The Downtown Disney area is under construction and is a hot mess! This past weekend I shopped at Downtown Disney and parked in the new parking garage. The road will be widened and a second parking garage will be built soon.
Disney says “the three- and four-story garages are a key component of a broader transportation overhaul that has been planned as part of the Downtown Disney expansion and will ease chronic traffic congestion in the area. That work includes a new extension off of an Interstate 4 exit ramp that will deposit cars directly into one of the garages.” (Orlando Sentinel) How cool is that? An exit ramp right into the parking garage!
The garage itself is high tech. There is a sign telling you how many parking spaces are available on each level. Once you reach the level of your choice there are signs indicating how many parking spaces are open in each row! Green lights shine above each open space! Handicap spaces, close to the elevators and escalators are available on each level.
As we walked out of the parking garage, near the AMC theater, we were directed all the way down the sidewalk until we allowed to cross near the Cirqe Du Soleil theater due to the construction. This was as far away as we could possibly be from the MarketPlace where we wanted to shop. We caught the water taxi boat that took us across the marina in just a few minutes!
Don’t let the construction scare you off. Downtown Disney is still open for shopping and dining. Once you get past the construction on the roads and the construction near the parking garage everything is wonderful. If you are staying at a Disney resort, be sure to use the bus transportation. Don’t forget about the water taxis if you need to reach the other end of the area.
Parking garage on the left, Planet Hollywood on the right, the hot mess part is in the foreground.
sign at the entrance
22 open spaces in this row
green lights indicate an open space
escalators and elevators take you to the ground level