An honest review of the walk from the boardwalk resorts to EP and HS

[vspenn]

if staying at Boardwalk and wanting to do rope drop at HS and taking the boat, what time should you leave the hotel?
Likewise, for doing RD at Epcot and walking, what time is it recommended to leave? are security lines long?

 

[Wood Nymph]

if staying at Boardwalk and wanting to do rope drop at HS and taking the boat, what time should you leave the hotel?
Likewise, for doing RD at Epcot and walking, what time is it recommended to leave? are security lines long?

If you are staying at the Boardwalk then you are eligible for early morning hours. It allows you into the park 1/2 hour early, ahead of the non Disney resort guests. It is important to get to HS well before the regular park hours begin, otherwise you will be caught in a huge mob of people trying to get through the gates. We made the mistake of getting to HS right at regular park opening and it took a while to get in.

That being said, if you want to take the boat to HS from BWI then give yourself at least 40 minutes to get there. The boat, or walking, will take about 20 minutes and if you just miss a boat then you will have to wait another 15 minutes or so.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

We are newly considering either the Boardwalk or Beach Club (after deciding Riverside POR after picking a split stay from Riverside & BC). I swear, the more times this trip gets pushed out, the more I change my mind on resorts!

Our November 2022 trip, turned April 2023 trip, now April 2024 trip has me second, third and eighth guessing where we will stay.
I go back and forth on what our needs/desires, transportation needs, dining needs are.
We are even now considering renting DVC points for a 2-bedroom. Our whole party is 5 people (me and husband and daughter with nana and papa)

The ease of walking to two resorts is suddenly really appealing, however, my husband is a double leg amputee and walks on prosthetics. I really need a comparison of how far/long this walk really is. We needs to save all his walking for mostly IN the parks. *bonus, if you've been to Disneyland, give me a landmark to a landmark comparison. Thats's our home park and this is my first time to WDW.

Other resorts that are suddenly coming in high on my radar are: Riviera, Wilderness Lodge (appeals but so much like the Grand Californian right? We stayed at the grand las august and will this fall too), and of course the Poly but that may be too much $$$

THANK you much!!!

If you do consider a DVC rental, consider beach club as these rooms are the closest location to Epcot, however will be a longer walk to DHS, but you can take the boat which is a really nice option and from any of the resorts on crescent lake, YC/BC and Boardwalk, you can take the boat across to the other side, to DHS/to Epcot and to Swan/Dolphin/Swan Reserve so by staying on crescent lake, you have access to 3 disney resorts and 3 non disney resorts and walkability/boat to Epcot and DHS. These resorts are some of our favorites as far as location and access to a variety of dining options go. Beach Club and Yacht Club are basically one extra large resort with a little bit of varity in theming but essentially it's 2 resorts in one.

Riviera and while the rooms are very nice and we love the restaurants there, I don't care for the location. WL is very nice and has a unique feel since it's "off the beaten path" and that's likely what makes it a little different than GC, but the overall theming is very similar to GC. Boat to MK otherwise it's bus for all the other parks. And Poly, well, it's nice and you would have easy access to CR/GF and MK but yes, a lot of $$$ I would imagine for a 2 bedroom.

I think given this is your first time to WDW, your scope and perception of how much larger WDW is will quickly adjust. When we usually stay at the crescent area resorts, we typically do a combo of walking/boating depending on my kids moods and we easily hit about 10-12 mi/day. That's definitely not the norm at DL.

 

[shaluminati]

I know the question has mainly been answered. But there are quite a few channels on YouTube that do walkthroughs of the parks, resorts, etc. I've watched a few of the walk from Epcot to HS to get a feel for how it actually is. I found it very useful and actually super relaxing to watch

 

[jsbowl16]

I would just like to add that poor weather can shut down the skyliner and the boats which makes walking more valuable. You can boat or use the skyliner when available but when they are both down for thunderstorms it is invaluable to us to be able to walk back to our resort from two parks.

 

[starry_solo]

I've stayed at Boardwalk and Beach Club (Villas for both).
We are relatively ok walking wise.
We rode the boats to HS and EPCOT (from Boardwalk), knowing that we'd be doing a LOT of walking inside the theme parks.
We rode the boats to HS and walked to EPCOT from Beach Club Villas.

