Downtown Disney

I did post a little about my disappointment with Downtown Disney on the regular blog, some of which was not its fault. If the day had gone differently, it would probably have been better.

http://sporkful.blogspot.com/2013/02/it-was-not-quite-best-valentines-day.html

We have joked before how Disneyland is like Las Vegas for adults. Downtown Disney is kind of the Disney version of Vegas. That is partly because it is all about the entertainment and shopping, Also, everything is huge.

We started at the very large Rainforest Cafe, right by the mammoth ESPN Zone. I had been to a Rainforest Cafe in Las Vegas, and I admit this one was better. There were more animatronics and we had at least one simulated thunderstorm there. However, the food was expensive and indifferent, and there are way better animatronics all over the park. If you are not right near Disneyland, it probably is a treat; I wanted to go ride rides. Julie and Maria did like it, though only one of them liked the food she ordered. It may be best to stick to appetizers or desserts.

Our next stop was the Lego store. This was probably the coolest to look in, because they have all of these amazing Lego creations, inside and outside of the store. If you are into Legos, the ability to build your own figs and have an amazing selection of all sizes, shapes, and colors of pieces that you can buy in your specific desired quantities, that's probably pretty cool too, though I bet it's expensive.

On to Build-A-Bear! As a kindergarten teacher, Maria visits the local one on a regular basis, but this one was exciting because they carry the Build-A-Dino line, which is not everywhere. It was a tough choice, but Maria decided to build a woolly mammoth.

Right next to Build-A-Bear is Ridemakerz, which seems to basically Build-A-RC-Car-or-Truck. It seems like a cool idea, and I guess it's convenient if your children follow strict gender stereotypes.

The only other store we went in this time was the DisneyQuest Emporium, which I think you at least need to look at. It is huge, and has all kinds of things. It did not have any comics though. I had read somewhere Downtown Disney had a cool comic book shop, and could not find proof, and something else online seemed to indicate that there was a Marvel section in the Emporium. That is also not true. However, you can find any type of Disney clothing, toys, accessories, and collectibles. All of which would have been great if I was into shopping.

If you like shopping, Downtown Disney does have cool and interesting stuff, and there certainly is a larger than life aspect to it. I would just rather ride rides.

It does take on a different aspect at night. They will have live bands playing, and suddenly without the glaring of day, the flames and spotlights give things more of a carnival atmosphere. I would probably do that again, and get funnel cake, or ice cream, and just listen to the music.

We have also gone to the movies there a few times, and we always check the House of Blues schedule to see if something we want to see will be there while we are. So far it hasn't worked out, but you never know. There is always another trip. (But we go for the parks!)