Disney's BOARDWALK INN Information & Questions

[gluestickgirl]

Jumping in here! DH and I are staying at the BWV this September, and following this thread definitely has me thinking we made a good choice! We just got back from a family trip with a split stay at YC, and it was fun to look at the Boardwalk across the lake and daydream about our next trip. =)

Surprises.. we pulled on off in December, to totally mixed reactions. Our middle was thrilled. Our teenager was... well, a teenager, and kind of indifferent (I was looking forward to sleeping in!). And we learned the hard way that our youngest totally freaks out at surprises of that magnitude, and started crying. Oops. By the time the plane took off, they were all happy and ready to go.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

Off topic, sorry!

If you don't mind my asking, how old are the kids now? Reason being, one trip I surprised my kids when we got to the airport and they didn't react too well (pre-teens). Ranged from anxiety over leaving friends, to missed school (only a day and one 1/2 day but still for them it was big), to missing out on the excitement and having the fun of looking forward to a vacation.

Don't get me wrong, they were super happy to be going and grateful and the excitement kicked in really quickly, but I realized that maybe I didn't respect their lives and their being able to get things in order before a vacation.

A lot of this depends on the kids age. I think it is a great idea to surprise them with a trip but maybe now not spring the trip on them. Just my $0.02.

Have a great time! We love the Boardwalk area - having stayed at the BWI and BWV and now that the kids are older we love walking to DHS and EPCOT.

Thanks! Currently, I have Wilderness Lodge and Poly tied as my favorite. Looking forward to seeing where BWI ranks for everyone in my family. Sounds like it'll give our favorites a run for the money!

 

[MarbleBob]

Off topic, sorry!

If you don't mind my asking, how old are the kids now? Reason being, one trip I surprised my kids when we got to the airport and they didn't react too well (pre-teens). Ranged from anxiety over leaving friends, to missed school (only a day and one 1/2 day but still for them it was big), to missing out on the excitement and having the fun of looking forward to a vacation.

Don't get me wrong, they were super happy to be going and grateful and the excitement kicked in really quickly, but I realized that maybe I didn't respect their lives and their being able to get things in order before a vacation.

A lot of this depends on the kids age. I think it is a great idea to surprise them with a trip but maybe now not spring the trip on them. Just my $0.02.

Have a great time! We love the Boardwalk area - having stayed at the BWI and BWV and now that the kids are older we love walking to DHS and EPCOT.

This is great input and it certainly made me stop and think. Thanks for that!

When we surprised them last time, they were 1, 6, and 9. Now they are 8, 13, and 16. Right in the age range you may have been thinking of. The thing is.... that starting when DD16 was 2, we visited WDW nearly ever year, sometimes twice a year... Until about 5 years ago. Since then we've only done a proper WDW trip once, and that was two years ago. Granted, we've been to Disneyland twice during that time and on a Disney cruise. However, the older two consider WDW their vacation home and really miss it "the good old days". We are doing Aulani this summer and another cruise next summer. So we wouldn't have done a proper WDW trip for another two years. So there's that as part A.

And for part B, they know that DW and I are going in May, and they will be staying at their grandparents while we are gone. DD8 is stoked about spending the week with her grandparents, but for reasons similar to your sentiments above, the older two are less than thrilled about it. All of them have made it clear that they are jealous of us and are pretty disappointed to be missing out. We explained to them that with Hawaii coming up, we couldn't afford to bring them. (This is a business trip for me after all.) As mentioned previously, it turned out that I'm able to get tickets at a significant discount and the rack rate for the room is 50% off and can be extended 3 days before and after the training course. (Didn't know either of that until after I was registered.) Anyway, we started feeling guilty... DD8 hasn't been to WDW as many times as the others, we need to be fair, right? And it would have been 4 years between the next and last trips, that's just too long, right? These discounts are hard to come buy, and BWI accommodates all 5 us... it wouldn't be too much of a problem to raid our rainy day funds a little bit, right? We answered yes to all those.

So considering A (they are jonesing badly for WDW) and B (they already wish they could come with us and will be away from friends and stuff for the week anyway), We're thinking it would be fun to keep it a secret and surprise them. It would be cool to wait to the last minute and see what they say when we drive past the exit to grandma's... But I don't think we could pull a fast one one the older two, considering they pack their own stuff now. We'll probably give them a couple days heads up. But still plan to surprise them with some sort of reveal.

