Just arrived 5 hours ago . . .

[Susiequsie60]

LOVING your instant TR!!!

Im hoping to book BWI very, very soon (as soon as DH gets off the fence about going!!) and Im anxious to hear how you like the feel of the resort. Do you feel like everything is so far away from point A to point B?

We stayed our first 2 trips at WL, and the last one at BC but when we ate at Flying Fish last time, we LOVED the look of the BWI and thought it would be fabulous to stay there too!

Have you walked to/from the restort to HS?? How long did that take? I remember taking the boat from BC to HS and it took for flippin ever - and if we had thought about walking it might have been faster!!

Also, can you tell me what size you think the sleeper couch is? We have 2 boys, who would be 14 (almost 15) & 12 in June when we'd go, and the 12 yr old would be put on the sleeper couch since they dont want to "touch"...

We used the sleeper couch in our BC room for him and it was plenty big but that was 2 years ago and he's grown a little since then..

THANKS!!

Yay! I'm excited to answer some questions for someone.

We've walked over to the studios a few times. I'd say it takes about 15 minutes. We took the boat back today, which was pretty quick but we did get off at the Dolphin/Swan because the captain said it would be another 15 minutes to get to the Boardwalk. We just walked over the bridge to get back to the BWI, which was fine. Time wise, we definitely prefer walking.

I don't think the BWI is spread out at all - but I'm pretty used to staying at the Caribbean Beach and you probably know how big that is. Or maybe you don't, but I hear people complain about getting around that place all the time. It never bothered us at all. I don't know if I mentioned that we're big walkers in our family, so that just is never an issue with us.

Our room (5278) is in a great location - right around the corner from the elevators so it's definitely convenient. I think I can see that some people might not like the layout of the BWI. It's a little different than many places I've stayed before - almost like there's no direct access to either the big pool or the quiet pool. Nothing about it's physical layout bothers us at all though. I'm serious when I say that I probably won't ever want to stay anywhere else when I'm at WDW. The super easy access to 2 parks has totally won me over. And honestly, Epcot has pretty much always been my "favorite" so it's sort of like a no brainer.

The sleeper sofa looks to be a decent size. I'll post a picture for you. It's like a regular 3 pillow/section couch, but then it somehow opens up. I think your
12 year old should be fine. I'm thinking back to when my now 22 year old son was 12, and he would have definitely been good to go on the pull-out. He's 6'3" now so it probably wouldn't work today!



Hope this info helps.

We had a super day today - breakfast at Trails End (great buffet - definitely my kind of meal, and for $40 with tip a pretty darn good value) then came back and ended up hanging out by the big pool for a few hours. There was some pretty good people watching there (one of our favorite vacation past times.)

We walked to Hollywood Studios this afternoon around 4:00 pm and I rode Rockin' Roller Coaster (for the first time! I was petrified and only did it for my husband. I have to admit that he was right - it was fun.) and Toy Story Mania. Also fun, but I personally don't think it's worth all the hype. Then again, I have to remember I'm a 53 year old woman with grown kids - probably not their exact target audience. Took the boat home and grabbed a little snack. I had a cheesecake brownie from the Bakery (it was delicious and I'm definitely a baked goods snob - I love to bake my own) and my husband had a slice of pizza from the window (meh - but I told him not to expect too much.)

In a little bit we're heading over to France for an 8:00 p.m. reservation at Le Chefs de France. We're hoping to finally catch the full Illuminations tonight.

So today was definitely another very successful day for us. I'll let you know how dinner goes!

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

The Boardwalk is the best overall experience to be had for a 1-week experience. Just like was previously stated you can't beat the easy access to Hollywood Studios and the wonderful World Showcase at Epcot.

 

[mcbj]

Enjoying your TR! Did I miss it? Where was the lobster Mac and Cheese from? Can't wait to hear about Chefs De France, that will be a new one for us in June!

 

[Avery&Todd]

THANK YOU for your response and helpful answers!!!

I think that the sleeper sofa would work beautifully for my 12 yr old! He'll probably end up being 6' 3", but right now he's only 5' 1"!!

Our family would certainly be walking to/from the Studios...we're walkers too and I do remember waiting for the boats & the ride to HS was so long at times!!

your room views are FABULOUS!! I cant even imagine being able to see the fireworks!! We're looking at getting a "standard" view - do you remember what view type you booked to get room 5278??

