(CLOSED) Disney's BOARDWALK INN and VILLAS Information Thread ~2012~
- Thread starter WDWKOOK
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garada3
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2004
I stand corrected, the room had two beds, which Disney says are queen beds.
IPO is the itinerary planning office which is a pre-trip planning service for concierge guests.
Cee
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2006
Panoramic living room/kitchen in the 1BR. (Yes, my wife likes Coach bags!)
Love the panoramic view. I just booked my solo trip for May in a 1BR at BWV and cannot wait. Fully expecting to enjoy a Spa Day and some good walks and good food while I'm there.
philatiger
Just Goofin Around......
- Joined
- May 9, 2008
We are staying at BWV this coming December and have a 1 BR garden/pool view. Are there any rooms or areas that are better than others? We would like to make a room request closer to the main building if possible. thanks for any help.
psac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2009
It's all one BIG building. Your best bet would be to request close to the elevators, since the elevators are only in the center lobby area.
WDWKOOK
NOW WITH LESS TAG!
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2009
Yeah, Starbucks and Main Street USA just don't go together IMHO. Nothing against SB, just not on Main Street
Hopefully someone will be able to answer your question, but you could always request an unrestricted view balcony so that the room assignor will know exactly what you'd prefer then ask again at check-in, just to make sure.
Online check-in limits your request. I've only done OCI for the Innkeeper's Club (just to see what it was like) so I don't know what the default request options are for a STD View room. Make sure you call the WDTC/CRO if you have any specific requests, since there won't be many if any options with OCI. That way, they'll all be in your reservation.My husband and I will be checking in to BWI in 10 days
We have booked a standard room. Is there any room request I should make when I do online check in?
Congratulations
It's a very common WDW afflictionIs it January yet?????
No patience...
You're going to have a great time!In 16 Days we will be back at BWI, Can't wait!
View as I write this:
Hellooooo from the Boardwalk. We've been here since Friday, and with the exception of a few missteps, we've been enjoying it so far.
Arrived via Towncar after a quick stop for cereal, coffee, water and snacks for our Villa stay. Met by a greeter who brought us over to the check-in lines (did not do online check in), and with the lines all taken, he went over to the concierge desk, and asked if they could take us, which they did. For our 1br boardwalk view, we asked for high floor near elevators, and got just that. Fifth floor about a third of the way down the hallway. Nice room, no housekeeping issues.
The first night we tried Bluezoo for the first time, and liked it. Will definitely add it to the list for future trips.
Saturday was a crazy day with a mini-marathon at AK in the morning and a half-marathon at Epcot in the evening (easywdw had it as a 9), so we decided to just pop into Epcot during the day, did the whole Seas, spending time enjoying the aquarium, etc., then hit the food and wine for lunch, and high-tailed it out of there before it got too crazy.
(Too be continued...)
Saturday evening is where the fun began. We had reservations for Kona for dinner, so we decided to leave early, take the bus to MK (took about 40 mins including wait), stayed for a little bit, then took the boat to the Poly. Had a good dinner there, as always, then jumped in a cab back to the BW. BIG MISTAKE. Remember that Epcot half-marathon? Well, they closed off most of the roads in the area, including around the BW. It took us 45 mins to get there, and the meter on the cab (which normally is around $15-20) was $48.15!!!! The cabbie said to just give him $25, which was super-nice, so we gave him $35. Afterwards we did read the flier in our room which said guests should take the WDW buses after 8pm because of numerous road closures. Whoops.
But the fun didn't end there. It really got fun when our smoke alarm went off at 4:30am.
Of course we jumped out of bed, and began putting clothes on. The alarm went off after about 3 minutes. We looked in the hallway and out on the balcony, and everything seemed fine. Called "the front desk" (ha), and they didnt have any record of any issues or other reports. We were shaky from being jolted out of bed so quickly though.
Eventually we decided to go back to bed. Until the smoke alarm went off again at 5:15am. This time it went off after about a minute. I threw my pants on again and went down to the lobby. They weren't aware of any alarms, so apparently it was just our room. They said they would send someone from Engineering, but they would have to get there from the Yacht/Beach club.
