Epcot to Boardwalk Area

[highlander357]

Hello all. I have made a few trips to WDW, but am by no means an expert. Last time I was there was 6 years ago. We always stay at POR or PFQ.

Something I have been interested in doing is to explore the area outside the "back gate" by World Showcase in Epcot. I believe it is the Boardwalk area?

Is it worth popping out of the park through the back gate on an Epcot day and exploring?

Do any of you do this? I haven't stayed in that area, so I am not too familiar with what is there. Just looking for new things to explore. Thanks.

 

[mom2rtk]

Not sure it's worth spending park time during the day since it's more of a night life area. We finally explored on a non park day last summer. I'm glad we did, but I didn't give up park time to do it.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

We enjoy the Broadway area and stay at the Beach Club when we can ( DVC ) owners. It is def worth your time! Go and look at the Broadwalk itself it and also the resorts like Beach Club and Broadwalk. If you are there at Christmas it's very pretty! Might be best to see at night because the lights of the BW are lovely and they have some evening clubs there like a comedy club. Not a whole days worth of viewing but def an evening. If you can get an ADR at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club then do it's really good!!

 

[loves to dive]

I always stay at one of the Epcot resorts so I may be biased. I always try to visit at least one resort I've not stayed in every trip, which is getting harder since I've stayed at almost all resorts. It's worth some time if you like seeing the other resorts. The BW area is kind of fun to walk around and all three resorts, YC/BC/BW are beautiful and worth walking around and looking at.

 

[highlander357]

Thanks for the input so far. I do have a non-park day built into our vacation as a more relaxing day. Maybe an evening stroll on that day would be better.

 

[Alesia]

There is never anything going on during the day. Allegedly, there is entertainment at night, but I have yet to see it (and not for a lack of trying.)

If you don't have a specific reason to go there, I wouldn't bother.

 

[P800aul]

Hi

We think a great late afternoon / evening for us (DW + DDx2) is to play golf at Fantasy Gardens walk pass the Swan and Dolphin to the Boardwalk have dinner at Trattoria al Forno walk through International Gateway in time for the fireworks a 9.00pm on the International Gateway Bridge, before walking back through IG.

Regards

Paul

 

[goofy4tink]

But be very careful!!!! We did exactly what you are planning on doing. Took the boat over from Epcot's International Gateway. Then, stood there, for about 15 minutes, just looking at the resort. My dh turned to me and said, and I quote, "If we could buy that Disney timeshare thingie here, I would buy it tomorrow!'' Well, 3 months later we were the proud owners of 150 pts at BWV! We've added more at BWV and some at BLT. So be careful.
It's a lovely area, especially at night. You can grab a bite to eat at any of the resorts around the lake. Check out the various resorts there. They all have something special to offer.

 

[Ryan2016]

It is a nice walk and break from the parks

If you have a sweet tooth the ice cream parlours are a good stop on the walk

The boat ride is also a nice break

There are good restaurants there but I don't know if you can make a full day out of it if you are not going to parks

I would check it thou

 

[k8Davies]

I love the boardwalk, now one of my favorite things to do is the walk between HS and Epcot - the most relaxing and fun way I think to get between the parks,

Every time, day or night, I've visited the Boardwalk I always find something to do, there's a great Art shop to mooch about in (last time we got talking to an artist for ages), a Scrummy bakery, Surrey Bikes to hire, ESPN Zone to catch some sports - you can even hire swan paddle boats from the Swan and Dolphin and go round their lake.

And now they've opened that ice cream shop (I think it called Ample Hills Creamery) next trip I'm going to love it even more.

 

[AshleeH]

We've done the Boardwalk twice - once for a reservation in that area and once because we had two hours before an ADR in Epcot. It was miserably hot that day (one of those days where you duck into every store, just to get away from the heat) and we had done everything we wanted to do, so we meandered around the boardwalk while waiting for our ADR window. It didn't make sense to leave the park and then turn around and come back, since that two hour timeframe would've been eaten up in no time with travel time back to the front of Epcot, out to the parking lot, to the MK resorts, and then turning around to get back in time. It's a fun way to spend an hour - I wouldn't plan on a big chunk of time though.