THANK YOU again for your responses!!! It sounds like you're having a great time and eating some yummy foods!!

 

[Susiequsie60]

THANK YOU for your response and helpful answers!!!

I think that the sleeper sofa would work beautifully for my 12 yr old! He'll probably end up being 6' 3", but right now he's only 5' 1"!!

Our family would certainly be walking to/from the Studios...we're walkers too and I do remember waiting for the boats & the ride to HS was so long at times!!

your room views are FABULOUS!! I cant even imagine being able to see the fireworks!! We're looking at getting a "standard" view - do you remember what view type you booked to get room 5278??

THANK YOU again for your responses!!! It sounds like you're having a great time and eating some yummy foods!!

As far as I know, our room is a "standard" view. That's definitely what I booked. How cool is that?!?

So, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to me. Today is our 25th!

Last night we had dinner at Le Chefs de France at 8:00 p.m. It was ok. I wouldn't rave about it. We each had soup, and both the lobster bisque and the french onion were delicious. The warm baguette they brought was also crusty and yummy. Our main course, however, wasn't great. We both got the short ribs and we both said the exact same thing. Tasted sort of like pot roast and was a little stringy. It was good, just not quite as good as we expected. My husband's chocolate mousse was delicious, but my cream puff was average. I did tell you that I'm a baking snob and my cream puffs (the shells themselves) are a ton better. Just saying. That bill was $127 with tip. In our opinion, that wasn't worth the money. I'm glad we ate there though - mostly because our son is living in France this year and we'd been "chatting" with him about it all day so that was sort of fun.

It's just about 9:00 a.m. Guess it's time to wake up hubby and I think we'll drive over to Animal Kingdom since Expedition Everest and the Safari are 2 of the things we've yet to accomplish this trip. I think it's a good morning to skip a big breakfast . . . I'm not really used to eating quite this much food. Who is?!?!?!?

(NOTE: this is actually the first trip where we've yet to be a rope drop. I think being here as 2 adults has made a huge difference in our touring style.)

We'll be at Epcot tonight for our anniversary dinner at Le Cellier (I feel like it's an Early Bird Special at 4:05 p.m. -unfortunately the price surely won't reflect that!!)

I think I have so pix to post but that will wait until later . . .

 

[Susiequsie60]

What a wonderful anniversary day. So far it's been the best actual anniversary celebration we've had in the last 25 years!!!

We bypassed having breakfast and arrived at Animal Kingdom at about 10:30 a.m.; we walked right over to Dinosaur to ride for the 2nd time this trip. It said 20 minutes for standby (we had no FP+ for this) but we literally walked right through and on. I still loved it as much as ever!!

We walked over to the Safari at around 11:00 a.m. The stand-by said 40 minutes and we walked right on with our FP+. We had a little ice cream snack, and then it was time for our 12:00 Expedition Everest FP+. That, of course, was also crazy fun. After the ride we went to Flametree BBQ for lunch, and I got the obligatory WDW turkey leg. Trip's not complete without one! The food was good and it cost around $30 (my hubby had the ribs.)

We had a FP+ for Kali River Rapids so we headed over there (also for our second time this trip.) I do love that ride! The standby wait was around 30 minutes.

(NOTE: There were definitely lots of crowds around the FP+ Kiosks today. Didn't look like fun.)

We left the park after the rapids and are going to hang out here until we head over to Le Cellier for our very early dinner.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

So happy you are having a great day! Enjoy dinner! How is the weather?

 

[Susiequsie60]

So happy you are having a great day! Enjoy dinner! How is the weather?

So far, our weather has been nothing but perfect! Nice and warm, but definitely not too hot. Plenty of sun, but some periods of cloudiness (so it keeps it comfortable.) We've been fine walking around the parks during the day, laying by the pool in the afternoon, and being out and about in the evenings/night.

Starting tomorrow, however, I'm not sure if our luck is going to hold out. My phone is showing rain for both tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday. We'll see . . .

 

[Avery&Todd]

As far as I know, our room is a "standard" view. That's definitely what I booked. How cool is that?!?

So, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to me. Today is our 25th!

