Day One: Full of Firsts

Some families have a First Day at Disney tradition. Like ride their favorite ride first, eat at a certain restaurant, or kick back at the resort to recharge. My first day at Disney has always included a day at one of the parks. It didn't matter which one. I just needed to go to one of them. Until this trip. Our flight didn't arrive until around 4pm so by the time we got to the resort and checked in it was after 5pm. DH had a non-expiring ticket that needed to be added to his Magic Band, and I had to go to one of the parks to pick up my travel agent ticket. The parks would all be closed by 9pm, so I couldn't justify using one day of our tickets for a few hours in the parks.

I'm not gonna lie. I had to give myself a serious pep talk to tell myself it would be okay if I didn't go to the parks. Because really, torturing me would be taking me to Orlando and saying "You can do anything you want to do EXCEPT go to Disney." It would be clear right then and there that whoever told me that would be severed from my life and real quick like.

Soooo, while we were on the Magical Express, I whipped out my plans to see what I could move around. What I decided to do was see what non-park restaurants I could get an ADR at. If the timing was right, we would then head to the Magic Kingdom to pick up my agent ticket, and go to Top of the World Lounge.

Before we knew it, the Magical Express was at the Boardwalk Inn and Villas and it was our turn to start our vacation!

The Boardwalk Inn and Villas are the same building.  One side has DVC (Disney Vacation Club) units, and the other side has resort rooms. I don't want to call them "regular rooms", because Disney is far from regular. The biggest difference between the DVC rooms and resort rooms are the room configurations, and the majority of the rooms on the Villas side are booked by DVC members; although there are a certain number of them that can be booked as cash reservations. DVC units come in a studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, and Grand Villa. We were booked in a boardwalk view studio unit.

The Boardwalk is a beautiful resort. When you walk through the lobby doors, it's like being transported to a different time and place. The Boardwalk is designed like the Atlantic City would have been at the turn of the century. The backside of the hotel opens up to a boardwalk that overlooks Crescent Lake. You can dine, shop, play carnival games, and rent a surrey bike right there on the boardwalk. It's also close in proximity to both Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios which are both a short walk or boat ride away.

Our room was located on the third floor and had a beautiful view. The layout was the same as most DVC studios are. King bed, pull out sofa, kitchenette, vanity separate from the shower area, table and chairs, and dresser. There was also a bench beside the dresser. The best part of the room was the view.

There's something to be said about being able to wake up then open your balcony door and watch the area come alive. In the morning, it's quiet. The birds are up and ready to take on the day, people are out on their morning run, and early park goers waiting for the boat. Gazing farther down the boardwalk, you can see people outside of the Boardwalk Bakery having breakfast. In the afternoon you will see families and couples enjoying a ride on the surrey bikes. At night, the boardwalk comes alive and is all lit up. You can see Spaceship Earth from the Boardwalk and even part of Illuminations at night. The boardwalk area truly is magical. I look forward to my next stay there. 

Vanity area outside the bathroom.

Kitchenette area opposite of vanity. 

Just outside of our room were some of the games that open up at night on the Boardwalk from 7-10pm.

We were all settled in and ready for the next adventure. What restaurant did we end up getting a same day ADR to? And where do you suppose we went after that? Stay tuned...