What's the history behind Disney's Boardwalk Inn?

[DodgerGirl]

I adore learning facts about Disney and one story I would like to know is how did Disney's Boardwalk Inn get it's start? I know that it was part of Disney's Boardwalk when Disney's Boardwalk opened in 1996 and when my family stayed at Disney's Boardwalk Inn during our only Walt Disney World vacation in 1997 I was amazed at how fancy they made it to look like one of those boardwalk hotels in Atlantic City during the 30s/40s. Was Disney's Boardwalk Inn originally supposed to be in the same category as Grand Floridian Resort or was it a budget type of resort for Disney? Also was the Boardwalk Villas added later to Disney's Boardwalk Inn or was the villas built and finished at the same time as Disney's Boardwalk Inn? And has Disney's Boardwalk Inn gone through many changes since it's opening in 1996?

 

[Nayan]

Google it.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think Disney had plans for developing Disney's Boardwalk way before it was built and Disney's Boardwalk Inn was part of that plan because people adore staying in resorts with charm and I think they modeled Boardwalk Inn after the classic boardwalk resorts of the 40's because you could tell how much effort Disney designed Boardwalk Inn to look like a 1940's boardwalk resort. And when I stayed at Boardwalk Inn I was surprised to see that even the rooms had a 40's look to them because from the beds to the mirrors they had an antique like look to them and when you looked inside the rooms it really felt like a 1940's style bedroom in the old houses. Did they ever give Boardwalk Inn a fresh new look?