Last Night at Downtown Disney

Last night we went to Downtown Disney to check out the Splitsville Luxury Lanes which opened last spring.

Splitsville, which has a wonderful retro design throughout the building, is both a bowling alley and a gourmet burger restaurant.

The bowling lanes are scattered throughout the building in small groupings, which both reduces noise and gives each area a cozy, private feel.

The menu was definitely on the pricey side, with the burgers starting at $18, but my Disney annual pass discount helped a little...

...and wow, that was a *good* burger!! Lots of flavor and definitely worth the splurge. I doubt we'd eat there often due to the prices -- that's like eight or nine times the cost of a basic burger at In-N-Out Burger! -- but we had a great experience and will definitely return.

We were able to watch the first part of Game 3 of the World Series on the wall next to our table; then we did a quick bit of shopping and hurried home to watch the rest of the game. It turned out we didn't need to worry too much, as we got home about 6:30 p.m. -- and the game went on for another 6 hours! It turned out to be the longest game, in terms of both time and innings, in World Series history. And the Dodgers won in the 18th inning!!

Salt & Straw ice cream just opened...we plan to try it next time we visit Downtown Disney.

The World of Disney store officially reopened yesterday after a lengthy remodel.

It has a very different, dressed down "look" compared to the old store, which supposedly will provide more of a blank "canvas" for rotating displays.

There's a fictional "story" behind the building; the Imagineer who created the backstory explained to the Orange County Register that "Walt Disney, the story goes, purchased the shuttered bus depot in the 1940s as a satellite studio for his animators, where they worked until the late 1980s." And now it's a store. Okay then!

I liked the ink and paint jars which ostensibly are left over from when it was an animation building. Periodically there's a digital "show" here with Tinker Bell.

And I love this "Dashing Down Main Street USA" t-shirt! I'd seen it online and made it a point to go pick one up.

After a quick stop at Sprinkles Cupcakes it was time to head home to the Dodgers and our very long but exciting and historic night of watching baseball.

Have a great weekend!