THANK YOU again!! Well, I guess when I book I'm going to ask for a high floor b/c I would LOVE the views you had!!!

CONGRATULATIONS on your 25th anniversary!! DH and I just celebrated our 20th this past October and I would LOVE to spend an anniversary with him at Disney!!

 

[Susiequsie60]

Man, today was our most exhausting day so far. It was also the most fun we've ever had in celebration of our anniversary!!

After our morning at the Animal Kingdom and a brief rest in our room (definitely a little too brief - I missed my nice nap today) we headed over to Epcot for our 4:05 reservation at Le Cellier.

While the time was definitely earlier than I'd prefer, the dinner itself was wonderful. They seated us right away at a cute little table in a romantic corner. Our waitress was super nice - very pretty girl that really had a great way about her.

Since it was our anniversary dinner, we decided to throw caution to the wind and I ordered their Martini Flight (3 little martini's) and my husband got some sort of Whiskey Flight (he really liked the Maple bourbon that was part of it.) All three of mine were yummy - one was chocolate, was was some sort of glow in the dark blue thing, and the third might have been a cosmo - I'm not positive. They all were tasty though!

My husband started with the Cheddar Cheese soup (which he said was very good but sort of a small portion) and I had the baby beet salad. Since the day we arrived my husband's been talking about the Dry-aged Bone-in Rib Eye ($64 - which I thought was crazy.) I got the Filet Mignon. Mine was melt-in-your-mouth tender and very yummy. I could only eat about 1/2 of it. My husband's was very good, but he thought it wasn't the absolute greatest cut of meat. I don't think he was sorry he ordered it though. Me personally, I'm not sure what would make a piece of meat worth $64 . . .

We split a dessert - a Caramel Milk Chocolate Bar that came with chocolate sorbet. I thought the chocolate sorbet was gross, but my husband liked it. The bar had an oreo crust, some coconut, and chocolate on top. It was good, but as I said before, I'm very hard to please on desserts I get out.

So we both had guesses on how much our bill was going to be - and we both came very close. The actual bill was $220 (including tip.) Definitely more than we would normally spend for a dinner out, but it was an experience. We're both glad we did it.

After dinner we walked over and just rode on Living With the Land, The Seas, and Ellen's Energy Adventure. I like them all. (Can you tell I'm sort of old school?)

We headed home (on foot) and took a little side trip through The Beach Club and Yacht Club to check them out.

My guy wants to watch the fireworks from our balcony again tonight. We are both feeling very very tired. I think I hit on everything we did today as far as attractions. Actually, we were talking and we think that Soaring is the only ride we have not been on this trip. Well, I guess I should say it's the only attraction that we want to do that we haven't. I don't think we've missed any others.

I'll try to post some pix again . . .

 

[Susiequsie60]

So here are some quick pix taken with my iPhone:

Delicious turkey leg at the Animal Kingdom -


We got quite close to some animals on the safari. When did they change the ending about saving the baby elephant from poachers?


Poor quality pictures of our drinks at LeCellier -
You can sure see that one of my little martini's glowed blue!!



My filet and his $64 rib eye -



Our Le Cellier dessert -


A few minutes before 9:00 p.m. - time for this evening's fireworks.

~SQ

 

[OnSpaceshipEarth]

That rib-eye looks delicious.

 

[DVCmom4]

Following along!! Happy Anniversary!!!

We are hoping to be on our way to BC on the 12th. Fingers crossed that the snow storms stop here in Jersey so we can get out!!

 

[mickeymum]

Love your trip report !Happy Anniversary!!
We are going out for our 42nd and to celebrate my 37 year old daughter for being cancer free in sept cant wait!

 

[quandrea]

I fear that I have now been totally spoiled and will never want to stay anywhere else . . .

I love it here.

Never stayed there but am curious about it. How far out is the parking? Is there a zero entry pool? Are the rooms in good shape?

 

[Susiequsie60]

Never stayed there but am curious about it. How far out is the parking? Is there a zero entry pool? Are the rooms in good shape?

The parking is pretty far out - especially if you're at the far end of the lot! As I mentioned earlier, they do have valet parking for $15 a day. We are way to "frugal" to do that.

If a zero entry pool is what I think it is, they don't seem to have one. (I'm guessing it's a pool you can sort of wade into, with out steps?) If I'm wrong on that, someone please let me know.

