Location: Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA
Opening Day: 1975
Resort: Walt Disney World Resort
Theme: Downtown Marketplace
Operator: The Walt Disney Company
Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment area located at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
The district consists of three connected areas:
Marketplace (formerly known as Disney Village), with the LEGO Imagination Center, World of Disney, Once Upon A Toy, Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop, Fulton's Crab House, Rainforest Cafe, Cap'n Jack's Marina offering boat rentals, and other stores and restaurants.
Pleasure Island, with eight nightclubs including a 1930's Explorer's Club themed Adventurer's Club, The Comedy Warehouse, 8TRAX featuring 70's & 80's music and Mannequins Dance Palace, featuring a revolving dance floor and trance music,dance music & techno.
West Side, with a Virgin Megastore, an AMC 24-screen movie theater, Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba, the House of Blues restaurant and show auditorium, the five floor DisneyQuest "indoor theme park", Planet Hollywood, the Wolfgang Puck Cafè, Bongos Cuban Cafè, and other various shops and eateries.
Up until 1989, only the Marketplace existed and was known as the Disney Village Marketplace, previously the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village. Pleasure Island then opened, and the West Side followed in 1997. Pleasure Island and Marketplace were referred to together as Disney Village until West Side opened, at which the entire collection was referred to as Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney Marketplace and Downtown Disney West Side have always been free entry while Pleasure Island required the purchase of admission. Pleasure Island was also closed during the day. During 2005 Pleasure Island was opened for free entry to all and the only paid admission charges were for those entering the nightclubs.
In early 2006 the Raglan Road Irish-themed pub, restaurant and gift shop opened. In mid-2006 the main and hub stages on Pleasure Island had been demolished in order to create a direct walking path and line of sight from Disney Marketplace to Disney West Side. A building formerly containing shops and a fast food restaurant is being renovated and will reopen with new shops and a new fast food restaurant. The ultimate plan is to rejuvenate the entire district but Pleasure Island sources say the three named areas of Downtown Disney will remain in place. The new bridge from West Side to Pleasure Island opened in September, 2006 and clearly displays the "Pleasure Island" name. A T-Rex Cafe dinosaur-theme restaurant is to be constructed in 2007-2008 near McDonald's adjacent the Marketplace in a current parking lot area.
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