WDWRocksMySocks
01-11-2012, 11:09 AM
We stayed at the Boardwalk Villas 12/4-9. First off...I have to say how much I LOVED this resort!! It's all about location, location, LOCATION. It was our first stay at an Epcot resort and we were EXCITED. As soon as we stepped off the DME, we were greeted by a CM. She asked for our name and told me to take a seat while she grabbed all of our information (a first for us!!). She quickly came back with all of our information and, to our surprise, our room was ready...it wasn't even 10am yet! Loved the personal attention and the fact that we got a room so quickly.
We had a studio on the 4th floor, in room 4057. The room was located just off to the left of the elevator (far enough to not hear any noise, but close enough not to have a loooooong hike). We had rented points for a preferred garden/pool view. I was really hoping for a Village Green view. To much excitement, here's what I saw when I yanked open the curtains:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/380040_10101196133600539_6852884_70364239_76036993 7_n.jpg
Yeah, I know, the picture is huge but it really does the view justice! The best part...you could hear the Christmas music that was being played on the Boardwalk in our room! Not to mention you could see Epcot and Illuminations...magical!! Here's a zoomed in pic of Spaceship Earth:
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/375468_10101196133805129_6852884_70364240_13477240 20_n.jpg
And here's the money shot...
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/376401_10101166100167779_6852884_70277055_55748518 9_n.jpg
On the last night, I realized that if I turned to the left while standing on our balcony you could see Wishes! Sadly, I noticed this right as it was ending and I hadn't brought out my camera or phone to snap a pic. Sad! Still, it was amazing. You could actually lay in bed and watch the high fireworks from Illuminations! Love.
ROOM
Other than the view, the room was pretty much standard to any other studio we've stayed in. However, it is larger than the studios at VWL. Our room had a queen sized bed (pretty comfy, too), a double sleeper sofa, and a day bed. Since we were in a studio, we also had the microwave and mini fridge. Usually, we'll stock up on milk and cereal, but since we were on the DDP and didn't have a car we never used the fridge. I don't have any room pics on my current computer, so I'll have to come back and add some of those later.
POOL
I loved Luna Park Pool...even the creepy clown slide! We were lucky enough to have GREAT weather and I took advantage of the pool practically every day! Our room was very centrally located, so I could just hop on the elevator and take it to the ground floor, turn left and the pool was right there on the left. GREAT! Of course, the first thing I did was go down the slide. I may be close to 30, but I act like a kid! I was pretty impressed. The slide is pretty long and you go at a decent speed (nothing fast, but my fat butt didn't get stuck so I'll take it). Many of the days I was at the pool, they had a ton of family activities going on -- bingo, beach ball games, etc... I didn't participate in any of those activities, but it looked like everyone was having a great time.
FOOD
The only complaint I had with the location -- I wish all of the food carts accepted the DDP. When we wanted a non-sweet snack but didn't want to walk over to the WS we were pretty limited in our options. Of course, the snacks over at Epcot are WAY better than what you'll find at most resorts but if you're in a lazy mood and don't want to walk it's an issue. Ha! I highly recommend getting the cheese sticks from the Boardwalk to Go. They are SO good!! Word to the wise...their service is REALLY slow, so if there's a line you're gonna wait awhile. They also don't refill mugs -- you'll have to go to the Bakery or Seashore Sweets for pop/coffee and I believe the pizza place may give pop refills, too, but I don't remember.
We were both pretty underwhelmed with the Boardwalk Bakery. I know, I know...people love this place but we're not those people. We shared a brownie cheesecake thing and then I tried an Oreo Bon Bon cupcake one night -- both were disgusting imo.
The other thing we noticed...the Coke and Diet Coke from all the quick service places on the Boardwalk tastes really funky. It almost tastes like it's been mixed w/ fruit punch or something. BLECH!
TRANSPORTATION
I know some people also complain about the buses. We actually didn't mind them, too much. It was a little inconvenient to have to stop at the Swan and Dolphin, but it really didn't take too much time out of our day. If you have a car, I'd highly suggest driving yourself to DTD and maybe even AK. It was really cool the day we went to AK and the bus still stopped at BB. That was a little annoying. But, having the ability to walk over to Epcot in about 5-10 minutes and DHS in 10-15 makes it all worth it! We actually transferred at the end of our stay for a short 2 nighter at VWL. We love VWL, but the location of BWV spoiled us. We immediately regretted leaving BWV and wished we had stayed the whole week there.
