Disney's BOARDWALK INN Information & Questions

[hes122]

Officially booked today for BWVillas Studio in October! Can't wait!

EDIT: Actually we're booked for the BWI. Apparently Disney wouldn't let our agent book us in the Studio at the Villas.

 

[Best Aunt]

So, my question is will there be anything essentially different between me staying in the studio at the Villa vs. if I had booked for more money and stayed at the BoardWalk's regular room? I have been researching it all over the web, but I wanted to ask here to see if I missed something.
But anyway, I'd appreciate anyone who could help illuminate if there are any major differences to doing a Magic Your Way package at the Villas at Boardwalk vs. the regular Boardwalk.

Depending on how many people will be there, one of the big differences is the room layout. Only one actual bed. If you pull out the couch for someone to sleep on and leave it out, it takes up space in the room. But if it is just one person or a couple who will share the bed, I think it's nice to have a couch.

The Inn and the Villas are part of the same building, built at the same time, so I think it really feels like one hotel.

 

[RealBlast3]

Depending on how many people will be there, one of the big differences is the room layout. Only one actual bed. If you pull out the couch for someone to sleep on and leave it out, it takes up space in the room. But if it is just one person or a couple who will share the bed, I think it's nice to have a couch.

The Inn and the Villas are part of the same building, built at the same time, so I think it really feels like one hotel.

Oh, it's a solo trip, so only me. So, it should be good then, space-wise. And it's good to know that it will still feel like the Boardwalk.

 

[Disney & ME]

Hi everyone. I have a question. I am not a DVC member, but I decided to book through Disney to say at the Boardwalk Villas because the price was better than to stay at the regular Boardwalk room. I booked it myself, a studio, through the Disney website. I did not purchase any sort of timeshare or anything like that, just a Disney Magic Your Way package the way I have always done.

So, my question is will there be anything essentially different between me staying in the studio at the Villa vs. if I had booked for more money and stayed at the BoardWalk's regular room? I have been researching it all over the web, but I wanted to ask here to see if I missed something.

The one thing I was most concerned about was housekeeping because I hear different things and I think I have the story right. I know that DVC members get scarce housekeeping - just a couple of times visit for a long vacation, unless they pay for more, but if I have my understanding right, since I booked a package the normal way with Disney, I get the normal daily housekeeping, right? It's hard to get concrete confirmation on this, so other than calling Disney, which I could do, I thought I would ask you guys. I mean, it's not a dealbreaker if I don't get the daily mousekeeping, though I would prefer it. My trip is a 10 day one.

But anyway, it just seemed like a no-brainer to save a couple of hundred bucks and stay at the Villas instead of the regular Boardwalk, especially when the studio seems very nice in the pics. But anyway, I'd appreciate anyone who could help illuminate if there are any major differences to doing a Magic Your Way package at the Villas at Boardwalk vs. the regular Boardwalk.

As others have mentioned, you will get daily Mousekeeping. We are DVC but have stayed at BWI and got upgraded to a villa when not using points and have stayed with points and CL. We like the convenience of being on the Swan/Dolphin side with the villas and the closeness to HS.

 

[debedo]

I'm so glad to see this thread pop back up in my feed. It reminded me to share our thoughts from our Jan 20 -27th stay. We rented DVC points for a 1 bdrm standard view and ended up with room 4121 which was ready when we arrived a little before noon and happened to be in the exact area we requested via Touring Plans fax service. We loved our room. It was right across the hall from the stairs leading to the walkway that heads to the parking lot. We drove to FL and used our car to get to AK and MK so this location was perfect. The room itself was lovely. The balcony was a bit smaller than we are used to at AKL (where we've always stayed before this trip), but it was still nice. We had a view of the small water feature, the fountain, the bridge, trees, the Boardwalk entrance, (yes, the parking lot), and the Eiffel Tower from our balcony. No complaints regarding the view at all. Also, the room was very quiet which was great for us since we prefer to sleep in and head to the parks a little later in the day.

