Resort Thread Disney's BOARDWALK INN Resort

[wonderlandaddict]

It's a new room and close to elevators which is great, but it's close to luggage loading which is the only thing we wanted to avoid. i didn't ask to change with the hopes we won't hear it! We have a 2 bedroom and it looks fabulous!

 

[RAD]

We were in a GV (3047, which is a HA room) last week. Loved the wide open space and nobody in the group was upset with the 'de theming' of the rooms. I was a bit upset to see that someone had spilled white paint on the new hallway rug, at least the section between the elevators and the room, there are quiet a few paint drops.

 

[Rorey]

With the new discount we have upgraded to a a CL room at BWI for my birthday visit in April. We are excited about trying this resort out!!

 

[BlueSkies]

Blueskies - I love a split stay, I love to experience 2 resorts, and each resort always offers different theming, new restaurants, & proximity to a park so that's a plus. I wouldn't plan a triple split in 5 nights - there just wasn't any other DVC rooms available for my dates so we had no choice! I would do a triple split again if I had at least 2 nights at each resort though. It was actually a quad split - thank goodness 2 weeks before we left my waitlist opened up & we got 2 consecutive nights at Poly! We always spend some time at the resort, so we do enjoy doing that at the different ones. We never rush around, I think if we did we wouldn't enjoy a split stay. We actually don't even go to the parks every day which is a nice break. The transfers between resorts was easy peasy - we travel light - only with a carryon (we plan to do laundry while at DVC so we don't have to pack as much). In the morning of the move we just take the bags to Bell Services & have them transfer to the next resort. In the evening we return to the new resort & call Bell Services from the room to have them delivered. We had no issues with luggage transfers this trip. Now when travelling with the whole family, I don't plan a split stay, no one else enjoys packing up & moving, and I find myself having to do it for everyone. I just do the splits when its a girls trip, or if I have 1 kid with me. My tip for split stays - always save the Deluxe or your favorite for the last leg! Its no fun going from Poly to a value just sayin'! Good luck with whatever you plan Blueskies!

Tara Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Sounds like lots of variety and fun.. Also appreciate the split stay info.. and advice! ...reassuring to know that its so easy to get on with our day..and just have the luggage transferred...

Merry Christmas everybody!

Right back atcha! Hope it was merry and jolly and lots of fun!

We are back home. Before, we left, I booked the bounce back to stay at BWI during the week before Christmas in 2016. DD and I had a wonderful time and got to experience many new things (and this was probably our 25th trip!). The Star Wars fireworks at DHS were amazing! We also reveled in the Osborne Lights and truly enjoyed the Comedy Warehouse performances. BWI was terrific as always. The location just can't be beat. We had a wonderful housekeeper who took good care of us. Even when we dashed back to the room in the morning -- our room had been serviced! One day we left at about 7:00 a.m. and then returned at 10:30 -- room was clean and pretty. We were in room 5307 -- not the courtyard view I desired, but it was fine. The bathroom door could not be closed completely (or you risked being stuck in there), but it was fine for me and DD. If it were humid, I could see having this problem, but it was not. It was not worth the time to report (and I forgot about it when we did check with reception on something else). Otherwise, everything was great!

What a nice way to start the holiday season! We enjoyed a recent stay at the BWI too...and found its proximity to both Epcot and DHS let us enjoy a lot more of the holiday happenings in both of those parks than we had before..I agree...the location just can't be beat...Thanks for posting a review!

PS..page two rescue!!!!!!!!!!! Boardwalkers..where are you....lol....

 

[CynBeth]

We are considering a trip the first week of Dec and are trying to decide between BW and YC. We have been on a few holiday season trips over the last few years so have visited but never stayed at an EPCOT resort. Does the BW share a bus with Swan/Dolphin? Does the early bus come to get to ADRs at MK and AK and if so what time is it usually there? We are 3 adults and dining is not a factor in our decision due to food allergies. Any info you can give would be great. Thanks!

 

[MHT to MCO]

We're staying at the Boardwalk Villas (1bdr) and checking in next week. Never stayed here before. We will have a toddler and stroller. Any recommendations for room requests? Should we ask for a ground level? Near an elevator? Are the elevators loud/obnoxiously busy?

