An Evening At The Boardwalk

[jhaig]

What would be an ideal way to spend a family evening on the Boardwalk?

 

[OurLaughingPlace]

We always do the Boardwalk one night on our trip. We are sports fans and enjoy a dinner at ESPN around 5pm - they do not take ADR's so we like to go at 5 before the rush. After dinner we usually wander the Boardwalk - DD's get hair wrap and caricatures drawings every trip. We like to shop and pin trade at The Screen Door store. DD's like to look around Seashore Sweets shop. We go mini golfing at Fantasia mini golf (a short walk away). By then it's around 8:30pm and the entertainers are out and about (jugglers, mimes) and carnival type games. We sometimes ride the Friendship Boat and visit our favourite deluxe resort The Beach Club. We grab ice cream from Beaches and Cream 'to go' window. Then we wrap up the evening by watching fireworks from Illuminations from the bridge near Epcot. It's a tradition for our family. When we don't have the kids we do Jelly Rolls- fun, fun, fun!!!
ETA- surrey bikes always look like fun, but we haven't tried them yet. We've also seen the movies on the beach

 

[Robo]

What would be an ideal way to spend a family evening on the Boardwalk?

Not really that much to do.

Dining, followed by maybe 30-60 minutes of scoping out the very limited "entertainment" on the boards.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Plan on leaving after about 30 minutes unless you plan to dine there.

 

[Dan Murphy]

We always do the Boardwalk one night on our trip. We are sports fans and enjoy a dinner at ESPN around 5pm - they do not take ADR's so we like to go at 5 before the rush. After dinner we usually wander the Boardwalk - DD's get hair wrap and caricatures drawings every trip. We like to shop and pin trade at The Screen Door store. DD's like to look around Seashore Sweets shop. We go mini golfing at Fantasia mini golf (a short walk away). By then it's around 8:30pm and the entertainers are out and about (jugglers, mimes) and carnival type games. We sometimes ride the Friendship Boat and visit our favourite deluxe resort The Beach Club. We grab ice cream from Beaches and Cream 'to go' window. Then we wrap up the evening by watching fireworks from Illuminations from the bridge near Epcot. It's a tradition for our family. When we don't have the kids we do Jelly Rolls- fun, fun, fun!!!
ETA- surrey bikes always look like fun, but we haven't tried them yet. We've also seen the movies on the beach

Sounds like a great, fun and relaxing evening and change of pace. Nice.

 

[DisneyLandMan]

Yea, even if you go inside every small shop and walk around the whole perimeter, it is still less than an hour. You do get a pretty good view of Illuminations in Epcot though.

 

[jon18uk]

Plan on leaving after about 30 minutes unless you plan to dine there.

We have sometimes walked through after Epcot if we aren't ready to had back to the resort, so we do dinner then Illuminations in Epcot then spend 30-60 minutes just walking along and watching the jugglers etc. Hard part is getting back to you resort, when were were at SSR it was easy as can walk from DTD but other resorts can be a pain to get to.

 

[Lisaloo]

We are going to do the Boardwalk on our arrival night. We used to do DTD but I wouldn't go through that hassle for anything. My crowd enjoys the Boardwalk and we can relax and have fun for a bit before our crazy vacation starts. We won't be relying on Disney transportation that night, we will drive.

 

[jhaig]

What is the best way to get from BW to the International Gateway entrance at EP? We were going to check out evening EMH on Friday night after touring the Boardwalk.

 

[Jennytoon]

If you are reasonably fit and it's not too hot, it's often fastest to walk.

Otherwise, you can get a boat from the dock in front of either the Boardwalk Inn / Villas or the Beach / Yacht club.

 

[Robo]

What is the best way to get from BW to the International Gateway entrance at EP?

If you are reasonably fit and it's not too hot, it's often fastest to walk.
Otherwise, you can get a boat from the dock in front of either the Boardwalk Inn / Villas or the Beach / Yacht club.

 

[vicb]

I would walk from BW to Epcot Int. Gate, easy-peasy.

Surrey bikes are fun, we did that many times when our kids were on the younger side.... but old enough to help pedal.

To make an evening of it definitely plan to have dinner. I like the idea of mini golf at Fantasia then back for dessert somewhere like Beaches and Cream or Seashore Sweets.

My daughter has had her hair wrapped on BW many times.

 

[las3888]

We just stayed at the BWV and enjoyed a few evenings at the boardwalk. If I wasn't staying there, I would plan to eat there (my favorite being the Big River Brewing co), then enjoy the BWV gift shop, take a peek in the Wyland gallery, ride the surreys (VERY fun, but do when it's not too hot!), then shop in the Sweet store, then take a peek at ESPN shop. We also enjoyed eating at ESPN, while not sports fanatics, we appreciated the trivia contest while we were there. The street performers are very fun. My phone was confiscated by one for the magic act but "magically" re-appeared (thankfully)! All of that would have taken about 2-3 hours. Another VERY fun treat is to after all that enjoy a night-cap at the Bellevue Lounge (near the Flying Fish just a floor above and to the rear). Very fun, themed, and out of the way and there used to be some fun games to enjoy (think checkers, etc.). Finally, fireworks can be seen from various spots on the boardwalk, AND lesser known, there are also the MK fireworks enjoyed from the deck off the BWV lobby (nice rocking chairs etc.)....

It could be done in 30 minutes if preferred, or 3 hours. Your choice!

 

[Angeejoe]

The Beach Club usually has movies out on the beach with a big screen, free family fun!

 

[Crystal824]

Family fun is a bit limited. If everyone is over 21, you could do dinner and Jellyrolls can be fun. Otherwise, I would do dinner and then just walk around for an hour or so.

 

[scarslegalcounsel]

It's just a gorgeous area, so if you're into just relaxing and enjoying the ambience, it makes for a picturesque evening. I love grabbing a beach chair and watching the ducks on the lake with a drink from Hurricane Hanna's. Great for romantic strolls and my favorite way to spend the first evening of a trip.

 

[goofy4tink]

What is the best way to get from BW to the International Gateway entrance at EP? We were going to check out evening EMH on Friday night after touring the Boardwalk.

You can take the boat to Epcot.....BW is the last stop before it gets to the IG. Or, you can walk. Exit the BW area, with the lake on your left, resort on your right, walk past the wedding pavilion area, on the left, and up the hill, across the bridge, go right and down the hill to IG. Easy.

 

[JennyDrake]

Not really that much to do.

Dining, followed by maybe 30-60 minutes of scoping out the very limited "entertainment" on the boards.

DITTO! VERY limited entertainment compared to a decade ago.

Now IF you are going near Christmas, you can tour the resort lobbies and see the impressive decorations!

 

[jhaig]

Thinking about dinner at Beaches and Cream then renting a surrey to tour the BW area resorts. Thoughts?

 

[Cynister]

We had a blast renting a surrey bike one evening. It was a great way for the family to do something different & fun together. Follow it up with a leisurely stroll on the boardwalk catching the handful of 1-man shows along the way. Make your way though the gift shoppe, ice cream place, & bakery. Head over to the top of the bridge closest to Epcot to watch the Epcot fireworks without the crowds. Great, easy night.