We decided to stay up since we had planned to hit AK at rope drop, so we took our showers and wearily started the day.
That guy got more sleep than we did. Someone from Engineering came at about 7-7:30 and took the smoke alarm with him. We got to the bus stop a few minutes before 8, the AK bus came right away, and we went straight there, getting on line at the turnstiles at about 8:15. Did our usual half day there, and went back. (To be fair, every park is a half day park to us. We spread things out.). We had the smoke alarm back in the room and a message from one of the managers apologizing for everything and saying to contact her, which we didn't do because we collapsed in bed and took a nice long nap.
We met up with friends also from NY who are down for a few days, showed them the lobby, which they went crazy over, and went to Flying Fish. A fantastic meal, everyone enjoyed it. It's always #1 or 2 for us. The waiter comped our desserts because he realized we never had bread plates for the table and were just using the paper drink napkins. We didn't really care, but were happy for the comp. We watched two performers on the boardwalk, both of whom we liked, and the friends headed back.
Today was thankfully un-eventful. We layed by the pool in the morning, went over to Beaches and Cream for lunch, then came back exactly when the room was being cleaned, so we went back to the pool to sit in the comfy rocking chairs. Tonight's agenda is Brown Derby and the Osbourne Lights. And hopefully no smoke alarms!
Thanks for making us feel like we're right there with you
Panoramic living room/kitchen in the 1BR. (Yes, my wife likes Coach bags!)
. Just curious, did you ever call the manager back regarding the unwanted wake-up call?95 days til we are back at the world! I cannot wait!!!
That should be nice and roomy. Time to start making those ADRs!Love the panoramic view. I just booked my solo trip for May in a 1BR at BWV and cannot wait. Fully expecting to enjoy a Spa Day and some good walks and good food while I'm there.
psac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2009
One more panoramic:
One of the (many) reasons we like staying at the Boardwalk during the November trips is the easy access to Hollywood Studios for a late night extra magic hours for dinner at Brown Derby, the Osborne Lights, and assorted rides. We did that last night, taking the boat ride over, with Brown Derby being a disaster this time. We've loved it in the past, and defended it against the bad reviews. The salads we ordered came out before one of our drinks and the bread came to the table, and then my wife's medium well pork chop first came out medium rare (at most), then when sent back, came out medium (at most, literally bloody inside towards the edge, can't imagine the inner pieces). At that point I had long finished my dinner, so we just paid (they didn't charge for my wife's salad or drink) and left and my wife had a Mickey pretzel instead for dinner. That bad experience was made up for by the Osborne Family lights, no disappointment at all.
We stayed for well over an hour, moving from area to area, enjoying the different songs. In one area we were in full blast of the snow. While fun, the snow in Florida tastes oddly like soap.
.
We did a few rides and took the quick boat back to the Boardwalk a little after 10PM. My wife was hungry from just having the salad and pretzel for dinner, so we were happy the pizza window was still open for a pepperoni slice. It looked pretty sad, and my wife said it tasted like supermarket frozen pizza, but she was happy to have it, and she said it hit the spot. It probably would be better during a more peak meal time with quicker turnover. We stopped at the Bakery for muffins to have this morning for breakfast. Those were good, I really liked my choc chip, wife's blueberry "could have used more blueberries, but otherwise was good."
One of the (many) reasons we like staying at the Boardwalk during the November trips is the easy access to Hollywood Studios for a late night extra magic hours for dinner at Brown Derby, the Osborne Lights, and assorted rides. We did that last night, taking the boat ride over, with Brown Derby being a disaster this time. We've loved it in the past, and defended it against the bad reviews. The salads we ordered came out before one of our drinks and the bread came to the table, and then my wife's medium well pork chop first came out medium rare (at most), then when sent back, came out medium (at most, literally bloody inside towards the edge, can't imagine the inner pieces). At that point I had long finished my dinner, so we just paid (they didn't charge for my wife's salad or drink) and left and my wife had a Mickey pretzel instead for dinner. That bad experience was made up for by the Osborne Family lights, no disappointment at all.
We stayed for well over an hour, moving from area to area, enjoying the different songs. In one area we were in full blast of the snow. While fun, the snow in Florida tastes oddly like soap.
