WDW Daily News

A closer look at permits give an idea of what Disney Springs’ The Edison restaurant may look like.

Full Story

Take a look at the holiday decorations around Disney Springs.

Disney Springs receives a sprinkle of holiday magic as the shopping and entertainment location is transformed into a festive wonderland for the holiday season. With familiar favorites, new seasonal offerings and sparkling décor reflective of the unique Disney Springs neighborhoods, Holidays at Disney Springs will dazzle guests as they complete their seasonal shopping and enjoy the dining and entertainment offerings available during this cheerful time of year.

Just in time for the holiday shopping season … World of Disney in Disney Springs Marketplace at Walt Disney World® Resort has recently transformed into a larger, more spacious shopping experience.

With an additional 6,000 square feet of retail selling space, World of Disney now features a new entrance, centralized register locations, a new information desk and other interior changes.

Make sure to check out the newly expanded merchandise location on your next visit to Walt Disney World Resort.

Disney Springs receives a sprinkle of holiday magic as the shopping and entertainment location is transformed into a festive wonderland for the holiday season. With familiar favorites, new seasonal offerings and sparkling décor reflective of the unique Disney Springs neighborhoods, Holidays at Disney Springs will dazzle guests as they complete their seasonal shopping and enjoy the dining and entertainment offerings available during this cheerful time of year.

Holiday Décor

Each neighborhood has been transformed into a unique holiday wonderland for the season’s greetings, each reflecting the neighborhood’s role in the Disney Springs waterfront town.

The Marketplace décor will make guests feel right at home with wreaths and trees with a handmade touch. This colorful, authentic atmosphere is the ideal inspiration while shopping for loved ones.

The Landing is decked out in a bit more illustrious style, with silver and gold décor amidst the glittering holiday lights. With a slight modern flare, the metallic decorations fit the theme of this industrial neighborhood.

Guests will be transported to a magical winter wonderland as they visit the West Side neighborhood at Disney Springs. The vibrant blue ornaments, beautiful white holiday lights, and contemporary Christmas trees will bring holiday cheer to shoppers of all ages.

Holiday Entertainment

In addition to the yuletide décor, Disney Springs treats guests to special entertainment offerings throughout the neighborhoods.

The Marketplace is filled with the sights and sounds of the season as Holiday Carolers perform favorite Christmas tunes from 6-10 p.m. each evening from Nov. 13- Dec. 30. The Marketplace holiday celebration continues with a special Kwanzaa musical group appearing at the Waterside Stage Dec. 26 – 27.

Also at the Marketplace, guests can visit Santa Claus to share their Christmas wish. The Chalet is in a new location this year by the Waterside Stage, where guests can meet Santa Nov. 13 – Dec. 24 from 12-10:30 p.m. For the second year, guests will be given a pager for a virtual queue so that they can continue their holiday shopping and be paged once it’s their turn to meet St. Nick. From Dec. 25-29, Santa Goofy will greet guests during the same hours in the Chalet location.

Waterview Park at The Landing gives guests the chance to learn about and experience the story of Hanukkah through music. Showtimes are scheduled throughout the evenings of Dec. 6 – 13.

In addition to the jolly musical offerings, guests will be astounded by the Holiday Stilt Walkers appearing throughout Disney Springs from 6-10 p.m. each evening from Nov. 13 – Dec. 30.

Shopping

The World of Disney store at the Marketplace is the world’s largest shopping destination for all-things Disney. The recently-expanded location offers a vast assortment of Disney merchandise including plush toys, clothing, Mickey Mouse hats and trading pins. The new Disney Parks Castle Play Set also is available at World of Disney and is the perfect surprise for little princesses.

Disney Springs offers unique gift ideas that are exclusive to this premier shopping location. Ladies with a passion for fashion will appreciate a one-of-a-kind, personalized pair of flip-flops from havaianas, a hand-painted pair of TOMS shoes from Curl, or a stylish hat from Chapel Hats. A custom-designed phone case from D-Tech on Demand is the perfect stocking-stuffer. As for gifts for gentlemen, visit the new Twenty Eight & Main location at the Marketplace for exclusive Disney Parks gentleman’s apparel, accessories, and more.

For presents that sparkle and shine, consider the popular Pandora, Alex & Ani or Crislu jewelry. Dooney & Bourke and Vera Bradley bags add a touch of Disney design. The new Disney Boutique collection, which offers beautiful women’s apparel and accessories for dedicated Disney fans, can be found at TrenD in the Disney Springs Marketplace.

Sweet treats make for delicious holiday surprises. Opening in mid-December, The Ganachery offers rich, hand-crafted chocolate ganache with beautiful custom packaging. Ghirardelli Ice Cream & Chocolate Shop also offers tasty chocolate treats and hot chocolates to sweeten this special time of year.

Disney Gift Cards give the gift of Disney magic to everyone this holiday season. Disney Gift Cards are accepted at many Disney Springs shopping locations and all Disney Springs restaurants, including the recently opened Morimoto Asia, Jock Lindsey’s Hangar Bar and The BOATHOUSE.

Dining

In addition to a sleigh full of holiday shopping and entertainment, Disney Springs also offers special Christmas Day meals.

