walt disney world Archives • Disney Mom at Home

Staying At Disney’s Boardwalk: My Review

January 18, 2014

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!

My Journey to 13.1

January 14, 2014

It’s my 100th post! And what a great one it is! My journey to my first half marathon and now that I can feel my legs again, it was awesome! RunDisney puts on one heck of a great race and I can imagine that no other race is half as amazing!

I should start out by mentioning my training. Oh, that’s right, I didn’t train. Like, AT ALL! I literally ran 3 miles maybe two or three times leading up to the race. My friends thought for sure I was going to back out. Nope, not here! I used the couch to half marathon approach. Not the really good training program like C25K. Nope, one day I was happy on the couch, the next half marathon finisher. As awesome as it was, I totally do NOT recommend running it without training. Especially if you want to enjoy the rest of your WDW vacation! I was in some serious pain and was pretty much out of commission for the day of the race!

The morning of the race was nice and warm, in the high 60’s, which was amazing, but with 100% humidity, less than amazing! We were at the bus stop at 3:30 a.m. at the Boardwalk resort. I was surprisingly calm and focused without too many nerves. Mainly just anticipation for the unknown. Luckily we only had to wait a few minutes before the bus came to take us to the starting line.

My awesome friend Katie, who was so sick before the race, designed these awesome shirts for us all to wear! It was great having friends to hang out with in the pre-race area. We stretched, looked around, had pictures taken and then started the walk to our corrals! One thing they totally don’t tell you is that you are really moving your body for about 15 miles by the time you even get to the starting line. We took the hike to our corrals and this is the part that I got the most nervous for. All of my friends were in corral P and I was in N. Not sure how that happened, I think it was a miracle. P is the last corral, where the balloon ladies (aka sweepers) are and I was so nervous about being swept! I could have started back with them, but I felt it was safer for my race to start in N and give myself the extra 15 or so minutes.

I am pretty outgoing and friendly, so I made friends with some people in my corral and even found two running buddies, an older couple who seemed to be targeting the pace I was (slow). I also was hanging out with a few locals who were running the Dopey Challenge. Seriously a good name for it, as they were running the 5K Thursday, 10K Friday, Half Saturday and Full Marathon Sunday. They are seriously crazy! Before I knew it (or a few hours later) it was time to start. There at the starting line was my main man, Donald, ready to count it down!

Annnnd we were off! It turns out my older couple friends were much slower than I anticipated I would be, so I ran off ahead! I ran the first mile and it was seriously awful. I thought multiple times that I was just going to be done and that I tried and failed and it’s my own fault because I didn’t train. I turned my headphones up hoping for a miracle when I heard a girl in front of me yell “3-2-1 walk” and her group of 4 started walking. After a minute or so, she yelled “3-2-1 run.” Someone on the other side of me asked what their pace was and the girl said they were walking 60 seconds, running 30. I looked at the girl on the end and said “mind if I pace with you” since I knew that I could do that. And those 4 girls got me through the race.

Turns out they are part of the running club Running Of the Ears (which I am now a member of too!) and Janice, Angie, Ashley and Sarah were amazing to run with. One thing I never thought I would do was to pull out my headphones and run the entire thing (minus 2 miles) with no music. I didn’t need it. We talked, we laughed, we ran, we walked and we enjoyed every magical mile as much as we could!

Sorry for some of the blurry pictures, I was running of course! I ended up running about 6 miles and walking the other 7 which was amazing for my first run and also because Angie was nursing an injury we hung back and walked the last 3 miles (which I was more than thankful for as I was hurting by then!)

The course itself was magical and they do a great job of on course entertainment, from characters to DJs to the spectators. It was great. The downside was that it was very narrow at parts and there were some parts that were so congested you couldn’t run.

I also struggled pretty bad from miles 7-10 coming out of the Magic Kingdom and knowing the rest of the course was highway. But I made it and we had a great time! Lily and Kevin were at the finish line cheering me on as I crossed and I met up with my friends immediately following (they all finished before me!)

All in all, I may run another one…. someday!

Running down the Bucket List

August 15, 2013

I was always taught as a child to dream big. I was raised on Walt Disney’s philosophy of “If you can dream it you can do it.” I have about six figures or plaques with that saying in my house. And I totally believe it.

