With innovative new enhancements on tap, the Disney Boardwalk Inn resort may become your new favorite place to stay when visiting Disney World. Given the hotel’s prime location, delectable food options and top-scale amenities, this deluxe resort may easily become your favorite hotel anywhere. Explore our Disney Boardwalk Inn review to see what you’ve been missing.
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Getting the Lay of the Land
Disney Boardwalk Inn resort shares a prime location on Crescent Lake with its nearby cousins, the Beach and Yacht Club. Beach and Yacht Club may have a monopoly on white sand beaches, but the Boardwalk has… well, the boardwalk.
Reminiscent of the early 20th century Jersey shore, the wooden plank walkway flanks the western perimeter of Crescent Lake, offering a tranquil morning promenade for enjoying the early quiet of the day. However, you’ll find that solitude doesn’t last long into daylight hours.
As guests wake from their nightly slumber, the boardwalk pace begins to quicken. People seek breakfast at the eateries along its planks or simply head out for a day in the park. By night, the boardwalk is alive with a carnival like atmosphere, featuring games and fun for all ages, as well as a number of the most touted eateries in Disney World.
While the Boardwalk has its appeal, there are a few drawbacks. The main lobby is accessed from the other side of the waterfront boardwalk, requiring a trip down some stairs and around to the parking area. The hotel is also large and sprawling, encompassing an adjacent Disney Vacation Club resort that shares many of the Boardwalk’s amenities.
However, once you find your way around, you’ll have no trouble getting to the parks. Two of Disney’s theme parks lie within a short walking distance to the Boardwalk Inn.
EPCOT’s World Showcase is less than a 5-minute stroll from the Boardwalk. With private access reserved for guests of the Boardwalk, Beach and Yacht Club, it’s a fast and easy way to enter the park, with fewer lines and far less hassle.
If a five-minute walk to EPCOT isn’t enough to tout this hotel’s prime location, you might also want to consider that Hollywood Studios is also only a 20-minute walk away, with additional access by Skyliner and water transport.
Perhaps best of all, in late 2022, Disney announced that the Boardwalk Inn would be undergoing some major and well-needed renovations, including “light and airy touches” to “reinvigorate the lobby, lounge and guest rooms, carrying the seaside breeze right inside.”
If you still aren’t convinced that the Boardwalk is the resort for you, keep reading our Disney Boardwalk Inn review for more insights.
Disney Boardwalk Inn Rooms
Disney’s Boardwalk Inn resort is a carnival, a culinary experience and a tranquil paradise all rolled into one resort. How you’ll experience the Boardwalk depends on where you book your room and the type of accommodations you select.
Rooms at the Disney Boardwalk Inn resort offer a lot of variety and can accommodate a number of guests, depending on how you book.
Disney Boardwalk Inn Standard Rooms
Standard rooms at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn most commonly feature 2 queen beds as well as a pullout twin bed. While rooms in this category can technically sleep 5, only shorter adults will find the pull-out bed to be comfortable for a night’s sleep.
Standard rooms are also available in a one king bed or 2 queen bed option. The type of room assigned to you is usually determined by the number of people in your party. If you have a preference, make sure to submit a room request a week before you travel, or book with a travel agent who can submit the request on your behalf. Just be aware, room requests are not guaranteed, but Disney resort cast members will do their best to meet guest preferences.
Rooms also include a bathroom with separate vanity area. Resorts that offer this room configuration are some of our favorites, as it allows members of your party to get ready for the day while another is showering.
We also like that rooms have balconies, an amenity you won’t find in every room at the nearby Beach Club.
To more thoroughly explore the rooms offered at the Boardwalk, read our complete Disney Resorts guide or keep reading for a quick overview of available accommodations.
Rooms and pricing in the standard category are defined by view.
Disney Boardwalk Inn Standard View Rooms
Our Disney Boardwalk Inn review discourages guests form booking a standard view room if you plan to spend any amount of time there. While rooms in this class may be a few dollars cheaper, you’re likely to look out over parking lots or less attractive backstage areas.
Since people come and go at all hours at a Disney resort, you’ll have little of the tranquility this hotel has to offer and none of the lively atmosphere of the boardwalk, just an in-depth view into the inner workings of a Disney resort.
Disney Boardwalk Inn Garden View room
A garden view room offers guests a balcony or patio view of the manicured grounds. You’ll find plenty of flowers and trees to create a peaceful ambiance, perfect for anyone who plans to spend time in their hotel room.
Disney Boardwalk Inn Water View Room
Water view rooms at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn overlook the pool or other waterways on the grounds. Your experience here will be determined by your room location.
Rooms that overlook the main pool can be quite noisy during the day and into the nighttime hours, as guests enjoy the amenity. However, we found that rooms overlooking the quiet pools on property offer a sublimely peaceful atmosphere with an added perk: it’s a quick stroll to enjoy a dip or to simply soak up some sun on a cooler day.
