Boardwalk villa questions

[Aaronsmom]

1st....THANKYOU to all who replied about my VWL questions.
Now that I know its not such a short trip to the boad landing
I am considering Boardwalk.
Here is what I have in mind...
A reminder I will be travelling with a 20 month old and his grandparents. So we will most likely be going to MK only
How far from Boardwalk villas to boat landing...I was hoping to take boat to Epcot and the monorail to MK...
Also are there adjoing studios there?
thanks all

 

[HookdonWDW]

Originally posted by Aaronsmom
A reminder I will be travelling with a 20 month old and his grandparents. So we will most likely be going to MK only
How far from Boardwalk villas to boat landing...I was hoping to take boat to Epcot and the monorail to MK...
Also are there adjoing studios there?
thanks all

A lot further than the trip from VWL to the boat docks - especially if you get one of the rooms at the far end of the hall...

Remember... when you get off the boat at Epcot, you will then have to walk the entire length of Epcot to get to the front of the park to catch the monorail. This can be fun to do if you have kids who like to ride the monorail, or if you are already in Epcot, but it is NOT EXPEDIENT!!

You'd be better off catching the bus in front of the Boardwalk and taking it over to MK. Personally, if I was planning to spend the majority of my time over at MK, I'd stay at VWL. It is much more convenient.

Frankly, the walk to any of the docks is a lot less stressful than walking through the parks. If you think that people will have a big problem walking, perhaps you should think about renting electric carts for your trip. Several of the companies will deliver them to your hotel and pick them back up at the end of your trip.

As far as adjoining studios, you can get studios near each other, but not with connecting doors. Since you have a little one with you, if you can swing it, I'd try to spend the points on the 2 BR. Having the w/d in the room is worth a lot on it's own, and it's nice to have a central gathering area.

Good luck!

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Originally posted by Aaronsmom

How far from Boardwalk villas to boat landing...I was hoping to take boat to Epcot and the monorail to MK...

At the BWV, you'd trade a long trip to the boat for a long trip after you get off the boat. It's just a short walk from the BW villas out to the boat landing (literally a 1 minute walk from the elevator to the boat dock) and then a 5 minute sail to Epcot (once the boat arrives and loads; boats run about every 20 minutes). However, the boat takes you to the International Gateway entrance of Epcot, between France and Great Britain in the World Showcase section of Epcot. It's a good walk (perhaps a mile or more) past Great Britain and Canada in the World Showcase and then through Future World of Epcot to the front park entrance, then out to the monorail station to take the monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center. At the TTC, you will have to switch to another monorail to go to the MK. It's a pretty good trip. It would be much quicker and involve much less walking to take the bus from the bus stop in front of the BW direct to the MK.

Also are there adjoing studios there?
thanks all

There are no "connecting" BWV studios. Requests for studios located nearby are dependent on availability (both rooms would have to be vacant on the same day).

Ralph

Note added: I see someone else beat me to it while I was typing my reply

 

[PamOKW]

The walk from the VWL to the boat landing at WL will be probably 1/3 of the distance you are talking about doing if you walk through Epcot to the monorail. The walk to the BWV bus stop will be roughly the same as the walk to boat dock, maybe a bit shorter but not a deal breaker.

If your goal is to go to the MK, the boat from VWL will be quicker. If you want to get from BWV to MK, the bus is the way to go but it will take longer than the boat from VWL.

 

[mzzbuzzlightyear]

I have not stayed at VWL, but returned yesterday from 4 nights at OKW and 4 nights at BWV.

At OKW, we got on the bus and arrived at the Magic Kingdom within a reasonable amount of time....At BWV, the bus then stopped at Swan and at Dolphin, and then, with people standing, went to the Beach Club and took on more people. I heard the bus driver telling someone that she left about 20 people there. The bus ride was very long, and very uncomfortable, with people standing and packed in.

If you like VWL, stay there, or,stay at OKW. I would not stay at BWV to go mostly to the MK. ( we never used the bus from BWV again. ) We went to MGM, either by walking or by boat, and took a bus to other parks.

June

 

[FredS]

I agree that staying at BWV is not a good choice if you plan to spend most of your time at MK. I would vote for VWL or OKW as you should be able to make that trip with much less walking and waiting than either of your choices from the Boardwalk area.

BCV and BWV are very good choices to stay if you will be mostly at Epcot or MGM, but NOT MK.

 

[Disney Doll]

Ditto what FredS said!!!!!!

 

[BWVDee]

Without a doubt stay at WLV!!!! You will be much closer to MK with much easier access to MK.
Personally, I have never experienced it to be any easier to get to MK from OKW than from any WDW resort other than the MK resorts like WLV!!
If MK is your main park destination, WLV is by FAR the best choice. For MK access, other than WLV, al the other DVC resorts are basically the same regarding travel time. The Epcot resorts also offer guests the choice of total bus transport or a combo of transportation options to reach MK.
Have a great trip!

 

[ripleysmom]

Yeah what they said. The walk through Epcot will be much longer than the walk to the boat at VWL.

 

[Caskbill]

Depending on what room you get, the walk from BWV to the boat dock could be longer than the walk from VWL to the boat dock. Near the VWL pool, go out the back door, past the pool and right toward the dock.

If you take the VWL boat, the boat landing at MK is closer to the park entrance than any of the bus stops there. So taking a bus from any resort to MK leaves you with a longer walk to the park entrance from the MK bus stop area.