This is my 30th year of life, and although 30 is not old by any means, it is a milestone that sends me running to my bucket list to see how much I have left. Ahh the bucket list, my goals and dreams in life. I started this list when I went to college and I have been able to cross off a few things, like go to Europe, see a tornado (I’m totally counting a water spout on our cruise) and go on a Disney cruise. Those were all amazing things but I have SO MUCH MORE to do and see on my list.

One big dream of mine is to run in a Disney race. The good news is in 145 days I will be running 13.1 magical miles in Walt Disney World. The bad news is, I have never been a runner and my training needs to start immediately. My legs hurt just thinking about it. I’ve been trying to get myself pumped by watching Youtube videos of the 2013 half marathon and all I come up with is looking at the mile markers and thinking “dear God, what have I done!”

In all reality, I am very excited! Now I get to get some new shoes and some new workout clothes and start hardcore training! To be fair, I did run in high school. I was dating a soccer player and I was a cheerleader. We both practiced until about 9 p.m. a few days a week. We would meet after practice and run two miles at the track. This was by far the healthiest relationship I ever had! But those days are long gone and I’m not even sure I can run to the mailbox without getting winded. Looks like the weeks ahead should be pretty interesting!

I.Will.FINISH. I will push hard. I spent $160 on this race — I will come home with that medal! If there is ever somewhere I can do this, it is at Disney. I want to conquer and enjoy every magical mile! Bring it Mickey!

To Party with the Animals… or Not

June 27, 2013

If you are thinking of traveling to Walt Disney World with a baby, you already realize that where you stay will make a huge impact on your trip. I am here to tell you… it makes more of an impact than you probably even think.

When we found out we were going to Disney for Kevin’s conference and his company would pay for our room, I was overjoyed. The conference was at the Marriott World Center and I knew that staying there would prove difficult for me and Lily to have a full-on Disney trip, going back and forth to the parks all day. So I looked for a comparable Disney hotel that would allow us to use Disney transportation all day so that Kevin could take the rental car to his meetings.

I should add that I am a resort snob. I can’t help it. It’s like an addiction to me, once we stayed in a deluxe resort, I could never go back. Especially in the summer when the buses are already crowded, I did not want to have to sardine onto the bus with a baby and a stroller and all the baby gear. Not so much fun. So when I found that Animal Kingdom Lodge was actually $10/night cheaper than the Marriott during Disney’s 30% off sale, we jumped and booked it right away.

If you have never been, AKL is amazing. It has animals that roam the three savannas, a gorgeous pool and an awesome lobby. We stayed there for our wedding trip but didn’t really get to enjoy it so I figured we would really get to love it on this trip.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

Please don’t get me wrong, the resort was still amazing and we even got upgraded to a savanna-view room on the Sunset Savanna, where giraffes and zebras walked right by our balcony. The view was breathtaking and I loved seeing these animals every day. If this would have been an adults-only trip I would have loved having this room and staying at AKL. With a baby, though, it was not practical.

First thing, the transportation was horrible. Although the buses weren’t always insanely crowded, they were far apart and made for long waits to get anywhere. With a baby, this is annoying. Especially when it’s 95 degrees out and we are stuck at a bus stop for 25 minutes. The traveling was such a pain that it made us just want to stay at the pool all day.

Ahh the pool, my second not-so-exciting point of our stay. The pool itself is great, it was large, not overly crowded, had a separate baby pool and offered nice, shaded areas. What was not cool was to get to and from the pool, you had to walk through the lobby. I’m not a person who is overly self-conscious, but a sopping wet, haven’t-lost-the-baby-fat-yet mom strolling through the lobby with her screaming child is not how I want to be remembered at AKL. Like I said before, the lobby is beautiful so there are always people visiting and taking pictures. I just pray I didn’t make it into any of their pictures! The layout was just not great.

I have never stayed, and really have no desire to stay at, the Grand Floridian because I have always felt that it feels “stuffy” and not welcoming to children. I felt the same way at AKL. Please don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of kids running around, but it didn’t have that “Disney loves kids” feel that I always get at the Polynesian. I will always visit this resort for the awesome animals and views it offers, I just don’t have a desire to ever stay there again.

Looks like we are staying at the Boardwalk in January… I am excited to try something new and see how being there with a child is different.

What hotel do you prefer with kids?