. We did a few rides and took the quick boat back to the Boardwalk a little after 10PM. My wife was hungry from just having the salad and pretzel for dinner, so we were happy the pizza window was still open for a pepperoni slice. It looked pretty sad, and my wife said it tasted like supermarket frozen pizza, but she was happy to have it, and she said it hit the spot. It probably would be better during a more peak meal time with quicker turnover. We stopped at the Bakery for muffins to have this morning for breakfast. Those were good, I really liked my choc chip, wife's blueberry "could have used more blueberries, but otherwise was good."
psac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2009
KOOK, we never did contact the manager. I left out an important part of the story -- later in the morning, my wife smelled cigarette smoke in the kitchen area. Our theory is one of our neighbors (maybe below) disabled their alarms, were smoking in the room, and we paid for it with the wake up call. So if that was the case, it really wasn't the hotel's fault. Not intending to start a smoking discussion, my wife's dad is a lifelong smoker, so we're usually in favor of having smoking areas and the like. But we're also in favor of following the rules and not getting woken up at 4:30am.
We rearranged our rest day schedule a bit to buy tix for a Matchbox Twenty presale this morning from the room. In general the wifi has been abysmal. I've just kept it off on my iPhone5, the AT&T LTE is much much quicker, but the wifi worked fine for the iPad to get the tix. Afterwards, we took the bus to Downtown Disney, luckily catching it right at the stop, and being the last pickup, it was a quick trip there (15 min max), though we had to stand. Shopping (you never do intend to buy a sweatshirt each, do you?), earl of sandwich, and ghirardelli sundae ensued. The bus trip back was longer, but we got off at the Swan to not make the full tour of the Dolphin, Yacht Club, and Beach Club before the BW.
We rearranged our rest day schedule a bit to buy tix for a Matchbox Twenty presale this morning from the room. In general the wifi has been abysmal. I've just kept it off on my iPhone5, the AT&T LTE is much much quicker, but the wifi worked fine for the iPad to get the tix. Afterwards, we took the bus to Downtown Disney, luckily catching it right at the stop, and being the last pickup, it was a quick trip there (15 min max), though we had to stand. Shopping (you never do intend to buy a sweatshirt each, do you?), earl of sandwich, and ghirardelli sundae ensued. The bus trip back was longer, but we got off at the Swan to not make the full tour of the Dolphin, Yacht Club, and Beach Club before the BW.
psac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2009
Overheard earlier in the trip out on the Boardwalk, someone pointing at the Dolphin -- "Is that the Polynesian?"
We have spent at least an hour a day sitting either on our balcony or on the benches out on the Boardwalk, just enjoying the view, people watching, reading, playing iPhone games, etc. It definitely feels like vacation.
Tonight is Yachsman's Steakhouse, maybe our favorite meal on our last trip.
We have spent at least an hour a day sitting either on our balcony or on the benches out on the Boardwalk, just enjoying the view, people watching, reading, playing iPhone games, etc. It definitely feels like vacation.
Tonight is Yachsman's Steakhouse, maybe our favorite meal on our last trip.
Momof2Disneyboys
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2007
Really enjoying the live updates psac!!
pixarmom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2009
psac, just LOVE the photos, the updates, everything!
We're with you regarding both Bluezoo (love it and will return in January) and Brown Derby (a former favorite, but just not as high up on the list anymore for the reasons you mentioned.) That Poly comment is hilarious. And I really appreciate the BWI pool photos. The BWI pool was packed during our August stay last year, and it's great to see it so much less crowded and looking so peaceful. Hoping for a little warmth in January so we can use the pool (although our boys aren't picky - they swam on the Wonder in Alaska in front of a glacier, so I'm sure they'll swim at BWI!)
We're with you regarding both Bluezoo (love it and will return in January) and Brown Derby (a former favorite, but just not as high up on the list anymore for the reasons you mentioned.) That Poly comment is hilarious. And I really appreciate the BWI pool photos. The BWI pool was packed during our August stay last year, and it's great to see it so much less crowded and looking so peaceful. Hoping for a little warmth in January so we can use the pool (although our boys aren't picky - they swam on the Wonder in Alaska in front of a glacier, so I'm sure they'll swim at BWI!)
