Disney Boardwalk Area Worth Visiting on a Wednesday Evening for a few hours with the family?

[MrVargas]

First trip to Disney with my wife and son (age 8) and daughter (age 6). We're going to be there for 10 days and I was wondering if spending 3-4 hours in the boardwalk area is worth it. Is there enough entertainment to keep us busy on a Wednesday. Not sure if this is true but I read somewhere that the street performers usually perform on Thursday's to Sunday's. I figure we could do dinner at Trattoria Al Forno.

The other option could be Disney Springs but we are already spending an evening there. Any thoughts?

 

[goofygal531]

Every trip we plan an afternoon in DHS then take the boat over to Beach Club for dinner at Cape May Cafe. After dinner, we boat over to the Boardwalk for dessert at Ample Hills Creamery. We take our cones and stroll down the boardwalk to enjoy the evening entertainment. My husband and sons love to watch the street performers. They must have a schedule available somewhere online, I know we always catch them after dinner. If it rains, we’ve found them inside the lobby performing. I don’t know if there are any performers out during the day.

There’s not a lot to do, we usually last about an hour. I try to plan this on an Epcot evening extra magic hours night so we can boat over there when we’re done. Or we’ll take the bus from the Boardwalk to Disney Springs.

For my family, it’s not a destination we’d go out of our way for.

 

[wendlle]

I say yes. I love the Boardwalk so much that we booked our next stay partially at the Boardwalk Villas. Lots to see and do (and eat) and if you have Memory Maker don't forget to get some FREE photos at the photo booth on the boardwalk.

 

[Alesia]

Honestly, no.

 

[Marionnette]

First trip to Disney with my wife and son (age 8) and daughter (age 6). We're going to be there for 10 days and I was wondering if spending 3-4 hours in the boardwalk area is worth it. Is there enough entertainment to keep us busy on a Wednesday. Not sure if this is true but I read somewhere that the street performers usually perform on Thursday's to Sunday's. I figure we could do dinner at Trattoria Al Forno.

The other option could be Disney Springs but we are already spending an evening there. Any thoughts?

If you’re going there for dinner, by all means stick around to enjoy the atmosphere and entertainment. But do not make a special trip there just t watch a street magician and juggler.

 

[deedubb]

I would say no. If you feel the need, just duck out the International Gateway for an hour on an Epcot day. Get some ice cream at Ample Hills (highly recommend the ice cream flight - well worth it), check out the entertainers, then head back to Epcot.

 

[lilpiglet97]

Staying at the Boardwalk now, and DD and I were out walking the Boardwalk around 8:00 tonight(Wed 1-23). There were 2 entertainers performing, a couple of games open, the bakery,Ample Hills Creamery, a general store, and some sit down restaurants. I don't know if I'd consider all this to be 3-4 hours of entertainment if I wasn't staying here.

 

[Upatnoon]

First trip to Disney with my wife and son (age 8) and daughter (age 6). We're going to be there for 10 days and I was wondering if spending 3-4 hours in the boardwalk area is worth it. Is there enough entertainment to keep us busy on a Wednesday. Not sure if this is true but I read somewhere that the street performers usually perform on Thursday's to Sunday's. I figure we could do dinner at Trattoria Al Forno.

The other option could be Disney Springs but we are already spending an evening there. Any thoughts?

It's free, so yes its worth it.

Sometimes we check out the Boardwalk, then walk over the Beach Club for some ice cream. My kids enjoy the arcade at the Beach Club as well.

This would kill a couple of hours. A lot of this depends on your kids. If they are tired, or don't like walking around, they may quickly lose patience.

 

[Princess Merida]

We would do it over Disney Springs just because we aren’t huge shoppers. We love the Boardwalk and miss it every time we don’t stay there. I would make a trip over for ice cream at Ample Hills and to watch Coney Island Chris. Riding a surrey bike around crescent lake is also really fun for a family.

