Downtown Disney

Continuing with our Disney adventure...as I mentioned yesterday, one of my favorite parts of staying at the Saratoga Springs resort was its convenient location within walking distance of Downtown Disney. Since we were not planning to visit any parks during our trip to Orlando and also didn't have a rental car, it was fabulous to be able to pop over to shop and grab a meal at Downtown Disney.

We've taken the kids to Downtown Disney twice - both times with a specific budget that they could spend for a souvenir. I must admit, Downtown Disney is much more fun when you are not waiting patiently while your kids put together Build-it-yourself-lightsabers or hug every stuffed animal while trying to decide which one to buy. I probably overcompensated by shopping while I missed them - I found myself constantly taking photos on my phone of things I was sure they'd like so I could decide exactly what to buy them before we left. I love these little guys:

Our favorite place to eat in Downtown Disney was Earl of Sandwich. Never been there before...loved it! I'll warn you that it was quite busy. Mike stood in line while I held a table because it was COLD and we didn't want to eat outside. But the sandwiches were great. I had a hot italian sandwich, which had salami, capicola, ham, cheese and italian dressing. I also tried The Earl's Grey Lemonade, which was lemonade infused with Earl Grey tea...different but good.


We also had a meal at Wolfgang Puck Express, which is also part of the Disney Dining Plan. If I had to pick between the two, I'd recommend Earl of Sandwich over the meal at Wolfgang Puck Express. I had the Meatball and Peppers pizza, which I thought was definitely lacking in meatballs and peppers. Mike had a turkey club sandwich that was good. I did enjoy the key lime tart that we had for dessert.

The first day we were in Florida, it was COLD. It was cold even with our sweatshirts and jackets from home. I ended up forking over almost $70 for a jacket in one Downtown Disney store, just so I could add more layers and stay warm. (And this was nothing more than a black windbreaker with a tiny little "Walt Disney World" stitched onto one pocket. Ugh.) By the end of our trip, the weather had improved dramatically and coats were no longer needed. I normally take a photo of the kids in front of the Lego dragon but Mike agreed to pose instead for this trip.