• Fulton’s Crab House will feature a special surf- and turf menu, which includes braised short ribs and Alaska King crab with loaded mashed potatoes, crispy Brussels sprouts, lardons, and cabernet demi ($45 per person).
• Portobello Country Italian Trattoria will offer a delectable three-course meal, including a filet with roasted garlic whipped potatoes and sweet cannoli for dessert ($50 per person).
• For families looking for a classic feast in honor of the festive celebration, Planet Hollywood and Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant will offer a delicious turkey dinner with all the fixings to make guests feel right at home.
• Wolfgang Puck Express will feature a tender oven-roasted pork chop with mashed potatoes and broccolini finished with a special holiday dessert ($15 per person).
• The beautiful upstairs dining room at Wolfgang Puck Grand Café hosts an elaborate holiday feast, with a three-course meal complete with a wine selection. Guests will enjoy a savory watercress salad, followed by Colorado rack of lamb and concluded with a bittersweet chocolate ganache ($75 per person).

For dining reservations, please call 407-WDW-DINE or visit Disneyworld.com/dining.

To view a full list of the “Holidays at Disney Springs” festivities and to learn more about the exciting shopping and dining experiences at Disney Springs, visit disneysprings.com.

Take a look at the new Disney Springs Map.

Celebrity Chef Art Smith is bringing a taste of real Florida to a new restaurant opening in summer 2016 at Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort.

Homecoming: Florida Kitchen and Southern Shine will showcase the cuisine of Chef Smith, who was born and reared in the town of Jasper, Fla., on the Florida-Georgia border. After 25 years of preparing award-winning meals for celebrities and heads of state and appearing on television, he is making Florida his home once again.

With farm-to-fork cuisine that showcases the bounty of Florida, and design inspired by turn-of-the century Florida architecture of the late 1800s, Homecoming will feature traditional Southern favorites with sophisticated, chef-inspired creations. The 6,000-square-foot, 200-seat restaurant “is where Florida heritage meets New Southern cuisine,” explains Smith.

“I couldn’t be happier about coming back to Florida and Walt Disney World Resort,” he continues. “To be able to prepare the food I love in the place where I have so many special memories is a dream come true.” Smith is a sixth generation Floridian, and his family still raises cattle, pecans and heirloom vegetables on their ancestral farm.

Smith says he is especially pleased with the restaurant’s Disney Springs connection, as he recalls summertime gatherings at the springs in the Northern part of Florida, casual get-togethers known as “homecomings” when family and friends gathered to share Southern specialties, enjoy homemade desserts and maybe sip a hand-crafted cocktail under the shade of live oak trees.

“Once we heard the story of his passion for Florida and his vision for the restaurant, we knew that it was a perfect match” said George Kalogridis, president of Walt Disney World Resort. “We’re thrilled to welcome Chef Art back to the state and share his spirit of Homecoming with our guests from around the world.”

Homecoming Cuisine

“The menu is a big part of my ongoing homage to Florida’s bygone era,” explains Smith.  “We will proudly and prominently support the Fresh from Florida campaign and the vast majority of our seafood, produce, poultry and beef will be from local farms, ranches or fisheries.”

The “rustic-chic” restaurant has a glass-walled show kitchen and the Southern Shinebar that celebrates an era where characters might have created some homegrown spirits on their homesteads just beyond the springs.  The bar will feature whimsical cocktails, punches and coolers, including some made with now-legal variations of moonshine.

Smith’s expertise is all over the menu from Southern favorites like homemade pimento cheese, Church Lady deviled eggs, low country shrimp and grits, kale salad with Sweet Grass Dairy cheese and spiced pecans and a grilled Blackstrap pork chop with sawmill gravy. “Each dish has a little Florida twist and makes guests feel like they’re on the back porch with me for every meal,” says Smith.

Desserts will be a specialty, with cakes, pies and delectable sweets made daily and shipped from a bakery in Hamilton County, including the restaurant’s signature Mockingbird Cake. “Southern women, using delicious ingredients and love, are the world’s best bakers,” explains Art.

Disney Springs is a one-of-a-kind Disney experience, treating guests by day and night to great dining, shopping and entertainment amid beautiful open-air promenades, flowing springs and waterfront charm. With an air of sophisticated grace and design that harkens to Florida’s waterfront towns at the turn-of-the-century, Disney Springs is home to four distinct, outdoor neighborhoods opening in phases: The Landing, Town Center, Marketplace and West Side. When fully completed in 2016, Disney Springs will double the number of shopping, dining and entertainment venues – from the current 70 to approximately 150.

Disney Springs is part of the Walt Disney World Resort, the number one family vacation destination in the world, located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

If you’re a Disney World fan, you know the sprawling entertainment complex next to the theme parks as “Downtown Disney” and “Pleasure Island.”

Full Story

Chef Rick Bayless, a six-time James Beard Foundation winner, is bringing Frontera Fresco, his table-service Mexican restaurant concept, to Disney Springs, the new dining, shopping and entertainment district at Walt Disney World Resort.

Opening in Summer 2016, Frontera Fresco will showcase the gourmet Mexican cuisine that has made Chef Bayless a culinary legend.

“I’m thrilled to bring Frontera Fresco to Disney Springs and share my passion for Mexican cuisine with the families who visit Orlando every year,” Bayless said.

The new restaurant will feature authentic Mexican specialties such as hand-crafted tortas, tacos, salads, fresh-made guacamole and classic Mexican braised meat entrees, all prepared from time-honored recipes with natural, locally sourced ingredients. Frontera Fresco also will serve an extensive selection of margaritas, cocktails and craft beers and wine.

“Working with Chef Bayless to bring this fresh dining concept to the new Disney Springs is a joy for us, and we can’t wait for guests to experience it,” said Richard Debler, president and chief executive officer of Vista Springs.

Philadelphia-based Daroff Design is designing the nearly 6,000-square-foot space, which will seat 200 guests. Vista Springs LLC will be the restaurant operator.

Take a look at the ongoing construction around Disney Springs.