The Boardwalk Inn Information Thread

[SRUAlmn]

Thanks SRU, I posted for you since you and I both followed Clare's report so closely!! I don't know why they redid the 4th floor so heavily in Kings. WE are going back in December and I am a little worried we will have the same issue. So I need to be very specific YET AGAIN and hope it works..You must be getting so excitied for the trip. you will be thrilled with club, especially being so hot there in the summer. It was well worth the cost...

Aw, thanks I feel so special! That's great that you'll be able to go back in December. We normally try to do twice a year, but our APs expire at the end of this trip, and due to purchasing a new home recently, we're not sure if renewal is an expense we can do right now. Therefore, we are SO excited for this trip since it might be the last one for a little while! I'm glad to hear the CL was worth the cost! I know it's great to have that little retreat and the water and snacks are just icing on the cake!

 

[ClareH37]

WE just returned this week from BWI Club level. FANTASTIC! Word of warning htough...The lounge level, 4th floor, when it was redone they made too many of the rooms with King beds instead of 2 doubles. I NEED two doubles.Upon checkin I had requested 2 doubles and a garden view. Was then shown a King room with boardwalk view. Lovely view but I was a little worried about noise, I have a 9 year old that sleeps LIGHT! And the King bed didn't work. We were then given a gorgeous view of the gardens - room 4206. Simply so quiet. LONG walk from Inn Keepers Main desk but the original room I was shown was outside of the innkeepers main desk, not part of the secure door so that kind of bummed me a little on the boardwalk view room. I wanted to be inside that secured door area.

Welcome home I'd glad everything worked out OK for you in the end - I must admit I would have been a little unhappy if I'd had a room outside the secure door area. One of the reasons I stay CL is for the 'secure' area.

The view from your room is so pretty

 

[simplymama]

We're staying two nights at the BWI CL at the end of our GF RPC vacation pacakge.

Can you tell me is there a common patio for guests CL or not whatever, where you can view the boardwalk and possibly the fireworks?

 

[scottmel]

Yes Kat you can go to the CL Lounge - go to the lounge balcony and stand to the left and you can see Illuminations nicely...Your tip,Clare on the dreaded Espn view was a godsend b/c that is the room they tried to move me to so thanks for the heads up on that!!!!

 

[simplymama]

Clare there is a picture of your mum sitting on a deck taking a rest. Was that the CL deck? Thanks

 

[mademluc]

Yes Kat you can go to the CL Lounge - go to the lounge balcony and stand to the left and you can see Illuminations nicely...Your tip,Clare on the dreaded Espn view was a godsend b/c that is the room they tried to move me to so thanks for the heads up on that!!!!

Clare or Scottmel or anyone...do you remember the room number of the evil ESPN room(s)? I understand that the even number rooms are garden/pool/Epcot view and the odd are boardwalk view, right? I'm trying to figure out the room numbers to avoid when staying CL. Are there any non-boardwalk view CL rooms that we should try to avoid? Thanks for any help...

 

[simplymama]

Clare or Scottmel or anyone...do you remember the room number of the evil ESPN room(s)? I understand that the even number rooms are garden/pool/Epcot view and the odd are boardwalk view, right? I'm trying to figure out the room numbers to avoid when staying CL. Are there any non-boardwalk view CL rooms that we should try to avoid? Thanks for any help...

I'm not seeing the post about the Evil Epcot View room. Could somebody tell me the room number and the problem with it???? Please...

 

[scottmel]

evil Epcot room. Ok maybe I am stretching the truth but I think Clare would agree iwth me here. If paid standard room rate, no club, that evil espn room would be fine. However, not for Club level. It is the view of the walkway to Epcot. So if you are standing on the boardwalk facing the BWI, it is the rooms ALL the way to the left and around a small bend. So they are not boardwalk views - which is fine - they are on the side of the hotel and face the walkway to Epcot. It is called Epcot Walkway room. However soon as the front desk girl mentioned it - the only thing I could think of is that big ESPN dish which as Clare said it is in your view on this Epcot Walkway View. And sure enough it would have been..so I hope that clears it up!

 

[scottmel]

Your floor choice won't matter, it is along the side of the building and honestly if you are NOT staying Club, it is a fine view. you could get stuck with a parking lot! However when staying club, you get BW, Garden and Quiet Pool. I think they are trying to pass off the Epcot Walkway as a garden view and I guess it is except you look right down at this big old satellite dish. But honestly I would chose it in a heartbeat over another standard room - i.e parking lot view!!

