The 'View' at Downtown Disney

by Gaylin

While I was on vacation in May, I spent some time at Downtown Disney. It appears I have bad luck when it comes to choosing a time to visit WDW, a lot of the construction walls that were up when I was there are now down, and the stores are open. But me, I got to see construction walls . . . starting with the new Starbucks on the Westside.

And by the Cirque du Soleil there will be a food truck park. This hasn't opened yet but it has quite a big area to park in.

Behind these walls is more of the Food Truck Park. 

The Co-op looks like a great store, I would have loved to have seen it . . .

I have no idea what they are building with this huge crane near Fulton's or if it is a staging area for construction supplies to be brought in from the water rather than through Downtown.

 

As you can see, in front of T-Rex, it does look like a staging ground for construction supplies. If anyone knows if this is a staging area or a new build - let me know!

Behind Planet Hollywood is where the new parking lot is going in and it is huge! Most of the west side parking lot is closed for construction vehicles so if you need to park at Downtown - good luck.

Downtown Disney is going to be renamed Disney Springs at some point and this is the construction drawing of what that new parking structure is going to look like.

Here you can see that it is quite close to the Westside, here by Splitsville is about the centre of the parking structure.

This is the front of the World of Disney, where the other Starbucks is. Again, not open when I was there, opened shortly after I got home. I was quite surprised to see it sitting front and centre of the store. It is a walk-up location, no seating available. I wonder if the Starbucks craze ever ends, this location was chosen to make it easy to switch out to a Disney branded coffee shop or other food service area.

And finally, some silliness. Me and Lego Princess Sofie in the Lego store. Yep, she stayed still for a selfie!!!

And Cinderella for another selfie, she is so pretty and loves getting her picture taken.

T-Rex in Downtown Disney

By: Jacqueline aka Jersey Diva 

While planning our Disney trip last year, we knew we wanted to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party one night.  Knowing we would be having a late night we decided we would spend the morning/afternoon in Downtown Disney.  While making our dining reservations, I wanted to be sure to include something for my nephew, having already planned on a Princess meal for my daughters and niece.  T-Rex it is!

Upon entering, we were greeted by a dinosaur.  My nephew was in heaven!  

Jersey Nephew with his new friend

The entire restaurant is like something out of history. Everything was beautifully well done.

  

This jelly fish would move up and down like it was real.

On to the food.  The food was out of this world amazing!  The menu goes right along with the theme of the restaurant. There are appetizers like Brachiosaurus Bruschette, Ptersaur Wings, Megalosaurus Mozzerella among other yummy choices.  For the herbivores out there, T-Rex offers salads such as the Jurassic Salad, Omnivore's Delight, Pteradactyl Salad and more!  I ordered the Cretaceous Chicken Fried Steak and it was beyond delicious!  The waffle fries are out of this world!  The other adults in my group all ordered the Boneyard Buffet which included Fire Roasted Rotisserie Chicken and Ribs. These are only two of the items listed on this menu. Diners have a choice of chicken, ribs, steak, hamburgers and seafood.  Jersey Sister and Jersey Mom each ordered a specialty drink, Prehistoric Sunset, which came in a souvenir glass.

You don't have to take our word for it but based on atmosphere, food and overall experience we give T-Rex 20 thumbs up!  We all enjoyed the entire experience and will be sure to go back on our next trip. 

Happy eating!!

This article was originally posted on the Tips From the Disney Divas and Devos Blog, where Jersey Diva is a contributing writer.