1997: Downtown Disney

Located on the southern shore of Buena Vista Lagoon and away from the main theme parks (but right next door to Typhoon Lagoon), is Downtown Disney. This shopping and entertainment center is composed of three sections, each with a slightly different atmosphere and target audience.

Village Marketplace

Village Marketplace, the oldest section of Downtown Disney, features no less than 17 stores and 8 places to eat. As expected, the theme for shopping is "Disney," but what a variety! At Art of Disney you can purchase one-of-a-kind examples of Disney art, including animation cels and porcelien figurines, in addition to books and other collectibles. Disney's Days of Christmas features an unbelievable array of Christmas ornaments, both with and without the Disney theme. Pooh's Corner has all variations of toys and clothes based on Winnie and his friends. There are also specialty stores where you can get men's and women's designer clothes, fine crystal, sports and swim wear, brand name toys, books, and family portraits. But one of the most interesting of all is the World of Disney, which consists of 12 separate rooms, each devoted to a different type of Disney collectible.

After you've spent a few hours shopping or just browsing, you have just as large a selection of places in which to eat. You can choose from Cap'n Jack's Oyster Bar, Wolfgang Puck's Express, Fulton's Crab House (located in a stationary riverboat), McDonald's, and several others. But the most interesting restaurant in Village Marketplace is the Rainforest Cafe. With it's colorful front entrance, signature "volcano" (which can be seen from anywhere in Village Marketplace), and its utterly charming rainforest decor, it's almost a theme park of its own. While you dine on excellent salads, pastas, sandwiches, and desserts, you'll be treated to "audio-animatronic" monkeys swinging from the trees, gorillas pounding their chests, or elephants trumpeting away. Oh, be sure to watch for the unexpected rain storms, which are signaled by distant flashes of lightning and claps of thunder.

Dine in the exotic jungle setting of the Rainforest Cafe

As you continue your journey through Village Marketplace, you'll eventually come to one of the most enchanting stores, the Lego Imagination Center. Here you'll see an unbelievable display of life-sized dinosaurs, water dragons, flying saucers, and human residents -- all constructed from Lego blocks!

Kids will love the dinosaurs made of Lego blocks

Pleasure Island

After you leave the Lego Imagination Center, you'll cross a bridge over to Pleasure Island. This section of Downtown Disney is basically a night spot, with the clubs and most restaurants not opening until 7:00 pm. However, some of the specialty shops, like Music Legends (music memorobilia), Island Depot (tropical T-shirts), Reel Finds (movie collectibles), and Superstar Studios (make your own music video) are open during the day. Night time admission to Pleasure Islands requires either a special admission ticket or your WDW resort "length of stay" unlimited pass. Also, night time admission is not allowed to children under the age of 18. Pleasure Islands boasts 11 distinct clubs, with two more scheduled to open later in 1998. Among them are Comedy Warehouse (improv comic shows), 8Trax (disco the night away), Mannequins Dance Palace (contemporary dancing for those over 21), Neon Armadillo (country music), Pleasure Island Jazz Company (jazz, of course), and Rock 'n' Roll Beach Club (new and oldies rock 'n' roll). To close things out, Pleasure Island celebrates New Years Eve every single night with a grand street party and fireworks.

Jessica Rabbit invites you to Pleasure Island

West Side

Downtown Disney's newest section, West Side, features an art deco atmosphere where the emphasis is on more-specialized shopping and dining experiences. Here you'll find such dining choices as Planet Hollywood (with all the usual movie memorobilia as decoration), Wolfgang Puck's Cafe (more elegant that the "Express" in Village Marketplace), Bongo's Cuban Cafe (owned by Gloria Estefan and her husband), and House of Blues (which serves up Cajun specialties and nightly live entertainment). The shopping includes Virgin MegaStore (a massive music store), Guitar Gallery (guitars, including authographed rarities for those with large pocketbooks), and others. West Side also boasts the state-of-the-art and extremely plush AMC 24 Theater Complex ($4.25 admission for matinee showings). Under construction at the time of our Christmas 1997 visit were the future homes of the Cirque du Soleil (famous French circus) and DisneyQuest (theme unknown).

Planet Hollywood is just one of many West Side
restaurants

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Last Updated: January 1, 2003