Our room is in great shape. My husband said last night that he'd request the exact same room if we ever come back.

FULL DISCLOSURE: my husband and I are NOT hotel snobs at all. The only thing that's really important to us is CLEAN. For example, during the 4 years our son was away at college, we always stayed in the Holiday Inn Express in town. I have a co-worker who tends to be horrified by that, only liking chains such as Sheraton or Hilton. I prefer to save money at a less expensive brand. We are definitely not the type of people who need anything fancy. I'm only saying this so you know that this room is definitely a little "nicer" than what we usually book. Just for perspective.

 

[Susiequsie60]

Some more thoughts on the Boardwalk Bakery:

We're hanging in the room this morning so I decided to run down to the Boardwalk Bakery for coffee and some breakfast "sweets." We ate there our first morning here and I thought it was pretty decent, but my husband thought it was not so great.

After this morning I'm going to go with an official rating of "average, at best." Here's what we got:

Jersey Crumb Cake
Chocolate Croissant
Sticky Bun
Raspberry Cheese Danish

The top two were for my husband. The crumb cake was pretty dry - even just to the touch. He thought it tasted similar to a packaged crumb cake you would get in the grocery store. The croissant was flakey, but had practically no chocolate in it.

My sticky bun was nice and soft but not terribly flavorful. The raspberry cheese danish had too much raspberry and practically no cheese.

Maybe we're expecting too much, but I'd say we're disappointed in the Boardwalk Bakery. The best thing I had there was the Brownie Cheesecake. That was good. Everything else - definitely not so great.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: This is an area where we are rather picky. I do love to bake. I love homemade stuff. I do make a mean crumb cake, but we also are able to get really good crumb cake at some bakeries near our home. That's something that I think they could do better. And the cinnamon bun we had the first morning? Have you ever had a Cinnabon? Well, it was nothing like that (unfortunately.)

I've had cheese danish and croissants much much better than these. I just think if you're a bakery, you should be better. I will say that their non breakfast type sweets do look beautiful. And since the brownie was all that I had, maybe all of that stuff I didn't try is also delicious.

I'm going to say for my review that the Boardwalk Bakery isn't so great for breakfast-type food. I'm not really commenting on dessert-type food.

 

[quest4dl]

The details about Boardwalk Inn are great. I've had my doubts about the bakery (most Disney bakery products are too sweet for my tastes). I wonder how the 'pastry' type items are - please update if you do sample them (looks like there are tarts and key lime slices etc in the case?). I know the best option is to stock up on some items from the bakery in France - not sure if we'll we able to pop in every day to grab something though.

Are you parking the 'convention' parking lot? I think that's supposed to be the closest lot to the Inn.

 

[Susiequsie60]

Are you parking the 'convention' parking lot? I think that's supposed to be the closest lot to the Inn.

We're parking it what we assume is the main BWI parking lot - it seems to be adjacent to the valet lot. Not sure where the convention lot is located.

 

[Susiequsie60]

I know that I've basically had nothing but wonderful things to say about staying at the Boardwalk. We absolutely do love it here. I'm going to post just a few little (and I mean very little tiny) things that I've noticed. Haven't really affected me in a negative way, but I think I'll comment on them because I have bit of a Type A personality and if I were in charge, I'd fix them.

#1 - one bank of elevators has been "out of order" since we arrived. Why not fix it? Seems like a week is a long time to let it slide.

#2 - If you've been here, do you know the little "showcase/bookcase" things right outside the elevators on each floor? On our floor (5) a bunch of books are in there upside down or backwards. Yes, I know that's really silly to even notice, but why in the world would it be that way? I think I might have a touch of OCD and this does make me a little crazy. I wish I could just fix it myself!

#3 - Our bathtub faucet needs to be turned off really really hard or it drips.

#4 - I wish the balcony doors both opened all the way

#5 - Since day 1, there's been a sign by one of the garbage cans directing us to put all cans/bottles in the "attached bag" for recycling. Well, there's been no bag attached the entire time we've been here. We're big recyclers (been doing it at home forever.) We've been putting all bottles/cans next to the garbage can.

Now, of course, NONE of the things above are big deals. None of them are adversely affecting our vacation. I'm just posting them for informational purposes . . .