Anyway that's probably way more info than you bargained for, but your question did make me stop and think. Thanks again, and we are super excited to give BWI a try!!!

 

[Chicago Mo]

I surprised my Kids in 2014 It was perfection! So much so we will be Surprising them again in 2017 for our first Boardwalk visit!
Here is the Video if you wanted to see? THE REVEAL

 

[Chelley00]

We surprised our kids in 2010. Their first surprise was that my mom, who lives 3 1/2 hours away, just showed up on our doorstep. They were over the moon crazy happy. She handed them a note from Mickey Mouse that said "Did you know Granny has never been to Disney World before? That makes me and my pals very sad. So go get in the van right now because you are taking Granny to Disney!"

It got even better when on our 4th day there, my brother (who lives 900 miles away from us) SIL and their cousin showed up.

 

[gwynne]

We surprised our kids in 2010. Their first surprise was that my mom, who lives 3 1/2 hours away, just showed up on our doorstep. They were over the moon crazy happy. She handed them a note from Mickey Mouse that said "Did you know Granny has never been to Disney World before? That makes me and my pals very sad. So go get in the van right now because you are taking Granny to Disney!"

What a sweet story! Your kids are adorable.

 

[Chelley00]

What a sweet story! Your kids are adorable.

Thank you! They are just a **little** bit bigger now. (we also have two older boys who were in high school and didn't go on the surprise trip because of classes/sports)

Not quite sure what DS is doing with his mouth in this picture.......

 

[Angeliki19]

Hi all! Just wanted to join the thread as we just booked our first trip to BWV!!! So, so, so excited!

We are going in early November... will Christmas decorations be up then? Also, I had read somewhere (possibly this thread) that some rooms have a view of the fireworks at DHS... does anyone have a recommendation on how to room request that? Thanks!!!

 

[BlueSkies]

OKAY, adult milkshakes!!!! I am volunteering to be a taste tester

Taking one for the team .......lol....

We are indeed, thank you for asking. One month from today to be exact. Let the countdown begin!

Hope the time flies!!

For the wandee. It's all about me.

We surprised our kids in 2010. Their first surprise was that my mom, who lives 3 1/2 hours away, just showed up on our doorstep. They were over the moon crazy happy. She handed them a note from Mickey Mouse that said "Did you know Granny has never been to Disney World before? That makes me and my pals very sad. So go get in the van right now because you are taking Granny to Disney!"

It got even better when on our 4th day there, my brother (who lives 900 miles away from us) SIL and their cousin showed up.

What a wonderful story...so much pixie dust ..thanks for sharing..and your kiddies are adorble!!!

Kook Thanks as always for keeping us all up to speed with all of the WDW happenings!


~Boardwalk Buddies ( what do you think of this moniker pas ...lol...)..page two rescue!!!

 

[drusba]

Hi all! Just wanted to join the thread as we just booked our first trip to BWV!!! So, so, so excited!

We are going in early November... will Christmas decorations be up then? Also, I had read somewhere (possibly this thread) that some rooms have a view of the fireworks at DHS... does anyone have a recommendation on how to room request that? Thanks!!!

If you booked BWV through Disney rather than through a DVC owner or a DVC room broker, the only rooms that will have a view of DHS in the distance are a fairly small number of the upper floor rooms that overlook the main pool or overlook the separate "quiet pool." Getting one of those rooms is mainly luck of the draw as even requesting main pool area (or quiet pool area) and upper floor means your chances are only 1 in 4 even if the request is met. Possibly requesting high floor with view of Tower of Terror might be accepted. If you are renting through an owner and have "preferred" view (which is run of the house or standard view when renting through Disney), the answer is the same, but if you have "standard view" through an owner, you could request high floor and view of DHS or the BWV tennis courts (a request that can only be made through the owner who needs to contact Member Services).

Christmas decorations at MK generally start a couple days before Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party starts which has not yet been announced yet and it could be as early as the first weekend in Nov but as late as the second. Hotel decorations usually begin about a week after the MK decorations begin.

 

[AirGoofy]

We surprised our dds one trip when they were younger. That was in the days when we left the house at 7:00 PM and arrived at 7:00 AM with a long 12 - 13 hour drive. We told the dds we were going to visit their grandparents. So, as we drove and refilled for gas and bathroom breaks, I guess they were too disoriented to realize how different the time in the car was.

My plan was to just drive into the resort before they woke or see the big welcoming sign. DW couldn't wait and told then at the turnpike stop on the way.

They were both so groggy that they didn't have much of an emotional response. I think it was more fun for us parents to keep a surprise as long as we did.

 

[bluecastle]

Hi everyone! I am new to this thread, but not new to the DIS. (Hi Kook!) I regularly hang out on the WL thread with occasional visits to BC/YC.
I am planning an October 2017 trip and would really like to stay in a 2BR villa in the Epcot area, but I heard that they are very difficult to get during F&W. (non-DVCer)
Are the BWVs easier to get than the BCVs?
That clown pool has always freaked me out, but I think I have to face my fear! I also like to have a beach to walk on, which is why I never considered the BW, but looking through this thread I am doing some serious rethinking.
We had a dedicated 2BR at WLV last trip. I noticed that BW only has the lock-off. However, that would not be a deal breaker. We are going with my DD and her DH and they might even prefer having a little more privacy and a separate entrance.
Anyhow, I guess my main question is the one about the difficulty getting a 2BR. Our dates will be Oct. 14-21st, the week after Columbus Day week. Does anyone know how many months out I can make the res?
This looks like a great thread! Of course, I knew it would be with Kook at the helm.

 

[mexi]

Hi everyone! I am new to this thread, but not new to the DIS. (Hi Kook!) I regularly hang out on the WL thread with occasional visits to BC/YC.
I am planning an October 2017 trip and would really like to stay in a 2BR villa in the Epcot area, but I heard that they are very difficult to get during F&W. (non-DVCer)
Are the BWVs easier to get than the BCVs?
That clown pool has always freaked me out, but I think I have to face my fear! I also like to have a beach to walk on, which is why I never considered the BW, but looking through this thread I am doing some serious rethinking.
We had a dedicated 2BR at WLV last trip. I noticed that BW only has the lock-off. However, that would not be a deal breaker. We are going with my DD and her DH and they might even prefer having a little more privacy and a separate entrance.
Anyhow, I guess my main question is the one about the difficulty getting a 2BR. Our dates will be Oct. 14-21st, the week after Columbus Day week. Does anyone know how many months out I can make the res?
This looks like a great thread! Of course, I knew it would be with Kook at the helm.

Are you renting points or making a cash reservation with Disney? I looked up your dates on the Disney website and 2BDR is currently unavailable.

You might have luck finding one if you try renting points. DVC members can book their resort at 11 months out and 7 months out if it's not their owned resort.

Good luck! I hope I helped a little.

 

[psac]

Hi everyone! I am new to this thread, but not new to the DIS. (Hi Kook!) I regularly hang out on the WL thread with occasional visits to BC/YC.
I am planning an October 2017 trip and would really like to stay in a 2BR villa in the Epcot area, but I heard that they are very difficult to get during F&W. (non-DVCer)
Are the BWVs easier to get than the BCVs?
That clown pool has always freaked me out, but I think I have to face my fear! I also like to have a beach to walk on, which is why I never considered the BW, but looking through this thread I am doing some serious rethinking.
We had a dedicated 2BR at WLV last trip. I noticed that BW only has the lock-off. However, that would not be a deal breaker. We are going with my DD and her DH and they might even prefer having a little more privacy and a separate entrance.
Anyhow, I guess my main question is the one about the difficulty getting a 2BR. Our dates will be Oct. 14-21st, the week after Columbus Day week. Does anyone know how many months out I can make the res?
This looks like a great thread! Of course, I knew it would be with Kook at the helm.

That time is super busy. I would be surprised if it was still available now.

 

[psac]

Hi everyone! I am new to this thread, but not new to the DIS. (Hi Kook!) I regularly hang out on the WL thread with occasional visits to BC/YC.
I am planning an October 2017 trip and would really like to stay in a 2BR villa in the Epcot area, but I heard that they are very difficult to get during F&W. (non-DVCer)
Are the BWVs easier to get than the BCVs?
That clown pool has always freaked me out, but I think I have to face my fear! I also like to have a beach to walk on, which is why I never considered the BW, but looking through this thread I am doing some serious rethinking.
We had a dedicated 2BR at WLV last trip. I noticed that BW only has the lock-off. However, that would not be a deal breaker. We are going with my DD and her DH and they might even prefer having a little more privacy and a separate entrance.
Anyhow, I guess my main question is the one about the difficulty getting a 2BR. Our dates will be Oct. 14-21st, the week after Columbus Day week. Does anyone know how many months out I can make the res?
This looks like a great thread! Of course, I knew it would be with Kook at the helm.