Our room was a small hike from the elevators, but it really wasn't that bad. Air conditioning and carpet were quite comfy after a long day walking on concrete. We took the elevators to the first floor to go to the Boardwalk, Epcot, and HS and took it again upon our return to the room, and it was not a terrible trek.

We were surprisingly very pleased with this resort. We ended up here because we were wait-listed for AKL and this was our second choice. We opted to go with the second choice in order to secure a room but harbored a bit of doubt because we are fans of AKL. Boardwalk won us over. The lobby is charming. The music reminds us of UP - a favorite movie. The lobby scent was yummy. The staff far surpassed that at AKL. Every staff encounter we had that week exceeded our expectations. The location cannot be beat. I never want to see the main entrance to Epcot ever again. The international gate is so much nicer and easier to enter. We felt so very spoiled. We also loved taking the boat to and from HS and over to the Swan for a game of mini golf. We hung out at the pool for a part of one day and enjoyed that so much that, next trip, we are planning two half days for the pool. The Boardwalk atmosphere at night was different and fun for us. Love the lights everywhere. We can't believe it, but the Boardwalk is our new favorite. Yes, we still love the animals, landscaping, lobby and restaurants at AKL, but there's just something about the Boardwalk. I can't quite put my finger on it yet, but when we talked about where we'd want to stay next, we all unhesitatingly said the Boardwalk.

As for the Boardwalk itself, we visited the bakery, Ample Hills, Trattoria al Forno, the shop, the photo booths (LOVE), and the carnival type games (fun for my husband and daughter to do together). I wish we would have rented a bike. Next time. Ample Hills was the best ice cream I've ever had. It has ruined me for any other ice cream. Trattoria al Forno's Bon Voyage breakfast was very good but busy and long. The Bakery was so so. I do wish there was a quick service on par with the Mara on the Boardwalk, but the lack of one won't keep me from staying here again.

We were so very sad to leave this resort and wish we were still there. Our daughter said she was in mourning when she first woke up back at home because she wasn't waking up at the Boardwalk. Not WDW. The Boardwalk. Coming from a typically rather stoic teen, I count that as high praise for the place.

Love your review and we feel the exact same way! (Love your name as my Granddaughters love My Little Pony) we want to try Mara this year on our AK day. I enjoy the bakery but sometimes we walk over to the YC/BC for breakfast for their CS. They’re pretty good and you just can’t beat that walk

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Hi! I've never stayed at BW but I'm considering doing a split stay in April and I have a quick question...

On the Disney website, for a "regular" room at BW it lists a standard view as view of parking lot, gardens or leisure pool. For a BW CL standard view, it just lists view of leisure pool. This description seems to fit with post 10 of this thread, but just wanted to confirm...do the standard view CL rooms all generally look at the pool? Thanks!

ETA: Someone provided some info for me on another thread, so I think I'm all set but always welcome more insight from the experts!

 

[psac]

Oh, it's a solo trip, so only me. So, it should be good then, space-wise. And it's good to know that it will still feel like the Boardwalk.

In addition to what everyone else had said, you’ll also get a small kitchenette (which is basically a counter ), with a mini-fridge (bigger than the one in the regular rooms), microwave, sink, small coffee pot and paper/plastic cups, plates and utensils. The view will be what’s called the “preferred view,” either the main clown pool, villa quiet pool, the village green area (kinda side view of the boardwalk looking toward Flying Fish), or the canal going towards Hollywood Studios. All good stuff.

 

[NicoleLarson]

Hi! I've never stayed at BW but I'm considering doing a split stay in April and I have a quick question...

On the Disney website, for a "regular" room at BW it lists a standard view as view of parking lot, gardens or leisure pool. For a BW CL standard view, it just lists view of leisure pool. This description seems to fit with post 10 of this thread, but just wanted to confirm...do the standard view CL rooms all generally look at the pool? Thanks!

ETA: Someone provided some info for me on another thread, so I think I'm all set but always welcome more insight from the experts!

Most will look at the pool, some look out on the "village green" this is the courtyard between the villas and the inn. You can also see the BW and crescent lake to the right. Others will look at the gardens and inner courtyard of the inn side. Case in point, all views are good. No parking lot, no garbage can, no roof top.

