Starting today, guests visiting Walt Disney World will find a new map that isn’t labeled as a map… It’s simply titled “Tips for Visiting Downtown Disney”. The last few months have seen quite a bit of confusion and anarchy at the shopping and dining district as Disney tries to operate the popular attraction while performing a massive overhaul into Disney Springs. The parking situation currently has many guests missing movie showings and dining reservations on a frequent basis, so to avoid some of the existing confusion and to help guests do whatever they may be planning to do at Downtown Disney, some drastic changes were made to the map:

The walkways to Saratoga Springs were more clearly labeled, as well as the new bridge connecting Marketplace to the hotel. Bus stops, valet parking, and other walkways to other areas are now also sporting the large black and white text bubbles to clarify how guests can get where they need to go. In addition, some new opening dates for two facets of the Disney Springs project were revealed to us:

• The West Garage was supposed to open this fall, but has now been pushed back to early 2015.
• The pedestrian walkway or bridge across the water in Marketplace is now also labeled as opening in early 2015.

The busy summer months may be drawing to a close, but it is sure to be an interesting few months over at Downtown Disney with the parking structure, pedestrian bridge, and The Landing are all set to open in “early 2015”. Stay tuned…

Tom Corless