UPDATED BOARDWALK REVIEW 5/28/19 HERE
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we kicked off summer with a Disney land and sea trip! We drove down on a Friday afternoon and stayed at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn & Villas until Monday morning. This was our first time staying at Boardwalk and it immediately became a favorite!
The waterfront resort embodies the charm and whimsy of turn-of-the-century Atlantic City. The lobby is luxurious and inviting, with tasteful theming. And, not only do you have immediate access to everything that the Boardwalk has to offer, but the resort is within easy walking distance (or a quick boat ride) to both Epcot and Hollywood Studios! This is a fantastic location for a trip with older kids (mine are 7 and 10) where Magic Kingdom isn’t your main focus. It’s also great for a trip like ours where we weren’t going into the theme parks at all!
We used our Disney Vacation Club points (I know I owe y’all a post on that) to stay in a lake view studio (similar to a regular hotel room type of accommodation). The room was pretty nice for Disney standards – tasteful furnishings, plenty of room for us, and no wallpaper borders (lol). Rather than having two queen beds, studios have a queen bed, a sleeper sofa, and a twin murphy bed. We love this set up because it gives more room for moving around during the day and allows both kids their own bed at night.
The murphy bed pulls down from where the little table and chairs are to reveal a Dumbo theme. So darling!
The studios contain a basic kitchenette in addition to the standard mini fridge. We usually eat our breakfast in the room so it is a nice amenity.
The bathroom area had one sink and was nicely updated. The potty and shower were in a separate room and have not been updated like the rest of the studio.
Now, what really blew us away was the view!!!!!!!!! Other than the savanna view at Animal Kingdom Lodge, this is the best we’ve ever had. The atmosphere out here was just fantastic. Since we only did one water park day and had lots of time at the resort, we loved sitting on our balcony and people watching. We were surprised at just how quiet the Boardwalk is during the day!
That’s Spaceship Earth peeking out over the trees!
We spent three nights at Boardwalk and watched the Epcot fireworks from our balcony two of them!
I always say that you shouldn’t pay for a deluxe resort if you won’t have time to make the most of it! Like the other Disney resorts, Boardwalk had TONS of things to do. We were so happy that we had an entire day to enjoy them. There is a large green space overlooked by the Boardwalk Inn’s sweeping verandas. During the day we found cast members out with all sorts of balls and hula hoops.
At night it is home to Disney movies. We were lucky enough to catch Star Wars The Force Awakens!! They spread out sheets on the lawn and passed out bags of popcorn. It was a lovely evening!! We always stock our mini fridge with drinks, waters and wine so we carried that down as well.
The Luna Park pool was a ton of fun and we spent most of our resort day parked right here! There is a main pool, water slide, baby pool, hot tub, playground and pool bar / dining right here.
My littles loved it at night even more than during the day. I mean, who doesn’t adore a creepy glow in the dark clown face?!
I lost count at how many times the littles went down the Keister Coaster slide. A hundred? Two hundred? Honey and I took a few turns as well and, I must admit, it’s a GOOD slide.
Just around the bend from Luna Park is a quiet pool. We didn’t swim, but we did make use of the DVC Member Community Hall. There were video games, corn hole, board games, foosball, ping pong and more. It was a super fun respite from the sun a few times during our stay!
Before dinner one night we kicked back at the Belle Vue Lounge. They serve a continental breakfast in the morning (we didn’t partake) and regular lounge menu in the afternoon. We sat outside on the veranda overlooking the lawn and played one of the fun board games available to guests!
The Boardwalk Inn and Villas literally walk right out onto Disney’s Boardwalk! Its a great themed space with carnival games, dining, nightlife and entertainment.
Because of the easy access to dining and snacks on the Boardwalk there aren’t any restaurants inside of the resort itself (outside of the lounge and pool bar). But, just steps away are all sorts of options! We sat on the lake with a pizza from the take out windows and Joe’s margaritas after our long drive down Friday night.
We only made one dining reservation for our trip and opted for Trattoria al Forno right on the Boardwalk. Everyone loved their meal and the ambiance was great!