 

[Caitlyn Allen]

there for 10 days and I was wondering if spending 3-4 hours in -=\ street performers usually perform on Thursday's to Sunday's. I figure we l;.8;./'pcould do dinner at Trattoria Al Forno.
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[GinnyBear's_mom]

Maybe not 4 hours but you could probably fill 3 hours. We have 3 kids of similar ages to yours and we enjoy the Boardwalk area for some down time. Have pre-dinner drinks at Abracadabar. They have nonalcoholic drink specials, my kids love the Seashore Sweet which is a mix of lemonade and blue cotton candy. There are a few neat things to see inside (check out the mirror on the way to the restrooms). Since it is connected to Tratoria al forno you can have your drinks moved over to your table for dinner. After dinner take a stroll down the boardwalk. I think Thimbles and Threads/Screen Door store is an above average resort gift shop and worthy of exploring. My kids liked their selection of desserts better than the ones at the Boardwalk Bakery! Walk back the other way down the Boardwalk and there's Ample Hills as others have suggested. We like sharing the icecream flight. There are some tables and benches scattered around to sit. Across from Ample Hills is a photobooth and if you have memory maker all of the pictures go into your account for 'free'. We take lots of combos of pictures with various backgrounds. We had a short stay at The Boardwalk this past summer and never saw any live entertainment but my kids still enjoyed it.

 

[Caitlyn Allen]

First trip to Disney with my wife and son (age 8) and daughter (age 6). We're going to be there for 10 days and I was wondering if spending 3-4 hours in the boardwalk area is worth it. Is there enough entertainment to keep us busy on a Wednesday. Not sure if this is true but I read somewhere that the street performers usually perform on Thursday's to Sunday's. I figure we could do dinner at Trattoria Al Forno.

The other option could be Disney Springs but we are already spending an evening there. Any thoughts?

My family and I make a visit to the Boardwalk every trip. We don't typically spend a ton of time there. The entertainment we typically see is a juggler or magician. We make the timing of our trip around 9pm so we can watch Illuminations from the Boardwalk with some ice cream. If we can't get a reservation at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club we hit up ample hills.... either or is delicious.
You may also be able to catch a campfire or a movie under the stars at the resorts there too!

 

[gharter]

When we stay at BWV, we enjoy walking around the Boardwalk area, watching the performers, and stopping at Abracabar.
If we don't go into EPCOT, we enjoy watching Illuminations as well.
Not sure I would make a special trip to do that.
Beaches and Crean or Ample Hills are both good stops as well.

 

[holden]

I wouldn’t go out if my way unless you were staying nearby or coming from EP/DHS.

 

[crayon3448]

My family has always felt the Boardwalk is somewhat boring, maybe because our expectations have always been too high. My kids (6 yo boy and girl) could spend hours at Disney Springs though- they love the lego store, which has tons of legos out so kids can build.

 

[rznhal]

It’s nice but 3-4 hours is a long time.....I wouldn’t go out of my way....there’s just not that much to do!

Disney Springs has enough to keep you busy for two visits.... and I think it’s easier to get to than the boardwalk!

 

[yulilin3]

First trip to Disney with my wife and son (age 8) and daughter (age 6). We're going to be there for 10 days and I was wondering if spending 3-4 hours in the boardwalk area is worth it. Is there enough entertainment to keep us busy on a Wednesday. Not sure if this is true but I read somewhere that the street performers usually perform on Thursday's to Sunday's. I figure we could do dinner at Trattoria Al Forno.

The other option could be Disney Springs but we are already spending an evening there. Any thoughts?

Are you driving?
To me boardwalk is boring , you find a lot of diverse and plentiful entertainment at ds
If you still want to eat there you could and then drive to fantasia mini golf, that is close by and a fun way to kill an hour. You can also get to it by walking over to swanfin, it's not a bad walk, only about 15 minutes from trattoria and in good weather quite enjoyable

 

[Best Aunt]

Depending on your kids, you might want to have dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge and spend some time there. The resort has a lot of activities.

https://www.themouseforless.com/tripplanning/resorts/wdw/pdf/AKLCalendar.pdf

 

[Klayfish]

We enjoy it, but I think you may not want to spend more than an hour or two there. There are fun things to do for a young family. The Boardwalk Bakery has good desserts. There are a few carnival prize games you can play. A few street performers, which are entertaining. A few shops you may or may not like. The surrey bikes are a lot of fun. We've done them several times and the kids absolutely love it.

 

[upbeatred]

I stay at BWV all the time. I don't think it is worth a trip and absolutely not three or four hours. Why don't you go tour a couple of resorts. You can do the monorail loop or go over to animal kingdom Lodge. You could also do dinner at the Polynesian and watch the fireworks from there and the electrical water parade. Finally, the ages of your kids, depending on where you are staying they might just like to swim at the resort. They also usually have outdoor movies at most of the resorts.