Murphy’s are LIVE in WDW Jan 1-7 at the Boardwalk

[TigrLvsPooh]

hey guys!

The kids and I are down in Disney World this week staying at the Boardwalk!

I’ve created an IG account for pics if anyone wants to follow along: https://www.instagram.com/disney_fan_life/

We are in a studio and so far everything is going great! Yesterday we went to the Studios and had dinner at Sci-fi. Today we are at Epcot and have dinner tonight at Nine Dragon.

(Pic last night waiting for the boat)

I’ll try to add more pics here soon, but my Photobucket isn’t really working well for some reason. It keeps freezing when I try to upload. But you can see more pics on my IG!

If you have any questions about the parks or the Boardwalk just let me know! I’ll also give my resort review and opinions toward the end of the trip.

 

[Nohal]

Looking forward to your reviews. I always enjoy your reports.

 

[Ensusieasm]

I will be following. Enjoy!

 

[KerryCM]

So happy to see you are doing another live report! I am also following you on IG!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Hi again

We're back in our room for the night and I was able to upload pics to photobucket finally.

We had a really nice day at Epcot and the weather is simply amazing. We've been coming down here the first week of January for the last 15 years or so and I don't remember it ever being this consistently warm. Normally we'd be wearing jackets at night but we've been fine in short sleeves even at midnight. Soooo nice!

Originally we were booked at AKL this week but I'd been constantly checking availability the last few months to try and find something in the Epcot area. Availability this week has been really tight. Luckily at the 30 day mark I found this studio at Boardwalk with my AP discount which was actually cheaper than the room I had booked at AKL and it gave my two teens their own beds. Which they really prefer because they hate sleeping together. Also they are constantly eating and drinking all hours of the day and night so the kitchenette gets a lot of use.

Here are some pics of our room:

There's a queen bed, a sleeper sofa and a flip down bed under the TV.

Nic slept on the pull out sleeper sofa, he's 19 years old and very tall (6'4") He said it was comfortable for him. Of course he's used to a small dorm bed (he's a sophomore at Indiana University now if you can believe it!) So maybe that's why he didn't mind.

Connor slept in this flip down bed (age 17, and about 5'10") and surprisingly had no issues... said it was a great night's sleep and comfy. So this type of room layout might really be the best for us. Although the number of trips the 3 of us take together are pretty rare these days.

Our view:

I love this big mirror!

It's so nice to be able to brew my own Starbucks in the mornings I don't even have to get dressed!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

By the time we went grocery shopping yesterday and settled into our room and unpacked it was already close to evening. We took the boat to the Studios, did our fastpasses for Star Tours and the Alien saucers, then dinner at Sci-fi.

Waiting for the boat:

Saw the jingle bell, jingle bam dessert party getting setup

We didn't stay for the show because we'd already hit all the Christmas stuff on our last trip in November.

The Studios closed at 8pm and we caught the end of Illuminations when we got back to Boardwalk.

I really miss YC/BC. It was like home away from home for our family for so many years. Lots of great memories.

I don't know why some of these pics look so blurry. My lens might have been dirty.

Here was my view this morning while having my coffee

I'm not sure what I think about the Skyliner. I feel like Epcot's back door is going to get really congested, which is a major bummer for those of us who consider the ease of entry into the WS such a bonus for staying in these Epcot resorts. People coming from other resorts further away are going to be positioned right at the entrance and those walking from the Epcot resorts are going to be at a disadvantage. It's going to be really interesting to see how this system works and if people are going to like it. I foresee long lines and confusion. But I guess we'll see.

Lunch today was Beef Brisket Poutine

I won't bore you with the dozens of pics I took at Epcot today lol

Just a few

Dinner was at Nine Dragons

After Epcot we stopped for ice cream on the boardwalk at the new place, Ample Hills Creamery.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Rest of the trip...

Tomorrow back to the Studios again (TSM, RnR, ToT) and Ohana for dinner
Friday MK (SDMT, BTMRR, SM) and Narcoosee's for dinner
Saturday Studios again (Slinky Dog, Star Tours again, Fantasmic) and Chef Art's for dinner
Sunday AK (Avatar day) then back to finish up Epcot and do Teppan Edo for dinner

Then Monday we leave!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Does this room count as a fireworks view?