Sunday evening we popped into ESPN Club for the basketball semi finals and made dinner of a table full of shared appetizers. It was a lot of fun – the boys were in heaven!
We made two trips to the new Ample Hills Creamery during our long weekend stay. It’s ahhhh-mazing. You HAVE to try the ooey gooey ice cream. Next time I’d skip the chocolate chip cookie cone and go for a good old fashioned waffle cone though. If you are staying at any of the Boardwalk area resorts I implore you to visit :-)
I even got to meet up at Ample Hills with my sweet friend at Dressing for Disney and rub that baby belly one night!!
Overall, we really loved our stay at Boardwalk and will definitely be back!
Have a magical day!!
xoxo
As an independent consultant with Glass Slipper Concierge, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and other delightful destinations.
Start designing your dream vacation today!
Everything Disney | Disney World Resort Reviews
DIXIE DELIGHTS DELIVERED
Sounds like a great place to stay. It’s amazing to me that there’s so much to do at these Disney resorts, without even going to the theme parks!
You always take such amazing trips! Any budget friendly ideas or sneaky ways you save on these trips?
Sure! We are DVC members (disney time share) so our rooms are usually booked through that. If we are paying cash we book early but often move closer to the time based on specials or discounts through expedia. As far as saving money while we are there, we almost always have breakfast in the room or by the pool with food we brought from home. Granola bars, pop tarts, juice boxes, apples and bananas. We also bring our own soft drinks with tops to carry into the parks and our own snacks for the room (chips, pretzels, fruit, sweets). Once our soft drink we carry in to the park is gone we go with iced water – all of the restaurants will give it to you for free. We buy bulk bags of trading pins on ebay before going and also bring quarters and pennies for pressed pennies – we do these two things rather than buying any souvenirs. For our short weekend/long weekend trips we usually don’t have park tickets. We just enjoy the resorts and usually do one special event – halloween party, christmas party, water park, etc. – that is much cheaper than a day of park tickets. I hope some of that helps!
I’m dying to know about your new DVC membership! You do owe us a post on that ?!
Oh my goodness… the clown! He is just a tiny bit creepy!
I know!!! At night he’s even MORE creepy with those glowing eyes.
This looks amazing! We are taking our children down for spring break next year – our first trip to the world!!!! We are using my hubbies Hilton travel points for park days and only planning Disney World and Hollywood Studios to start. Then we were thinking of heading over to a resort for a couple of days. Which would you recommend for boys ages 6 & 8? I was looking at Beach/Yacht Club but they all look fabulous.
Beach and Yacht club are fabulous and have a WONDERFUL pool. If I read your comment correctly, you would just be hanging at the resort and not going into the parks those days? If so, this is a fabulous area to be in! The boardwalk is right there and has a great atmosphere and good food. I’d go with whichever is cheaper of yacht and beach!
Thanks!
We are going to Orlando for a concert next weekend and will be staying 20 minutes away frim Epcot. I want to go to Epcot on Saturday just for one day. We are going to take Uber and I was wondering if it’s possible to take Uber to the Boardwalk Hotel and then enter Epcot through the back entrance instead of the main entrance? I would love to hear any info or suggestions you could share. I have not been to Epcot since 2008 and the other three (all adults) in my group have never been. Thanks!
Absolutely! That would be a great way to do it. For an ever shorter walk, take Uber to the Beach Club then walk right over to Epcot via the International Gateway. Or take the boat from the Yacht Club or Boardwalk docks. I’d buy tickets NOW and make fast pass reservations if you haven’t already. I’d also book one sit down meal for an early dinner to give yourself a nice respite from the heat and to take a break. Have FUN!
Thank you so much for the information! I knew you’d be the perfect person to ask.
I want to thank you for the tip on getting uber to drop us off at the Beach Club to get in the back entrance to Epcot. That was so easy and convenient! We had a great time at Epcot and then we were able to watch the Hollywood Studio fireworks from the Beach Club lounge chairs before we got Uber to pick us up. The next afternoon we took uber back to the Beach Club and walked over to the Boardwalk for drinks and dinner. You are definitely a Disney pro!
I am SO happy to hear that it worked out well for you! I DO love Disney :-)