I just looked, it's already completely booked for DVC bookings. If you're looking to get it cash, it's hard to know when things open up. There's a complex interchange of points booked out for non-resort stays (cruises, etc) that Disney then gets to sell as cash bookings. It's hard to guess if or when it'll open up that way. Good luck!

 

[AirGoofy]

Hi everyone! I am new to this thread, but not new to the DIS. (Hi Kook!) I regularly hang out on the WL thread with occasional visits to BC/YC.
I am planning an October 2017 trip and would really like to stay in a 2BR villa in the Epcot area, but I heard that they are very difficult to get during F&W. (non-DVCer)
Are the BWVs easier to get than the BCVs?
That clown pool has always freaked me out, but I think I have to face my fear! I also like to have a beach to walk on, which is why I never considered the BW, but looking through this thread I am doing some serious rethinking.
We had a dedicated 2BR at WLV last trip. I noticed that BW only has the lock-off. However, that would not be a deal breaker. We are going with my DD and her DH and they might even prefer having a little more privacy and a separate entrance.
Anyhow, I guess my main question is the one about the difficulty getting a 2BR. Our dates will be Oct. 14-21st, the week after Columbus Day week. Does anyone know how many months out I can make the res?
This looks like a great thread! Of course, I knew it would be with Kook at the helm.

If you are looking to rent from a dvc owner, we all have an 11 month window. So, we could book and view availability around Nov 14, 2016. You may want to consider either a broker or dvc member now, work out a contract contingent upon booking. That way, you all can negotiate out price, terms, etc and then one phone call (or online) could be made and get the room.

You could also make contingent plans for a 1 BR and 1 studio.

 

[msdroz]

Hi there... sorry if this has been asked before but did some research and couldn't find the answer. Are the only boardwalk view rooms CL? We're huge YC fans but always love walking over to the Boardwalk and I think my DH would just LOVE sitting on a balcony at night with some wine and people watch. I love the excitement and buzz over on the boardwalk side! Unfortunately it looks as though those room types are sold out for our dates in June so I keep checking!

 

[bluecastle]

I just looked, it's already completely booked for DVC bookings. If you're looking to get it cash, it's hard to know when things open up. There's a complex interchange of points booked out for non-resort stays (cruises, etc) that Disney then gets to sell as cash bookings. It's hard to guess if or when it'll open up that way. Good luck!

Thanks!
I couldn't even get the website to show me 2017. Isn't it too early for anyone to reserve then, DVC or not?
I had a DVC person lined up for this trip, but it didn't work out. (not enough points at BCV for a week's stay)
I think I prefer to go the cash route again anyhow. I know it's way more money, but with my parents in their late 80's, I like to have that RO 5 day cancellation policy. I already bought my tickets, just before the increase, to spread out my expenses.
Thanks all for your responses! I guess I'll see what my options are when it gets closer to the time I can make my reservation. Meanwhile, I am enjoying learning as much as I can about the BW. (my family spent NYrs Eve 2009-10 on the boardwalk. We saw fireworks from all 3 parks!)

 

[mexi]

Thanks!
I couldn't even get the website to show me 2017. Isn't it too early for anyone to reserve then, DVC or not?
I had a DVC person lined up for this trip, but it didn't work out. (not enough points at BCV for a week's stay)
I think I prefer to go the cash route again anyhow. I know it's way more money, but with my parents in their late 80's, I like to have that RO 5 day cancellation policy. I already bought my tickets, just before the increase, to spread out my expenses.
Thanks all for your responses! I guess I'll see what my options are when it gets closer to the time I can make my reservation. Meanwhile, I am enjoying learning as much as I can about the BW. (my family spent NYrs Eve 2009-10 on the boardwalk. We saw fireworks from all 3 parks!)

I'm sorry I was looking at this October. Totally missed that in the beginning. Doh

You are right that it is too early to book with cash or points right now.

 

[bluecastle]

I'm sorry I was looking at this October. Totally missed that in the beginning. Doh

You are right that it is too early to book with cash or points right now.

No matter how many years between trips, I am always planning the next one.