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Hi all. I am good and confused now.
Is Downtown Diney, the Boardwalk, and Pleasure Island all the same places or different?
How do you get in them? Do they have there own parking?
Do they cost to get in?
They sound like nice places to relax some. We are not staying at Disney and want to check these places out. Your sight has been very helpful. We should be in Orlando one week from now. Thanks, Ken
Hi Ken
it does all get a bit confusing sometimes [msnsmile]
Downtown Disney is the collective name of 3 areas all linked together and within easy walking distance. If you start at one end you can walk right through all 3 areas. These are made up of Disney Marketplace, then Disney's Pleasure Island and finally Disney West Side.
There is free parking which runs behind the whole of Downtown Disney, just remember where you parked [msnwink] and there is no charge. Downtown is clearly signposted from every entrance to Disney property and not hard to miss, just watch out for the Planet Hollywood globe.
We love Downtown and always have at least 2 or 3 trips there for a meal and to people watch.
Disney Broadwalk is another similar venue, with a few shops, restaurants and bars, and is busier in the evenings. It also has it's own car park, also free. Another way to get to Broadwalk is on the boat from MGM or Epcot, so you could leave the car at one of the parks and nip off to Broadwalk for a while [msnsmile]
Have a great holiday [msnsmile2]
Ken
Tell us what you think once you've been. It is on our list of things to do when we visit this year.
[:I]
Its a wonderful place with loads to do for all ages. A few resturaunts within are Rain Forest, House of Blues with live entertainment in the evening. There is also a Virgin Records shop which is suppose to be the biggest in the world. They also have boat rides that you can rent out, lots of shops to visit and loads more!
thanks for all this info, i to know nothing about this place, so any info about it is good, think we would like to have a look around,
forgive my ignorance on this, do you get through after paying at disney entrances? i dont know.......
Hi Liesa
no you don't need to go through one of the "parks" to get there. Its on Disney property but seperate from the parks, it costs nothing to go there and look around. Its a wonderful place for a chill out after the hustle and bustle of the parks [msnsmile]
Even the parking is free there unlike the parks [msnwink]
thats really good to know thankyou for that, will definately go there, we done the parks now so want to look at other things, and of course those that dont cost a small fortune;)
Oh I didn't mention that we usually end up spending a fortune there on the grandkids [msnwink]
The World of Disney store is the biggest one in the world and I just can't walk past without taking a peek......
doh .....thanks for that then have 4 of the pesky blighters[msnwink]
oh well thats what theyre for![msnwink]
Don't miss Wolfgang Puck's for dinner at Marketpalce (not the express place, but the real restaurant across from Virgin Records).
Also, Boardwalk is a great place to watch the fireworks.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by caseyd
Don't miss Wolfgang Puck's for dinner at Marketpalce (not the express place, but the real restaurant across from Virgin Records).
Also, Boardwalk is a great place to watch the fireworks.
[/quote]
Yes, WP is good but avoid Bongo's Cuban cafe at all costs. Bad food, dirty and dodgy crowd on weekends.
taking notes...............[msnwink]
Thanks for all the replies. We definitly have a better understanding of the lay out now.
We are looking forward to checking it out.
Thanks alot, Ken
Also, the pin trading store at the end of Disney Baordwalk's west side (on the walk down towards Rain Forest Cafe) is the best pin trading sight at Disney. There are about 6 tables outside and in the evenings people set up their pin notebooks and displays and trade. My kids had a blast there. and i ended up trading some too.
Our favorite part of the Disney Boardwalk was renting the "Bicycle Carriages". We rented one last time down and couldn't stop laughing the whole time we peddled around the boardwalk. 4 adults peddled, 3 kids went along for the ride. Had races with another family (they only have one speed - so you have to peddle faster to go faster). Lots of fun!:D
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:[i]
Also, Boardwalk is a great place to watch the fireworks.
[/quote]
Which parks Fireworks do you get a great view of ? is it free to enter Boardwalk ? can you walk from Downtown to Boardwalk ?
It's also a good place to go (especially with kids) on Halloween if you happen to be there at that time of year. They usually have a halloween costume competition. I've seen quite a lot of holiday makers taking part altho I don't know what you need to do to enter [msnsmile]
I believe you get an excellent view of the Epcot fireworks from the Boardwalk although I haven't actually done it myself. You would ned to use your car between Boardwalk and Downtown. Had areally excellent meal in the Rainforest cafe when were there recently.[msntongue]quote]Originally posted by Rich-n-Ang
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:[i]
Also, Boardwalk is a great place to watch the fireworks.
[/quote]
Which parks Fireworks do you get a great view of ? is it free to enter Boardwalk ? can you walk from Downtown to Boardwalk ?
[/quote]
It's the Magic Kingdom (Wishes) fireworks which you get the best view of, in the distance across the lake. Epcot is actually behind the boardwalk shops and you can see bits of the Epcot display across the top of the Epcot Eiffel Tower. To do this you need to turn right when you enter the boardwalk and walk along to where the shops end - I think the last shop is the ESPN one. There's a 'shoot the basketball' type stand and just past there is your best bet. One more thing, unlike Downtown Disney, they do ask the driver for a photo ID before letting you in the boardwalk parking area so make sure you have your driving licence with you (it's the law anyway!)
We have stayed at the Broadwalk on a few occasions, and it really has a wonderful feel[msnwink] It is particularly nice of an evening during Halloween, they have all sorts of activities there for children, mostly free too!! Much quieter place during the day, but the restaurants are excellent, there is an ESPN bar there too! You can even get married on the Broadwalk itself!!
Will have to check out the restaurants at the Boardwalk next time we are in Florida CarolAnn.[msnsmile2]
we've been to the boardwalk several times on this trip-we;ve been there tonight in fact.
I didn't think you could see MK fireworks but willing to stand corrected on that.
you can take the boat to the gates of epcot and then walk back to the bridge-you get a good view from there'
there's usuallyt some street entertainers around-magicians, jugglers etc.
I like the buzz down there-and unlike DD-you get the evening sunshine.
We are going to try the Boardwalk area this time it sounds great, I've been on the Disney website and there are some wonderful places to eat. Will give you all the lowdown when we get back in August.[msnsmile2][msnsmile2][msnsmile2]
Did you make it to the Broadwalk Lynne???
We intend to pop by a few times in October when we go! Mickey has been there in his Sorcerer's outfit before, for a picture taking moment on the green amongst the pumpkins!!![msnwink][msnsmile2]
We love the Boardwalk we often go for late afternoon early evening stroll[msnwink]
Also love the Fantasia Mini Golf nearby[msnwink]