Downtown Disney is an outdoor shopping, dining, and entertainment complex located at the Walt Disney World Resort. Downtown Disney is open to the public, requires no admission fee and offers entirely free parking and transportation to all Disney resorts. The large outdoor complex is divided into three areas: the Marketplace, Pleasure Island and the West Side. Each area features a selection of entertainment venues, shops, restaurants and themeing. Notable tenants include Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba, Disney Quest Indoor Interactive Theme Park, the House of Blues, Planet Hollywood, the Lego Imagination Center, World of Disney, AMC Pleasure Island 24, and Rainforest Cafe.
History
Downtown Disney began life on March 22 , 1975 , as the Lake Buena Vista Shopping Village, a shopping complex intended to serve the planned residences within Walt Disney World property. As the residential units evolved into more resort hotel space, the complex became more focused as a shopping destination for all Walt Disney World visitors, and renamed Walt Disney World Village in 1977. With the advent of new management under Michael Eisner in the mid-1980s, Disney began looking for ways to keep vacationers on Walt Disney World property longer, and entice them with offerings to prevent them from leaving for entertainment beyond Disney's borders. To compete with the popular Church Street Station clubs in downtown Orlando, Pleasure Island was announced on July 21 , 1986 , as an expansion to the Village for highly themed, adults-only nightlife. Construction began the following August, and Pleasure Island opened on May 1 , 1989 , (the exact same day as the Disney-MGM Studios theme park) featuring unique clubs with the Disney touch for quality and creativity. That same year, the Walt Disney World Village was once again renamed as the Disney Village Marketplace to reflect the ever-changing nature of the area. In the mid-1990s, the growth of Walt Disney World once again created the potential for expansion of the offerings around Village Lake at Pleasure Island and the Disney Village Marketplace, so on June 20 , 1995 , major enhancements and expansion were announced for the area. The Disney Village Marketplace and Pleasure Island would be folded into a newly-branded district called Downtown Disney, with the former renamed one more time on September 7 , 1997 , as Downtown Disney Marketplace. Just a few days later, on September 15 , Downtown Disney West Side opened as a third shopping, dining, and entertainment zone featuring more eclectic venues such as La Nouba (a permanent show which is part of Cirque du Soleil), DisneyQuest, and Virgin Megastore. Major changes for the complex also included the conversion of the somewhat sedate Mickey's Character Shop into the bustling World of Disney, becoming the world's largest Disney store, and the expansion and upgrade of the AMC Pleasure Island Theatres. Downtown Disney gained a sister district on January 12 , 2001 , with the expansion of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and similar complexes known as Disney Village on April 12 , 1992 , at EuroDisney (now Disneyland Resort Paris), and Ikspiari on July 7 , 2000 , at the Tokyo Disney Resort. A fifth version is in planning for the most recent Disney destination, Hong Kong Disneyland.
The Village/Marketplace and West Side have always been free to enter, while Pleasure Island required the purchase of admission. Pleasure Island was also closed during the day. Starting in the summer of 2004, Pleasure Island became free to enter and only those entering the nightclubs paid admission charges.
On September 27 , 2008 all of the Pleasure Island night clubs closed as part of the larger refurbishment of Downtown Disney in order to make room for new shopping and dining offerings.
Marketplace
Formerly known as the Disney Village Marketplace , the area contains many shops and quick service restaurants. Restaurants include Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop, McDonald's, and the Rainforest Cafe. Shopping venues include the Lego Imagination Center, Goofy's Candy Company, World of Disney, Once Upon A Toy, and Cap'n Jack's Marina offering boat rentals.
Earl of Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a restaurant franchise based in Orlando, Florida, United States. It was founded by the current Earl of Sandwich, his younger son Orlando Montagu, and businessman Robert Earl, founder of the Planet Hollywood chain. Earl of Sandwich is actually the brainchild of Orlando, who is second in line behind his brother Luke Timothy Charles Montagu, Viscount Hinchingbrooke to the title of Earl of Sandwich. He and his father are direct descendants of the 4th Earl of Sandwich, who popularized the sandwich in Great Britain in the 18th century. The first restaurant was opened on March 19 , 2004 , located in Downtown Disney Marketplace on the property of Walt Disney World Resort outside of Orlando, Florida. Earl of Sandwich currently has franchising plans for all over the United States and the United Kingdom, including the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first Earl of Sandwich franchise was opened in Sugar Land, Texas.
Pleasure Island
Main article: Pleasure Island (Walt Disney World Resort)Pleasure Island was primarily a nighttime entertainment complex with comedy and dance clubs. It included a 1930s Explorer's Club themed Adventurer's Club, The Comedy Warehouse, 8TRAX featuring 70's & 80's music, BET Soundstage, Motion, and Mannequins Dance Palace featuring a revolving dance floor and trance music, dance music & techno. There is also the Raglan Road Irish Pub & Restaurant. The two comedy and four dance clubs on Pleasure Island permanently closed after the evening of September 27, 2008. New shops and restaurants were to open to replace the clubs but the economic recession of 2009 delayed plans and to date only one new restaurant has opened.
Fulton's Crab House
Fulton's Crab House is a riverboat restaurant located at Pleasure Island. Formerly, the Empress Lilly. Run by the Levy Restaurants company, their head chef is Frank Walason.
History
The Empress Lilly is a 220 by 62 foot static replica Paddle steamer riverboat on Village Lake in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. In reality, the Lilly couldn't go anywhere. She was not a boat at all, but a large boat-shaped building, erected on the edge of the lake. A submerged concrete foundation gave the Lilly the stability to weather a hurricane. Built for the Walt Disney World Resort in 1976, the ship contained three restaurants and a jazz lounge. She greeted guests for the first time on May 1 , 1977 , when Lillian Disney, Walt Disney's widow for whom the ship is named, christened the ship. The Lilly was designed by Walt Disney Imagineering to be as true to the eye as possible. The gingerbread scrollwork and stained glass detailing gave the ship an authentic feeling, harkening back to the days of Mark Twain's Mississippi River. The paddle wheel at the aft end of the ship churned constantly, though the ship never went anywhere. The Empress Lilly was one of the first locations of the now famous Disney Character Breakfast.
Baton Rouge Lounge was located forward on the main deck. Here is where patrons could spend some time relaxing at the bar, and enjoying the musical sounds of the Riverboat Rascals. Many of these musicians played in the Baton Rouge for years, and became local legends. Some of the players who have played with the Riverboat Rascals were Fast Eddie Erickson, Dave Tobiasen, Tom Bucci, Denny Zavett, Ralf Reynolds, Mike Gentry, Randy Morris, Dan Riley, John Charles and Bill Dendle.
Steerman's Quarters was located in the aft section of the Main Deck. It specialized in certified Angus beef entrees. The décor focused on imagery from America's western cattle nostalgia. In the aft end of the room, giant windows revealed the churning paddlewheel, nearby.
Fisherman's Deck was located forward on the Promenade Deck. As its name implies, this was a seafood restaurant.
Empress Room was located aft on the Promenade Deck. This was a formal dining establishment, requiring reservations in advance. The room was extravagantly decorated, with gold trimmed walls and Rococo (Louis XIV) style flourishes. Hungarian Chef, Garry Reich, developed the original menu, to cater to upscale tastes.
Jenny , the shrimping boat used in the movie Forrest Gump used to be located on the northwest corner of Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney (Florida)
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