We (DH, DS-8, DD-3, and myself) stayed at the Boardwalk Inn Dec. 5-15 2006. We liked it well enough to stay there again this next trip.
Arrival: The bellhops and outside greeters were nothing but cordial. Very friendly and right away made us feel at home.
Lobby: Unbelievable! Just beautiful with all the Xmas decor! I just want to plop down on one of those couches and take in everything!
Desk personnel: The young lady (early 20's) did not make eye contact with me once. She was rather abrupt with the customary registration and treated us more like a number rather than a guest. She never smiled and at that moment, my attitude started changing from elated to irritated.
Resort: I love the ambiance of this place! Many people have commented on the long hallways and yes, it is a long hike to most rooms. However, IMO, what is a few extra steps when a full day was spent walking the parks so the distance to our room was not an issue. Since it was cool for Florida (highs were 74) we didn't spend any time in the pool. The clown slide didn't freak us out though!
My impression of the slide is the turn of the last century boardwalk icon and I liked it! Some people just don't like clowns!
Room: We requested a room with a great view and boy did we get it! It was on the third floor I believe, overlooking the lagoon. Every morning I would sit out on the balcony and enjoy my coffee prior to rest of family waking. I loved it! The only bad thing about our balcony was the litter on the roof. A sippy cup, a few wrappers, and junk were in plain view. That did irritate me as I know Disney parks pride themselves on cleanliness. The room was freshly shampooed and that was great. I didn't mind that the room was overly humid as I preferred the clean carpets! The mirror on the bathroom door had hairspray and fingerprints from the last guests which were never cleaned by Mousekeeping during our stay. I was not pleased with that as I began to wonder what else had been missed. Toilet and beds were clean which are priority! Some mold on bathroom tile behind door and tub which told me that they don't do much extra housekeeping. We still tipped everyday as the room was kept clean overall and the Mousekeeping were super sweet! I just couldn't bring myself to say anything about the mirror!
Location: We spend the majority of our vacations in Epcot so the proximity was perfect. The boats were fun and the walk was very quick. The buses on the other hand are a different story. One morning we had 10:30 AM ADR's for O'hana. We reached the bus stop around 8:30. Two hours later, still no bus to MK! Talk about a bunch of angry guests! There were about 60 of us by that time and many picked up the curtosey phone to inquire. We were half tempted to just walk through Epcot and catch the Monorail, however, everytime we would think it, a bus would show up, of course being the wrong one! Needless to say, we missed our ADR.
Dining: Many people have noted the lack of restaraunts directly inside BW, however, we did not feel it was a problem. We ate at Spoodles and Flying Fish and they were both great. The bakery was very nice, however cramped. Pizza delivery was somewhat fast and tasty.
Noise: We didn't have a problem with the noise, even though we were directly above the bakery and ESPN was just next door. One night a group of intoxicated men decided to sing some 80's songs, but it was more comical than annoying!
The Boardwalk: We enjoyed walking the boardwalk in the evenings just to let the kids run and burn off energy....(us too!) It was never crowded. I would have liked to see the boardwalk vendors stay open later though. Since we were there during December, old Christmas songs would be playing so it really made one feel nostalgic.
Cons: Nothing that I have not already noted.
Pros: Since we only visit WDW every other year, we try to mix it up by staying at different deluxe resorts everytime. This upcoming trip, we
were going to stay at GF, but felt Boardwalk is more to our liking. It feels like home!