The Boardwalk Inn Information Thread

[paladin]

The new rooms are absolutely beautiful. Does anyone have a picture of the renovated Deluxe rooms?

I am looking for that too!

 

[Clotho]

Hubby and I have stayed at both: BWI in 2004, and Poly in 2007. We love both for different reasons.

POLY THOUGHTS: We loved the decor at Poly--we prefer the dark woods and exotic grounds. We loved loved loved having the monorail right at our resort. Having Magic Kingdom so close, to be able to just "dash off" at a moment's notice, was fantastic. Also having the TTC within walking distance was another bonus, so Epcot was never far away. Lastly, having both Contemporary and Grand Floridian on a monorail hop away meant our restaurant, bar, and resort shopping/entertainment options were tripled at least.

The rooms are HUGE. The beach is a fun novelty. Having the rooms divided up into buildings, and having entrances/exits at both ends of each building means you can head right off in whatever direction you want and not feel like you had to hike around a loop to get where you wanted to go. We also had a second floor room in Tokelau which had a big balcony overlooking the quiet pool. That was a real treat, especially when torrential afternoon rains (Sept) would invariably hit, and we could sit out there and watch and listen to it pound down--novel for us Seattlites, where people think it rains a lot, but never like THAT!

BOARDWALK THOUGHTS: World Showcase is one of our favorite places in The World...maybe THE favorite place (though we love the rides at MK , so having that in our "back yard" was fantastic. Just being able to walk over to get a drink or grab a bite to eat or see street entertainment...priceless. And that doesn't even take into account all the stuff already AT the Boardwalk!

The boat to MGM/DHS was novel, but not as quick as we would like, and the boats leaving were often packed, but we were too tired to walk the distance back to BWI, so we would end up waiting a long time or give up and take a bus to some other place directly from DHS instead.

We don't like the decor at BWI as much, and felt the walk from the elevators was long--having the elevators so centralized means a long walk when we were roomed at the end of the hall. For instance, to get to WS, which we always wanted to , we had to hike all the way down the long hallway, through the lobby, out and down the stairs, then loop back the way we came along the long walk off the property... At the end of a long day, or with sore tired feet from a week of walking, those distances felt really far. We are requesting a room closer to the elevators this time, though we may regret it since the soundproofing between the rooms and hallways was not that stellar and rowdy kids in the early morning parading past are hard for these night owls to take! Of course, now that Adventurer's Club is closed, we might not be out so late. Though there is always Jellyrolls, which is right ON the Boardwalk. We never did get to try it when we were there last...

So at any rate, both are really top notch resorts. We are staying at the BWI on our next trip in December. We wanted to be close to World Showcase this trip, and it works out because almost every other night we are there, MVMCP will be on at MK; so had we chosen Poly, the novelty of having Magic Kingdom so close by would not have been able to be enjoyed like we did on our last trip. But I think we prefer Poly by a thin margin over BWI, but very thin.

I hope this helps!

(PS I know you said you stayed at BWI, and know its amenities, but wanted to enumerate for others who may not know)

Jackemail, I see you booked a split stay for next year. We also were at Boardwalk Inn all last week and booked the BWI for next year! We never thought of a split stay......and hubby has been intrigued with Poly, but we really loved the location and convenience and entertainment at BWI? Can you tell me which is your favorite? POLY or BWI and whY? I have read that some of the rooms at Poly are in need of renovation? Where was your room at BWI?

 

[MIC-KEY]

Thanks for the information on the Poly! I am thinking we may do a split stay next September and you gave us lots of reasons to try it.

 

[jackemail]

Jackemail, I see you booked a split stay for next year. We also were at Boardwalk Inn all last week and booked the BWI for next year! We never thought of a split stay......and hubby has been intrigued with Poly, but we really loved the location and convenience and entertainment at BWI? Can you tell me which is your favorite? POLY or BWI and whY? I have read that some of the rooms at Poly are in need of renovation? Where was your room at BWI?

I always have to say Poly is my favorite because we began there in 1973, so it will always have my heart. I love the tropical theming, the motor launch to the magic Kingdom, the cast members, the lush grounds, the magnificent expanse of the fireworks from the beach. That being said, our first stay at BWI will definitely not be the last. We were in 4257, a wonderful location. Cannot beat the convenience to EPCOT, the nightly entertainment was great ....but Poly would always call me back. The decor of BWI is not my favorite (although the rooms and the entire place are gorgeous), and the decor of Poly is much more to my liking. The split stay solved the problem of convenience, and we will most likely do the exact same stay next trip.

 

[Clotho]

Jackemail, we had hoped to do a split stay on our next trip, but it wasn't available. So I hear ya! I wonder if I will ever try anything else... We love them both so much!!

 

[kaybird]

Booked for our trip 12/6~ Can someone tell me if there is a frig in all rooms now? Thought that was true for all deluxes, but the first page said $10 a night. Of course that was posted in 2002

 

[jjohnson]

Booked for our trip 12/6~ Can someone tell me if there is a frig in all rooms now? Thought that was true for all deluxes, but the first page said $10 a night. Of course that was posted in 2002

yes there is.

 

[kaybird]

yes there is.

Thanks! Getting really excited! Seems like for Ep and DHS, this will be soooo awesome!

 

[woodleygrrl]

we are going to be at the BWV on Thursday. we are staying in a studio. I will make sure to post pictures here upon our return. it has been 15 years since I have been to Disney World and this will be my husband's first time. I think this is the perfect place to stay for the Disney "virgin", no?