 

[scottmel]

CLare have you left us? Am I nuts with this proposal..After my RAVE reviews of the BWI - you guys know I loved it there - I am headed back for the Xmas holidays at Disney! Used a bounceback code and HAD booked BWI Club but then I heard YC CLub is being totally redone NOW. So I booked there. I am so afraid the BWI has spoiled me as I simply loved it but a weird part of me thinks no other trip to BWI could top my last one so I should try elsewhere....Am I being crazy? anyone? Also picked YC for SAB for DD9. We got to use it at BWI for a day and she really enjoyed it. How much swimming we do at the end of Nov. is anyone's guess....BUT....now I am triple guessing my decision! I spoke with Itineary planning who knows Club level inside and out on BWI/YC etc and she really helped with room requesting so I feel good about getting a good view at either place. If you are staying club, definately contact them with your specific room requests as they have much more verbage space to type than the 407 wdisney crew does...

 

[KerryCM]

I have stayed at both YC and BC CL and I was not pleased at all. The cast members are what make the BWI special for me. The Epcot Resorts all use the same IPO, but the lounge cast memebers are what can make or break your trip. I also like the lounge so much better at the BWI. I like having a CM right there in the lounge to speak with. I also like that the Innkeeper's Club is open throughout the day and does not close between services.

These are my opinions, but thought I would share them with you.

 

[scottmel]

Kerry I am not a good role model for DD. I am so easily swayed. Your post woo'ed me back to BWI. I just called. You know what is funny, when I was debating YC vs. BWI the CM at IP (so sweet) told me that they are completely remodeling YC and having a concierge on staff in there, etc.I couldn't figure that out until I read your post. You mean the CL was unstaffed at YC? That would be the pits..Now maybe after the remodel it won't be? And they close during offerings? Meaning if you aren't there in the designated hours you couldn't grab a drink, etc? I know at 10 pm the BWI just shuts the doors and really I would like to see that stay open later, even if unmanned, just to grab a cold drink or have a place to read if my family was sleeping at night, etc. I guess the BWI has proven a favorite for me so why mess with the recipe? THANK YOU!

 

[KerryCM]

scottmel, the desk for the YC and BC cast are outside the lounge area, like where you check in for the BW. They do close in between services, which I didn't like. Don't forget, the BW cast will give you anything to bring back to your room to have after hours. We always take a large bottle of water everyday and my husband will take a couple diet cokes, don't tell my son, he is a manager for Pepsi!!!

There is a nice quiet area by the elevators for sitting. It is relaxing there. I have been going to the BWI 2-3 times a year for the past 6 years and will not stay anywhere else!
Have fun.

 

[scottmel]

Thanks so much Kerry for taking the time to post. Though I was kind of hopeful that YC would LOOK like BWI after the re-do,why take the chance. We were at BWI Last week and Pete, Lorenzo and the other staff were great. I especially liked Pete. I am sticking with my "sure thing" and appreciate your feedback. THANKS!

 

[mhalpern]

Okay first a little background info - this was our 4th family trip to the world. First two times we stayed at Pop. The third trip we were doing the land/sea package so we were placed in Poly for the 3 days before our cruise. We are not the type of family that goes back to the room during day. We were going to stay at a moderate resort this time but when the 7/4 deal came around we realized this might be are only chance to spend a week at a deluxe. We requested a standard non-water view room near the elevator.

The Pluses
Location: A+++++ What a treat to walk to EP and walk/boat to HS. These are our favorite parks so it was a dream come true to be so close.

Pool: A- We usually go off season so I can't compare it to other Disney pools but my kids loved the clown slide. They went down it over 15 times. I thought it was a little heavy on the clorine but I guess that's necessary. It was also nice that they played games poolside. I don't know if they do that at all the resorts.

Balcony: A It was small but there was room for 2 chairs and a small table and it was nice to be able to go outside to check the weather and put the sunscreen on the kids.


The Minuses
Counter Service Food: D- We really missed not having a food court or some kind of CS meal option on the premises. The bkfst choices in the lounge were very limited and there was nothing for lunch or dinner. We ended up with 9 leftover CS meals on our dining plan because the only place to use them was in the parks. The vendors on the boardwalk that sold hotdogs and sandwiches did not accept the dining plan. Also one night it rained really hard. The only way to get to food on the boardwalk we would have had to walk in ankle-deep water. We just had leftover snacks in the room for dinner that night.

Storage Space: C- The room was very spacious which was great but I was surprised how little storage space there was. I could only unpack 2 of our 3 suitcases. On the cruise I could unpack 4 large suitcases in our small stateroom.

Theming: C+ The room was pretty but IMHO was missing something. It just seemed really plain to me. We loved the decor at the Poly.