At BWV, again, depending on your room, can still be quite a ways to the bus stop. Rooms at OKW are probably on average the closest to bus stops and OKW busses run directly from the resort to the respective parks, not stopping at other resorts. However it does have 5-internal stops they make within the OKW resort itself, but these go very quickly.

Staying at BWV, boating to Epcot, walking through Epcot to the monorail, then transferring monorails at the TTC to get to MK is absolutely the <u>worst</u> way to get there. (assuming you're not doing it just to enjoy the monorail in itself). In fact just changing from the Epcot monorail to the MK monorail at the TTC is a little bit of a walk in itself, exiting, going down the ramp, crossing under both monorail tracks, then going up the MK ramp to finally board the other monorail. And the walk through Epcot is at least a mile. I know from Spaceship Earth to the bottom edge of the lake is exactly 1/2 mile. The loop around the lake is exactly 1-mile, and you'd be walking about 1/4 of the loop. And you'd still have the walk from the boat dock, through the international gateway, and to walk to where it joins the main loop. Then around part of the loop, all the way through Future World to Spaceship Earth, and even from there you have a fairly good walk to get to the monorail.

 

[joepoe]

Originally posted by mzzbuzzlightyear
I have not stayed at VWL, but returned yesterday from 4 nights at OKW and 4 nights at BWV.

At OKW, we got on the bus and arrived at the Magic Kingdom within a reasonable amount of time....At BWV, the bus then stopped at Swan and at Dolphin, and then, with people standing, went to the Beach Club and took on more people. I heard the bus driver telling someone that she left about 20 people there. The bus ride was very long, and very uncomfortable, with people standing and packed in.

If you like VWL, stay there, or,stay at OKW. I would not stay at BWV to go mostly to the MK. ( we never used the bus from BWV again. ) We went to MGM, either by walking or by boat, and took a bus to other parks.

June

Are you sure? I thought the MK bus from BWV was a straight shot, and then it stopped at the other hotels on the way home. Plus, I thought they were supposed to break up the bus routes, too.

 

[BWVDee]

Originally posted by joepoe
Are you sure? I thought the MK bus from BWV was a straight shot, and then it stopped at the other hotels on the way home. Plus, I thought they were supposed to break up the bus routes, too.

That is the way (direct service from BWV to MK) the MK bus has always been during our many trips to BWV. This is also the way the MK bus was still running last month when we were at WDW. The bus route was broken up betweem the Epcot resorts during the busy times of the day but during the slow times the bus was still servicing all the Epcot resorts on the same route.

 

[mzzbuzzlightyear]

joepoe,

Unfortunately, I am very sure! LOL!!

I also had heard that the bus was going to go straight to MK, but that is not what happened.

I thought it very strange that in spite of all the money people spend to be in WDW, that Disney was packing in guests from
4 hotels into 1 bus.

June

 

[BWVDee]

This must be a new route that has been put into effect within the last month because last month the bus went directly from BWV to MK. The route back had stops at the other resorts but not the route TO MK. If this is a permanent change, I am sure Disney will get a flood of complaints! Going from BWV to S/D and then BC sounds like it would be back tracking.
How many times did you take a bus to MK with that route?

 

[mzzbuzzlightyear]

BWVDee,

Just once!!! LOL!!

I was so exasperated, that I went to MGM and then got a bus!
I had heard about the circuitous bus route before, but this was the first time that I had experienced it.

You know, I have been thinking...this is not only an inconvenience, but very dangerous..so many people standing, including senior citizens, children and people carrying babies. In the event of an accident, this is a potentially disasterous situation.

June

 

[BWVDee]

I think this must have been a special bus sent out to try and pick up an overflow of people. If you say they still left 20 people behind with a packed bus, it was really an overflow! I have been staying at BWV for years and the bus to MK always has had BWV as the last stop before going to the park. The route that the bus you were on does not even make logical sense because it was back tracking. I know the BWV bus route to MK was still the same way last month, because I took this bus several times.
The buses to MK can get crowded especailly at peak times and this is a big complaint of guests at this resort, but I have never seen it travel the route you had. Disney will at times dispatch buses for demand and I think that was one of the buses you were on.

 

[mzzbuzzlightyear]

Well, it might be difficult for you to believe the bus route...but special bus or no special bus, this was the route it took!

I also hope that this is not a permanent situation.
June

 

[BWVDee]

Oh, I never doubted you for a minute, please do not think that! I just think this must have been a special bus or something. Because the route seems to be back tracking, it is a totally different route than what they usually do, and there does not seem to be any reasonable advantage for a bus heading to MK to leave BW then go to Swan then Dolphin and then to BCV, skip YC all together and then proceed to MK.

 

[Poorman]

Originally posted by mzzbuzzlightyear
joepoe,


I thought it very strange that in spite of all the money people spend to be in WDW, that Disney was packing in guests from
4 hotels into 1 bus.

June

If you really think about it the bus is shared with 7 resorts. The

DVC are seperate from the regular resorts. That is drawing from a lot of rooms.

 

[SharonS]

If the older individuals need a wheelchair or ECV, you may not want to stay at WLV. Depending on the water levels, you may not be able to get on the boat.

We normally stay at BWV, and have never had a problem getting Mom on the boat. There is a portable ramp they can put near the boat to assist. In October, we were at WLV and took the boat to MK. I'm not sure they even had a ramp....it was not offered. The water levels were fairly low, so it was quite difficult getting the wheelchair on.