The I Love BWV (yes, Hallways and Clown Pool too!) Thread

[zackiedawg]

Do you remember when the Boardwalk was promoted as a destination for evening dining and entertainment? Did you ever stay there as a guest, come back from the parks in your rental car around 7 PM and circle the lot, trying to find a place to park, then see the lot empty out after Illuminations was over?

Unfortunately, I think the BW parking lot is too small to accommodate "lots of traffic" especially with Epcot just a stroll away, unless they implement a parking charge that's a lot higher than normal Epcot/DHS parking and have the BW restaurants comp something like 3 hours (and people staying at BW park free, of course).

I'd love to see a good QS restaurant and/or a casual dining place for burgers and salads, etc., like other Disney Deluxe resorts have. But I don't want something that's going to encourage people to park there for free in the morning, visit Epcot and DHS, and stay late to enjoy drinks and dancing on the BW.

Yeah, I've been an owner there since 1996 - back when you still had a tram running the rounds of those resorts. I agree on the parking situation - don't want to go back to that - I was more thinking about foot traffic and inter-resort traffic - people walking in from Epcot and Studios, people staying in Yacht, Beach, Swan & Dolphin actually walking over to Boardwalk to eat and stroll...even taking Skyliner over. Boardwalk used to be that way - but now I find people from Beach and Yacht often don't even bother to walk over. Swan and Dolphin have some great restaurants that draw people over - including ME when I'm staying at Boardwalk. I often take the Skyliner over to Riviera to eat - Topolinos at night, Primo Piatta for lunch or bites, or just hitting Bar Riva. When I had Big River, ESPN, plus the Trattoria and Flying Fish, and more food carts operating on the Boardwalk, I rarely felt the need to go to other nearby resorts for food. Nowadays, I almost always do...just wanting a bar food atmosphere, a burger and fries, or a good steakhouse means heading somewhere else - I'd love it if Boardwalk brought back the pub/bar food, burger joint, and maybe added a nice steak or American joint to the mix. I do still occasionally eat at Trattoria, and enjoyed Cake Bake - but really miss ESPN and Big River for those casual eats. And it's nice to have the pizza window and Blue Ribbon just to get some quick food options, but would love to see the margarita stand, the cheesesteak spot, a fries stand, funnel cakes, etc - just like you'd find on an actual boardwalk in the N.E.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah, I've been an owner there since 1996 - back when you still had a tram running the rounds of those resorts. I agree on the parking situation - don't want to go back to that - I was more thinking about foot traffic and inter-resort traffic - people walking in from Epcot and Studios, people staying in Yacht, Beach, Swan & Dolphin actually walking over to Boardwalk to eat and stroll...even taking Skyliner over. Boardwalk used to be that way - but now I find people from Beach and Yacht often don't even bother to walk over. Swan and Dolphin have some great restaurants that draw people over - including ME when I'm staying at Boardwalk. I often take the Skyliner over to Riviera to eat - Topolinos at night, Primo Piatta for lunch or bites, or just hitting Bar Riva. When I had Big River, ESPN, plus the Trattoria and Flying Fish, and more food carts operating on the Boardwalk, I rarely felt the need to go to other nearby resorts for food. Nowadays, I almost always do...just wanting a bar food atmosphere, a burger and fries, or a good steakhouse means heading somewhere else - I'd love it if Boardwalk brought back the pub/bar food, burger joint, and maybe added a nice steak or American joint to the mix. I do still occasionally eat at Trattoria, and enjoyed Cake Bake - but really miss ESPN and Big River for those casual eats. And it's nice to have the pizza window and Blue Ribbon just to get some quick food options, but would love to see the margarita stand, the cheesesteak spot, a fries stand, funnel cakes, etc - just like you'd find on an actual boardwalk in the N.E.

Doesn’t Flying Fish have one of the highest rated steaks on Disney property?

Also, you have the new Michael Mina steak place at The Swalphin, Yachtsman Steakhouse, and Le Cellier all within walking distance…..

 

[zackiedawg]

Doesn’t Flying Fish have one of the highest rated steaks on Disney property?

Also, you have the new Michael Mina steak place at The Swalphin, Yachtsman Steakhouse, and Le Cellier all within walking distance…..

Agreed - I love having some of those spots walking distance - but that doesn't help revive the life on the Boardwalk. That's exactly the issue - everyone hits those other resorts, even those staying at Boardwalk - which has changed the whole character of the Boardwalk - which feels very dead most nights. It used to be hopping. Losing ESPN and Big River plus lots of the little food stands really hurt it.

As for Flying Fish - the steak indeed is usually raved about - my only issue, and I know it's a 'me' thing - is that I don't eat any seafood or shellfish at all, so I have great difficulty walking into a seafood restaurant even when they have non-seafood options on the menu...not only does the whole place have too many fish smells around, but I worry about any fishy flavors making their way into my steak or sides (I know they use separate grills, it's just a mental block that's hard for me to get past).

Yachtsman is great, and I expect Bourbon Steak to be fantastic (I have one in my town and have been to many times)...I still feel there's room for an American type restaurant (not just steaks, but chicken, pork, BBQ, burgers, soups and salads - think a menu like a Fridays, Chilis, Cheesecake Factory, etc.).

 

[MattB2G]

Big River was our Family's favorite when we stayed at Boardwalk, hit is twice in a 4 day stay.

