Iconic Disney World area Crossroads Shopping center set to close

This August, things will start to look much different outside of the Walt Disney World resort. Specifically by Hotel Plaza Blvd. in Lake Buena Vista. The iconic Crossroads Shopping Center is being shuttered to make room for a new interchange.

Without going into all the legalese of this closure, what do know is that the state of Florida in an eminent domain lawsuit that has been going on for a couple of years now has settled with the tenants and owners of the shopping area. As part of this agreement, the businesses have until August of 2021 to operate. The state will then take over the space and destroy it.

The I4 Ultimate project will introduce a new interchange in that area. For those who drive I-4 consistently, it’s always a mess with traffic. The project calls for new construction from Kirkland Road out to the John Young Parkway.

Disney originally owned the area and it was at one time, part of the entire area but over the years, ownership has changed. The shopping center sits across Hotel Plaza Blvd. where many non-Disney owned hotels are located. This road also leads to the Disney Springs area.

Among the businesses that will be forever lost are the Pirates Cove Putt-Putt course, Sweet Tomatoes, Fuddruckers, Buffalo Wild Wings, and the only Taco Bell and McDonald’s near that part of the Disney parks.

Disney guests are speaking out against it but there is nothing they can do. It’s a bittersweet situation. On one hand, for many of us older Disney guests, we remember the center during its heyday but as adults, we now realize that the traffic is so congested getting into and out of the Lake Buena Vista area that something needed to be done.