Thanks for shareing
WDWKOOK
NOW WITH LESS TAG!
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2009
Love the Poly comment. I wonder what she thought when she actually saw the Poly?Overheard earlier in the trip out on the Boardwalk, someone pointing at the Dolphin -- "Is that the Polynesian?"
We have spent at least an hour a day sitting either on our balcony or on the benches out on the Boardwalk, just enjoying the view, people watching, reading, playing iPhone games, etc. It definitely feels like vacation.
Tonight is Yachsman's Steakhouse, maybe our favorite meal on our last trip.
How was YS? I've been reading mixed reviews lately and would like to know what you thought. Thanks for all the great photos and updates!
psac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2009
Thanks everyone for the kind words!! Glad you enjoyed the updates. Something came up at home, and unfortunately we had to actually check out a couple of days early. Sitting in MCO now. Found out an oddity about DVC stays -- there actually is no early check out. They said that I still would have the room until it was scheduled, but to try calling Member Services to see if they could do anything. Very friendly and concerned at the desk. Wasn't expecting to get any points back, just figured if someone else could get the room earlier, all the better. We hit all the parks at least once, and did our favorite restaurants, so we were okay with leaving early. We'll be back for a stay at somewhere new in April (AKL), and back for another DVC stay at the BW next November.
We put off trying Yachtsman's for a long time because of all the mixed reviews. We finally tried it for the first time in June and loved it. It became a must do on this trip. Last time one of the appetizers was the best thing we had on the whole trip, so of course it was off the menu this time. Our appetizers this time were both okay, nothing special. We were a little concerned that last time was an anomaly. Not the case. The steaks we had (filet and porterhouse) were both very good, though I still thought the strip steak I had at Flying Fish earlier in the trip was better. However, the side dishes (truffle Mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach) were all laced with extra crack. They should give the side dish guy a promotion. We shared the creme brule for dessert, and it was good and extra crunchy. Overall happy with the meal, and will definitely go back again next year when we're in the area again.
The pool never looked over packed. With Bluezoo, the scallop and pork belly appetizer was the best app I had on this trip, and the cocktails were made REALLY strong. Two drinks and I was very happy I didn't have to drive.
Walking back from the Yacht Club, we caught the end of Illuminations.
Ships passing:
Friendships for my Disboards friends:
We put off trying Yachtsman's for a long time because of all the mixed reviews. We finally tried it for the first time in June and loved it. It became a must do on this trip. Last time one of the appetizers was the best thing we had on the whole trip, so of course it was off the menu this time. Our appetizers this time were both okay, nothing special. We were a little concerned that last time was an anomaly. Not the case. The steaks we had (filet and porterhouse) were both very good, though I still thought the strip steak I had at Flying Fish earlier in the trip was better. However, the side dishes (truffle Mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach) were all laced with extra crack. They should give the side dish guy a promotion. We shared the creme brule for dessert, and it was good and extra crunchy. Overall happy with the meal, and will definitely go back again next year when we're in the area again.
The pool never looked over packed. With Bluezoo, the scallop and pork belly appetizer was the best app I had on this trip, and the cocktails were made REALLY strong. Two drinks and I was very happy I didn't have to drive.
Walking back from the Yacht Club, we caught the end of Illuminations.
Ships passing:
Friendships for my Disboards friends:
Missyrose
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2009
Thanks everyone for the kind words!! Glad you enjoyed the updates. Something came up at home, and unfortunately we had to actually check out a couple of days early. Sitting in MCO now. Found out an oddity about DVC stays -- there actually is no early check out. They said that I still would have the room until it was scheduled, but to try calling Member Services to see if they could do anything. Very friendly and concerned at the desk. Wasn't expecting to get any points back, just figured if someone else could get the room earlier, all the better. We hit all the parks at least once, and did our favorite restaurants, so we were okay with leaving early. We'll be back for a stay at somewhere new in April (AKL), and back for another DVC stay at the BW next November.
