Our Boardwalk Suite
Well let’s get us checked in already!
After our visit to Downtown Disney Springs with a side-trip to Publix, we drove back to the Boardwalk. We loaded up a luggage cart and a bellman accompanied us to our suite. By now, everyone knows the drill – that I need to get some quick pictures of our suite in its pristine state, before the carnage that will ensue once we release the hinge-pins on our luggage and the room looks like the site of a dirty-clothes-bomb attack. (It’s not really that bad, but you get the idea.)
The entryway and living room
Kitchen and living room
Living Room couch
The Living Room would soon turn into the kids’ bedroom. We brought a cot and sleeping bag for James, and the girls got the pull-out sofa.
Kitchen
The shared bathroom. This layout, with a shared toilet/shower bathroom and a separate master bathroom with sinks and a whirlpool tub was very similar to our suite at Vero Beach.
Master bathroom
Closet
Master bedroom
Balcony
Our view, looking slightly left, toward the port cochere.
Our view, looking slightly right, toward the bus stop.
Our room was 3103.
I have to say, I was really bummed that we didn’t get a refurbished suite. But I can understand it; I didn’t even put it as a room request. For the room request, I had gone for the gusto -- I had asked for a room further down the hall (any floor),
on the corner, where the rooms apparently have a huge amount of floor space. Yeah, well, we didn’t get that either. But it didn’t hurt to try, I suppose.
In my trip notes I wrote that Boardwalk is showing its age. I think I was just referring to dings in the paint and fading upholstery and things like that. Hopefully, the room refurbs have taken care of all of those issues.
We unpacked our stuff and we were ready to explore the resort a little bit. Well, all of us except for James. His stomach wasn’t feeling well, so he was going to stay back and rest on the couch. The rest of us walked out to the Boardwalk. Our first stop was the Bakery, in order to get our refillable mugs.
We walked a little further down the boardwalk and I took a couple of pictures. I probably should’ve taken a panoramic or stitched some together.
As we walked back, a cast member came out of Seashore Sweets with a platter of ice cream samples and asked us if we’d like one. Well okay, if you’re gonna twist my arm!
That’s not a bad welcome to Disney – free ice cream. Fortunately, we were the first group of people she saw when she walked out with the tray. They were all gone in about 20 seconds. Another poor woman’s face went from the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat when someone took the last sample just before she could get one. There must be a life-lesson in there somewhere. Or at least an Alanis Morissette song. Sadly, I did not offer her mine. I had breathed on it already.
We sat on a nearby bench to enjoy our ice cream samples and then wandered up to the General Store to check it out. Wouldn’t you know it, there were more hats to be found.
There is another...park, walk, er.
Flapper Marlene. This is a good look for her...I think she may have been born in the wrong era.
Back to the room, we heated up our frozen dinners. Mmm, frozen dinner. I think we got a few indian-food style dishes. I don’t remember who got what, but they were okay. Some were better than others.
And some were more frozen than others.
By dinnertime, James was feeling a little better but Marlene’s stomach wasn’t feeling so great. Something must have been going around. Fortunately, it didn’t get worse during the week.
After dinner we decided we needed to do something other than watch TV, since we were at Disney and all. I suggested that we trek over to the Polynesian to see the changes they’ve made and maybe get a peek into Trader Sam’s. We took the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then the monorail over to the Poly. It was kind of a rainy night and we had to run from the bus stop to the monorail station in an effort to dodge the raindrops. When we got to the Poly, the kids (well, two of my kids now; Lauren is over 21) couldn’t get into Trader Sam’s because they only allow guests over 21 after 8pm. Doh! That was really dumb of me. I had asked Kathy (
@KatMark on the DIS) a question about Trader Sam’s before the trip and she had warned me about this, but I had completely forgotten.
At least I got this nifty picture of the lobby.
Well, we were here, so we checked out the gift shop and looked around a little bit and then said, “okay, ready to go back”? So we completed the monorail loop and hopped on a bus back to the Boardwalk.
The kids decided to press some pennies when we got back at the Boardwalk. We don’t have a big pressed pennies collection; these may be the first.
Then we turned in early. Magic Kingdom was on the agenda for the morning!
Up next:
I finally see the Now-not-so-new Fantasyland