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Amenities at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
(For the first page of this review of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, click here.)
AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
There are currently 8 official Disney owned and operated deluxe resorts at Walt Disney World.
In their recommended order for first time family visitors, they are
Many of these also offer Disney Vacation Club (“DVC”) studios and villas, all for rent to the general public–here it’s the BoardWalk Villas. See this for more on the Disney Vacation Club resorts.
You enter the BoardWalk Inn into a lovely multi-storied lobby that serves both it and the BoardWalk Villas. Here you’ll find check-in, bell services, concierge services etc. There’s also a small shop. A much bigger shop is downstair and outside.
The lobby has fun chandeliers…
…and amusement park models.
One of the larger gift shops associated with a Disney Resort is entered from the BoardWalk, on the Big River Grille side.
More from the shop, known as “Thimbles and Thread.” Lots of food here, handy especially for the BoardWalk Villas with their many full kitchens.
Here also is the boat service to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You can also walk to either–if walking to the Studios, save a few minutes by cutting past the main pool and picking up the path there.
The Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Downtown Disney and the water parks are served from the bus stop out front. Buses typically are shared with other resorts and take a bit. (Note that of the two self-parking lots at the BoardWalk Inn, the one near here–drive past the bus stop and turn right–is a much shorter walk.)
Near the Yacht Club boat dock across Crescent Lake (take the boat there) you can find watercraft for rent..
And lovely beaches are within walking distance on the near side of the Beach Club.
The lowest floor of the BoardWalk Inn has a gym.
There’s two quiet pools at the BoardWalk. One is nestled within wings of the Villas…
…and you’ll find the other among the courtyards at the Inn.
But most families will find themselves at the main pool, the Luna Park Pool.
THE LUNA PARK POOL AT DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
This review continues here!
PAGES IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
- Summary and overview of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Theming and Accommodations at the BoardWalk Inn
- A Photo-Tour of a Standard Room at the Boardwalk Inn
- Amenities at the BoardWalk Inn
- The Luna Park Pool at the BoardWalk Inn
- Dining at the Boardwalk Inn
OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD
- Where to stay–the Basics
- Where first-timers should stay
- Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them
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July 20, 2014 3 Comments
Next Week (July 19 Through July 27) at Walt Disney World
DISNEY WORLD NEXT WEEK: JULY 19 TO JULY 27, 2014
The material below details operating hours, Extra Magic Hours, parades, and fireworks.
The same stuff is in the image, but organized by park, not by topic.
For more on July 2014 at Walt Disney World, see this.
July 18, 2014 No Comments
Photo Tour of a Standard Room at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
(For the first page of this review of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, click here.)
PHOTO TOUR OF A ROOM AT DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
Standard rooms at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn have similar layouts to those at fellow Epcot Resorts the Yacht Club and Beach Club, and like those come in four person and five person variants–both with two queens, the five person model adding a couch that converts into a bed for one.
Most of the images below are from my December 2018 stay at the BoardWalk Inn, but some are from my five earlier stays–in cases where my most recent shots were too bad even by my low standards.
The entry is typical of hotel rooms accessed from an interior corridor–a bath on one side, closets on the other, separated by a hall that opens into the living/sleeping space beyond.
On the closet side you will find this thingy with a coffee service above and a mini-fridge below.
The supplies are in the small drawer beneath the coffee-maker.
Below that drawer is the mini-fridge.
Aso on this side is this large closet, equipped as usual with a luggage rack, ironing board and iron, and a safe.
I did not measure the safe, but my book is 6 inches by 9 inches–so as you can tell the safe is quite large.
The other side of the closet. Note the ron and ironing board, and above is bedding for the fifth sleeping spot (if it is present in your room).
Across the hall you’ll find the divided bath. Here’s the sinks. The make-up mirror at the right is a recent addition.
Bath toiletries. Standard rooms likely won’t have quite this pile…
The toilet and tub/shower are in their own space.
More toiletries can be found in the corner shelving.
Deeper in the room you’ll find the two beds and a desk on one side. Like most Disney World rooms, these rooms have lost their multi-colored bed runner, diminishing a bit of their charm. In my most recent stay I was upgraded to a club-level room, hence the robes and slippers. Regular rooms don’t get the robes or slippers.
Here’s the bed side from the back of the room…
…and a closer view of one of the queen beds.
Between the beds is a bedside table with a storage shelf under…
…and a drawer large enough for your important books.
The desk includes a rolling table underneath which can serve for typing, dining, or playing games with the kids–I’ve pulled it out a bit here so you can see it better.
There’s some charming detail–Mickey and Minnie here on the back of the desk chair…
…and Minnie in the lamp base.
The other side of the room has a TV/dresser thingy, and a couch that converts into a bed. Rooms with a connecting door put it on the left where the coat rack is, and the coat rack moves to the closet wall at the far left.
The TV side from the back corner.
A closer view of the dresser/TV thingy. The 54 inch TV is a recent addition–these rooms used to have a smaller TV, encased by an upper extension to the dresser.
With six drawers and two cupboards, there’s plenty of storage room for the five people this room will hold.
The small thingy you see at top center is our “welcome back” gift of Ganachery chocolate and a note. Disney World is getting better at tracking and acknowledging repeat visits. With my more than 160 stays, they oughta name a room after me…
I should also note that there’s lots of power points in these rooms, both plug and USB. There’s two sets of them on the dresser, more on the desk, and another set on the bedside table.
Next to the dresser is this couch.