 

[DisneyaHolic23]

We love the Boardwalk. Agreeing with many of the previous posters, I would plan on an evening on the Boardwalk. Make it an adult night, and plan a nice dinner (we LOVE Yachtsman Steakhouse, Shula's, Bluezoo...) and then we love the dueling piano bar, Jellyrolls! It is such fun! The Boardwalk looks beautiful at night, with the lights glittering on the water. Then, we plan to cab home. (If you really want to take the bus, take a bus from any of the Boardwalk resorts to Disney Springs, and then to your home resort.)

 

[littledebbie335]

We went to the Boardwalk one afternoon because we were in the area for mini golf. It was kind of quiet and boring during the day (could have been because it was January and the weather was kind of gross). I definitely wouldn't leave Epcot just to explore the Boardwalk, but if you have an evening off, sounds like it would be fun!

 

[Plan4Fun]

We enjoy the Broadway area and stay at the Beach Club when we can ( DVC ) owners. It is def worth your time! Go and look at the Broadwalk itself it and also the resorts like Beach Club and Broadwalk. If you are there at Christmas it's very pretty! Might be best to see at night because the lights of the BW are lovely and they have some evening clubs there like a comedy club. Not a whole days worth of viewing but def an evening. If you can get an ADR at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club then do it's really good!!

Beaches-n-Cream is one of my fave places to get ice cream! It is delish!

 

[DebbieB]

There is never anything going on during the day. Allegedly, there is entertainment at night, but I have yet to see it (and not for a lack of trying.)

If you don't have a specific reason to go there, I wouldn't bother.

I've stayed there many times and there has always been entertainment at night. My favorite time to walk the boardwalk is after Illuminations.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The Boardwalk in the evenings is so much fun! The magicians are fantastic, the new Ample Hills ice cream shop is AMAZING and the games are fun too! If you want to play the games, just make sure you bring some cash. There are also surrey bikes to rent and they play movies on the village green in the evenings. Yummy Boardwalk food too - funnel cakes, hot dogs, pizza, etc. Plus great sandwiches and salads at Boardwalk Bakery and some great sit-down restaurants as well. If you are wondering around EP WS one evening, yes, go out IG and make a left to the Boardwalk!

 

[tomatecerise]

We Go at Boardwalk at 2pm via Epcot And think It is boooooooring! The ice cream at Ample Hills is unbelievable!

 

[ChloesDaddy]

We enjoy the Broadway area and stay at the Beach Club when we can ( DVC ) owners. It is def worth your time! Go and look at the Broadwalk itself it and also the resorts like Beach Club and Broadwalk. If you are there at Christmas it's very pretty! Might be best to see at night because the lights of the BW are lovely and they have some evening clubs there like a comedy club. Not a whole days worth of viewing but def an evening. If you can get an ADR at Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club then do it's really good!!

They say the neon lights are bright there.

 

[whiporee]

Gosh, wouldn't a Broadway area be awesome. I wonder how it would do there -- the constant influx of tourists and visitors could keep theater full. They could only bring in the longer-running shows like Wicked or Lion King or Les Mis -- the ones that already have tours attached. Set it up with four or five theaters. WDW's got 100K people a night held hostage; hard to image they couldn't fill a theater or three at $75 a ticket. i'd bet it could be a hot little area of WDW.

 

[Robo]

Gosh, wouldn't a Broadway area be awesome. I wonder how it would do there -- the constant influx of tourists and visitors could keep theater full. They could only bring in the longer-running shows like Wicked or Lion King or Les Mis -- the ones that already have tours attached. Set it up with four or five theaters. WDW's got 100K people a night held hostage; hard to image they couldn't fill a theater or three at $75 a ticket. i'd bet it could be a hot little area of WDW.

Disney considered doing something very similar to this within the last decade, or so.
They never did anything with the idea.