WHERE TO DINE AT DISNEY SPRINGS - Crazy Life with Littles

Disney Springs contains some of the best restaurants with over 60 dining options, tons of shopping and activities for the kids! Sip on late night drinks, have dessert 24/7 and feast on award-winning chef plates right in Mickey’s backyard!

Downtown Disney went through a massive transformation within the past few years becoming the new and improved Disney Springs. Disney Springs has some of the best restaurants and stores around! With endless dining options, live music and shopping, you can seriously spend an entire day here. On our last trip to Disney Springs we had dinner at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ and cooled down with an afternoon treat at Vivoli Il Gelato.

If you’re visiting Disney World or planning to visit in the near future, be sure to schedule a stop at Disney Springs. We arrived early and decided to spend a few hours at Disney Springs before our check-in at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. The kids could have spent WAY more time here. They had a blast digging their way through the Paleo Zone at T-Rex, uncovering hidden bones in the dinosaur dig area in front of the restaurant, off the gift shop. You do not need to dine here in order to play!

After our paleontologists were done digging, we headed over to Vivoli Il Gelato to cool down with an authentic Italian treat. This is a family owned shop with the only other location being in Florence, Italy! You can choose from a variety of cookies, pastries, Italian gelati, sorbetti, drinks and more!

Walk off your treats, shop and be sure to head over to the LEGO Store where kids can build at the hands-on play tables. You’ll find some of the kids favorite characters made out of bricks ready for photo opps!

The great thing about Disney Springs is the parking is FREE! So we left for a bit to check into our resort, get changed and headed back for dinner at Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’. If you aren’t driving, you can easily take a bus to your hotel/resort or try out the new Minnie Van Service powered through the Lyft app! (My friend Shannan talks all about this service in her latest post – What’s With Those Minnie Vans Around Walt Disney World?)

Chef Art Smith’s Homecomin’ has the BEST farm-to-fork, southern style meals. The fried chicken is so crispy and delicious! I also tried grits for the first time ever (Shrimp & Grits) and wondered why I waited so long. They were so creamy and piled with pan-seared shrimp in a tomato gravy. We also sampled Momma’s Mac and Cheese, Creamy Mashed Potatoes, and the KC Greens. I’m almost positive you can’t go wrong with anything you order here! The chef holds awards for his dishes and it’s no wonder why!