In our last post, we reviewed our One-bedroom Villa at Disney’s Beach Club Resort in Orlando, Florida. In today’s post, we describe our experience staying at another DVC favorite – the Boardwalk Inn & Villas! Here, we discuss the many reasons why we loved staying in a one-bedroom villa at Disney’s Vacation Club – Boardwalk Villas (DVC BWV). We didn’t (terribly) mind the looooong hallways, and (creepy) clown slide.
Why stay at DVC’s Boardwalk Inn & Villas?
One of the primary reasons to stay at the DVC BCV is due to location on Crescent Lake, with plentiful dining and entertainment options.
Another reason is the easy access (walking distance) to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
From the Disney Vacation Club website:
Timeless elegance meets old-fashioned charm at Disney’s BoardWalk Villas, located on Disney’s BoardWalk within walking distance of Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Outside this waterfront Resort, the fun-filled atmosphere is reminiscent of 1940s Atlantic City—featuring fabulous dining, shopping, recreation and entertainment options.
From the YourFirstVisit website:
Among the Disney Vacation Club resorts, Disney’s BoardWalk Villas ranks seventh-best overall for first-time visitors.
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The check-in experience at DVC BWV
As mentioned in our previous posts, we enjoy the convenience of renting a car whenever we travel to Walt Disney World, preferring the ease of transportation to the parks, and the ability of grocery shopping at the local Target or Publix.
A security gate guards the entrance to the Boardwalk Inn & Villa grounds. When arriving by car, visitors present a photo ID at the gate.
We always love hearing “Welcome Home” after the guard confirms our reservation.
As we have discussed, DVC (and all Disney Resort) guests can check-in online 60 days prior to arrive.
Guests receive a text with the room number when the room is ready.
There are no room keys, as the magic bands that were shipped prior to the trip provide access to rooms (and the parks, with purchased theme park admission).
It’s a such pleasure, to simply locate and enter the villa, upon arrival to the resort.
Parking is not as convenient as the close parking at either the Beach Club Villas (BCV), or the Grand Floridian Villas (VGF).
However, the cast members at the Boardwalk Inn and Villas are very friendly, and the lobby is both elegant and whimsical.
RELATED: DVC GFV: Why we love staying in a one bedroom villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Yes, the hallways are THAT long!
We had read many complaints about the long hallways at the Boardwalk Inn. Like all bad reviews, many of the complaints seemed a bit exaggerated.
Not!
After checking in and receiving our magic bands, we set out, to find our room.
We finally found our one bedroom villa.
Fortunately, our villa location permitted us easy access to a stairwell, with fairly access to the walkway along the canal, to Hollywood Studios, The Swan & Dolphin, and the Beach Club Resort.
We designated our villa location, as an overall win.
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DVC BVW floor plans
The Boardwalk Villas offer four different room types:
- Deluxe Studio
- One-bedroom villa
- Two-bedroom lock-off villa
- Three-bedroom Grand Villa (all GV’s have Boardwalk Views)
And three different view types (discussed more in detail, later in this post):
- Standard View (view of resort grounds or parking areas)
- Garden or Pool View (view of pool, water or garden areas)
- Boardwalk View (views of boardwalk)
Here are the floor plans for the different types of villas (taken from the DVC website):
The One-Bedroom Villa at DVC BWV
All one-bedroom villas include the following amenities:
- Washer and dryer
- Iron and ironing board
- Portable crib
- Private porch or balcony
- Wireless Internet access
- Flat screen television(s)
- Blu-ray™ player
One bedroom villa kitchen, dining and living areas
Although significantly smaller than the Grand Floridian One-Bedroom Villa, the kitchen, dining and living areas of the Boardwalk Villas are well designed, and function quite nicely.
While other vacationers have stated that they don’t like to cook while on vacation, we enjoy the ease and convenience of a full-sized kitchen for preparing breakfast, lunch (to go), and re-heating any left-overs from prior dinners.
The full equipped kitchen has the following amenities:
- Dishwasher
- Dishes, glasses and utensils
- Pots and pans
- Refrigerator
- Stove and oven
- Coffee maker
- Microwave
- Toaster
We continued our typical routine of visiting Target on our first day, where we picked up enough groceries for the upcoming week. It is so enjoyable, to be able to prepare morning coffee, and then breakfast, before showering, dressing, and heading out to the parks.
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Here are some additional photos of the kitchen and dining areas, from our one-bedroom villa:
There is a good amount of seating within the living area, as well as a large dresser, with ample drawer space.
