deluxe resort
Disney's BoardWalk Inn
The short answer
The BoardWalk Inn puts you on the promenade itself, with EPCOT a five-minute walk one way and Hollywood Studios a walk or boat the other. Rooms start around $673 a night in 2026. The promenade is mid-rebuild: ESPN Club and Jellyrolls have both gone, and what replaces them is still under construction.
How you get to the parks
- FriendShip boatto EPCOT and Hollywood Studios
- Busto every park, from every resort
- Wheelchair or ECVhow each bus, monorail, Skyliner and boat boards
Routes as Disney publishes them, read Sep 2026.
How long it really takes to get to each park
We haven’t timed this resort yet. A door-to-gate time goes here once we have walked the route with a stopwatch at least five times — a single reading hides the variation that actually makes people miss a breakfast reservation. How we measure.
What it costs
$149cheapest$558median$816dearest
Rack rate for a standard room in the cheapest 2026 season, tax included, from Disney’s published rate calendar. Read Sep 6, 2026.
Who it’s right for
Adults and couples doing EPCOT and Hollywood Studios who want the shortest walk to both. The strongest resort for Food and Wine Festival trips, being five minutes from World Showcase. Anyone who wants Flying Fish or The Cake Bake Shop on their doorstep. And, newly, guests who previously avoided BoardWalk-view rooms over noise — the promenade is quieter than its reputation.
Who it’s wrong for
Anyone booking for the nightlife, which has largely gone and is not yet replaced. Guests who dislike construction, since both the resort and the promenade have work running through 2026. Magic Kingdom-focused trips. And — as with the whole EPCOT resort area — anyone uncomfortable paying deluxe rates for a long bus to two of the four parks.
Is it worth the money?
For location, yes, and that part has not changed: five minutes on foot to EPCOT's International Gateway and a walk or boat to Hollywood Studios is something only four other resorts offer.
For the evening, the honest answer in 2026 is that this resort is between identities. Its whole reputation was built on walking out of your hotel into a promenade with restaurants, a brewpub and a piano bar. The brewpub and the piano bar have gone, ESPN Club went in 2020, and the buildings they occupied are construction sites with no announced replacement. What has arrived instead — The Cake Bake Shop — is good and is a daytime draw rather than a nightlife one.
So book this for the walk to two parks and for Flying Fish. If you are booking it for the reason people have recommended it for twenty years, check what is actually open the month you travel.
Two things worth hearing from someone who has stayed. Disney Tourist Blog calls the Luna Park pool "fun" but says it "doesn't hold a candle to Stormalong Bay" next door, and leaves it out of their top ten on property. If the pool decides it, the neighbours win.
They also find the buses to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom "often disappoint", because the routes are shared with other EPCOT-area hotels. That is the practical version of paying deluxe rates for a long ride to two of the four parks.
Where to eat here
Every restaurant here with its own page on this site, with the typical spend a head from that page.
- AbracadaBar · Lounge, about $20
- Flying Fish · Signature dining, about $56
- The Cake Bake Shop Restaurant by Gwendolyn Rogers · Table service, about $36
- Trattoria al Forno · Table service, about $34
- Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs · Counter service, about $16
- BoardWalk Deli · Counter service, about $16
What the rooms are actually like
About 385 square feet sleeping five, in a turn-of-the-century Atlantic City scheme. BoardWalk-view rooms overlook the promenade and hear it, though less than they used to: with Jellyrolls gone the late-night noise case is weaker than every older guide says, and the promenade now quietens considerably earlier. That is a point in the room's favour if you were previously warned off it.
Sleeps up to 5, not counting infants — the table below says which room that takes.
Every room type, and who fits in it
Disney returns one room list for the whole property, covering BoardWalk Inn and BoardWalk Villas. It does not say which rooms belong to which, so neither do we. Straight from Disney’s own booking data, checked 2026-09-19. Occupancy excludes infants — Disney counts a baby in a cot separately, which is why a room that “sleeps 5” here can appear as 6 on their site.
