Downtown Disney

Downtown Disney

Location Disneyland Resort, Anaheim, California, U.S.
Coordinates 33°48′33″N 117°55′26″W / 33.809052°N 117.924027°W / 33.809052; -117.924027Coordinates: 33°48′33″N 117°55′26″W / 33.809052°N 117.924027°W / 33.809052; -117.924027
Owner The Walt Disney Company
Operated by Walt Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products
Opened January 12, 2001 (January 12, 2001)
Website Downtown Disney website

Downtown Disney (officially the Downtown Disney District) is an outdoor shopping center located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It opened in 2001 as part of an expansion of the resort from one theme park (Disneyland) to a multi-park resort complex.

Location and history

Downtown Disney lies between the Disneyland Resort's two theme parks and its hotels. It is considerably smaller than its Walt Disney World counterpart, which is now named Disney Springs. No admission ticket is required for the area.[1] Downtown Disney was designed to attract local residents and to encourage extended stays in the resort district. One side of Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and one side of the Disneyland Hotel's Adventure Tower face Downtown Disney, providing a view of the area.[2]

During the late 1990s Disneyland Resort expansion which also included the construction of Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney was built on space previously occupied by the original Disneyland parking lot and Disneyland Hotel, and includes a pedestrian bridge over Disneyland Drive (formerly West Street), which was regraded to accommodate the bridge. Downtown Disney opened on January 12, 2001.[3]

Locations

Downtown Disney includes the following buildings:

Restaurants

Retail

Wonderground Gallery retail store in Downtown Disney

Other attractions and entertainment

  • Live musicians
  • Splitsville Luxury Lanes
  • Swing dancing[4]
  • Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire (2018—present) virtual reality game by Lucasfilm's ILMxLAB and The Void[5]

Former tenants

  • Alamo Rent a Car (moved to Paradise Pier Hotel 6/2018)
  • AMC Theatres Downtown Disney 12
  • Anna & Elsa's Boutique (replaced by Dream Boutique)[6]
  • Anne Geddes (Predecessed by Blink – By Wet Seal)[7]
  • Apricot Lane (2011–?) women, teen to age 50, clothing and accessories store[8]
  • Build-A-Bear Workshop
  • Blink – By Wet Seal (now Starbucks)[9]
  • Basin (now Sanuk)[10]
  • Chapel Hats
  • Compass Books & Cafe (now Earl of Sandwich)[11]
  • Department 56 (space split into three fronts, was Chapel Hats, Sanuk and Ridemakerz)
  • Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Sales
  • Disney Vault 28 (October 11, 2006 — September 2017) Disney Parks' merchandising department run high-end apparel store. Kingdom Couture and DV28 were two new Disney brands created for Vault 28, which were shelved along with celebrity-favored designers clothing such as Chip and Pepper, Paige Premium Denim, Red Monkeyo and Tarina Tarantino.[12] Vault 28 was closed down by the end of September 2017 along with Fossil to make way for Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire virtual reality experience.[5]
  • D-Street
  • ESPN Zone
  • Fossil (—September 2017) closed to make way for Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire virtual reality experience.[5]
  • House of Blues Anaheim[13]
  • Illuminations (space split into two fronts, Fossil and D-Street)
  • Island Charters (now WonderGround Gallery)[14]
  • Kitson Kids (July 2009—April 30, 2011) replaced by Apricot Lane Boutique[8]
  • LittleMissMatched (replaced by Chapel Hats)
  • Pearl Factory
  • Rainforest Cafe
  • Rainforest Cafe Retail Shopping Village
  • Ridemakerz
  • Something Silver (replaced by Sprinkles)
  • Starabilias (Replaced by Disney Vacation Club (DVC) Sales)
  • Starbucks Coffee (West location only)
  • Studio Disney 365 (replaced by Anna & Elsa's Boutique)
  • Quiksilver and Roxy (now Curl Surf)
  • Walt Disney Travel Company Guest Services

Disneyland Monorail System

The Disneyland Monorail System has two stations, one located in Tomorrowland and another in Downtown Disney. Built as part of the Monorail's 1961 extension, the station was known as the Disneyland Hotel Monorail Station from 1961 to 2000. It underwent a major renovation and re-theming as part of the 1998-2001 Disneyland Resort expansion, and was re-designated the Downtown Disney Monorail Station in 2001. Admission to Disneyland Park is required to ride the Monorail.

When Downtown Disney first opened, theme park guests could purchase admission from a ticket booth adjacent to the Monorail station. However, the ticket booth was closed a few years later, leaving the Downtown Disney Monorail Station turnstiles open only to guests who had already purchased admission elsewhere.

References

  1. ↑ "Downtown Disney FAQ". disneyland.disney.go.com.
  2. ↑ See aerial view of the area:
    • Google (September 20, 2016). "Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disneyland Drive, Anaheim, Calif" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
    • Google (September 20, 2016). "Disneyland Hotel, Magic Way, Anaheim, CA" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  3. ↑ Ebnet, Matthew (January 13, 2001). "Despite Rain, Crowds Flock to the Opening of Downtown Disney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Jump, Jive and Boogie Swing Dance Party - Downtown Disney District". Archived from the original on 6 June 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 Eades, Mark (August 16, 2017). "Two shops closing in Downtown Disney to make room for Star Wars experience". Orange County Register. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  6. ↑ Marsh, Doug (October 16, 2017). "Downtown Disney Dream Boutique is a Dream Come True for Disney Princesses Fans". Laughingplace.com. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  7. ↑ Tully, Sarah (2010-12-10). "Exclusive Downtown Disney store set to close". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  8. 1 2 Tully, Sarah (April 14, 2011). "Downtown Disney store closing, another opening". Orange County Register. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Starbucks Coming to Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort this Winter". Disney Parks Blog.
  10. ↑ "Downtown Disney specialty store closes – Around Disney". Around Disney. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012.
  11. ↑ "Compass Books at Yesterland". Archived from the original on 6 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Yoshino, Kimi (October 11, 2006). "House of Mouse Couture". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  13. ↑ Fadroski, Kelli Skye (2016-05-20). "House of Blues says goodbye to Downtown Disney and hello to the Anaheim GardenWalk". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  14. ↑ Tully, Sarah (June 9, 2012). "New Downtown Disney gallery sells pricey, urban art". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
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