If you remember, the last time we went to Disney we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and it wasn’t as amazing as I hoped it would be. You can check out my review here. This time, we stayed with two other couples in a two-bedroom villa on the Boardwalk.
My initial reaction to this resort is really awesome! It was a great location, especially for the half marathon as it was a short bus ride both ways! The room was amazing. In the villa we had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living area and full kitchen. We slept on the pull out couch and doubled the mattress with the pull out couch from the studio (all two-bedrooms include a lock-out) and it was really comfortable. Our room offered a view of the quiet pool and also was on the path of the marathon, so we could go out and cheer on the runners! We did cook breakfast in our room one morning but if I ever stayed here in a villa again, I would definitely do a lot more cooking here!
Unlike AKL, transportation was really easy at the Boardwalk. We took the boat to Hollywood Studios and walked back, walked over to Epcot and although we didn’t go in, we could watch the fireworks from the bridge! The only times we really had a longer wait was with a bus to Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney, but even then it wasn’t bad! There was also plenty to do as there are always entertainers on the boardwalk and the resort itself is pretty big! In addition, there is an easy path to the Yacht and Beach Clubs and plenty to do over there as well!
The pool area was nice, and the water slide looked like a ton of fun, but I wasn’t thrilled with it for babies. They don’t have a zero entry pool so getting in and out was not easy and the baby pool was just a circle with a foot or so of water in it (typical for a baby pool) but nothing fancy! There also wasn’t very much seating at the pool unlike at other resorts we have stayed at, but again, it was a nice area! Having a hot tub a few feet off of our balcony was beyond amazing (especially after running, it felt amazing on my knees!)
The biggest downfall for me, and the reason I probably wouldn’t pick to stay there with a baby again is the lack of quick service for dining. There is no quick service dining, there is only what is available on the boardwalk, which is pretty much the fried cart or pizza! It was great the first night but after that it got a little old, especially since we planned a lot of meals of just being at the resort. Also the sit-down places are not all that great but still had crazy waits and no available advanced reservations. If we ever do an adults trip, I would DEFINITELY stay here, especially with all the night life! Jellyroll’s is one of our favorite places in WDW, but not do-able with a baby!
All in all though, I really liked this resort and after we are all done having kids and they are at least 5, we will hopefully stay here again!