Boardwalk info needed

[lailah]

We are taking our yearly Christmas jaunt over to WDW in December. We've never stayed at the Boardwalk and are thinking about switching over from AKL. Can anyone give me more information on this resort? Busing, boat travel times and mostly the food situation. We are taking our 3 year old granddaughter and are not sure if we will be able to accommodate her eating habits. (very picky). Is there some kind of a snack bar type place on site? Or do we have to go down the boardwalk to eat all the time? I like the idea of the proximity to MGM and Epcot, but what about MK. Is that a long ride over? How about the pool area for my granddaughter. Will she enjoy it? Thanks for any help you wonderful people can give me. If we're going to switch, I need to do so pretty soon.

 

[HunnyBunny]

Having been an opening CM at the BW, I have to say I love it there. As far as the busing and boat times, I can't help you there as it's been too long!! But, for food there are plenty of options on the boardwalk itself. but the rooms are right over the boardwalk, so it's not like it's a long walk. You have Spoodles which does have an excellent kids menu, and if I remember right, they have some sort of hands meal making for the kids. You also have take out pizza. ESPN also has a good kids menu. Flying Fish is the pricier restaurant and may not have options she'd enjoy. There's also Seashore Sweets with ice cream and candy and a wonderful Bakery on site. The bakery used to have a few deli type sandwiches for snacks. There's also carts along the boardwalk that sell hot dogs, yummy crepes and popcorn and such. The walk from your room would be 5 minutes at most.

There is also a lot of entertainment at night on the boardwalk, even for the kids. You can usually catch a magician or some sort of juggling act.

Now I can speak for AKL as I've never stayed there, but BW ranks among my top choices for the hotel and the memories of working there.

 

[CalGal]

Hi lailah,
I recently stayed at both the BWI and the AKL. I absolutely loved the BWI for it's comfortable size, central location, great food options, wonderful staff, and lovely surroundings and views. I found it offered much more than the AKL.

The boat is slow but pleasant. When we were there in mid August, there was approximately a 15 minute wait between boats. It goes from Epcot - BW - Y&B - S&D - MGM and then back. This makes it around a 20 minute ride to MGM once you catch the boat, but a short ride over to and from Epcot. We never took the boat to Epcot though since it a pleasant 5-10 minute stroll. Unless the boat is at or coming into the dock, it is quicker to walk. Coming back from MGM, we would get off at the Swan and Dolphin stop and walk back to the Boardwalk (again around a 5 minute stroll, so we would beat the boat by about 5 minutes). If you just miss the boat going to MGM, you can hurry over to S&D and pick it up there. If you do want to limit your walking, you can do so with a little patience.

The buses are also shared with the other Epcot resorts. The order of pick-up is often Swan-Dolphin-Yacht-Beach-BW. When it's busy, buses are dispatched to handle the load, so that not as many resorts may be sharing. It is generally pretty quick getting to the parks from the BWI since typically the bus will go directly to the park after its BWI pick-up. Returning from the park you are likely to have to wait through 2-4 stops. Again, a possible option is to get off at the Swan and walk back to the BWI.

HunnyBunny addressed your food question. The BWI restaurants are the Boardwalk restaurants, and they are quite convenient. You can get room service, but otherwise, I believe you must physically exit the building to reach all the restaurants. We only tried the Bakery and Spoodles, and we loved them both. For more information, you might check the menus on wdwig.com.

The main pool is very festive. The slide is probably much too big for a 3 year-old though. Since my son is older, I can't really evaluate the pool for a young child.

You will love BWI. It should provide lots of entertainment and dining options for you and your granddaughter. It's lovely and has a great central location. The only thing missing is monorail access to MK.

 

[wdwnut]

hi: big river grille is also on the boardwalk and would probably have something your grandchild would like; they have things like burgers. also, you're only a short walk (around the lake) to the cape may cafe and beaches and cream at the beach club. there's also room service at the bw. epcot is only a short walk away as well. the pool area would probably be nice for the little one . have a wonderful time!

 

[absame]

We're DVC members and stay at the BW all the time. Have also stayed at AKL and poly. Boardwalk is great location with kids. Restaurants are good to excellent on the boardwalk (Flying Fish is great for a fancy meal) and if you have parkhopper tickets, you can also go to EPCOT for food. Bus ride to MK is about the same as AKL, but you can walk to EPCOT in 5 minutes and take short boat trip to MGM.

My little kids love the clown slide at the BW -- much more exciting than the ones at AKL. On our last trip our kids were 3-3/4 and 5-1/2. They both loved the slide. They have life jackets for the kids if need be, and I would wait at the bottom for them. Depends on the kid. Ours swim like fish since we have a pool at home and they are daredevils (love rollercoasters!!). Some three year olds may be overwhelmed, but with a lifejacket I dont think they are in any danger.

For food variety, location and pool I think it's BW over AKL. But AKL wins on beauty. It is a stunning building and having the animals right there is amazing. Also, Jeko (sp?) at AKL is our favorite grownup restaurant. Our last trip we stayed a week at BW, but stayed one night at AKL just to experience it.

Hope this helps