 

[mexi]

We are considering a trip the first week of Dec and are trying to decide between BW and YC. We have been on a few holiday season trips over the last few years so have visited but never stayed at an EPCOT resort. Does the BW share a bus with Swan/Dolphin? Does the early bus come to get to ADRs at MK and AK and if so what time is it usually there? We are 3 adults and dining is not a factor in our decision due to food allergies. Any info you can give would be great. Thanks!

The BW stopped sharing buses. Hopefully this is still in effect. On the way back from the parks they share with Swan/Dolphin but BW is the first stop.

I always try to get to the bus stop at least an hour in advance of rope drop or ADR. They do have early buses but I'm not sure what time they start.

 

[WDWKOOK]

I hope that 2016 is off to a great start for everyone​

With the discount that came out today our TA moved us from POFQ to BWI for adults only trip for my birthday April 29 - May 6. It's our first time here and the first time DH and I have stayed onsite together. We've always gone in October so I'm so excited for Flower and Garden.

Yippee for discounts! Welcome to the thread and I'll log your dates.

We are back home. Before, we left, I booked the bounce back to stay at BWI during the week before Christmas in 2016. DD and I had a wonderful time and got to experience many new things (and this was probably our 25th trip!). The Star Wars fireworks at DHS were amazing! We also reveled in the Osborne Lights and truly enjoyed the Comedy Warehouse performances. BWI was terrific as always. The location just can't be beat. We had a wonderful housekeeper who took good care of us. Even when we dashed back to the room in the morning -- our room had been serviced! One day we left at about 7:00 a.m. and then returned at 10:30 -- room was clean and pretty. We were in room 5307 -- not the courtyard view I desired, but it was fine. The bathroom door could not be closed completely (or you risked being stuck in there), but it was fine for me and DD. If it were humid, I could see having this problem, but it was not. It was not worth the time to report (and I forgot about it when we did check with reception on something else). Otherwise, everything was great!

It's great you had a fun trip with DD AND you're already booked with a BB for next Christmas. It's so nice to have a vacation to look forward to with DD.

It's a new room and close to elevators which is great, but it's close to luggage loading which is the only thing we wanted to avoid. i didn't ask to change with the hopes we won't hear it! We have a 2 bedroom and it looks fabulous!

Hope the luggage loading hasn't been an issue. Enjoy!

We were in a GV (3047, which is a HA room) last week. Loved the wide open space and nobody in the group was upset with the 'de theming' of the rooms. I was a bit upset to see that someone had spilled white paint on the new hallway rug, at least the section between the elevators and the room, there are quiet a few paint drops.

Wonder if it was these guys?

With the new discount we have upgraded to a a CL room at BWI for my birthday visit in April. We are excited about trying this resort out!!

What a fantastic upgrade! Hope you have a magical birthday.

PS..page two rescue!!!!!!!!!!! Boardwalkers..where are you....lol....

Thank you for rescuing us, @BlueSkies

We are considering a trip the first week of Dec and are trying to decide between BW and YC. We have been on a few holiday season trips over the last few years so have visited but never stayed at an EPCOT resort. Does the BW share a bus with Swan/Dolphin? Does the early bus come to get to ADRs at MK and AK and if so what time is it usually there? We are 3 adults and dining is not a factor in our decision due to food allergies. Any info you can give would be great. Thanks!

Yes, BWI has an early ADR bus. More info. is in the TRANSPORTATION chapter, but I believe it starts running at 0630. Just tell the bus driver where you want to go. Also, if you're conflicted, have you considered a split stay?

We're staying at the Boardwalk Villas (1bdr) and checking in next week. Never stayed here before. We will have a toddler and stroller. Any recommendations for room requests? Should we ask for a ground level? Near an elevator? Are the elevators loud/obnoxiously busy?

Make sure that any location requests have been added to your reservation at least a week prior to arrival. The reservation drops into the resort system at about the 5-day mark and the Room Assignor starts assigning rooms at about the 3-day mark. But, you can always ask at check-in if your preferred room has been assigned, and if not, you can ask about availability.

I'll leave your specific villa question to the BWV experts, but if you have a toddler who will use the stroller, I wouldn't worry too much about location since you can just put him/her in the stroller and be on your way at your pace.