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

MK was crazy tonight! I think that was the worst crowd I’ve seen in a very long time.

I posted some pics on IG.

 

[DisneyMim]

So glad to see another great trip report!! Your pictures are amazing! Just beautiful!!
Enjoy your vacation and the time with the kids!!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

We had a great trip! I think the unseasonably warm weather caused a boost in park crowds, which was a bit stressful at times. But for the most part we had a good week!

Boardwalk was great! We had perfect housekeeping, no problems at all with our room. (one day they forgot to refill the coffee creamers but that's really getting super nit picky lol ) The three separate beds worked perfectly and I would definitely stay in this room layout again when traveling with both kids. We loved being so close to Epcot and we also spent a lot of time on the boardwalk. Ample Hills is AMAZING! I loved it so much The coffee toffee and peppermint patty were my two favorite flavors, but really everything we tasted was great! Disney really needed something like this because the boring old Edy's ice cream wasn't nearly this good so I didn't even bother going to Beaches n Cream all week. (although the kids did walk over there one night when I was at Illuminations)

We rented a car and didn't take a single bus anywhere the whole week, which was awesome!

There are lots of pics over on my IG and I will continue to add more there.

Quick run down on meals....

Excellent: Narcoosee's, Tiffins
Good: Chef Art's, D Luxe Burgers, Teppan Edo
Just OK: Ohana, Sci-fi, Nine Dragons, Backlot Express

Honestly I say this every trip (but I still hold on for nostalgia I think), the single credit table service restaurants are mostly a big let down. Mediocre food, too crowded, too noisy, too rushed, and not worth the money. The only one that we really enjoyed was Teppan Edo but I think the salad they bring at the beginning is embarrassingly bad (just a bowl of stale, brittle lettuce with a bit of dressing on it) The one credit restaurants just keep cheapening their food because of the dining plan and I think it's time to just stop booking them completely. There are too many good places to eat to even bother trying anymore. I'd rather have a mickey pretzel than some of these meals.

We booked our March trip for Yacht Club lagoon view, so I'm excited to go back in 74 days!

If anyone has any questions feel free to ask!

Here are a few more pics:

 

[mrsap]

Beautiful pictures!!! Thanks for sharing!!!! May I ask what view you booked at BW? We have an upcoming stay this summer, your pictures definitely have me excited! Thanks!!

 

[Ensusieasm]

I really enjoyed your trip report. Such beautiful photos! My favorite is the one from the second floor looking down at the GF lobby. The way you framed that picture with the two Christmas trees! What a nice Christmas card that would be.
And.... Wow!....those MK crowds!
How nice you get to spend such quality time with your boys!
Thanks so much for sharing!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Beautiful pictures!!! Thanks for sharing!!!! May I ask what view you booked at BW? We have an upcoming stay this summer, your pictures definitely have me excited! Thanks!!

I booked a “deluxe studio standard view” but I think we might have been upgraded because our view didn’t seem standard to me. Also since we were a cash reservation at the BWV we received daily housekeeping. I actually preferred this room over the standard room over on the BWI side. The kitchenette was perfect for traveling with the kids.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

I really enjoyed your trip report. Such beautiful photos! My favorite is the one from the second floor looking down at the GF lobby. The way you framed that picture with the two Christmas trees! What a nice Christmas card that would be.
And.... Wow!....those MK crowds!
How nice you get to spend such quality time with your boys!
Thanks so much for sharing!

Thank you! I love the GF at Christmas.

I took this pic of the MK crowd during the afternoon parade. It was just about the worst I’ve ever seen:

 

[theburgher]

Your pictures look great!! What camera did you use??

 

[DisneyMim]

Love your pictures. You are a wonderful photographer. Looks like you all had a great time!!

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Your pictures look great!! What camera did you use??

Just my iPhone it’s the XS Max

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

Love your pictures. You are a wonderful photographer. Looks like you all had a great time!!

Thank you

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Love reading your reports even though I’ve missed the last couple.
It’s hard to believe how big your boys are now. My oldest DS is 21 and the younger is a senior in H.S. -17 too. Time flies!