If you ask a group of Disney fans which resort at Walt Disney World is their favorite, you’ll likely get as many different answers as there are people. Some might prefer the retro majesty of Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Some might be awed by the grandeur of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. Some might love the exotic wonder of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Resort.
But if you ask a group of Disney fans which resort at Walt Disney World is the objective best, you’ll find the responses narrow quite a bit. In my opinion, while there are many fantastic resort hotels at the Disney property in Orlando, there is only one that excels at all aspects of the vacation experience. That resort is Disney’s Boardwalk Inn.
It takes quite a lot for a resort to dethrone any one of the traditional Crown Jewels of the Walt Disney World resort landscape: The monorail resorts. But, while the Grand Floridian, Polynesian, and Contemporary Resort are all wonderful, the Boardwalk Inn has a few key advantages.
Let’s break down all the ways that the Boardwalk is magical:
The location
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Much like all real estate outside of the Vacation Kingdom, location is arguably the most important thing to consider when choosing a Disney resort. And, when it comes to location, it’s awfully hard to beat the Boardwalk’s home between Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club, and Swan and Dolphin all make up what is known as the Crescent Lake area — a sprawling and beautiful complex with plenty to see and do. With Epcot a short 10 minute walk away from your room, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios easily reachable by ferry (or on foot, for the more active guests), the Crescent Lake resorts are the closest thing Disney has to a luxury entertainment district — rivaling the Disney Springs area down the road.
Having Epcot on your doorstep is amazing, as it enables guests at the Boardwalk who have park hopper passes to use Epcot as a kind of resort dining experience unto itself. Rather than eating at a quick-service dining option in the resort, guests can choose to pop into the World Showcase to enjoy a nice international dinner just the same. And, midday breaks are as easy as can be when visiting one of the two adjacent parks.
Lastly, the addition of the Disney Skyliner — a gondola connecting the two parks, Crescent Lake resorts, and Caribbean Beach Resort — will expand the area even further, offering guests free and quick access to even more spaces to hang and eat.
The food
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Speaking of which, there is no better place on Walt Disney World property for foodies than the Boardwalk Inn. The resort itself boasts an astonishing selection of table-service restaurants that appeal to every palate and taste. Everything from the casual Big River Grill and Brewing Works to the exquisite Flying Fish all offer wonderful and unique options. And for dessert, the Boardwalk also plays host to the best ice cream on Disney property: Ample Hills Creamery, a Brooklyn, NY-based company that serves unusual and delicious flavors.
But beyond even the myriad options for dining on the resort property, the Boardwalk’s location also gives guests access to each of the neighboring resort’s restaurants — including the Yachtsman Steakhouse at the Yacht Club, Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club, and Bluezoo, Il Mulino, and Shula’s at the Swan and Dolphin.
And if those bore you, you also have Epcot just steps away — which, during the annual Food and Wine Festival, turns into the culinary capital of America. Not too bad to have just out the balcony window.
The entertainment
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Any guest at the Boardwalk will tell you that while the food is an amazing and important part of their decision to stay there, it isn’t the only part. The entertainment on offer is as important, if not more so.
While other Disney resorts have to get by on things like movie nights and face painting, the Boardwalk has many more options for non-theme park entertainment — ranging from busking street performers and piano bars to carnival games and surrey bikes.
It’s rare to have some place you can wake up from a nap, go for a stroll, enjoy an amazing dinner, watch a magician, go dancing, and win a stuffed animal all in one night. It’s even rarer to be able to do that at Walt Disney World. And yet, the dueling pianos at Jellyrolls and the empty-but-still-fun dance floor at Atlantic Dance Hall combine with the street performers and midway games to create a unique and entertaining environment.
And, if that gets old, there are still places like ESPN Club to watch some sports, too.
The aesthetics
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When it comes to architectural design from the so-called Disney Decade, you’d be hard pressed to find a greater success story than the Boardwalk Inn. With its intricate and period-accurate design elements, as well as its brilliantly applied theme, the resort embodies the great seaside resorts of the early 20th century.
Designed by frequent Disney collaborators Robert A.M. Stern, the Boardwalk opened in 1996 — right at the peak of then-CEO Michael Eisner’s reign. It represented everything great about that era of Disney: It was bold, it was well-themed, and it was fun.
Everything from the miniature carousel model located in the main lobby to the artfully designed Belle Vue Lounge perfectly evokes the era at work. The entertainment district itself — also designed by Stern — melts together in a beautifully consistent vista that is absolutely beautiful when viewed from across the lake.
And, as an added bonus, the horticulture and pool features — including the roller-coaster themed water slide — all give the Boardwalk Inn a feeling of classic Americana and whimsical anachronism. It’s a vintage resort that never actually existed in this way — it’s the 1920s how we all imaged them, rather than how they actually were.
The intangibles
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It isn’t any one of these elements that makes Disney’s Boardwalk Inn so special, though. It’s how they all come together that makes the resort feel so unique among Disneys’ resort ventures.
The bright lights you see as you approach the resort for the first time both evokes the 1920s era and makes it seem more magical than that era ever truly was. The energy on the Boardwalk itself — a combination of weary park goers, excited diners, and captivated fans of street magic — makes it feel almost like a Disney theme park itself.
But above all, the combination of entertainment and lodging is what sets the Boardwalk apart among Disney’s resorts. It’s what gives the Boardwalk its unique feeling. Guests staying on the property get to enjoy Disney’s only true urban-style resort offering — with guest rooms existing above restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues. That proximity of nightlife and living quarters makes the entire space feel more alive than any other Disney resort.
Sure, the monorail resorts “feel” more like Disney, but if you’re looking for something right in the middle of it all — with plenty to do and see — you really cannot do better than the Boardwalk Inn.