We put off trying Yachtsman's for a long time because of all the mixed reviews. We finally tried it for the first time in June and loved it. It became a must do on this trip. Last time one of the appetizers was the best thing we had on the whole trip, so of course it was off the menu this time. Our appetizers this time were both okay, nothing special. We were a little concerned that last time was an anomaly. Not the case. The steaks we had (filet and porterhouse) were both very good, though I still thought the strip steak I had at Flying Fish earlier in the trip was better. However, the side dishes (truffle Mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach) were all laced with extra crack. They should give the side dish guy a promotion. We shared the creme brule for dessert, and it was good and extra crunchy. Overall happy with the meal, and will definitely go back again next year when we're in the area again.
The pool never looked over packed. With Bluezoo, the scallop and pork belly appetizer was the best app I had on this trip, and the cocktails were made REALLY strong. Two drinks and I was very happy I didn't have to drive.
Walking back from the Yacht Club, we caught the end of Illuminations.
Ships passing:
Friendships for my Disboards friends:
Thanks for all your photos and reviews Psac! I was wondering if you've ever eaten at Shula's. We keep going back and forth on Yachtsman Steakhouse or Shula's for our January trip. Just looking for some real-life experience.
goofieslonglostsis
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2007
Psac, sorry to hear about the situation at home. Hopefully you get home safe, sound and quickly. Take care.
I think you might have gotten some wrong info about no early check out. I know it can be done, since I did it just a month ago at SSR. My mom had to fly in asap because of some medical problems, resulting in me moving from a studio to onebedroom. Because I had rented points, we had to get the owner involved and all went through member service. Lucked out and was able to not just have them redestribute the points and me paying the rest, but was able to rent the extra points from owner. Important thing though; the day of movement, I had to get out of the room by no later than 11.00am, since they had already assigned the studio to a next guest. A studio that until the day of making the chance in ressie (day before moving to onebedroom) was booked for me for almost another 2 weeks. I know because we had multiple managers involved trying to make it a swift transfer as I was pretty much 24/7 bedridden and that being a bit of a challenge with 11am check out and 4pm check in. That worked out by the way, but the studio that I left over by having the ressie changed was booked up within 2 hours I learned. So it can happen, allthough have no clue what is possible or not they even just think you'ld want to be reimbursed for the points for night(s) not used.
Same thing at BWV actually. Was in hospital during that part of same trip and while there (also DVC-stay through rented points) my options were discussed with managers on duty with them actively bringing it up. Vacating was one of the options.
So without knowing it, you might have still made an impact on another guests trip.
And oh well, as long as I'm on this thread anyway; who wants to join me in a carefull
. Am booked for a 3 week split BWI/BWV stay for september/october. Can't wait!
I think you might have gotten some wrong info about no early check out. I know it can be done, since I did it just a month ago at SSR. My mom had to fly in asap because of some medical problems, resulting in me moving from a studio to onebedroom. Because I had rented points, we had to get the owner involved and all went through member service. Lucked out and was able to not just have them redestribute the points and me paying the rest, but was able to rent the extra points from owner. Important thing though; the day of movement, I had to get out of the room by no later than 11.00am, since they had already assigned the studio to a next guest. A studio that until the day of making the chance in ressie (day before moving to onebedroom) was booked for me for almost another 2 weeks. I know because we had multiple managers involved trying to make it a swift transfer as I was pretty much 24/7 bedridden and that being a bit of a challenge with 11am check out and 4pm check in. That worked out by the way, but the studio that I left over by having the ressie changed was booked up within 2 hours I learned. So it can happen, allthough have no clue what is possible or not they even just think you'ld want to be reimbursed for the points for night(s) not used.
Same thing at BWV actually. Was in hospital during that part of same trip and while there (also DVC-stay through rented points) my options were discussed with managers on duty with them actively bringing it up. Vacating was one of the options.
So without knowing it, you might have still made an impact on another guests trip.
And oh well, as long as I'm on this thread anyway; who wants to join me in a carefull
. Am booked for a 3 week split BWI/BWV stay for september/october. Can't wait!
psac
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2009
Nope, haven't tried Shula's yet. Generally it gets good reviews, but so does Il Mulino, and we didn't really like it. (Just lumping the unrelated Swan restaurants together for no good reason.
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