 

[CarolynFH]

Big River was our Family's favorite when we stayed at Boardwalk, hit is twice in a 4 day stay.

We frequently ate at ESPN Club or BRG on arrival day. Didn’t need reservations, comfortable casual atmosphere, simple burgers and salads. I’d love to see similar come back!

 

[AstroBlasters]

We frequently ate at ESPN Club or BRG on arrival day. Didn’t need reservations, comfortable casual atmosphere, simple burgers and salads. I’d love to see similar come back!

Did the attendance at ESPN zone fall off? I went to the one in Anaheim a few times.

 

[Chili327]

Yeah, I've been an owner there since 1996 - back when you still had a tram running the rounds of those resorts. I agree on the parking situation - don't want to go back to that - I was more thinking about foot traffic and inter-resort traffic - people walking in from Epcot and Studios, people staying in Yacht, Beach, Swan & Dolphin actually walking over to Boardwalk to eat and stroll...even taking Skyliner over. Boardwalk used to be that way - but now I find people from Beach and Yacht often don't even bother to walk over. Swan and Dolphin have some great restaurants that draw people over - including ME when I'm staying at Boardwalk. I often take the Skyliner over to Riviera to eat - Topolinos at night, Primo Piatta for lunch or bites, or just hitting Bar Riva. When I had Big River, ESPN, plus the Trattoria and Flying Fish, and more food carts operating on the Boardwalk, I rarely felt the need to go to other nearby resorts for food. Nowadays, I almost always do...just wanting a bar food atmosphere, a burger and fries, or a good steakhouse means heading somewhere else - I'd love it if Boardwalk brought back the pub/bar food, burger joint, and maybe added a nice steak or American joint to the mix. I do still occasionally eat at Trattoria, and enjoyed Cake Bake - but really miss ESPN and Big River for those casual eats. And it's nice to have the pizza window and Blue Ribbon just to get some quick food options, but would love to see the margarita stand, the cheesesteak spot, a fries stand, funnel cakes, etc - just like you'd find on an actual boardwalk in the N.E.

Cheesesteaks would be great, plus fit the vibe!!

 

[zackiedawg]

Cheesesteaks would be great, plus fit the vibe!!

Though it wasn't a sit-down spot, Boardwalk To Go was a great kiosk for just the kind of stuff Boardwalk is sorely missing now. The menu changed a bit over the years it was open, and it eventually closed in 2022 to become the Blue Ribbon Corn Dog spot.

The menu usually had 10-12 menu items like cheeseburger, corn dog, hot dog, cheesesteak, pulled pork sandwich, chicken sandwich, meatball sub, chicken fingers, chicken wings, corn fritters, fries, mozzarella sticks, fried ravioli, etc. All was pretty decent - greasy fried stuff, but great coming back from the park or a quick lunch. The corn dogs at Blue Ribbon are pretty good - but the prices at the To Go kiosk were very reasonable for Disney ($5-7) and there was so much more selection.

 

[808blessing]

I remember when the security guard tipped me off way ahead that ESPN was going away. I always consider the staff's chatter to be just as good if not a better guess than ours or a CM bound by the muzzle of the mouse house.

 

[zackiedawg]

ESPN was a big loss for me. I probably ate there more often than any other restaurant on property. Since Boardwalk is my home resort, I stay there frequently - and in the days before the 60 day advanced dining, when people tended to make reservations same-day or a few days before, ESPN was convenient on days when you didn't get a res you wanted, on days you didn't feel like making a res, or on a day when you didn't feel like a 'fancy' meal - more in the mood for burgers or wings or chili or chicken sandwiches, but wanted better quality than quick serve. Or you happened to be at Disney during a big sporting event you didn't want to miss (I watched quite a few Stanley Cup games there, since I always travel to Disney in late May/June). You never needed a reservation - if the restaurant side was packed with a long line, you just hit the bar side...hover around a bit and eventually you got a table or seat at the bar (later years they stopped the bar tables from being open seating, but they were on a separate hostess line and usually much faster to get seated than the restaurant side). Big River filled in that gap a bit when ESPN closed, but without having a full fry and griddle service, they were lacking on menu selections and didn't have a staple of bar food - fries! Still, it was nice to have that type of selection of foods and bar on the Boardwalk.

 

[Best Aunt]

Though it wasn't a sit-down spot, Boardwalk To Go was a great kiosk for just the kind of stuff Boardwalk is sorely missing now. The menu changed a bit over the years it was open, and it eventually closed in 2022 to become the Blue Ribbon Corn Dog spot.

The menu usually had 10-12 menu items like cheeseburger, corn dog, hot dog, cheesesteak, pulled pork sandwich, chicken sandwich, meatball sub, chicken fingers, chicken wings, corn fritters, fries, mozzarella sticks, fried ravioli, etc. All was pretty decent - greasy fried stuff, but great coming back from the park or a quick lunch. The corn dogs at Blue Ribbon are pretty good - but the prices at the To Go kiosk were very reasonable for Disney ($5-7) and there was so much more selection.

I really liked Boardwalk To Go. It was a great place to grab a quick bite. I miss it.

 

[zackiedawg]

It was great because it made room service unnecessary. I often grabbed something there and walked it back to the room to eat. I still occasionally do that with the pizza window or corn dogs...just not as much choice!