| Room | Sleeps (excl. infants) | Adults | Beds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garden Room - Club Level Access Views of Disney's BoardWalk Inn Gardens or Leisure Pool | 2 | 2 | 1 King Bed |
| 1 Bedroom Villa - Resort View Views of Resort Grounds or Parking Area | 4 | 4 | 1 King Bed + 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed |
| 1 Bedroom Villa - Garden or Pool View Views of Garden or Pool | 4 | 4 | 1 King Bed + 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed |
| 1 Bedroom Villa - Boardwalk View Views of Boardwalk | 4 | 4 | 1 King Bed + 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed |
| Resort View Views of Disney's BoardWalk Inn Gardens, Leisure Pool or Parking Area | 5 | 5 | 1 King Bed + 1 Day Bed or 2 Queen Bed or 1 King Bed or 2 Queen Bed + 1 Day Bed |
| Deluxe Studio - Resort View Views of Resort Grounds or Parking Area | 5 | 5 | 1 Queen Bed + 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed + 1 Single Pull Down Bed |
| Resort View - Club Level Views of Disney’s BoardWalk Inn Courtyard Leisure Pool | 5 | 5 | 2 Queen Bed or 1 King Bed or 2 Queen Bed + 1 Day Bed |
| Deluxe Studio - Boardwalk View Views of Boardwalk | 5 | 5 | 1 Queen Bed + 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed + 1 Single Pull Down Bed |
| Deluxe Studio - Garden or Pool View Views of Garden or Pool | 5 | 5 | 1 Queen Bed + 1 Queen-Size Pull Down Bed + 1 Single Pull Down Bed |
| Water View Views of Disney's BoardWalk or Crescent Lake | 5 | 5 | 1 King Bed or 2 Queen Bed or 2 Queen Bed + 1 Day Bed |
| Sonora VP Suite - Club Level Views of Disney's BoardWalk and Crescent Lake | 6 | 6 | 2 Queen Bed |
| Deluxe Room - Club Level Views of Disney's BoardWalk Deluxe Room - Club Level is larger than Resort View Room | 6 | 6 | 2 Queen Bed + 1 Queen-Size Sleeper Sofa |
| 2 Bedroom Suite - Club Level Views of Disney's BoardWalk Inn Gardens or Leisure Pool | 8 | 8 | 1 King Bed + 2 Queen Bed + 1 Queen-Size Sleeper Sofa |
| 2 Story - 3 Bedroom Grand Villa | 12 | 12 | 1 King Bed + 4 Queen Bed + 1 Queen-Size Sleeper Sofa |
| 1 Story - 3 Bedroom Grand Villa | 12 | 12 | 1 King Bed + 4 Queen Bed + 1 Queen-Size Sleeper Sofa |
| 3 Bedroom Grand Villa Spacious accommodations feature a a full kitchen, formal dining room, and a large balcony | 12 | 12 | 1 King Bed + 4 Queen Bed + 1 Queen-Size Sleeper Sofa |
Which room should you request?
Both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios are walkable — five minutes to EPCOT's International Gateway, roughly twenty to Hollywood Studios along the water, or a boat to either. That is the best two-park walking position on property. The trade is that the resort sits on an entertainment strip, and Garden and Water view rooms exist because not everyone wants that.
What are the pools like?
- Luna Park Pool — has a slide
- Two quiet pools — quiet pool
Disney’s own recreation page accounts for 3 pools — we list 2, so this is not the full set. Named by Disney: Relax at the Luna Park Pool, Luna Park Pool, Villas Pool, Inn Pool. Disney’s pool page, read 2026-09-19.
What has changed recently?
A great deal, and mostly by subtraction. ESPN Club closed in 2020 and never came back. Big River Grille & Brewing Works has closed. Jellyrolls, the dueling-piano bar, closed permanently at the BoardWalk after Easter 2025 and is reopening at a different location in 2026. The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers has opened as a restaurant, bakery and afternoon tea, and Disney lists Hurly-Burly as opening 1 October. Heavy construction is under way inside the former Jellyrolls and Big River Grille buildings with no announced replacement, and the BoardWalk Inn itself is under refurbishment through 2026.
Working from here
workable
A desk and reliable wifi. The lobby is pleasant but the resort is not quiet during the day, and evening work is difficult in a BoardWalk-view room. Belle Vue Lounge is the best spot.
Common questions
- Is the BoardWalk Inn noisy?
- Less than they were. BoardWalk-view rooms overlook the promenade and still hear it in the evening, but the venues that generated the late noise have closed — Jellyrolls ran until 2am and shut permanently after Easter 2025, and Big River Grille and ESPN Club are gone too. The promenade now quietens considerably earlier, so the standard warning against BoardWalk-view rooms is out of date. Garden view remains the quieter option if you are a light sleeper.
- Can you walk to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios from the BoardWalk?
- Yes, to both. About five minutes to EPCOT's International Gateway and roughly twenty to Hollywood Studios along the water, with boats to either as an alternative. It is the best two-park walking position at Walt Disney World.
- What is Jellyrolls?
- A dueling-piano bar on the BoardWalk, 21 and over, open late, with no reservations and a cover charge. It is one of very few adult nights out on Disney property and a real reason to stay at this end of the resort area.
- BoardWalk Inn or Beach Club?
- The Beach Club for Stormalong Bay and families; the BoardWalk Inn for the evening and adults. Both are five minutes from EPCOT and priced within about $35 a night of each other at the bottom of the 2026 range. The pool is the Beach Club's advantage and the nightlife is the BoardWalk's.
What it looks like
Illustration, not a photograph of this resort — a real one is on our shot list.
Sources
- Walt Disney World — dining at Disney's BoardWalk (official current listing: Flying Fish, Trattoria al Forno, The Cake Bake Shop, AbracadaBar, Pizza Window, Hurly-Burly opening 1 October; no ESPN Club, Jellyrolls or Big River Grille) — Disney official · checked
- Disney Tourist Blog — the 2026 BoardWalk construction project and what it may replace (ESPN Club gone since 2020, Jellyrolls permanently closed after Easter 2025 and reopening elsewhere in 2026, Atlantic Dance Hall the last survivor) — reported by · checked
- MouseSavers — BoardWalk Inn 2026 rates — reported by · checked
- Disney Tourist Blog — BoardWalk Inn review (firsthand: refurbished rooms, average bathrooms, Luna Park pool ranked below Stormalong Bay, so-so counter service, shared bus routes to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom) — Melissa was there · checked
- MouseSavers — 2026 Walt Disney World room rates and season dates — reported by · checked
- Walt Disney World — Disney's BoardWalk Inn: room types and rates (official booking data: 16 room types, sleeping 2–12 excluding infants) — Disney official · checked