(CLOSED) Disney's BOARDWALK INN and VILLAS Information Thread ~2012~

[WDWKOOK]

Originally Posted by LSUfan4444

Okay, this is what I was able to find. According the resort, there is a Gooding's real close, but I checked them out on yelp and they got horrible reviews (http://www.yelp.com/biz/goodings-supermarket-orlando) so I did some more searching.

There is a Publix, located about 7 miles away at 2925 International Dr., Kissimmee, FL and a Wal Mart located at 3250 Vineland Rd., Kissimmee, FL 34746 which might even be a tad closer.

The Publix recieved 4/5 stars with 9 reviews and the Wal Mart recieved 3/5 stars with 10 reviews. It appears both are typical for what you might expect in most cities. For groceries/produce/meat etc., you'll probably do better at Publix, but Wal Mart will have a decent selection for other items you may have forgotten.


Link to reviews for Wal Mart:http://www.yelp.com/biz/walmart-kissimmee

Link to reviews for Publix: http://www.yelp.com/biz/publix-super...ts-kissimmee-7

Thanks for posing this

Originally Posted by Missyrose

Had anyone heard about this (from themouseforless.com):



Not thrilled with this news considering BW Bakery was the only CS-type place to get breakfasts. Guess we'll order more breakfast foods for our villas or plan to pick up pastries in France for the next morning.

Thank you for posting the link. This is all that wdwinfo is reporting:

BoardWalk Bakery expansion - BoardWalk Bakery will be closed during this work. A coffee cart will be available on the boardwalk area during this time. Closed 01/02/13 - 04/12/13.

Also: Luna Park Pool refurbishment - Guests may use the other leisure pools located next to Community Hall or on the Inn side. Closed 1/28/2013- 3/1/2013

[Flossbolna]

Originally Posted by Missyrose

Had anyone heard about this (from themouseforless.com):



Not thrilled with this news considering BW Bakery was the only CS-type place to get breakfasts. Guess we'll order more breakfast foods for our villas or plan to pick up pastries in France for the next morning.

Originally Posted by twinklestar22

I'm totally bummed out about this bc I will be staying at BWV at this time. We were planning to grab breakfast most mornings there before we head to the parks. I know we can stock up in our room but what other options do we have now. We're on the DP and I don't want to use my CS credits for breakfast.

For breakfast don't forget that the Bellevue lounge is also selling baked goods.

[Kerrio929]

Just got back from a 6night stay at BWI. Loved loved loved the location. I liked the hotel but there were a few things I didn't like about it. Feel free to ask me questions if you want

[gometros]

Originally Posted by LSUfan4444

Okay, this is what I was able to find. According the resort, there is a Gooding's real close, but I checked them out on yelp and they got horrible reviews (http://www.yelp.com/biz/goodings-supermarket-orlando) so I did some more searching.

There is a Publix, located about 7 miles away at 2925 International Dr., Kissimmee, FL and a Wal Mart located at 3250 Vineland Rd., Kissimmee, FL 34746 which might even be a tad closer.

The Publix recieved 4/5 stars with 9 reviews and the Wal Mart recieved 3/5 stars with 10 reviews. It appears both are typical for what you might expect in most cities. For groceries/produce/meat etc., you'll probably do better at Publix, but Wal Mart will have a decent selection for other items you may have forgotten.


Link to reviews for Wal Mart:http://www.yelp.com/biz/walmart-kissimmee

Link to reviews for Publix: http://www.yelp.com/biz/publix-super...ts-kissimmee-7

The Goodings is in the Crossroads shopping center at the end of Hotel Plaza Blvd. It is pricey and doesn't have the kind of selection a full service supermarket like Publix has.

[gometros]

Originally Posted by WDWKOOK

Thanks for posing this


Thank you for posting the link. This is all that wdwinfo is reporting:

BoardWalk Bakery expansion - BoardWalk Bakery will be closed during this work. A coffee cart will be available on the boardwalk area during this time. Closed 01/02/13 - 04/12/13.

Also: Luna Park Pool refurbishment - Guests may use the other leisure pools located next to Community Hall or on the Inn side. Closed 1/28/2013- 3/1/2013

Super, we get to see the changes when we go in May.

And a very Happy Chanukah to you too, Kook.

[Deb & Bill]

Originally Posted by gometros

The Goodings is in the Crossroads shopping center at the end of Hotel Plaza Blvd. It is pricey and doesn't have the kind of selection a full service supermarket like Publix has.

Goodings is not good anymore. 15 yrs ago, it was pretty good. Now, not so much.

[pixarmom]

Just read about the Luna Park pool rehab, and it looks like the only alternatives will be the quiet pools at BWI. Is that right? If so, that's surprising, because when we stay at BC and the slide is down, guests always have the option of using Luna Park. Does this mean no access to a pool with a slide during that entire time? (We're moving from Poly to BWI on January 29, so our timing isn't the best!)

Update: Just contacted BWI IPO to ask about this. They confirmed that, at this time, the only pool options for BWI guests will be the quiet pools. (By the way, their response time was great and they delivered the bad news quite graciously!) They said this information comes directly from the BWI front desk team, that it's all they know at the moment, and options for use of a pool slide may be forthcoming. I hope so, because our boys love to swim (even in January) and we'd really like to keep our BWI reservation.

[jackemail]

Originally Posted by Kerrio929

Just got back from a 6night stay at BWI. Loved loved loved the location. I liked the hotel but there were a few things I didn't like about it. Feel free to ask me questions if you want

I am curious to know what you liked, and didn't like.

[Pink Flamingo]

Originally Posted by Kerrio929

Just got back from a 6night stay at BWI. Loved loved loved the location. I liked the hotel but there were a few things I didn't like about it. Feel free to ask me questions if you want

Originally Posted by jackemail

I am curious to know what you liked, and didn't like.

Me too !

[Kerrio929]

Originally Posted by Pink Flamingo

Me too !

I loved the location, so close to Epcot and DHS. Not having to take a bus to either of those parks was a huge plus for us. I loved how quiet the hotel was. We hardly ever saw anyone in the halls and it was just a very serene place. No loud noise ever. Our room overlooked the quiet pools by the villas so that may be why we didn't hear much, since we weren't overlooking the actual Boardwalk. I loved the design and decor of the hotel, so homey and charming. I loved the bakery. The pastries were amazing! I loved being able to see the Illuminations fireworks from our room every night. We never thought our girls would be tired and out and asleep by 9 on vacation but they were. So DH and I would just sit on the balcony and watch. I liked the pool area quite a bit. Our girls loved the slide and the entertainment they had. We didn't spend tons of time there, maybe an hour each day but its a nice pool. The water temperature was perfect.

I didn't like that there was only 1 elevator from the ground floor to he lobby level. We had a stroller so we often had to wait in line for that elevator. Once you were on lobby level there are 3 elevators to go up to floors 3-5 so that was never a problem (we actually rarely had to wait for one of those). But having to wait for that other elevator was a small pain. I also felt like our room was so so far from the elevator and/or lobby. We were in room 3424 (or maybe it was 3224) and it was really far down the hall. In the morning I would grab the mugs and head out for coffee/juice and it was quite a walk. I also was bummed by the lack of QS dining options there. For breakfast you basically had to eat a breakfast sandwich, a pastry or a yogurt parfait (the last of which none of us liked at all). We had brought some cereal and granola bars down with us so we ended up eating those for breakfast most days. I felt our room was pretty small as well. For a deluxe resort I was expecting a touch more space. The bathroom area was tiny!

That's really all I didn't like. Nothing was enough to keep me from staying there again. The proximity to the 2 parks within walking distance makes it a definite win overall.

[debrapagliasotti]

We hit our 10 day window today -- my question is, what is the benefit of online check in if we are staying CL? We are booked in a Dlx CL room and we dont really mind if we are on 3rd or 4th floor.

[gogo]

We are booked at the BWI in January CL and after reading that the BW bakery will be closed at that time, I'm wondering if the desserts/pastries served in the lounge won't be as good (especially in the evening). I can't be sure, but I thought that the ones in the lounge were made at the bakery. They were so good. I haven't been a huge fan of some of Disney's club levels but I was impressed with our first visit last January so we booked again this January.

[Pink Flamingo]

Thanks Kerrio929! Loved reading what you liked/didn't like. We've booked our first BWI stay for Aug & I can hardly wait. My biggest hesitation with booking @ BWI was the lack of CS options, but I decided to sacrifice that for the ease of getting to EPCOT & DHS. Sounds like you were very pleased with that. Did you take the bus to MK, & if so how was that?

[WDWKOOK]

Originally Posted by gometros

And a very Happy Chanukah to you too, Kook.

Thank you, but actually I'm not Jewish, but I wanted to make sure to recognize all our wonderful BWI/BWV posters (and lurkers) who celebrate Hanukkah

Originally Posted by Deb & Bill

Goodings is not good anymore. 15 yrs ago, it was pretty good. Now, not so much.

This made me LOL

Originally Posted by Kerrio929

I loved the location, so close to Epcot and DHS. Not having to take a bus to either of those parks was a huge plus for us. I loved how quiet the hotel was. We hardly ever saw anyone in the halls and it was just a very serene place. No loud noise ever. Our room overlooked the quiet pools by the villas so that may be why we didn't hear much, since we weren't overlooking the actual Boardwalk. I loved the design and decor of the hotel, so homey and charming. I loved the bakery. The pastries were amazing! I loved being able to see the Illuminations fireworks from our room every night. We never thought our girls would be tired and out and asleep by 9 on vacation but they were. So DH and I would just sit on the balcony and watch. I liked the pool area quite a bit. Our girls loved the slide and the entertainment they had. We didn't spend tons of time there, maybe an hour each day but its a nice pool. The water temperature was perfect.

I didn't like that there was only 1 elevator from the ground floor to he lobby level. We had a stroller so we often had to wait in line for that elevator. Once you were on lobby level there are 3 elevators to go up to floors 3-5 so that was never a problem (we actually rarely had to wait for one of those). But having to wait for that other elevator was a small pain. I also felt like our room was so so far from the elevator and/or lobby. We were in room 3424 (or maybe it was 3224) and it was really far down the hall. In the morning I would grab the mugs and head out for coffee/juice and it was quite a walk. I also was bummed by the lack of QS dining options there. For breakfast you basically had to eat a breakfast sandwich, a pastry or a yogurt parfait (the last of which none of us liked at all). We had brought some cereal and granola bars down with us so we ended up eating those for breakfast most days. I felt our room was pretty small as well. For a deluxe resort I was expecting a touch more space. The bathroom area was tiny!

That's really all I didn't like. Nothing was enough to keep me from staying there again. The proximity to the 2 parks within walking distance makes it a definite win overall.

Thanks, kerrio929! Do you think you would consider club level next time to make it easier to eat breakfast and to be more centrally located?

Originally Posted by debrapagliasotti

We hit our 10 day window today -- my question is, what is the benefit of online check in if we are staying CL? We are booked in a Dlx CL room and we dont really mind if we are on 3rd or 4th floor.

There really is never a benefit to doing OCI when staying CL.

Just for fun, I did OCI for the Innkeeper's Club last March. The only difference it might have made is that the packet of info. they give you when you check-in was already assembled. But, even when not doing OCI, I have seen those packets with the guests' name on them already assembled at WL and CR. In fact, OCI really limits any requests you can make as they are pre-set and you can't add any of your comments.

It won't hurt anything to do OCI, but just remember to email the IPO with any room location requests, etc... you might have so that they can be placed in your reservation.

[Kerrio929]

Originally Posted by Pink Flamingo

Thanks Kerrio929! Loved reading what you liked/didn't like. We've booked our first BWI stay for Aug & I can hardly wait. My biggest hesitation with booking @ BWI was the lack of CS options, but I decided to sacrifice that for the ease of getting to EPCOT & DHS. Sounds like you were very pleased with that. Did you take the bus to MK, & if so how was that?

We did take the bus to both MK and AK and it was fine. Wasn't thrilled with sharing a bus with swan/dolphin but it wasn't that big of a deal. A couple of times the bus was so crowded that we got off at the swan and walked back to BWI. We never had to wait more than 15 min for a bus either so that was nice!