 

[Biezestreet]

Haha yea that true, it has a little bit of everything...

 

[Clotho]

Absolutely a great place to stay for a first trip! It was ours on our first trip to The World! Being able to walk to World Showcase was by far our favorite perk, and we missed it so much on our last trip (Poly, which is awesome in its own right!), we are coming back this trip! HOORAY!

 

[kaybird]

Absolutely a great place to stay for a first trip! It was ours on our first trip to The World! Being able to walk to World Showcase was by far our favorite perk, and we missed it so much on our last trip (Poly, which is awesome in its own right!), we are coming back this trip! HOORAY!

Looks like we will overlap a couple of days! Can't wait to try this resort, so close to EPCOT and DHS! We will be there 6-11th of Dec!

 

[woodleygrrl]

just got back yesterday from a long-weekend trip to WDW where we stayed in a studio in the BW Villas. Our room was on the 2nd floor (which is really the first floor of the hotel) and it could not have been further from the lobby. In fact it was the very last room down a very very long hall. I am going to have to check my records to see the room number. It overlooked the quiet pool and hot tub and the swan.

The room was a studio, with a wetbar, small fridge and microwave. It also included a day bed, pull out sofa, and a queen sized bed. It definitely was a non-renovated room with a small tv and worn furniture.

The lobby is still undergoing renovations with some of it covered by these large white temporary walls hiding ongoing construction just as you walk into the lobby to the right.

The boardwalk itself was pretty dead all weekend save the ESPN Club that had a line out the door for the baseball and football games going day and night. You could have walked right in the Flying Fish that night for dinner.

All in all? I wish we could have gotten into the Yacht or Beach Club or one of the Magic Kingdom hotels. For the cost the rooms should have been much, much nicer.

 

[Desnik]

The long hallways are an ongoing joke for us DVC'ers!LOL It is crazy, I know I had a room at the dreaded end of the long hallways. One good thing is there is almost always a door to just take the stairs that will lead right outside.

Also, the BWI is different from the BWV. The BWI were the rooms that were renovated. BWV is not being renovated. We were just there in July in a studio and our room was in good shape, but we also had a small tv. I'm not sure when/if BWV will be renovated.

Thanks for the review! We will be back there in Jan.

 

[CPer'sMom]

We just returned last night from a long weekend at the BWI ~ My DD is a seasonal CM and she went down to work on Friday so that meant I got to go too! Arrived in the evening on Thursday. My requests for our standard room had been upper floor and courtyard view ~ had a great room on the 4th floor overlooking the green at the back of the resort and also a beautiful view of the lake & the YC. Very close to the elevator - great for convenience, but a little noisy at times.
We are YC fans and usually stay there but this time we wanted to check out the *new* rooms at the BWI. They are pretty - my DD especially liked the yellow and white stiped wallpaper Was so nice having all new furnishings. Love the comforter and duvet on the beds now. The bathroom is now blue with a really pretty yellow & blue shower curtain on a curved rod. I do hope that they are still planning to replace the sinks and maybe the countertops. They now look old and out of place with everything else being new and clean. The one sink in our room had a huge crack in it ~ everytime I saw it I kept thinking there was this big long hair in the sink!

It's so great being on the boardwalk side in the morning ~ just a short walk down to the bakery for a pretzle or croissant and coffee to bring back to the room while we are getting ready. Only had a line there on Sunday morning, Friday and Saturday was much quicker for that. Had to be very careful walking on the boardwalk those mornings though since it was wet and then it's SO slippery. Saw quite a few people fall down.

It was a great weekend, although too short (of course!) I was afraid of the crowds since I'd been reading how crowded it was. Thursday night we did F&W for a few hours and I was glad we'd done it then. The other nights it was packed there. Friday morning my DD worked and so I was on my own for the day. Started at DHS at opening to do Toy Story - took 15 minutes in line. Walked around the park for while enjoying the emptiness before taking the bus to MK. Had my umbrella with me since it was drizzling off & on; that little bit of rain sure kept the crowds away on Friday. I walked onto everything I wanted to do - Pirates, HM, BTM, Space, PhilharMagic. Even PP and Dumbo only had 10 minute waits at noon! I love the Fall decorating at the MK so it was fun just walking around shopping and enjoying the sights. Then took the monorail over to Epcot; did FW and walked through WS sampling some things we hadn't tried on Thursday.
Saturday was pretty good crowdwise at DHS and MK again - Epcot WS was nuts!! Glad we'd already done that.

They are still finishing renovations in the lobby at the BWI - that should be done soon. For anyone planning a stay there - You will enjoy how nice and fresh & clean the rooms are now Housekeeping was great too. Had a Mickey head towel 'animal' on the bed when we arrived. Plenty of towels every day. The boxes of tissue now are the smaller upright ones and the tissues are softer and nicer - they left 2 extra boxes on the shelf in the bathroom along with 3 extra rolls of toilet tissue.

Any questions? Be glad to answer anything.

 

[livinthedisneydream]

DH and I stayed for a couple nights on a bounceback offer after our cruise. The new garden suites are gorgeous! As always, the Innkeepers Club (concierge) staff was top notch and wonderful!

Now, hopefully, I remember how to link the photobucket pix!

 

[livinthedisneydream]

 

[livinthedisneydream]

 

[livinthedisneydream]

 

[livinthedisneydream]

that's all! If anyone has any questions, ask away!!