the time we pay for hotel and meals on Sat.
any info appreciated.
Thanks
mikewdw

No. Not at all.

We went once, only because we were meeting my cousin (who lives in Orlando) for Lunch, and he doesn't have Disney passes. We walked around for a couple of hours and found nothing appealing about going there. If I want to go shopping, I can do that at home.