Review: Why You Should Take a Stroll to the Boardwalk

on March 29, 2021

Disney’s Boardwalk Inn and Villas is arguably one of Walt Disney World’s best theme resorts. This resort takes you to the pinnacle of Atlantic City and Coney Island with its boardwalk and water front style. I had the opportunity to check it out in January 2021 in a Disney Vacation Club studio room. The Boardwalk like many of the Walt Disney World deluxe resorts has both regular hotel rooms and Disney Vacation Club villas. At this time only the villa portion is open to Disney Vacation Club members. I was able to rent points from a member for this stay.

This one of a kind hotel experience opened in 1996 with both villas and regular hotel rooms right off the bat. Not only is this a hotel but it is also its own entertainment and dining district. Now that has died down a bit in recent years but Disney at one point did tout this as a spot to hang out in the evening after leaving the parks. The Boardwalk is home to numerous bars, and restaurants. It is definitely a place to check out even if you are not looking to stay there.

Now back to the resort itself. Upon checking in to the Boardwalk which was done online we were given a first floor room with a garden view. As I noted earlier this is a DVC studio room which slept up to five people and has a kitchenette. Overall the room was great. If there were five people it certainly would have felt much tighter. The room we were given was basically as close as you could get to the Hollywood Studios side of the resort meaning we would walk out the back door and be right on the path to Hollywood Studios. That was a huge plus of this location.

All DVC studio rooms are fairly basic and mostly the same. The biggest difference between this one and the Animal Kingdom Lodge one I stayed in earlier was the pullout murphy bed to make the room sleep five. I have also stayed in the older version Saratoga Springs studios which also just slept four. Now I will get a quick look at the Saratoga rooms again soon but overall I think given the location and amenities of the Boardwalk this ranks number one of the three. Animal Kingdom Lodge will always win with the view however.

Much like Jambo House given that the hotel side of the resort is not open many of the amenities are limited. Now there are more dining opportunities open than at Jambo House many options are still closed. You also have quick access to Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Beach Club, Yacht Club, and the Swan and Dolphin which make up for a lot of those lost things. Having so much in the Crescent Lake area makes this and the other hotels in that area stand out more than many others.

Transportation is much less worrisome at this resort. Being able to walk to two theme parks and several other resorts nearly negates the need for any car. You will still need to utilize transportation to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom however. You also have the Skyliner right outside Epcot to access a few other resort options rather easily.

I once again did not utilize the pool mostly because the weather was a bit cooler for this trip however Disney did just renovate the slide and add Mickey and Friends to the Luna Park Pool. There is also a quiet pool as part of the resort. The Luna Park Pool is one of the best pool options in Walt Disney World however and features a great bar in Leaping Horse Libations.

Overall, the Boardwalk is very hard to beat when it comes to Walt Disney World accommodations. The only thing that does beat it for me is the Beach Club which is right next door. The Beach Club only wins slightly due to the incredible pool. The Boardwalk is simply perfect in many ways and a place I hope everyone gets to stay eventually. One of the great things you can do at the Boardwalk if you are a runner is take a morning run around Crescent Lake all the way down to Hollywood Studios and around the other resorts. It is one of my favorite spots to do so. You are going to want to stop off in the morning for a snack and maybe some coffee at the Boardwalk Bakery.

Its hard to say anything bad about the Boardwalk and really my only complaint is some of those limited amenities given the pandemic but overall it is still a very great experience.

Have you stayed at the Boardwalk and how do you think it stacks up against other Disney resorts?