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| West Side
restaurants and shops at Downtown Disney in Orlando, FL. |
About West Side
Disney's West Side
opened in 1997 and is the home to Cirque du Soleil,
DisneyQuest and House of Blues.
The the largest of the three Downtown
Disney areas, West Side has 344,000 square
feet of buildings and a 9,500 square foot area for events and entertainment.
West Side Admission: Free
Hours: Depending on the time of year, West Side
hours can range between 9:30am and 11:30pm.
Size: 66 acres
Parking: Parking is free. There is a parking lot
adjacent to West Side.
Address: 1780
East Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830 . The phone number
is (407) 828-3800. You can also call 407-WDW-2NITE for Downtown
Disney information.
West
Side Restaurants in
Downtown Disney
Bongos Cuban Cafe - Created by Gloria Estefan and
her husband Emilio, Bongos serves Cuban cuisine for lunch and dinner.
Phone (407) 828-0999.
House of Blues -The 1,500 person House of Blues
venue is modeled after the venue on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
The restaurant offers southern cooking, live music, special folk art
displays and a lively Sunday Gospel Brunch! Phone (407) 934-2222.
Planet Hollywood - This three-story restaurant with
famous movie memorabilia is open for lunch and dinner. Phone (407)
827-7827.
Wetzel's Pretzels - This eatery serves gourmet pretzels,
Häagen-Dazs ice cream and more. Phone (407) 828-0256.
Wolfgang Puck Cafe - A high energy, full-service
restaurant featuring wood-fired pizzas and an array of classic entrees.
The restaurant serves food in an outdoor seating area and the Bar.
There is a more upscale dining area upstairs. Reservations are suggested.
Phone (407) 938-9653.
West Side Entertainment in Downtown
Disney
AMC 24 Theatres - With 24 movie theaters
and comfortable stadium seating, this is the largest movie theatre
complex in the Southeast. For show times call (407) 298-4488.
Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba is performed
Tuesday through Saturday at 6pm and 9pm. For tickets call (407) 939-7600
or visit their website.
DisneyQuest - Call it the video arcade/virtual theme
park/entertainment center of the future, this is an indoor interactive
theme park combines Disney's magic with cutting-edge new technologies.
Climb aboard a river raft and shoot the rapids in a virtual prehistoric
world. Buckle into a motion simulator and ride a roller coaster that
you design. Fly a magic carpet through an ancient city. Phone (407)
828-4600.
House of Blues - Live music and a Sunday Gospel Brunch!
For concert information call (407) 934-2222 or visit their website.
West Side Shops
in Downtown Disney
Candy Cauldron - It looks like a fairy tale dungeon,
but it is really a candy shop full of sweets. Phone (407) 828 1470.
Celebrity Eyeworks Studio - This is a full-service
eyewear boutique that sells designer sunglasses -- some that are exact
replicas of glasses worn by celebrities in popular movies. Phone (407)
827 0110.
DisneyQuest Emporium - This store sells hard-to-find
DisneyQuest merchandise. Phone (407) 828-4600.
Guitar Gallery - More than 150 custom, collector
and rare guitars from all over the world are here. You can also find
an assortment of thousands of guitar accessories, including educational
materials and guitar-theme clothing. Phone (407) 827-0118.
Hoypoloi - Created by Ron Hoy, This store offers
up a gallery of art, glass, ceramics, sculpture and other decorative
items. Phone (407) 827-0112.
Magic Masters - Inspired by the library of Harry
Houdini, this magic shop has a fireplace, a Victorian chandelier,
cherry bookcases stocked with old magic books and lots of memorabilia
They offer live magic demonstrations. There is a Teaching Room where
you can learn how to use the items you purchased and an Illusion Room
where Pepper's Ghost will be demonstrated. Phone (407) 827-5900.
Magnetron - This store has specialty refrigerator
magnets. Not sure why, but the shop place sells no Disney magnets
in this store. You can find a lot of Warner Brother items, however.
Phone (407) 827-0108
Mickey's Groove - lots of Mickey items.
Sosa Family Cigars - Premium cigar store features
the art of hand-rolling cigars. An authentic, solid cedar humidor
room keeps the cigars fresh for a primo smoking experience. Phone
(407) 827-0114.
Starabilias - Restored jukeboxes, vintage Coca-Cola
machines, theme key chains, posters, autographed celebrity photos
and clothing can be found here. Phone (407) 827-0104.
Virgin Megastore
- A huge, state-of-the-art music, video and book store with more than
300 audio and video preview stations. Phone (407) 828-0222.
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Transportation to
Downtown Disney
Resort Guests can get to Downtown Disney by taking Disney
Transportation:
Disney World Bus:
From any of the Disney hotels,
take the bus marked Downtown Disney. Check with your
resort to see what time the bus to Downtown Disney operates. From
Fort
Wilderness, the Downtown Disney bus operates
from the Outpost Depot. There is no direct bus transportation
from any of the theme parks or from the Transportation and Ticket
Center.
There are 2 bus stops once you arrive at Downtown Disney;
one in Pleasure Island, and the West Side.
During the afternoon, do not be surprised if your bus stops at other
locations, such as Typhoon
Lagoon.
There is no bus Stop for the West
Side so be sure to use the Pleasure Island bus
stop.
By Boat: If you are staying at Old
Key West or Port
Orleans you have the option of taking the boat to the Pleasure
Island/West Side area. Make sure to check the departure times of
the last boat back.
On Foot: The only resort close enough to walk is
Saratoga
Springs.
By Cab: Valet or Bell Services
at any Disney hotel will be glad to call a cab for you. At the Swan
and Dolphin,
Valet Services has a car that will take you to Downtown Disney
for $14+ gratuity.
By Car: Pleasure Island is located on Buena Vista
Drive, not far from I-4. From the Magic Kingdom Resorts: Follow World
Drive south to Epcot Center Dr. Heading east on Epcot Center drive,
follow it to Buena Vista Drive and head east. You'll pass Typhoon
Lagoon and the Pleasure Island will be on the left. From the Boardwalk
Inn: Exit your resort onto Buena Vista Drive and head east.
Disney Resort driving directions
To reach the Walt Disney World Main Gate:
From Orlando International
Airport: take OIA South. Exit (FL 417S -
Toll) to Osceola Parkway West (Exit 3) to Walt Disney
World Exits.
From Miami/Ft. Lauderdale: take the Florida
Turnpike North to Osceola Parkway West (Exit
249) to Walt Disney World Exits.
From the Daytona: take I-4 West
to Walt Disney World Exits.
From the Tampa: take I-4 East to
Walt Disney World Exits.
From Interstate 95, U.S. Highway 1
or southbound on the Florida Turnpike: take I-4
West to Walt Disney World Exits.
From northbound on the Florida Turnpike: take Osceola
Parkway which connects with U.S. Highway 192 and Walt Disney
World Resort.
From southbound Interstate 75: take the Florida
Turnpike South to Interstate 4 West to Walt
Disney World Resort Exits.
Disney World Resort is just southwest of
Orlando, off Interstate 4, west of the Florida Turnpike. Use our Disney
World Google Map to find the exact location.
West Side is located
at Downtown Disney, 1780 East Buena Vista Dr, Lake Buena Vista, FL
32830 . The main phone number is (407) 828-3800. You can also call
407-WDW-2NITE for West Side information.
Disney vacations
The least crowded
time to visit is from Labor Day to Thanksgiving and from the week
after President's Day (mid-February) to the start of Spring Break
(mid-March).
You
can definitely make the most of your vacation by staying at one of
the Disney World hotels. If
you do, you will enjoy special benefits such as Magic Hours, discounts
at six Disney
World golf courses, and Walt Disney World quality and service.
But if you choose to stay at one of the many hotels
near Disney World, you can still visit all of the Disney properties
to enjoy the atmosphere, have a meal, or shop. You may be charged
for parking, but you can get validated for up to one hour of parking
for each $10 you spend while you're there.
Some
of the lesser known deluxe priced resorts include
Walt Disney's
Beach
Club, BoardWalk
Inn , Contemporary
and the Yacht
Club hotels.
Disney
sells theme park tickets on their website, but you can not print the
tickets, meaning you must order early and have the tickets mailed
to you. You can also buy tickets through
your local auto club, Disney Store or through a school or work activities
office. Many offsite hotels also sell Disney passports at the front
desk.
I suggest researching
Disney ticket prices in advance,
and buy your pass before you get to the park. No sense wasting the
first hour waiting in line at the ticket booth.
Points of interest
• Magic
Kingdom: 6.65 miles / 10.70 km
• Epcot:
5.75 miles / 9.25 km
• Disney-MGM
Studios: 3.60 miles / 5.80 km
• Animal
Kingdom: 6.55 miles / 10.55 km
• Blizzard
Beach: 4.70 miles / 7.55 km
• Typhoon
Lagoon: 2.10 miles / 3.80 km
• Universal
Studios: 11.80 miles / 19.00 km
• Orlando
International Airport: 17.10
miles / 27.50 km
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