Waterview rooms may also look out over the Boardwalk. These are some of the most popular rooms at the resort, and also some of the noisiest. We once arrived at the Boardwalk around 11:00 pm thanks to an airline snafu with the now defunct U.S. Air, and there was still plenty of activity happening on the gangway below. Thankfully, most of the noise was muffled by closing the balcony door.
Boardwalk Inn Club Level
Club level rooms add a spark of luxury to your Disney vacation stay, offering accommodations on a private floor and concierge service to all that Disney World has to offer. For the upgraded prices, you’ll also receive a complimentary breakfast in the exclusive concierge lounge, as well as afternoon refreshments, an evening cocktail reception and snacks and beverages available throughout the day. Other benefits of a club level booking include complimentary health club access and evening turn down service.
A standard club level room mirrors standard room offerings with two distinct differences. First, you won’t have to worry about getting a bad view. All standard club level rooms overlook the courtyard leisure pool.
Deluxe club level rooms are an opportunity to levy up on the amenities as well as the size of your room. While the basic configuration is the same as a standard room in any of the view classes above, you’ll also gain a small sitting area, a nice space for reading a book or surfing the web in peace while the kids settle in for sleep.
Boardwalk Inn Villas
As previously mentioned, the Boardwalk Inn joins forces with the Boardwalk Villas, a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resort. DVC rooms come in slightly different configurations than Boardwalk Inn standard rooms, while also offering a little more utility.
Since vacation club owners purchase a portion of Disney real estate, these resorts are considered their home at Disney. As such, you’ll find more of the comforts of your own domicile with all of the flair of a Disney resort.
However, rooms in this category aren’t confined solely to DVC owners. Non-DVC guests may also book villas when there is availability.
Disney Boardwalk Villas Studio
A studio room at Disney Boardwalk Villas offers the smallest rooms on the DVC side. Similar to the standard accommodation types listed above, studio rooms are available with different view options, ranging from standard outlooks to water, garden and boardwalk vistas.
Each room comes with 1 queen size bed, a double pull-out bed and a single pull-down murphy bed. Rooms also include a small kitchenette, complete with dorm-style fridge, microwave, glasses, plates, coffee maker and other utensils.
Disney Boardwalk Villas One- and Two-Bedroom Units
If you’re traveling with a larger group or just want room to stretch out, either a one- or two-bedroom villa could provide you the space you’re craving. One-bedroom accommodations offer an open living room and kitchen concept, featuring full culinary functionality, should you decide you want to cook during your Disney stay.
The living room is a comfortable place to hang out in the morning or evening, watch TV, play games or just relax. However, if you’re traveling with young children who observe bedtimes, you probably won’t utilize the space for long.
One-bedroom units offer a king size bed and a queen size sleeper sofa. The latter resides in the living room, while the larger bed is tucked away in its own large bedroom, complete with ensuite bath.
A two-bedroom villa simply takes the configuration of a deluxe suite and pairs it with a one-bedroom villa. In the end, you’ll have two bedrooms and a kitchen living area, with enough space to sleep up to 9 adults.
Making a Splash: Pools at Disney Boardwalk Inn
The Boardwalk Inn Resort does an excellent job of marrying the Atlantic City carnival vibe with a peaceful resort ambiance. If you’re looking to carrying the former with you to the pool, look no further than the Luna Park Pool, home to the famed Keister Coaster water slide.
Here, the intrepid slide down a 200-foot cascade. At one time, you’d exit the flume through the mouth of a menacingly grimacing clown. Some guests loved it while others felt it was out of touch with Disney theming. Either way, the clown has since been removed, making many guests feel a little easier about their trip down Keister Coaster.
Further enhancing the carnival feel of this waterside retreat are posters reminiscent of traveling circuses, and dancing elephants how happily squirt water from their trunks. For our Disney Boardwalk Inn review, we recommend visiting Luna Park Pool at least once. However, as the feature watering hole for Disney’s Boardwalk Inn resort, it’s usually crowded and not a prime location if you want to quietly revel in the Florida sun.
Fortunately, the Boardwalk also offers two quiet pools, without keister slides and dancing pachyderms, just pure quiet bliss.
Restaurants at Disney Boardwalk Inn
Guests of Disney’s Boardwalk Inn resort are certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to dining. Some of Disney’s most popular dining establishments are located along the Boardwalk, with more options available inside the main resort area.
H3 Disney Boardwalk Quick Service Restaurants
If you’re looking to grab a quick bite on your way to the parks or simply want to enjoy lighter fare, you can take advantage of one of the Boardwalk’s quick service restaurants. The BoardWalk Deli is one of the newest and more popular locations for grab and go, featuring overstuffed sandwiches and other deli favorites. Guests enjoy both the food and dining al fresco along the Boardwalk.