 

[psac]

We're staying at the Boardwalk Villas (1bdr) and checking in next week. Never stayed here before. We will have a toddler and stroller. Any recommendations for room requests? Should we ask for a ground level? Near an elevator? Are the elevators loud/obnoxiously busy?

The elevators on the villa side are actually pretty quick, and we never really have to wait too long for them. The problem is, there is only one set of them (near the lobby on 2nd floor, and the pool on the 1st floor, that you can use to get to the BW). So with the stroller, you really won't be able to use the stairs that are around. So yeah, I would request close to the elevators. Otherwise, the floor shouldn't matter, but we always request high floor. If anything, instead of floor, you might want to request a refurbished room, since they're not all done yet. Good luck, enjoy!!

 

[pas130]

Happy New Year Kook and the other Boardwalkers (blueskies I love it )

 

[cmarsh31]

Hello everyone! Doing some MAJOR research for our Feb 2017 trip. (I've looked at all the first page pictures - gorgeous! - and done some searches but can't seem to wade through 119 pages to find confirmation.

Traveling group (ages at time of travel) - My family (me, dh, DS-11.5, DD-8.5) and our best friends (DH, DW, DD-almost7, DD-4.5). One of our options would be a 2-bedroom DVC rental. I know we'd fit technically in any of the 8 people, but with my kids, I'd prefer a pull-out chair or the new murphy bed for my DD. I'm assuming a year from now the BWV rehabs will be done - I think I've got this - all two-bedrooms at BWV are lock-offs, therefore they all will have the murphy bed on the studio side when the rehab is finished? I know that would basically put my 4 in one room and the smaller ones would get the king bed & pull-out in the living room but it's only for sleeping.

Assuming that I've got this figured out - I know I need to get my request in to rent before the 11-month mark (by next month! OMG)

 

[WDWKOOK]

Orlando Theme Park News reports (11/15):
After getting in touch with several reliable sources, Orlando Theme Park News was able to confirm that Sunshine Seasons (a quick-service restaurant located on the bottom floor of The Land pavilion at Epcot) will cease offering breakfast starting from early January 2016. The restaurant's new hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., which will be extended to 11 p.m. on Extra Magic Hours evenings.
The nearby Garden Grill restaurant will continue to offer a breakfast buffet daily.

 

[WDWKOOK]

Happy New Year Kook and the other Boardwalkers (blueskies I love it )

A happy and healthy 2016 to you and your family!

Hello everyone! Doing some MAJOR research for our Feb 2017 trip. (I've looked at all the first page pictures - gorgeous! - and done some searches but can't seem to wade through 119 pages to find confirmation.

Traveling group (ages at time of travel) - My family (me, dh, DS-11.5, DD-8.5) and our best friends (DH, DW, DD-almost7, DD-4.5). One of our options would be a 2-bedroom DVC rental. I know we'd fit technically in any of the 8 people, but with my kids, I'd prefer a pull-out chair or the new murphy bed for my DD. I'm assuming a year from now the BWV rehabs will be done - I think I've got this - all two-bedrooms at BWV are lock-offs, therefore they all will have the murphy bed on the studio side when the rehab is finished? I know that would basically put my 4 in one room and the smaller ones would get the king bed & pull-out in the living room but it's only for sleeping.

Assuming that I've got this figured out - I know I need to get my request in to rent before the 11-month mark (by next month! OMG)

Welcome to the thread and I'm bumping your question to our BWV DVC experts. Happy planning!

 

[psac]

Hello everyone! Doing some MAJOR research for our Feb 2017 trip. (I've looked at all the first page pictures - gorgeous! - and done some searches but can't seem to wade through 119 pages to find confirmation.

Traveling group (ages at time of travel) - My family (me, dh, DS-11.5, DD-8.5) and our best friends (DH, DW, DD-almost7, DD-4.5). One of our options would be a 2-bedroom DVC rental. I know we'd fit technically in any of the 8 people, but with my kids, I'd prefer a pull-out chair or the new murphy bed for my DD. I'm assuming a year from now the BWV rehabs will be done - I think I've got this - all two-bedrooms at BWV are lock-offs, therefore they all will have the murphy bed on the studio side when the rehab is finished? I know that would basically put my 4 in one room and the smaller ones would get the king bed & pull-out in the living room but it's only for sleeping.

Assuming that I've got this figured out - I know I need to get my request in to rent before the 11-month mark (by next month! OMG)

You have that exactly right. One family of four in the suite side, so if that was your family -- you and DH in Queen, DS in pull out sofa bed, DD in Murphy bed, and then the other couple on the 1BR side in the King bed, and then their two daughters sharing the living room pull out sofa bed. The expectation is that all refurbs will be done early this year, not knowing exactly when, but a year from now should be fine!

It would be more points, but did you look at BLT as well? The benefit there would be the extra bathroom. That would be nice for 8 people. The BW is our favorite, so I don't want to talk you out of it, but we've really liked our BLT stays as well. (I would say BLT is our #2 favorite so far.) Kidani also has the extra bathroom, but I only recommend it if you have cars available.

 

[psac]

Speaking of our favorite, the BW, we just booked our 1BR Boardwalk View for Dec 2016 at the 11 month mark. Woo hoo! Can't wait to go back again. We were also going to pay our annual dues today, which takes some of the fun out it, but for some reason the website keeps freezing for us in that area. I guess they don't want our money! Holiday present for us!

 

[WDWKOOK]

You have that exactly right. One family of four in the suite side, so if that was your family -- you and DH in Queen, DS in pull out sofa bed, DD in Murphy bed, and then the other couple on the 1BR side in the King bed, and then their two daughters sharing the living room pull out sofa bed. The expectation is that all refurbs will be done early this year, not knowing exactly when, but a year from now should be fine!

It would be more points, but did you look at BLT as well? The benefit there would be the extra bathroom. That would be nice for 8 people. The BW is our favorite, so I don't want to talk you out of it, but we've really liked our BLT stays as well. (I would say BLT is our #2 favorite so far.) Kidani also has the extra bathroom, but I only recommend it if you have cars available.

Thank you for helping and ITA about BLT and the extra bathroom, but lack of transportation options at Kidani.

Speaking of our favorite, the BW, we just booked our 1BR Boardwalk View for Dec 2016 at the 11 month mark. Woo hoo! Can't wait to go back again. We were also going to pay our annual dues today, which takes some of the fun out it, but for some reason the website keeps freezing for us in that area. I guess they don't want our money! Holiday present for us!

Oh, they WANT it and they'll get it - eventually. Congratulations on another great booking!

 

[dkrauss]

Less than 3 days out for our first visit to the Boardwalk Villa's. Very excited about our stay............this trip was booked in Feb 2015 so its been a long time coming Spent a long time at the bottom of Kook's arrival list............now we're #2 baby!!!

We're staying 4 nights/5 days so we're only considering getting extra coffee............with a towel and trash run on Day 4 we should be ok. Anyone else have any other advice?

Doug

 

[cmarsh31]

You have that exactly right. One family of four in the suite side, so if that was your family -- you and DH in Queen, DS in pull out sofa bed, DD in Murphy bed, and then the other couple on the 1BR side in the King bed, and then their two daughters sharing the living room pull out sofa bed. The expectation is that all refurbs will be done early this year, not knowing exactly when, but a year from now should be fine!

It would be more points, but did you look at BLT as well? The benefit there would be the extra bathroom. That would be nice for 8 people. The BW is our favorite, so I don't want to talk you out of it, but we've really liked our BLT stays as well. (I would say BLT is our #2 favorite so far.) Kidani also has the extra bathroom, but I only recommend it if you have cars available.

Thanks! No cars (we fly in from Upstate NY). I'd LOVE to do BLT, but a) the other family is on a stricter budget than we are (unless I convince DH that we need an Oct trip this year too and b) Epcot is my DH's absolute favorite park (and HS second) so walk-ability to both is a MAJOR selling point for him... still putting BLT on the possibility list though (Ugg. I'd KILL for a Magic room). If it's just doing the DVC rental, I'm hoping to convince DH that we should go for the Poly Studio

 

[Seabean]

Ok when you go to look at rates for BWI on this page:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/boardwalk-inn/rates-rooms/

it's been saying for a few days on all the rooms:

We are unable to show rates at this time.
Please try again or check back later.

Anyone know what's up? There's also a "Parking & Refurbishment Advisory" on the page.

 

[Disneytam]

I just checked it and it seems to be working now. I checked rates for Dec. 2016.