The weather this morning was the best its been this week and we decided to head out to Disney Springs to take a walk and check out some of the construction projects. We’ll work our way west to east, starting with the NBA Experience in the West Side.
West Side
The NBA Experience, much like the local NBA team the Orlando Magic, is in a rebuilding year. With the demolition of DisneyQuest wrapping up late last year, Disney isn’t wasting any time getting a new building up in its footprint. When completed next summer, The NBA Experience will boast a multi-floor layout with games, interactive experiences, and dining.
Next door, the Cirque du Soleil building sits vacant.
Jaleo, a new offering by Jose Andres, is coming along nicely, filling in for the former Wolfgang Puck. The shell of the building is taking shape nicely, and air conditioning is being installed inside.
AMC is still decked out with Solo: A Star Wars Movie banners, but is looking forward to The Incredibles II.
The Star Wars Galactic Outpost and Marvel Super Hero Headquarters have their latest films in the window display.
The Disney Corner opened a month ago and has some pretty great merchandise.
Another Solo: A Star Wars Movie backdrop can be found nearby.
A variety of food trucks cycle trough Exposition Park, but these are the two currently available.
The Landing
Making our way over to The Landing, the waterfront next to Aerophile is nearly complete.
Maria & Enzo’s and The Edison are both excellent additions to The Landing. Check out our reviews of each below:
Pizza Ponte tried to offer breakfast recently, but that has already ended.
We recently paid a visit to Wine Bar George and found it to be one of the best meals we’ve had at Disney Springs. Here’s our full food review.
We noticed a missing panel on the Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar sign, but it kind of fits the aesthetic.
Vivoli il Gelato is celebrating their 3rd birthday with a Birthday Cake Shake.
The Landing really does have some exceptional dining. Between The Edison, Wine Bar George, and The BOATHOUSE, you can expect a high quality meal in some really nice settings.
That said, Disney feels like there can never be enough restaurants in Disney Springs, and with ever-growing attendance numbers, they’re probably right. That leads us to Terralina Crafted Italian. The Portobello replacement is nearly ready for their debut later this summer.
Town Center
Visiting Town Center now, and there’s really nothing new. The shopping center of Disney Springs has seen most of their tenants stick around since the expansion opened in May 2016.
That said, we did see Harley Davidson take over the space next to Polite Pig. It left the West Side to make room for DisneyStyle.
Marketplace
Rounding our our walk around Disney Springs, we find ourself in a section primed for a makeover – The Marketplace.
The biggest makeover taking place right now is World of Disney. With half the store closed for refurbishment, Disney is trying to infuse a new look to the store. We haven’t seen any concept art for the new look, but we’re hearing we should expect lighter colors and even some brickwork.
Stitch had disappeared for a little while recently, but has returned.
As far as other work on The Marketplace, LittleMisMatched closed in late February of this year and a replacement hasn’t been announced.
Guests unable to make the opening of Toy Story Land later this month always have the opportunity to grab a sandwich and stare at Tinker Toys, just like they would in the real land.
Alright, back to the Lime Garage for some views of the biggest Disney Springs expansion in two years.
New Parking Garage
Disney is currently in the middle of adding a $58 million parking garage. The new garage will be Disney Springs’ third and add 3,000 new parking spaces when completed.
An aerial view from back in September 2016 shows the new plot across the road from the Lime Garage.
Here’s what it currently looks like.
The new garage will bring with it a new pedestrian bridge, similar to the two that already cross Buena Vista Drive.
You can already see where it will come out of the third garage and then make a turn towards Disney Springs. Here’s a look at where that turn will be, in front of the Disney Casting building.
Here’s the pathway it will take towards World of Disney once it crosses Buena Vista Drive.
Thank you for reading and sharing our latest look at Disney Springs! We will continue to post these overview updates in addition to our focused posts from this point forward. Keep an eye on the blog this weekend as we try the new brunch offering at Homecomin’!
