Downtown Disney

Please excuse the late posting. I took a pretty big beating driving back from Pennsylvania Sunday and was just too tired to post for Monday morning. 

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Today we will take a look at Downtown Disney and the offerings of the past, present, and future. 
Since 1975 there has been a shopping center revolving around all things Disney. It wasn't until 1995 that Downtown Disney received that name. Downtown Disney is separated into three distinct areas. The Village/Marketplace is the main shopping area that has been updated and revamped since 1975. Next with its night clubs and bars came Pleasure Island, and last came West Side with an AMC Theater complex, House of Blues, and Cirque du Soleil building.  

Marketplace

This area houses the classic Disney merchandise locations. World of Disney is located towards Pleasure Island and offers the most square footage of spendability than most other shops in Disney. This area also sports a Ghiradelli, McDonald's, and Rainforest Cafe. 

Pleasure Island 

It is with a heavy heart that I must report Pleasure Island ceased operations on September 27, 2008. When the complex was in operation there was a nightclub to fit every need. It did not matter if you liked country, hip hop, 80's rock, or disco; there was a place for you to let loose and groove with the best of them. Fittingly, the last songs to be played at PI were Closing Time and Time of Your Life. Plans for the space include more restaurants and shopping. As of today only a few locations have opened from the proposed plan, which leads many PI fans to question the decision to close PI. 

West Side

West Side was to be the more trendy upscale side of Downtown Disney. Though when it first opened the idea was fully realized, it seems now that there is a drifting. Virgin Megastore closed on May 12, 2009. In the past few days a new store Ridemakerz took over the location. Ridemakerz is like Build a Bear for boys and remote control cars. West Side offers some unique stores like the Magnitron that sells a wide selection of magnets both Disney and non-Disney. 

Downtown Disney as a whole offers some interesting alternatives to the parks. Unfortunately the best of these offerings went away when Pleasure Island closed. Visiting here is good step off to our vacation in that it will slowly expose everyone to the idea of Disney World. It is also a great place to waste some time in case our rooms are not ready when we arrive. I feel obligated to inform you however that there is a very large toy store here along with a good selection of stuffed animals. I just want you to be prepared for whatever reaction you might get from Alexis. 

       

TODAY IN WDW HISTORY:

1513 - Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon discovers Florida while searching for gold and the fountain of youth. 


1805 - Hans Christian Anderson is born in Odensk, Denmark.

1940 - Walt Disney Productions offers shares in the company to the public for the first time. 155,000 shares of preferred are offered at $25 and 600,000 common stock offered at $5. The stock today was at $35 at the time of publication. 

1976 - Treasure Island reopens as Discovery Island. Discovery Island is a 11 - acre zoological refuge in the middle of Bay Lake. 

1995 - Blizzard Beach opens and becomes the third Disney water park after River Country and Typhoon Lagoon. 

1998 - Animator Marc Davis adds his signature and hand prints at Disney-MGM Studios. 

 
2001 - The Main Street Electrical Parade has its final run. It will be replaced by Spectromagic. This summer The Main Street Electrical Parade will return for approximately 70 days as part of the Summer Nightastic. 

2001 - Port Orleans and Dixie Landings resorts are combined. The Dixie portion will be called Riverside. The total consolidation and construction will take 9 months. 

 
2007 - Monsters Inc Laugh Floor opens in Tomorrowland. It replaced the circle-vision movie The Timekeeper. 


2008 - A circuit breaker is tripped at Epcot causing parts of the park to lose power and rides to close temporarily. 


DAYS UNTIL OUR VACATION: 30