In the most basic sense of the word this is correct, but I have never been to any other “mall” that has the number of quality TS and QS restaurants, multiple live music “street” venues, lakeside dining, boat shuttles, and some truly unique shopping options mixed in with the “typical” mall fare. I’ve been to DLR many times and I agree with your assessment of DTD there; it’s a convenient place to grab a meal outside of the parks. DS is, without exaggeration, 4 times the size of DLR’s DTD, and the three distinctly different themed sections and the waterfront location really put it in an entirely different class…
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Hearing Disney Springs described as being like Universal CityWalk somewhat puts me off.
It occurs to me it’s probably similar to Disney Village at Disneyland Paris — which is an area I’ve purposefully walked through on my way to the parks, looking neither right nor left.
It’s going to depend on how fired up on adrenaline I am when I arrive. And how early I get to Pop. All my sensible instincts are telling me to just stay in the resort area. Maybe chill out with some room service and try to get an early night.
It seems unlikely that I’ll find an FPP for SDD on arrival night, but I could try my luck and see what happens. Or maybe I’ll get an FPP for Na’vi and have dinner at Satu’li. That’s a relatively chilled start to the trip that ticks off a couple of items. I probably won’t get an FPP for FOP for arrival night so choosing Na’vi won’t seem like a waste. (Though my experience is that the lines aren’t that long at night. Maybe I’ll ride it twice! I like it!) Since Satu’li is QS, there’s no stress with booking it, or paying a penalty if I don’t show because I don’t get there in time or decide not to go. I like this plan.
As for the Tomorrowland Terrace dessert party — it’s true that I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on the budget this time. That being said, I have set up a “Disney naughty account” to save for extravagances such as dessert parties and I’m funding it with the proceeds of selling things on eBay and so on. But it will be quite a long time before I could book it, so who knows what my thinking will be then.
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Love the “Disney naughty account”!
DTD at DLR is very much like a Disney version of Uni’s CityWalk; DS at WDW is much larger and has a lot more to offer.
For most people facing a vacation full of early days, it’s a great advantage flying east to west. I wouln’t try to fight the internal clock too much by going to a park on the day of arrival because being on UK time will be helpful for as long as it lasts. So I’d advise sticking with the original plan.
DS is a way to get a little Disney magic when there’s not time or inclination to go to a park. Or maybe consider the Boardwalk area around Crescent Lake. I’d make an ADR at a nice place to celebrate having arrived. From both DS & the Boardwalk you can also ride ferries just for fun. Then make it an “early” night & be ready to go the next day.
No. Disney Springs isn’t like Citywalk. I think Cathy was assuming it would be similar to Citywalk. But it isn’t. It is way bigger, with much more.
Disney Springs is really nothing like CityWalk.
So, in theory, would it be possible to get a FP for FoP, ride Navi, and have dinner at Satu’li? Asking for a friend😉 I’ve been wondering how to structure our AK day, and that sounds lovely. We wanted to try ROL as well, however, so not sure how that fits?
I personally like a relaxed arrival day. When my sister and I went in 2017, we got settled into our hotel and then in the evening went to Disney Springs. The food options there are widespread and very good. It is a really nice atmosphere and there is shopping and a REALLY good chocolate shop. However, we didn’t make a reservation for our arrival night, so we did mostly quick service/food windows. It would have been nice to have a table service reservation. When my best friend and I go in Spring 2019, we plan to check in to the hotel and then go to Disney Springs for a late supper at Raglan Road.
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Similar in scope, setting, or level of relaxation you can find there? No way.
Disney Village was an area to be traversed, perhaps look sideways to see if anything catches my eye.
Disney Springs is a space that that I will take the time to visit on my off day, willingly, in ways that I would not at DV.
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I would go to Disney Springs, sit down outside somewhere with a glass of wine and a lounge snack or two (Paddlefish rooftop bar is nice, so is the outdoor bar at the Boathouse), enjoy some live entertainment and just soak up the atmosphere. Perhaps hit Amorette’s or the Sprinkles cupcake ATM before heading back for an early-ish night. 
Virgin must be reading this thread, they’ve changed my 12.45pm outbound to 11.10am, I’m delighted! Not quite as happy with the 7pm departure instead of 7.55pm but I’ll take it.
Sounds like the Brits’ way of touring arrival day/night could be the most sensible for you.
We fly down from New England, but since we leave house or hotel very early (4am ish) for very early flights, we’re usually tuckered out by afternoon arrival. If we had extra day park ticket, extra fpps, tho, we’d go to park I guess.
But b/c of time difference, if we were flying from UK, I think we’d do as the Brits are mentioning here.
Our way of relaxing arrival is enjoying Dolphin pool, strolling Boardwalk, having a CS dinner somewhere there.
I’m another one who’s not a fan of DS, once and done for me. That said, I know a lot of people really like it, for the food choices and the shops.
I saw ^ that someone else mentioned visiting the Boardwalk. It’s what we do, not a bad choice even if not staying there. we’ve always enjoyed sitting by the water, having relaxing dinner at Pizza Window. Unfortunately, this month’s trip’s pizza was disappointing, 1st time ever, oh well, things change @Disney_496570.
We always mean to stick around for the entertainers (jugglers, magicians etc) that arrive around 8pm, but we’re always too tired to last that long haha! You may be able to stay up longer than us though.
Aren’t a lot of CS choices on the Boardwalk. I can safely recommend Fountain at the Dolphin, decent burger type food in a nice setting. I think Kimonos @Swan has a bar there, so can probably show up without an adr.
Not sure how deluxe dining plan affects ^ food choices. Others may have better ideas for you on using that plan wisely. Of course, Dolphin/Swan are excluded from plan since not Disney owned.
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I only see 1 Brit saying “you shouldn’t go to a park but you will anyway” and the rest of us saying don’t do it. I don’t think most Brits go to a park on arrival day, I don’t know many who would have the energy - we’ve usually been up and travelling for at least 15 hours by the time we get to the resort and we live close to the airport. All I want to do is sleep!
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But this is a Disney vacation…there’s not TIME to sleep! 
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That’s what arrival night is for! After that there are 14 fun filled days on the go.
Having thought about all your responses, I’m going to go with my Three Options plan.
I’ll set up an AK evening with an FPP for Na’vi, with dinner at Satu’li. I’ll give myself the option of exploring DS, with a spontaneous (!) dinner somewhere as the mood takes me. And I’ll allow myself to just explore the resort and then get an early night. Ready for a big day in MK the following day.
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