…which flips down into a bed. Bed-belts (I don’t know what else to call them) keep the bedding organized while it flips down.
I measured the cushion as 72 inches long, with two or three more inches of toe-wiggling room. Mattress width is 32 inches, and the cushion is 4 inches+ deep. I had no trouble sleeping on it except that it’s a little short for my height.
There’s some fun wall art that picks up the light carnival theme of the rest of the BoardWalk Inn–this carousel…
…and this boardwalk scene.
Beyond the couch is this balcony.
The view from the balcony on one of our stays.
Some higher courtyard-view rooms have views of the higher parts of the Epcot fireworks. The image above is from one of our rooms with such a view. These are not a separately bookable category, but you can request them over the phone.
These rooms are nicely proportioned and nicely decorated. They fit a family of five perfectly well.
AMENITIES AT DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
This review continues here!
PAGES IN THIS REVIEW OF DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
- Summary and overview of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Theming and Accommodations at the BoardWalk Inn
- A Photo-Tour of a Standard Room at the Boardwalk Inn
- Amenities at the BoardWalk Inn
- The Luna Park Pool at the BoardWalk Inn
- Dining at the Boardwalk Inn
OTHER KEY PAGES FOR WHERE TO STAY AT DISNEY WORLD
- Where to stay–the Basics
- Where first-timers should stay
- Reviews of all the Disney World resorts, based on my 160+ stays in them
Follow yourfirstvisit.net on Facebook or Twitter or Pinterest!!
July 17, 2014 4 Comments
Review: Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S BOARDWALK INN
Note: guests at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn are eligible for Disney World’s Early Entry program, and have the ability to pre-book as early as seven days before check-in Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass rides. They are also eligible for its Extended Evening Hours.
Our most recent stay (in December, our sixth at the BoardWalk Inn since I started this site) confirms that Disney’s BoardWalk Inn, one of the Epcot resorts, is the eighth best deluxe resort at Walt Disney World for first time family visitors.
(It can be a great choice for returning visitors, especially for a trip focused on Epcot and/or Disney’s Hollywood Studios.)
You can have a wonderful visit at any Walt Disney World resort hotel.
However, this site recommends that first time visitors to Walt Disney World who can afford it should stay at Disney’s Polynesian Resort, a deluxe resort, and that those who can’t should stay at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, a value resort.
(It also suggests that first time visitors should avoid the moderate resorts, while noting that these resorts are wonderful for visits after the first. See this for why.)
Compared to other Walt Disney World owned and operated resorts, the deluxe resorts are distinguished by having (on average) the most amenities, nicest views, best dining options, best transport options, largest rooms, best service, and highest prices.
Many are also paired with Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resorts. For a review of the BoardWalk Inn’s sister DVC resort, Disney’s BoardWalk Villas, click here.
Among the deluxe resorts, Disney’s BoardWalk Inn has a lot of positives.
- It has a fun pool, though not nearly as good as the one its Epcot neighbors the Yacht Club and Beach Club share
- It shares with the Yacht Club and the Beach Club Inn convenient access to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and
- It shares with these resorts a short walk to dozens of table service dining options located in these resorts, at the Swan and Dolphin, on the BoardWalk, and in Epcot.
It also has a couple of negatives, also largely shared with the Yacht and Beach Clubs. It’s thin on kid appeal compared to other options, is not as convenient for this site’s itineraries as some alternative resorts (although it is very well located for visits focused on Epcot and/or Disney’s Hollywood Studios), and has limited counter service in general and especially limited breakfast options.
The breakfast issue is better than it has been in the past…see the image…but it’s still not as good as many guests would expect.
(See this for much more on resort distinctions by price class–value, moderate, deluxe, etc.)
In total this review of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn covers six pages:
- Summary Review of the BoardWalk Inn–where you are right now
- Theming and Accommodations at the BoardWalk Inn
- A Photo-Tour of a Standard Room at the Boardwalk Inn
- Amenities at the BoardWalk Inn
- The Luna Park Pool at the BoardWalk Inn
- Dining at the Boardwalk Inn
The summary review continues below.
July 17, 2014 7 Comments
Disney Community Begins to React to The easy Guide
Since we didn’t do anything as sophisticated as sending out review copies of The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit prior to publication, reviews have been a little slow to come in.
But they are now showing up!!
Today Heidi Strawser at (in?) Heidi’s Head published this review, and last week Janice Brady at The Adult Side of Disney published this one.
More are coming, I’ve heard, later this week and on through July.
Moreover, Josh did a call-in show on WDW News Today (no archive that I can find), Josh and I did an interview about the book on National Public Radio available here, and I recorded a podcast last night with Kathy Kelly for the Special Mouse podcast which should be released next week.
Meanwhile the reviews on Amazon are starting to build, too–we hit 50 reviews yesterday, 48 with five-star rankings.
Want to see what all the fuss is about? Then get your own copy by clicking the link: The easy Guide to Your First Walt Disney World Visit!!
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July 16, 2014 1 Comment
February 2015 at Walt Disney World
OVERVIEW: FEBRUARY 2015 AT DISNEY WORLD
This page reviews February 2015 Walt Disney World crowds, prices, deals and discounts, weather, and operating hours; adds a few other notes; and ends with week by week summaries.
Early February 2015 will have some of the lowest crowds and prices of the year, but also the risk of ride closures.
The end of the month brings slightly higher prices and crowds, but better weather and few closures.
In between–the period from Thursday the 12th through Sunday the 22nd–we will see high crowds and high prices.
July 15, 2014 4 Comments
