We returned late Saturday night from our week stay. This was our second stay here, but first on the Inn side (had 1 BR Villa last time). It was myself and hubby and two 21 year olds. It was the best stay! We had a wonderful room near the elevator on the 5th floor, and it had the slanted wall so the room felt so big. It was great for our four adults. I love the refurbished rooms. It was a super short walk to the bakery to get drink refills (well when we were there during operating hours anyway) and I walked down to the lobby every morning to fill our mugs with coffee since they opened before the bakery. You can get soda refills as well at the pool bar during their operating hours (Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and maybe Lemonade only as they fill from the bar lines, not a fountain). We were able to walk to Hollywood Studios two mornings and were first in line for the turnstiles, then we used the Skyliner and boat at night. If using the boat, then I definitely suggest getting off at Swan/Dolphin as it's faster since it goes to Yacht/Beach before stopping at Boardwalk. It was a super easy walk into Epcot as well, and we never had to wait long for a bus. It was a great week for us getting to/from the parks.
My only complaint is probably the same as others.....lack of food. If you get back after park closing, your only option for food is the pizza window as the bakery closes at 10 (and the one in the lobby closes at 3:30). And during the day the only option was the bakery, pizza window or a pretzel from Boardwalk Joe's. One day we saw a food truck by the old Big River Grille restaurant, but we didn't want to walk down to check it out as we were between meal times. Also, there aren't a ton of options at the bakery. We knew this going in, but it still would be nice to have more quick service options.
Otherwise it was a perfect stay. Crowds were good, weather was good (except the day we got drenched from head to toe at Animal Kingdom due to an unpredicted morning storm), and the hotel was wonderful. The last time we stayed they weren't doing the nightly street performers on the Boardwalk and we loved having them back this time. It was so much fun!
