Back from Boardwalk

[Jpgirl]

Well we survived Rita with minor damage-so here's the report from Boardwalk concierge. We had a deluxe room-very roomy for the 2 of us-2 queens and a sleeper sofa and some sort of cot thing that was stored in the closet. I can't remember the room number but we were over the Flying Fish cafe and a few rooms down from the Steeplechase suite. It was a good week to go as we had no ADR's and were able to eat where we wanted. We didn't try and go anywhere popular for dinner. We ate at Le Cellier twice for lunch with no reservations-we went once at 11:30 and once at 12:30 with a 5 minute or less wait. The food was excellent. We went to Big River Grill (the brewery) twice the first meal was good the second so so. Dh got sick but don't know to blame it on the food as we ate there the night before our flight into Houston Thurs. AM and he was very worried about Rita and getting ready before it hit us.
The concierge staff was just excellent. Jackie, Jase, and Kevin all stick out the most but everyone we encountered were the absolute best. A lot of things are hard to remember as we only spent 3 days and cut our vacation short by 2. One of the conciege staff was helping me re route the Magical Express bus and I was explaining our situation and without me asking converted the remaining days on our Park Hopper tickets to no experation!! I wasn't even thinking about refunds I just wanted to get home!! The front desk person was trying to get us a refund on the 2 unsed hotel nights but we had to leave before that was resolved. My dh had planned a surprise with Jackie-she arranged for us to have a private moment on the balcony during the fireworks so he could ask me to marry him again (married 25 year) and give me an eternity ring. Unfortunately he could wait but the staff was so nice and oohed and ahhhed when we went to watch the firewooks. Jackie was so great about providing us with bottled water when she found out we drink it by the gallon. The food offerings were great. I know that they're suposed to be snacks but we found them quite adequate for our needs. We always ate breakfast there and after a huge lunch at the restaurants, the hor'sdoerves were just right for a light bite to end the day. Desserts were great too. The gym facilities were great too-better than some here at home.
The parks were very empty. Mon the 19th Epcot was a ghost town and we had no wait on most things. The Test track was maybe 10 minutes. We didn't do Soarin that day-it did have a line. But when we went back on Tues-there was a 5 minute wait. MK on Tues was crowded but the rides we went on were almost walk on. They were Haunted mansion. Thunder RR and Tiki Romm (I know dorky). Pirates was closed b/c of some problem and we never did get back to that one. MGM on Wed was pretty empty in the AM-we rode the Aerosmith rollercoaster with no wait and back to back. Downtown Disney was very crowded. La Nouba was amazing and you really have to do that. That's it-I'm going to contact the resort about the refund and we will definitely do another stay and it will be at the Boardwalk concierge. If any of you are staying on concierge in the next few weeks look Jackie up and tell her that Dave and Becky made it through Rita OK and we're so grateful to everyone one there at concierge. I'll be happy answer any questions.

 

[Marilyn Mc]

I'm glad all went well with Rita. Could you please share the specifics on the food offerings in concierge? Thanks!

 

[The Edge]

Welcome back. Could you tell me more about the view from the deluxe room over the Flying Fish Cafe? Did it face the Boardwalk? What floor were you on? Could you fit 2 chairs on the balcony? I want to surprise my wife with a deluxe room this summer. We're big balcony people and view is important.

 

[Jpgirl]

Marilyn here's the run down on the food Breakfast: Assorted cereal and Granola,Rolls and Breads,yogurt,Juice and coffee (and a yummy Expresso machine that also made Latte and mochas. We weren't there for mid afternoon snacks. Cocktail hour: Assorted cheeses,a vegie tray, crackers and flat bread,dip, soft cheese spread, brie cheese, BarbQue beef (dh said it was pretty good) and clam chowder.There were PB&J Uncrustables and Goldfish. Wines were Merlot and Chardonay and mid priced winery (can't remember the specific winery) Beer was Corona and I can't remember what else. Late night offerings: assorted desserts like chocolate cake (very good), cheese cake and cookies. They had Kaluha, Baileys and other Liquoers (Sp?) but can't remember them as we don't drink them. LIke most here have said the lounge offerings aren't meant to be meals. Dh and I are light eaters and we had the Disney eating plan. We ate breakfast in the lounge, lunch at a table service restaurant and usually the concierge lounge for dinner b/c we were stuffed from lunch. We didn't use up all of our counter service credits.
Edge-We were in room 4256 (we think!! I apologize but most of the week was spent trying to get back to Houston and worrying about the kids we left here). We were over the Flying Fish or between the Flying Fish and the Sweet Shop. Our view was the Boardwalk and the boat dock was just to our left. We looked out at the lake and The Beach club. It was a very nice view. I'm guessing from what I've read here that our balcony was small, but we had plenty of room. There were supposed to be 2 chairs and we only had one but we dragged one from inside and a small table. The rooms on either side of us had an awning but we did not, so take the into consideration when it rains. From the Boardwalk looking up I'm guessing they did that for visual appeal so that the whole facade wouldn't look like a huge hotel with every room looking the same. We're balcony people too and when we were in the room we were on the balcony. There was no noise from the Boardwalk at all but then it was pretty slow. The night was a little livelier with conventioneers hanging out but we never heard a thing when we wanted to sleep. The rooms were very sound proof and I was surprised to find out we actually had neighbors. I'm hoping they felt the same way as dh and I were up extremely late watching the weather, news and on hold with the airlines all 3 nights we stayed. You can't see the fireworks from the Boardwalk side of the building but if you stay concierge you can see the high fireworks from the lounge balcony. It's a long balcony but not very wide so it has no chairs. The concierge level is definitely worth the money. While we didin't use them for reservations they were of great value giving advice about cutting the trip short and helping get us back here.
The only problem (and I hate to call it that) was late one night we took a walk around the Boardwalk and to the back side of the resort. We found the clown pool and decided to try and short cut through the villas and to the hotel side. We got hopelessly lost. We finally got back outside and found our way home. So be careful with the lay of the land-that was the first time I've ever been lost in a resort-and we trave plenty. Have a great time

 

[KerryCM]

I am so glad you had such a positive experience at the BW. Jackie is the best there is! She has such a special way of helping her guests and shows a genuine interest in what ever you do. She is one of the reasons we will only stay at the BW now, along with Robin, Scott, Lorenzo, Laura and Illia!
Glad to hear you made it through Rita Ok also.

 

[Tinkbell]

I'm glad to hear the hurricane didn't give you any trouble. Thanks for all of the information. I'll be staying BWI deluxe concierge for the first time this summer.

 

[paladin]

Thanks for the information. We are looking forward to our stay in December. So far the IPO folks have been great.