Overall, BWV was HIGHLY worth the stay! I'd give it a 9 out of 10.
We had a studio on the 4th floor, in room 4057. The room was located just off to the left of the elevator (far enough to not hear any noise, but close enough not to have a loooooong hike). We had rented points for a preferred garden/pool view. I was really hoping for a Village Green view. To much excitement, here's what I saw when I yanked open the curtains:
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/380040_10101196133600539_6852884_70364239_76036993 7_n.jpg
Yeah, I know, the picture is huge but it really does the view justice! The best part...you could hear the Christmas music that was being played on the Boardwalk in our room! Not to mention you could see Epcot and Illuminations...magical!! Here's a zoomed in pic of Spaceship Earth:
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/375468_10101196133805129_6852884_70364240_13477240 20_n.jpg
And here's the money shot...
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/376401_10101166100167779_6852884_70277055_55748518 9_n.jpg
On the last night, I realized that if I turned to the left while standing on our balcony you could see Wishes! Sadly, I noticed this right as it was ending and I hadn't brought out my camera or phone to snap a pic. Sad! Still, it was amazing. You could actually lay in bed and watch the high fireworks from Illuminations! Love.
ROOM
Other than the view, the room was pretty much standard to any other studio we've stayed in. However, it is larger than the studios at VWL. Our room had a queen sized bed (pretty comfy, too), a double sleeper sofa, and a day bed. Since we were in a studio, we also had the microwave and mini fridge. Usually, we'll stock up on milk and cereal, but since we were on the DDP and didn't have a car we never used the fridge. I don't have any room pics on my current computer, so I'll have to come back and add some of those later.
POOL
I loved Luna Park Pool...even the creepy clown slide! We were lucky enough to have GREAT weather and I took advantage of the pool practically every day! Our room was very centrally located, so I could just hop on the elevator and take it to the ground floor, turn left and the pool was right there on the left. GREAT! Of course, the first thing I did was go down the slide. I may be close to 30, but I act like a kid! I was pretty impressed. The slide is pretty long and you go at a decent speed (nothing fast, but my fat butt didn't get stuck so I'll take it). Many of the days I was at the pool, they had a ton of family activities going on -- bingo, beach ball games, etc... I didn't participate in any of those activities, but it looked like everyone was having a great time.
FOOD
The only complaint I had with the location -- I wish all of the food carts accepted the DDP. When we wanted a non-sweet snack but didn't want to walk over to the WS we were pretty limited in our options. Of course, the snacks over at Epcot are WAY better than what you'll find at most resorts but if you're in a lazy mood and don't want to walk it's an issue. Ha! I highly recommend getting the cheese sticks from the Boardwalk to Go. They are SO good!! Word to the wise...their service is REALLY slow, so if there's a line you're gonna wait awhile. They also don't refill mugs -- you'll have to go to the Bakery or Seashore Sweets for pop/coffee and I believe the pizza place may give pop refills, too, but I don't remember.
We were both pretty underwhelmed with the Boardwalk Bakery. I know, I know...people love this place but we're not those people. We shared a brownie cheesecake thing and then I tried an Oreo Bon Bon cupcake one night -- both were disgusting imo.
The other thing we noticed...the Coke and Diet Coke from all the quick service places on the Boardwalk tastes really funky. It almost tastes like it's been mixed w/ fruit punch or something. BLECH!
TRANSPORTATION
I know some people also complain about the buses. We actually didn't mind them, too much. It was a little inconvenient to have to stop at the Swan and Dolphin, but it really didn't take too much time out of our day. If you have a car, I'd highly suggest driving yourself to DTD and maybe even AK. It was really cool the day we went to AK and the bus still stopped at BB. That was a little annoying. But, having the ability to walk over to Epcot in about 5-10 minutes and DHS in 10-15 makes it all worth it! We actually transferred at the end of our stay for a short 2 nighter at VWL. We love VWL, but the location of BWV spoiled us. We immediately regretted leaving BWV and wished we had stayed the whole week there.
Overall, BWV was HIGHLY worth the stay! I'd give it a 9 out of 10.