DVC BWV one bedroom villa sleeping areas
The one-bedroom villa has a king-size bed in the master bedroom, as well as a queen-size sleeper sofa, sleeping a total of four adults.
All villas have the following additional amenities:
- In-room safe
- Voicemail
- Alarm clock
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The split bathroom
Unlike our home resort of AKV Kidani village, the DVC BWV one bedroom villa has the equivalent of one full bathroom. However, the split bathroom design functions quite well.
The tub and vanity area are directly adjacent to the master bedroom (and accessible to the main living areas):
While the large walk-in shower, second vanity, and private water closet with toilet are also directly accessible from the main living areas:
While the Beach Club villas underwent fairly significant refurbishments to the bathrooms, the Boardwalk villas retained much of the original tile, tub and shuttered window that separates the master bedroom from the bathroom. We preferred the more elegant and refined Beach Club re-design.
The view at DVC BWV
Boardwalk Villas offer three different view types (discussed more in detail, later in this post):
- Standard View (view of resort grounds or parking areas)
- Garden or Pool View (view of pool, water or garden areas)
- Boardwalk View (views of boardwalk)
Here is the view from our fourth floor one bedroom villa — gorgeous!
As can be seen from the photographs, these DVC BWV balconies do not have privacy screens. Fortunately, very few folks were seen on any balconies, for our entire stay!
We were able to enjoy coffee, smoothies, and a good amount of peaceful enjoyment from our balcony. Wonderful.
RELATED: So much to love about our one bedroom villa at Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Dining & Entertainment at DVC BWV
There are several dining and entertainment options at the BWV, inlcuding Flying Fish Cafe, a Signature Dining restaurant. For a detailed (and long) list of the many dining options, the reader is referred to DVC’s website.
Regarding entertainment, more from the DVC website:
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas capture the charm, whimsy and elegance of 1940s Atlantic City.
Enjoy the friendly carnival atmosphere along Disney’s BoardWalk with its spectacular dining, shopping and recreation options. Engage in thrilling watersports on 25-acre Crescent Lake. When night falls, delight in the illuminated Disney’s BoardWalk, which has transformed into a sizzling hotspot for dining and merriment.Disney Vacation Club
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas are surrounded by a quarter-mile long stretch of delightful stops like the Wyland Gallery, and fantastic entertainment like the sports-themed ESPN Club, piano bar Jellyrolls and the Atlantic Dance Hall. This unique Disney Vacation Club Resort is conveniently close to Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
All together, we really enjoyed the various dining options at the Boardwalk Inn & Villas — especially the easy access to the many wonderful dining options in Epcot.
The grounds, including a boat ride around Crescent Lake
The Villas at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn are located in the upper left section of map. As can be seen from the map, the resort is very spread out.
Luna Park is the featured pool at Boardwalk Inn & Villas, with a 200-foot-long Keister Coaster water slide (that my son loved!)
In addition, there are 2 leisure pools. One pool is located in the Roase Garden Courtyard, ad the other is located next to the Community Hall building. Both leisure pools feature whirlpool spas.
We did not photograph the pool areas during our trip, so we refer the reader to some excellent websites that are listed in the infographic at the end of this post. Next time, we will bring our GoPro!
SEE ALSO: Lessons learned from severe sunburn
Final thoughts about DVC BWV
Disney’s Boardwalk Inn and Villas have so much to offer. We loved the deluxe one bedroom villa, walking distance to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and incredibly varied and enjoyable entertainment. My son said that he didn’t mind the “creepy clown” and loved the roller coaster themed pool slide.
The parking was less convenient than at the Grand Floridian or Beach Club. The less compact layout (long hallways) were a bit much, after a long day at the parks.
However, we appreciated the easy access to the walkway to Hollywood Studios and the quiet pool, as well as the numerous amenities found around Crescent Lake.
Boating on the lake, renting a Surrey bike, and being able to walk over to the Beach Club Resort were highlights of our visit. While we would most likely not pay cash room rates, we are happy to use our DVC points to stay in a one bedroom villa at the Boardwalk Inn & Villas.
That’s all, dear blog readers. I hope that you enjoyed this blog post!
Have you stayed at the Boardwalk Inn — either in the main resort, or the villas? Please feel free to send me an email with your experience! In the meantime, I leave you, with this handy info-graphic for my favorite Disney planning websites:
Denise Dixon, PhD
Health psychologist
Dr Dixon is a licensed psychologist practicing in New York State. Her contagious enthusiasm for sharing the science of health & behavior has earned her the nickname of “Dr. Smiles.” Dr Dixon also finds joy in motherhood; travel; outdoor sports; singing; piano; and cooking delicious (vegan) meals.
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