 

[RealBlast3]

In addition to what everyone else had said, you’ll also get a small kitchenette (which is basically a counter ), with a mini-fridge (bigger than the one in the regular rooms), microwave, sink, small coffee pot and paper/plastic cups, plates and utensils. The view will be what’s called the “preferred view,” either the main clown pool, villa quiet pool, the village green area (kinda side view of the boardwalk looking toward Flying Fish), or the canal going towards Hollywood Studios. All good stuff.

This all sounds great! Thank you so much for all that detail. I can't wait to finally stay there. I was so pleased to get the deal I did to return to a deluxe resort again, too, and finally do an Epcot resort. Every time I visit them to go to the restaurants, I am always in love with the area - even the walk from the international gateway to them just makes me happy.

 

[psac]

This all sounds great! Thank you so much for all that detail. I can't wait to finally stay there. I was so pleased to get the deal I did to return to a deluxe resort again, too, and finally do an Epcot resort. Every time I visit them to go to the restaurants, I am always in love with the area - even the walk from the international gateway to them just makes me happy.

I’m with you. We’re longtime vets now, but the BW area is definitely our happy place!

 

[LiveToTravelNicely]

This all sounds great! Thank you so much for all that detail. I can't wait to finally stay there. I was so pleased to get the deal I did to return to a deluxe resort again, too, and finally do an Epcot resort. Every time I visit them to go to the restaurants, I am always in love with the area - even the walk from the international gateway to them just makes me happy.

You are going to LOVE staying at BWI and the Epcot resort area! It is by far my favorite. Very convenient to Epcot and Studios, and very convenient to so many resorts around crescent lake.

 

[BigB0882]

I rented DVC at the Boardwalk Villas and we are so excited to finally stay at a Deluxe and have walking access to Epcot and Hollywood. We thought about Contemporary but the price was much higher and you only have walking access to MK. MK is my favorite park but having two parks within walking distance won out. Plus, renting the DVC points cost us the same as it would to stay a moderate the same week. Quite a nice savings! We will probably rent DVC from now on.

 

[RealBlast3]

You are going to LOVE staying at BWI and the Epcot resort area! It is by far my favorite. Very convenient to Epcot and Studios, and very convenient to so many resorts around crescent lake.

Thank you! Can't wait! Also, I actually really, really love walking! A big part of my enjoyment from Disney is simply walking around and soaking in the sights. So, I will prefer and love that I can walk more to two parks and also have Magic Kingdom pretty close to me, as well, either with the bus or simply walking to the Epcot monorail if I park-hop that day.

Epcot is my favorite park so it's really silly of me that after nearly 15 years of Disney trips I have still yet to stay at one of these resorts! What have I been waiting for? And OMG after several years and trips of staying at Pop and All Stars and one quite magical stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, I am nevertheless ready to stay CLOSER to the two parks I will be spending the most time at, MK and Epcot. I don't mind the traveling and the waits and have gotten really good at park-hopping and juggling various ways of getting around the World, but I am ready for it to be a little bit easier again (my first several trips were in the MK resorts)

 

[yaya74]

Just booked our summer trip staying at BWI club room for 4 nights.. I am a big nervous because of the parking situation over there. Never stay there before. Hope I am making the right decision on my choice and the splurge.

 

[NicoleLarson]

Just booked our summer trip staying at BWI club room for 4 nights.. I am a big nervous because of the parking situation over there. Never stay there before. Hope I am making the right decision on my choice and the splurge.

We absolutely LOVE the CL at BWI! The staff and chef redgie are awesome.

They are really cracking down on the parking from what we saw last fall. We didn't have any parking problems even during F&W. Have a great trip!

 

[kimmar067]

 

[kimmar067]

Our room was the top balcony [behind the flag]:

....and this was the view:

....it was a VERY convenient location!

 

[kimmar067]

 

[kimmar067]

...this display was to the right of the check-in counter....

 

[kimmar067]

...the bus stop, just steps from our room: