I have nothing against Disney. At all. In fact, I have come around to the idea that it may in fact be The Happiest Place On Earth.
However, I am not The Richest Woman On Earth, and therefore have to limit my exposure to Disney according to my budgetary constraints. But sometimes you need a little Disney, whether your wallet agrees with you or not. (Incidentally, I have this same problem with shoes.)
When that day comes, head to Downtown Disney.
You may also head to Downtown Disney if you have a friend visiting who has never been to Disney but isn’t necessarily interesting in doing Disney in all it’s glory.
Downtown Disney is a shopping, dining and bar district that is family friendly and free to park at, basically. It’s like a really, really great strip mall, if strip malls had giant dragons made of LEGOs in the fountain. (And if Disney made strip malls? That would totally happen.)
What can you do at Downtown Disney? We walked around and took pictures of ourselves in front of funny tourist things. We also grabbed adult beverages while we walked, grabbed a bite to eat at Earl of Sandwich, and caught a movie at the AMC theater. Oh, and we spent a couple of bucks on mini figurines at the LEGO Imagination Center. I don’t think anyone spent more than $20 or $30, and that included food, drinks, souvenirs, and about 4 hours of hanging out time.
Although I did not have my kids with me, I could see spending an afternoon or weekend night here with my kids. There’d be plenty for them to look at. However, I don’t think it would be as easy for me to get away with only spending $2o or $30 if I had kids in tow unless I did the old “maybe for your birthday” trick. As an adult, I’d like to go back some time for a later night out when I have access to a taxi or shuttle and nearby hotel, because some of those bars looked like they’d be a blast. Alas, my relatively inexpensive afternoon at technically Disney was still a good time.
