A new set of filings with the South Florida Water Management District suggest Disney is ready to proceed with major renovations at Walt Disney World's Downtown Disney.
Years have passed since the shuttering of the last Pleasure Island night clubs and announcement of the stillborn Hyperion Wharf makeover. While Disney has battled the stagnant economy and managed to attract a few new tenants like Raglan Road and Splitsville, many of the area's problems remain today: insufficient parking, a poor layout and empty storefronts.
But rumors of an expansive Downtown Disney makeover are finally gaining steam.
Website ThemeParkInsider.com spotted recent filings with the South Florida Water Management District which suggest major changes to the Downtown Disney area. While these filings relate almost exclusively to bodies-of-water in the area (remove one pond, expand another, etc.), they neatly mesh with plans reported by the site ParkRumors.com.
Major physical construction includes two multi-story parking garages--one on the current Marketplace side adjacent to World of Disney and the other near the West End (Cirque du Soleil, DisneyQuest.) Meanwhile the center lots adjacent to Pleasure Island would host expanded bus depots and new Downtown Disney retail space.
Traffic flows would be improved with roadway modifications, perhaps linking one of the new parking structures directly to nearby I-4.
Permits submitted for the water management project cite a project start date of March 2013.
Bear in mind that these are still rumors with no confirmation from Disney. For additional details, visit ThemeParkInsider.com and ParkRumors.com.
Should Disney move forward with some version of this project--in particular, the parking structures--one can only hope that more stringent parking policies will be enacted, too. Off-site guests parking at Downtown Disney (free) and then walking to Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa for transportation to theme parks has placed an increasing burden on the Saratoga Springs bus system since the resort opened in 2004.