Lastly a few things happened that surprised me for a deluxe resort. 1. There was food left in our fridge when we got there. It was just an unopened pudding but I still didn't want to find it. 2. We had trouble with our internet connection and it took two days and 2 phone calls to resolve. DH was not happy about that. Also the phone between the beds wasn't working which took 2 calls to resolve. We could only get our wake up calls in the bathroom.

Maybe my expectations were too high because we don't usually stay in the deluxes. I thought staying there would make us feel special or that at least it would feel homey. I didn't feel either of those things. If we have the opportunity to stay at a deluxe again it won't be the BWI. We did love the area so I would definitely consider staying at one of the other properties on the boardwalk. I hope I didn't offend anyone - just wanted to share.

 

[mademluc]

I hope it doesn't look like I'm harping on and on about this but I really want to get some room numbers in mind when I'm looking at what to avoid. So, if you were to look at the map of the Boardwalk, are the CL EERs (Evil ESPN rooms) in the green bit (room #4201-4211) or the pink bit (maybe room # 4213 and/or 4215). Am I appearing obsessive about this? I think there's just a little too much of this in my life right now and not enough of this. Will it ever stop raining in NJ???

 

[scottmel]

I can tell you this, I was in 4212 initially (King bed, so needed doubles - awesome view). I then moved to 4206 - awesome view. Posted these earlier. So from what I can tell you 4212 is near the garden inn rooms - those little cottages - 4206 is closer to the OTHER end and I am so bad on directions I can't tell you where this is...But 4204 would have shared my view. We were side by side - divider up but you know what I mean, in terms of view. So anything from 4212 to 4204 is going to be the view you saw in my pictures....Does that help? Send me a direct link to the map if you want me to look at it futher...

 

[scottmel]

mhalpern - did you know the boardwalk bakery was counter service? We loved their paninis (spelling? but those italian style sandwiches)...DD loved their kids meal....They had a good salad there too. We didn't spend much days at the resort but when we did we did get CS from there and actually ran out on our last day and had to pay OOP at the bakery! I just returned from BWI last week and do concur, those drawers are shallow in the dresser. Our storage later in the week at AKL was much much better. But that was the only complaint I could find at BWI. We loved it so much we are going back in December. I keep flip flopping between YC Club and BWI Club but am afraid to leave BWI as we just adored it last trip. Would be great if they did have a sit down CS option somehwere. We actually ordered our food at the bakery, entered the hotel and went up to the second floor and found a quiet spot near that bar area, they have checker tables, etc. and DD and I would eat our meals there many a time. we really enjoyed it and called it our secret spot. Then on the 4th floor there is a full size living room right off the elevator areas with closing french doors and we would bring meals into there and close the door and pretend we were home eating in our living room!

 

[scottmel]

Madamluc - you did specify for sure you want 2 queens right? When we checked in a boardwalk view was made available to use b/c a family of 5 couldn't fit in there b/c it was a King bed. How they got in a King room I don't know but they ended up not staying as no doubles were available..I often wonder if they got my room that night b/c I was to have two doubles...but anyway I did say 2 doubles on my reservation and was still given a King room. However I had 3 people vs. your 5...Are you getting a deluxe rom?

 

[ClareH37]

evil Epcot room. Ok maybe I am stretching the truth but I think Clare would agree iwth me here. If paid standard room rate, no club, that evil espn room would be fine. However, not for Club level. It is the view of the walkway to Epcot. So if you are standing on the boardwalk facing the BWI, it is the rooms ALL the way to the left and around a small bend. So they are not boardwalk views - which is fine - they are on the side of the hotel and face the walkway to Epcot. It is called Epcot Walkway room. However soon as the front desk girl mentioned it - the only thing I could think of is that big ESPN dish which as Clare said it is in your view on this Epcot Walkway View. And sure enough it would have been..so I hope that clears it up!

I'm here been a bit busy but am now back lol

OMG, yes, the 'evil' room! Never in my stays at a Disney resort was I so disappointed with a room than 'that' room. I opened the door, went into the room then flung open the balcony doors and what did I see? .... the ugly ESPN satellite dishes and a service area! I'm sure there must have been an amazing view of Illuminations at night, but I couldn't put up with looking at those dishes! You could also hear some road noise from the Epcot service/access road. I didn't wait to unpack, I hot-footed it back to the concierge desk and they very kindly moved me, that's when I ended up with the fantastic garden/firework view.

It's interesting you're considering the YC because so am I I really want to see what the refurb is like, but I know really I'll return to the BWI because like Kerry (and others) say, the CMs really are amazing. They made my trip so magical.