The entertainment

Image: juandect, Flickr (license)

Food and shopping are great, but they aren’t everything. For some, the difference between Disney Springs and a normal mall comes down to the sheer number of things you can do with your time there.

Some classic mainstays like the enormous LEGO store offer simple interactive fun, while newer locations like Splitsville bring bowling to Disney property for the first time. Live music echoes throughout the area, and few restaurants or spaces don’t have a guitarist singing or a band performing.

Other performers pop up throughout Disney Springs, including jugglers, dancers, pianists, and even magicians. On the main stage, you might find a high school band performing or a dance recital — that is, if you aren’t tempted by the live acts at House of Blues. Or, perhaps, you decide to take in the sights and sounds of Disney Springs from the water, either on a pontoon boat or in an Amphicar.

And then, of course, there’s the movie theater — an AMC featuring full dine-in options as well as a premium Dolby Cinema experience. Or, if you’d rather see something live, the Cirque du Soleil theater at the end of the West Side. If none of that interests you, there’s Characters in Flight — a balloon ride high above the entire property. For children, there are carousels, trains, and fountains to splash in.

Basically, if you’re bored at Disney Springs, it’s your fault. 

The location

Image: gardener41, Flickr (license)

If, for some reason, you do find yourself bored at Disney Springs, however, even that isn’t a disaster. Disney Springs is located on the Sassagoula River — a waterway designed by Disney to connect a handful of resorts with ferry service.

Those resorts, including Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort, Disney’s Old Key West Resort, and Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter and Riverside, are among the most beautiful and picaresque on Disney property. They are free to explore, and the ferry service operates with enough regularity to make visiting them from Disney Springs a simple affair. Or, if you’re staying at those resorts, a night out at Disney Springs is made even more fun via a boat ride to your dinner reservation.

Additionally, Disney Springs is very easy to get to from anywhere on Disney property. The Disney Springs resorts include a handful that are within walking distance, and other Disney hotels offer bus service. Or, if you’d rather drive, there’s plenty of free parking — and a massive expansion of the roads alongside Disney Springs has made driving into and out of the area a breeze.

Due to the convenience, Disney Springs is like an entire city located within the Walt Disney World — one which stays open later than the parks usually, and which can even be seen as worthy of its own day during your vacation.

Above all else, Disney Springs offers an energetic vibe that cannot be matched elsewhere on the property — with food, shopping, and entertainment bringing people together in the spirit of fun. Locals, off-site visitors, and on-site Disney guests all come together and mingle in an exquisitely designed space, and the result is an atmosphere of relaxation and merriment.

And there really is a lot of food. Who can say no to all that food?