I just got back from staying 7 nights at the Boardwalk Villa. I was there with my wife and two sons, 3 years old and 10 months. My parents also came. Basically it was two joining rooms. 1 room was larger than the other. The larger room had a whirlpool, washer dryer, king size bed, full kitchen and livingroom with a pullout sofa bed. The other room had a queen bed, with a sofa bed and a small refrigerator and an area to wash dishes. A huge savings was to have food delivered to the hotel prior to our arrival. We did not do any cooking, however just to have snacks for the kids, muffins, donuts, PBJ, yogurt, cheerios, etc.. was great. Since we had to play things by ear due to naps it was great to have nosh in the room. Plus we also ordered bottled water, canned soda, milk, etc.. We also packed snacks, PBJ in a backpack for the parks. You will really be suprised how much $ you can save on just eating out once per day vs. three times. My wife and I ended up under budget on our stay because of this. They delivered the food to the hotel prior to me checking in. I placed the order online about 4 days prior to leaving for Disney. They recommend you do it ASAP. I ordered from gardengrocer.com. Bell services received the food and kept it in a refigerator until we checked in, that was a GREAT service. To know we had a stocked kitchen when checking in was awesome. We were able to check in early too which was nice. The check-in was painless, your room key also held your entry to the parks. You can also charge things using your room key if you set that up at check in with a credit card. The pool at the Boardwalk was okay. My 3 year old could not go on the slide as the slide warns that its for advanced swimmers. The Yacht Club looked like it had a nicer pool. The leaping horse libations /cabana located next to the pool was nice. For under $5 you can get a PBJ sandwich, carrots, and apple sauce. The location of the hotel was great. 7 min walk to Epcot or 1 stop on the ferry. Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM) is about a 20 min ferry ride. Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom and Downtown Disney all about 20-25 min bus ride. Bus pick up is in front of the hotel. Walking path to Epcot and/or Hollywood Studios is in the back of the hotel off the boardwalk. The boardwalk itself was very nice. There were a lot of street performers at night, and it was really lit up a night, very festive. I ate at ESPN CLUB which had the most moderately priced menu. Average entree was anywhere $13-$16. Also ate at the Big River which was a little more expensive than ESPN. Food was okay, nice beer selection as it makes all its own beer. Spoodles and Flying Fish Cafe required reservations. However after 9pm you might be able to get in. Flying Fish had a very expensive menu. Jelly Rolls which is a dueling piano bar has a $10 cover and has drinks only. The dance hall which is a music club has no cover but I did not go there. If your planning to eat anywhere at Epcot or if you plan any character meals make your reservations ASAP. I called the dining hotline and just about . every restaurant and character dinner was booked. I was able to get on a waiting list for Germany. One of the best services that the Boardwalk offers is the airline/luggage check in. That was fantastic. We didn't have to worry about bags or anything. The magical express bus picked us up, we went right to security once at Orlando airport. The staff were frendly, the rooms were spacious, clean, and the staff were very friendly and accomodating.
