Boardwalk area….. who’s running this dumpster fire?

[GPC0321]

We're hoping to stay at Boardwalk again next Christmas (stayed last Christmas when it was a ghost town). We wouldn't eat at ESPN or the food booths/windows anyway, so that's no big deal to us. I'd love for Flying Fish to reopen, but it's not that big of a deal either. We're just going to stroll over to Epcot every night when we're hungry. We couldn't do that last Christmas because there was no hopping. Looking forward to it!

I've known the Boardwalk area at its worst, so any improvement will seem great to me. I'm sorry others are disappointed.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

wait for it now with Omicron and what cast members they have are going to start calling out sick. at least according to CDC the vaccinated don't have to isolate for 10 days anymore

 

[Nabas]

We're hoping to stay at Boardwalk again next Christmas (stayed last Christmas when it was a ghost town).

A partial view of the Boardwalk from December 2020. A couple of workers, a couple of Guests. It's hard to see by they are all wearing masks while outdoors.



And here's one from at night as Epcot was closing, also December 2020. Normally, the Boardwalk would be rocking around Epcot's closing time. It's tough to see but the ice cream store (on the left) is closed, with no signage. Towards the center, the various booths are all closed. On the far left, the ESPN Club is dark.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Ample Hills went bankrupt, but there is a new ice cream place there now (called merely "Boardwalk Ice Cream," likely run by WDW). I don't believe that ESPN Club will ever reopen as ESPN Club. Someday it might reopen as something else but likely not anytime soon. Flying Fish is supposed to reopen someday.

 

[mrsap]

A partial view of the Boardwalk from December 2020. A couple of workers, a couple of Guests. It's hard to see by they are all wearing masks while outdoors.

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And here's one from at night as Epcot was closing, also December 2020. Normally, the Boardwalk would be rocking around Epcot's closing time. It's tough to see but the ice cream store (on the left) is closed, with no signage. Towards the center, the various booths are all closed. On the far left, the ESPN Club is dark.

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It’s actually been quite busy!!! Even the Village Green is crowded. Standing here now…

 

[Nabas]

It’s actually been quite busy!!! Even the Village Green is crowded. Standing here now…

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Yes, we were at the Boardwalk in October for the 50th and except for Flying Fish and ESPN Club, it was pretty much back to normal.

 

[Disneytam]

We have stayed at the BWI CL many times and it has always been our favorite resort. On our most recent, in early December, visit we were staying at another resort but made some time to spend an evening at the boardwalk. I have to agree with most of what the OP says. We had dinner at the Big River and though the food was ok the restrooms were disgusting. One toilet was actually overflowing with the floor covered in a layer of water. All they did was place a wet floor sign by the door and an out of order sign on the open stall. We have always enjoyed the entertainment offered up at night and have often spent a couple of hours watching the different jugglers and mind readers. The only show offered the night we were there was a jump roping group that was just not very good and they just kept repeating the same show. Obviously, Disney didn't want to put much money into bringing back all the talented performers that they used to have. Overall, like much of Disney, it was just a shadow of its old self.

 

[gregskellington]

The subtlety that still seems to be missing is that we are in the middle of a global pandemic and things are not normal. If your world view is so narrow that you can't see that, great! Must be easy street being you! But Disney is doing what every other company and every other human is doing right now - struggling.

 

[DduzDis]

It has long been known that Boardwalk was lacking in the QS area way pre-pandemic. This would be a great opportunity to repurpose the ESPN club space to something more favorable than going through the bakery to refill drinks and expand the QS food options in the area.

They may be struggling to hire cast members, but all of the open restaurants in the rest of the WDW complex show it is possible...if they wanted to.

 

[MomOTwins]

I think part of the issue is the inability to park cars at BW/Yacht/BC without an ADR. People who just want to hang out and have an ice cream or a quick bite or drink and take in the Boardwalk can’t do that anymore unless they are walking over from Epcot (in which case why bother as there is plenty more to eat, drink and see at Epcot) or staying at a Crescent Lake resort. Instead everyone else who is doing a resort day just goes to Disney Springs instead.

 

[kylenne]

I think part of the issue is the inability to park cars at BW/Yacht/BC without an ADR. People who just want to hang out and have an ice cream or a quick bite or drink and take in the Boardwalk can’t do that anymore unless they are walking over from Epcot (in which case why bother as there is plenty more to eat, drink and see at Epcot) or staying at a Crescent Lake resort. Instead everyone else who is doing a resort day just goes to Disney Springs instead.

Think this might be a chicken & egg situation...unless you’re staying in one of the Crescent Lake resorts it really doesn’t seem like the Boardwalk is much of a destination anymore. Less foot traffic, less reason to put limited staffing etc resources into reopening things there. So less people go, because there’s less things open.

 

[CarolynFH]

I think part of the issue is the inability to park cars at BW/Yacht/BC without an ADR. People who just want to hang out and have an ice cream or a quick bite or drink and take in the Boardwalk can’t do that anymore unless they are walking over from Epcot (in which case why bother as there is plenty more to eat, drink and see at Epcot) or staying at a Crescent Lake resort. Instead everyone else who is doing a resort day just goes to Disney Springs instead.

Think this might be a chicken & egg situation...unless you’re staying in one of the Crescent Lake resorts it really doesn’t seem like the Boardwalk is much of a destination anymore. Less foot traffic, less reason to put limited staffing etc resources into reopening things there. So less people go, because there’s less things open.

