How much time do you spend at the boardwalk?

[lovetovacation]

My DH and DS (11) will be at WDW in July and we are staying at the YC. Our only other trip to WDW was in 2000 and we didn't go to the boardwalk that time. Since we are staying so close to it I thought we may check it out. I am working on my itinerary and want to stay pretty flexible, but didn't know if a couple of hours sounded reasonable or not. As with any Disney attraction, I'm sure a lot of it depends on the family. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[nativetxn]

Hi lovetovacation and welcome to the DIS. I'm very glad you decided to join us here.

I would think since you will have an 11 year old with you that three or four hours on the Boardwalk should be long enough.

There are some great places to eat there, some shops, JellyRolls but that is for adults only. If you are there when Illuminations starts you will be able to see part of the fireworks from the Boardwalk.

There are street performers who are quite entertaining, too.

 

[deirdrefitch]

We ate dinner at the ESPN Club at the boardwalk, and I assumed we would only be there for an hour or two. Turns out that a play-off basketball game was fixing to start, and the boys really got into it. They had sports trivia games, and lots of Disney antics encouraging all the fans. After this we walked around the boardwalk listening to a live band, watching face painting, etc.
We ended us staying close to four hours. The boardwalk is a really pretty place to enjoy.

 

[Alice Sr.]

6 nights Sorry I'm just a little giddy, (we are staying at BWV this trip) We stayed at BCV in August and my DD's (& friends) went over there almost every night when we got back from dinner or the parks. (they were 14 & 11 at that time) Strolling the BW is a nice way to end the night.

Alice

 

[Tiggerkeeper]

It depends on what you do. DS always has to go to ESPN and play in the game room. DD loves to get ice cream and walk the Boardwalk. We have rented a surrey bike and played with the performers which ended up being an all evening event. So I would think more along the lines of 3 to 4 hours depending on what you do!

Have a great trip!!!

 

[travelitis]

I'm going to be the voice of dissent. We walked the boardwalk without the kids because we wanted to see it, but we found nothing but the surrey bikes that would induce us to take them. It's always on our list of possible things to do, but it never makes the cut. We can rent surrey bikes in Galveston and ride oceanfront, and we enjoy DTD Village Marketplace more. My answer: since you're close, certainly go see it, but we could do it with our 11, 9, and 5 yr olds in an hour (including a surrey bike ride of 30 min.), less if there weren't street performers or something special to entertain us beyond the restaurants, shops, and surrey bikes. That hour doesn't include transportation time to and from the Boardwalk.

 

[lovetovacation]

Thanks for the help. I think we will certainly need to try the ESPN place as my DH and DS are CRAZY about sports. ESPN is the ONLY thing ever on the TV at our house!

 

[kel3420]

We stayed at BCV during our last trip and spent probably a portion of every day on the Boardwalk. We arrived before our rooms were ready, so we walked over and had lunch and then just walked around for a little bit. One of our favorite restaurants ever is the Flying Fish, so hubbie and I went there one evening for dinner. Most of the other nights, the whole family, including my mom and four kids would walk over and enjoy the nighttime activities. The kids loved playing the arcade type games and winning tons of stuffed animals. They loved getting their faces painted. My six year old even talked hubbie into walking her over one night to get hers done again and that gave them some special one on one time.

We rented the surrey bikes several years ago, and hubbie won't do it again, as he was left at the end of the ride pedalling alone, lol.

We haven't done any of the adult entertainment because of the kids, but we do enjoy going and getting ice cream and seeing all of the live performers. We also enjoy watching the fireworks from the bridge.

If I weren't staying at a Boardwalk hotel, I would give it a couple of hours. But since you are staying at YC, I'll bet you find yourself over there more times than you planned. It is also nice just taking a walk around the lagoon, or the ferry from one resort to another.

Have fun

 

[Eljay]

Your DS is going to love the pool at the YC, possibly the best resort pool in WDW -
Stormalong Bay!