Additional outside dining is offered at the Pizza Window, where you can order a whole pie or just a slice. Adults will also enjoy frozen cocktails at BoardWalk Joe’s Marvelous Margarita, while the kids can find their own frozen concoctions at the BoardWalk Ice Cream. You’ll also find an offering of snacks poolside at Leaping Horse Libations.
Sit Down and Relax with Table Service Dining
Guests don’t mind leaving the parks to visit some of the Boardwalk’s premier restaurants. The Flying Fish offers signature seafood dishes in a fine dining environment, complete with Boardwalk views. If you’d rather not source your meal from the deep, you can pop on over to Big River Grille and Brewing Works where handcrafted beer runs freely and entrees are sure to please even picky palettes.
Trattoria Al Forno offers both breakfast and dinner sit down style. In the a.m., you can enjoy innovative dishes, such as eggs with fennel sausate and creamy polenta, while evening dinners are based on Italian cuisines and culinary classics.
For a complete listing of restaurants at the Boardwalk Inn, check the Disney World website.
Disney Boardwalk Inn Transportation
One of the biggest perks of staying at a Disney World resort is the world of transportation options available to get you from your hotel to the parks and other magical places. The Boardwalk Inn is no different.
In our Boardwalk Inn review, we recommend walking to EPCOT. While you can easily catch a water taxi, you’ll likely spend more time waiting for your ship to come in than it would take you to walk to the World Showcase Entrance yourself.
While you can also walk to Disney Hollywood Studios—it’s about a 20-minute stroll—why not hop on the Skyliner and get the birds eye view of things? It might not save you much time, but it is an enjoyable ride, as long as you don’t suffer from motion sickness.
You may also see Disney water taxis making their way between the resorts and the parks. Water transports offer service from the Boardwalk Inn and Hollywood Studios as well as a separate boat that heads to EPCOT.
Complimentary transportation is also provided to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom via Disney motorcoach. However, if you aren’t in a hurry and have park hopper tickets, you can always enter EPCOT through the World Showcase entrance, walk the 18-minute stroll to the main park gate, leave the park, and hop on the monorail to Magic Kingdom. Paid transportation is also available through either Uber, Lyft or Minnie Van.
Hotels near Disney Boardwalk Inn
As hinted at before, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn isn’t alone in its prime location on Crescent Lake. It’s joined by the Beach Club Resort, the Beach Club Villas and the Yacht Club.
Off in the distance, you will also notice the out of place Swan and Dolphin. These two oddly inspired hotels are certainly a break in the 19th century theming of the Disney hotels, but they do connect to the Boardwalk Inn by a walkway. On a positive note, their presence in the area does extend the number of dining options available, if you’re willing to take a quick saunter.
Disney Boardwalk Inn Pros and Cons
No Disney Boardwalk Inn review would be complete without a quick roundup of the pros and cons of staying at this lakeside resort. Overall, we have positive remarks to offer with only a few cons to steal the Boardwalk’s thunder.
Pros of Staying at the Disney Boardwalk Inn Resort
- Dual ambiance—carnival vibe or peaceful garden oasis depending upon your room choice
- Easy walk to EPCOT from Disney’s Boardwalk Inn as well as Hollywood Studios
- Multiple transportation options, including the Skyliner, a ride in and of itself
- Vast array of restaurant choices thanks to the presence of nearby resorts
- New room renovations on tap to elevate the experience
- Club level luxury available for an upgraded fee
Cons of Staying at the Disney Boardwalk Inn
- Spread out resort is confusing to navigate
- It isn’t always easy to access the lobby, depending on where you are
We Can Help You Book the Boardwalk Inn and Plan Your Vacation!
Let Us Help You Plan Your Disney Vacation
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Some Frequently Asked Questions about Boardwalk Inn (and answers)
Is Disney Boardwalk Inn in Disney Springs?
Disney’s Boardwalk Inn is NOT located near Disney Springs. The Boardwalk is adjacent to EPCOT with an included entrance to the park.
Which Disney World park is closest to the Boardwalk Inn?
EPCOT park is only about a 5-minute walk from the Boardwalk Inn. Hollywood Studios is the second closest park, requiring about a twenty-minute walk. Other forms of transportation are also including in a resort stay.
Is Disney Boardwalk in EPCOT?
While Disney’s Boardwalk is not located inside EPCOT Park, it is conveniently located outside the World Showcase entrance.
Can you go to Disney Boardwalk Inn without a reservation or ticket?
In times gone by, Disney did allow guests to visit other resorts. Since 2020, they have cracked down on this policy, often stopping guests without a resort or dinner reservation from entering hotel grounds. However, you can access the Boardwalk by visiting EPCOT and exiting through the World Showcase exit. You may also take the Skyliner from Hollywood Studios to the Boardwalk or walk the waterside walkway.
Disney Boardwalk Inn Map
Disney Boardwalk Inn Pictures:
To close out our Disney Boardwalk Inn review, here are some pictures of the resort, both past and present.
