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5 reasons to stay at disney's boardwalk inn

5 Reasons to Stay at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn

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Disney’s Boardwalk Inn is one of my favorite places to stay on Walt Disney World property. Not only is it a great deluxe resort with all the amenities you expect, but it also offers one of the best (if not THE BEST) locations in all of Disney World. I have quite a few reasons why I love to stay at the Boardwalk Inn, but in order to try to convince you, here are 5 reasons to stay at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn.

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5 Reasons to Stay at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn

  1. The Boardwalk – Located right below your window (if you are lucky), or just outside your room is Disney’s famous Boardwalk area. The boardwalk is full of great restaurants, street performers, ice cream shops and surrey bikes. If you are looking for a place to stretch your legs, have a great dinner or entertain the kids before bedtime, there really isn’t anywhere as fun or special as the Boardwalk.
  2. Boardwalk Inn Garden Suites – Without a doubt, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn features the most romantic rooms on Disney property. Well, the new bungalows at Polynesian Village may rival them, but then again, the bungalows are about 3 times the cost, so they should be completely awesome. The garden suites feature their own little white picket fence, English garden and outside entrance. Inside the suites, you have a huge living room and separate kitchenette plus a loft master bedroom. Plus, you get access to the Boardwalk Inn concierge lounge too!
  3. Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Easy access to theme parks is important to me when choosing a Disney resort. Now, I don’t mind riding the bus from time to time, but I don’t like to be 100% dependent upon the Disney transportation system to get me to my theme park. When staying at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, you are literally minutes away from 2 Disney theme parks. Epcot is a short walk away, maybe 5 minutes if you walk quickly. You also enter through the International Gateway that drops you into the World Showcase between Great Britain and France. Early in the morning, this area is deserted and a great way to see the park without all the crowds as you make your way to Future World. Or imagine watching the Epcot fireworks with your family, knowing you have just a short walk home to your comfy beds rather than having to walk to the front of Ecpot, wait through the lines for a bus and make your way to your room. That is a wonderful feeling. Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a little further away, you can walk it in about 20 – 30 minutes, or you can take one of the friendship boats that make the trek from Epcot to Hollywood Studios, with stops at the resorts on the way. With the addition of the Disney Skyliner, you can now take to the air from just outside Epcot right to the front gates of Disney’s Hollywood Studios, giving you another great option to get around. Really hard to beat this location for park access.
  4. Restaurants and more restaurants – If you want someplace to stay on Disney property that offers you plenty of dining options, you can’t be the Boardwalk Inn. You have instant access to all the restaurants on the Boardwalk (Flying Fish, ESPN, Big River Grille and Trattoria al Forno), plus a short walk gives you access to the restaurants in the Beach and Yacht Club as well as the Swan and Dolphin resorts. Plus, if you feel like a slightly longer walk, you have access to all the restaurants in the World Showcase area of Epcot. Without doing the math, you have access to probably 20 restaurants within a few minutes of your room. Not even Disney Springs offers that. Plus, there is a ice cream parlor right on the boardwalk (Ample Hills Creamery) as well as the BoardWalk Bakery to satisfy your sweet tooth.
  5. Swimming Pools – Yes, that is right, multiple pools. And not just boring square quiet pools either, but two awesome pools, one located at the Boardwalk Inn and an even more fun/creepy pool next door at Disney’s Boardwalk Villas. The leisure pool at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn is beautiful and rarely busy, a great place for a quick dip or to relax poolside. The star of the resort is the Luna Park Pool, located on the other side of the resort. The Luna Park Pool features a 200+ foot long water slide where you exit the slide into the pool via a giant clown’s mouth, which creeps a lot of people out for some reason. The pool is complete with other circus animals, a great bar and even a fantastic kids’ play area. If you are looking to relax or just have fun at the pool, the Boardwalk Inn covers all the bases.

Why do you love staying at Disney’s Boardwalk Inn?

disneys polynesian village resort

3 Reasons to stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

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Who really needs a reason to stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village resort? It is a deluxe resort after all, on the Magic Kingdom monorail and is one of the nicest places to stay on Disney property. But, it can be pretty expensive, and if you are going to splash the cash, you need some decent reasons to justify spending all those Disney dollars. While there are more than three reasons why you should stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, there are three big reasons you should consider this your Disney home.

3 Reasons to stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort

Disney's Polynesian Village

  1. Polynesian Vibe – All throughout the resort, from the lobby in the Great Ceremonial House to the tiki torches that light the walkways at night all the way to the individual guest rooms, the entire resort is full of that relaxing Polynesian feeling you get on the islands. There isn’t anything quite like it at Disney. You really feel you are on a Hawaiian vacation while at the resort. Personally, I want my resort to be opposite of the theme parks. In the parks you are overstimulated with sights, sounds and motion, and at the resort, I want it to be as restful and relaxing as possible, and the Polynesian Village Resort fits this perfectly.
  2. Polynesian Village Beach – While you won’t have access to the water, the beach is still available and fantastic. While I am not sure I would spend much time on the beach normally, at night it becomes the place you want to be. You have a perfect view of the Magic Kingdom over the Seven Seas Lagoon, and therefor a perfect view of the nightly fireworks. No need to bother with the crowds, just find yourself a hammock and relax. Plus, they even pipe in the music for the fireworks show right there onto the beach! Oh, and stick around for a bit after the fireworks (or possibly before, depending on the night) for the nightly Electrical Water Pageant that will float by around 9:00 every single night. While the effectiveness of the beach for viewing fireworks and the water parade have been reduced by the new Bora Bora Bungalows that have been built out into the water, there still are some viewing areas that are pretty decent.
  3. Lava Pool – Several years ago, Walt Disney World massively upgraded the main swimming pool at the Polynesian and themed it as a giant volcano. Well, the upgrade wasn’t enough, and the pool has been completely overhauled in the last year into what is now one of the best pools outside of Stormalong Bay at the Beach and Yacht Club resorts. The Lava Pool features a fantastic slide located inside the volcano, wonderful spas as well as a perfect view of Seven Seas Lagoon and the Magic Kingdom. Where else can you swim and have such a view? Oh, and don’t miss the Barefoot Bar where you can get your favorite Polynesian inspired drinks to help you relax just that much more.

Well, there you go, three fantastic reasons you should stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Want a few more? Here you go:

  • Dole Whips at your resort, without the line you find in the Magic Kingdom. Stop by the Pineapple Lanai in the lobby and grab yourself a Dole Whip or Pineapple Float and head out to the Lava Pool. While not quite as good as enjoying it in the Tiki Room, not a bad option at all.
  • Monorail – The Magic Kingdom monorail stops right at the Polynesian, allowing you quick access to both the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Plus, there isn’t anything quite as special for kids (and adults) as riding the monorail.
  • Restaurants! – Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort features two of the best resort restaurants in Walt Disney World, ‘Ohana and Kona Cafe. While nither fall under the “signature” restaurant label, both are fantastic and extremely popular. ‘Ohana features an all you can eat menu where the food is delivered to your table, and also features your favorite Polynesian Disney characters at breakfast (Lilo and Stich of course. Mickey and Pluto show up as well in their vacation attire). Kona Cafe is more of a standard restaurant, famous for Tonga Toast for breakfast. TONGA TOAST!!!

I am sure I could come up with plenty more. Why do you stay at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort?