The Disney's BoardWalk Inn is a luxury resort hotel and villa Disney Vacation Club at Walt Disney World, a short walk from Epcot on Crescent Lake.
In this review we'll show you pictures of the rooms at BoardWalk Inn, and our pros and cons of the hotel.
Disney describes the resort as capturing "the charm, whimsy and elegance of 1940s Atlantic City."
That marketing jargon, in fact, couldn't be more accurate.
Disney's BoardWalk Inn is a very charming resort, with a “work” entertainment on the Boardwalk, complete with restaurants, nightly entertainment and recreation.
Perhaps most importantly, the Disney's BoardWalk Inn is located just steps from the International Gateway entrance to Epcot on Crescent Lake (adjacent to the Swan & Dolphin Resorts and Disney's Yacht and Beach Club).
guests of BoardWalk Inn also receive MagicBands and can do FastPass + reservations.
There are also excellent food and dinner options such as the Flying Fish Cafe and Big River Brewing Works, as well as Jellyrolls and the Atlantic Dance Hall.
And just a few steps away from that for me it was the best Disney breakfast ever.
Thanks to these wonderful experiences on the boardwalk, it's an amazing spot!
As mentioned, we first stayed at the Boardwalk for our honeymoon. This happened after a long period of analyzing the numbers.
We determined that, all things considered (including annual maintenance fees and the time value of money), it would not be much more expensive for us to purchase a Disney Vacation Club contract on the resale market than it would be to reserve a room in the Polynesian.
In our opinion, Disney's BoardWalk Inn is Amazing!
I read some time ago in Disney War that Michael Eisner spent a lot of time discussing the details of Crescent Lake resorts because they reminded him of summers in New England.
This may explain why, ostensibly, the resorts are all very similar in theme.
However, I think if you look a little deeper, there are substantial differences between the three resorts.
It might be better if they were radically different from each other, but I think each one is beautiful in its own right.
One of my favorite areas of BoardWalk Inn it's the lobby itself.
While it doesn't have a grand lobby like the Wilderness Lodge or some other Deluxe resorts, it does have a ton of detail.
From the miniature boardwalk complete with roller coaster to the pretty light fixtures to the elephant statues and so much more. It is extremely well equipped, and a great place to sit and relax in the morning.
Despite having a relatively small footprint, the resort itself actually has plenty of relaxing areas to escape the hustle and bustle of the BoardWalk entertainment area itself (not that there's much hustle and bustle in the first place).
Beautiful gardens and out of the way benches can provide a relaxing respite to relax.
A lot of noise is made about Walt Disney World pools, and the main pool at the BoardWalk Inn doesn't disappoint in that regard.
Themed after an old Atlantic circus, the pool is really cool, and its waterslide, themed to look like a wooden roller coaster and with an ?interesting? in the end, it's a great whistle.
It may not have a sandy bottom or a lazy river, but it's definitely one of the biggest pools in the world. Walt Disney World, in my opinion.
The rooms are also excellent. Keeping with the Atlantic theme Boardwalk, the rooms use a soft, almost pastel color scheme.
They also feature beautiful paintings and accessories (note the Minnie Mouse lamp in the corner above) to convey the feeling that you are staying in a vacation room just minutes from a real turn-of-the-century boardwalk.
Rooms at BoardWalk Inn
Bathrooms are on the average side. The shower and toilet in a different room than the double sinks, which is fine, but other Deluxes certainly have nicer/larger toilet areas.
There is certainly nothing wrong with the configuration of the BoardWalk Inn. Not worthy of praise.
For us, these rooms capture the essence of the Victorian era theme well, without making the room feel dated.
This has been our critique of the Grand Floridian not looking stylish enough because the luxury accommodations have stumbled on theme.
The BoardWalk doesn't have the same level of luxury as the Grand Floridian, but it's likely much better than the Grand Floridian.
In short, the rooms of the BoardWalk Inn and BoardWalk Villas They balance luxury and theme very well.
We found the resort to be exceptionally clean and maintenance to be impeccable.
On occasions when we drag ourselves home at 4 am after Evening Extra Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom, we saw cast members painting handrails and making other improvements to the resort.
It's this kind of maintenance that establishes BoardWalk as one of Walt Disney World's premier resorts.
It's also good to stay BoardWalk when there's extra hours of magic in the EpcotBecause the hotel is a short walk from the park!
We mentioned it above, but it bears repeating.
Resort Location
The location of BoardWalk it's amazing.
It could have been one of the worst resorts we've ever stayed at (it wasn't). But if that were the case, the location alone would save the stay!
Only 5 minutes from Epcot.
Just minutes to Flying Fish and Big River Brewing Company.
Just 10 minutes from Beaches & Cream and Cape May Cafe.
Just 10 minutes from Ale & Compass.
While I love the monorail resorts, I think the Epcot resorts may have beaten them!
Overall, we don't have a single negative thing to say about the Disney's BoardWalk Inn.
Its ambiance, entertainment offerings, and proximity to dining and Epcot are huge selling points.
Rooms are well-themed, combining pleasant accommodations with a sense of design that is distinctly Disney, but not over the top or gaudy.
About the only conceivable negative, I think, is that if you have small children, the theme might not be as appealing to them (with the exception of the pool).
The real negative though is that once you stay there, you'll get hooked, and it will cost you in the long run in the form of the cost of future stays!