And I wonder too if that's a conscious decision made by Disney, to encourage people to go to DS instead of BW. I don't think the BW parking lot could hold the number of cars for visiting guests (including local residents) and resort guests too, especially when you have to consider the number who would park at BW to visit Epcot.

 

[MarriedAtDisney]

We went to Disney springs one evening during our recent trip. Simply overwhelming. It’s like salmon swimming upstream to go anywhere. It rivals the parks for overpopulation. I remember how nice it was 15 years ago. It’s not enjoyable in any way at this point. But to bring back to the thread topic. Every store, every restaurant was open and packed. So if the excuse for boardwalk is they can’t hire, it’s a pandemic, etc…. Well DS surely proves that’s not the issue.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

They can sure hire plenty in some places
We walked in to Mama Melrose on Christmas Day to about 8 CM standing in a line, across from each other. It was like running a gauntlet to our table. There was NO shortage of CM

Same at CSR. We headed out and they had about 6 CM standing around handing out cookies. They were there all day on Christmas Day. Our family commented that it was sure not obvious there was a shortage of staff in either of those cases.

Maybe they have a misallocation of staff

 

[Princess Merida]

I love the OPs idea of putting in a much needed food court with indoor tables at ESPN club. Our home resort is BWV and we have definitely had issues getting food here and there. Resort dining locations shouldn’t be closing at 8pm. A small food court area that serves Mickey waffles, pasta, and burgers with more drink stations would be great. Also, bring back Coney Island Chris to perform!! My family loves him.

 

[kylenne]

I love the OPs idea of putting in a much needed food court with indoor tables at ESPN club. Our home resort is BWV and we have definitely had issues getting food here and there. Resort dining locations shouldn’t be closing at 8pm. A small food court area that serves Mickey waffles, pasta, and burgers with more drink stations would be great. Also, bring back Coney Island Chris to perform!! My family loves him.

It wouldn’t be the worst idea, but food courts have never been a thing at deluxes. I’m kinda surprised Disney hasn’t jumped on the upscale food hall trend though, seems like it would be a no brainer to replace something like Atlantic Snooze Hall.

Tbh I’ve always found QS lacking in that area once you take Epcot out of the equation, even pre Covid.

 

[DduzDis]

It wouldn’t be the worst idea, but food courts have never been a thing at deluxes. I’m kinda surprised Disney hasn’t jumped on the upscale food hall trend though, seems like it would be a no brainer to replace something like Atlantic Snooze Hall.

Tbh I’ve always found QS lacking in that area once you take Epcot out of the equation, even pre Covid.

I would be more than pleased with something as simple as the BC Marketplace (leaving the merchandise part out of the equation) or even what the YC has for QS, but they could easily also transform ESPN into a Capt Cooks type QS restaurant (or Contempo if we're really dreaming). This lack of QS at BW has been one of the reasons we opt for a different resort from BWV (BC or YC) on occasion. We still love the BWV resort, but know going in that this will be a thorn we have to get around.

 

[AliceIn]

let’s just agree to disagree ok? I’m talking about the boardwalk. Four restaurants. Two are closed. I’m split staying at beach club and boardwalk. Beach club, cape may was booked. Boardwalk has no resort restaurant. YC was booked. Could I have walked to Epcot, sure. Could I have walked to swan or dolphin, yes. I have a car, I could have done a McDonald’s run or gone to publics. That’s not my point. My point is boardwalk. An always over capacity pizza window, two closed restaurants, and a food kiosk that closed at 8pm.

Disney can fix it. They’re charging eighty gazillion dollars a night for rooms. Dropping in a few more pizza ovens or using ESPN is possible. I bet the kitchen is just sitting there.

The pizza window needs improving for sure. We did mobile ordering, and we waited 90 minutes for a pizza. I probably woudn't necessarily mind a 90 minute wait if I got some kind of notification in the app prior to ordering, and then updating. "Orders placed now have an estimated wait of 65 minutes." "Your pizza is going into the oven." That would be so much better than what is happening currently. If they aren't going to give updates, then they need to provide a place for people to sit for the wait. Some chairs at least would make people more comfortable.

 

[kylenne]

I would be more than pleased with something as simple as the BC Marketplace (leaving the merchandise part out of the equation) or even what the YC has for QS, but they could easily also transform ESPN into a Capt Cooks type QS restaurant (or Contempo if we're really dreaming). This lack of QS at BW has been one of the reasons we opt for a different resort from BWV (BC or YC) on occasion. We still love the BWV resort, but know going in that this will be a thorn we have to get around.

It needs it very badly. People always say to just go to Epcot but sometimes you just want a lazy day at the resort or a quick bite that doesn’t involve going to a park. I didn’t find BC or YC much better tbh, though in fairness I stayed at BC pre pandemic before the Marketplace refurb. My stay at YC early this summer convinced me I will likely go back to my family roots and stick to S/D for future Crescent Lake stays.

 

[DduzDis]

It needs it very badly. People always say to just go to Epcot but sometimes you just want a lazy day at the resort or a quick bite that doesn’t involve going to a park. I didn’t find BC or YC much better tbh, though in fairness I stayed at BC pre pandemic before the Marketplace refurb. My stay at YC early this summer convinced me I will likely go back to my family roots and stick to S/D for future Crescent Lake stays.

The park pass system nearly eliminates the EP availability on the fly as well. I hope they do something helpful with either space. We'll see...