 

[jtopp]

from BWV, The walk is deceiving. Plan on 15 minutes to epcot, and a good half hour to HS. Looks closer then it really is.

 

[FrozenTundra1]

Slightly off-topic reply:

I don't have mobility issues, but have very bad arthritis in my ankles due to multiple surgeries. I did fine in all parks at 25K + steps a day EXCEPT at Disney Springs. After 10 minutes, I was renting a mobility scooter for the 1st time in my life. There was something very painful/awkward/unsteadying about all their cobblestone variations. Just an FYI

 

[Lewisc]

Look at the floor plan for your resort or ask. BWV, a long walk to the lobby generally means a short walk to a side entrance near the quiet pool. Your walk to dhs is probably 1/3 less then the walk from the lobby.

 

[jennab]

If you want to save on walking stay at BC or BCV. Walking to EP from there is easy and you can walk to the skyliner or take a boat to get to HS. I would not walk to HS if you want to save his walking for the park. One year we stayed at BCV and were in a perfect room where we just walked out the door and took a back path down the far side of BC and were on the path to EP. Super short walk! From BW it is a longer walk to EP and the skyliner but a shorter walk to HS, however that walk to HS is still a decent amount especially if you are trying to save on walking. Even when we stayed at BW my husband hated walking back and forth from HS because he was tired after leaving the park!

 

[weather_lady]

To add to what @shaluminati said, there are plenty of Youtube videos that will help you "see" the routes each way. It's a great way to familiarize yourself with things before you go. I like to put on such videos (and park walkthroughs) when I'm exercising, to take my mind off of the physical activity and make me feel like it's literally "getting me somewhere." Then once we finally have our vacation, I know my way around, and my family marvels at my orienteering skills.

Walking from Boardwalk to HS (15 min.):

Walking from Boardwalk to EPCOT (5 min. 30 sec.):

Boat ride from HS to EPCOT (via Swan/Dolphin, Yacht/Beach, Boardwalk) (23 min. full route, after which it would be expected to turn around and repeat those stops in reverse order):

(*TIP: If you're trying to get on at Boardwalk and "just miss" the boat to HS, you can easily beat it to Swan/Dolphin, because it will be stopping at YC/BC, then Swan/Dolphin, before proceeding to HS. Simply walk over to Swan/Dolphin at a leisurely pace and board the boat when it gets there.)

Handy map of the boat route (ignore the restaurant and lounge labels, which are outdated) -- they just go back and forth along it:

 

[miked1978]

If there is boat transportation i always opt for that. Unless i'm in some big hurry. You'll be doing a bunch of walking in the parks so why walk even more when other forms of transportation are available?

I've never stayed at boardwalk but i have stayed at Wilderness Lodge and its great bc of the boat transportation. Technically you can use the boat to get to MK and then you can use the monorail to get to Epcot.

 

[danceintherain]

I haven't done the walk from the Boardwalk to DHS in a while, but I would say it's akin to walking from the entrance of DCA all the way back to TSMM. It's far enough that I'd prefer not to walk, but it can be done.
The main difference is that you won't have to deal with crowds on your way to Hollywood Studios. But, mostly, it's probably fine in the morning. At the end of a long day, it's probably less fine, but still doable....I would just avoid doing it while wet on a chilly night.

AND I just mapped both, and my estimate was spot on. TSMM is a bit closer. But obviously it's going to depend on exactly where you start and end.

 

[kwdw]

You said he walks 10+ miles a day now - so I think you are good for this trip. You can keep your park days under 10 miles and still have very full days. I have only done it ONCE, but I think that walk between DHS and Boardwalk is "too long" unless you out to enjoy the stroll (which is what I was). I'd guess its about 8/10th of mile. It's pleasant, but it just feels long to me.

 

[kiford]

I'd say 5-10 minutes from Boardwalk to Epcot depending on where you're located in the hotel (Villas are farther away). And 20-ish minutes to HS again depending on where you are. The Inn side is farther away.

No more than 5 minutes from Beach Club to Epcot and 20-ish minutes to HS. We typically always walk to Epcot but usually take the boat to HS. Sometimes we'll walk back at night from HS because the lines for the boat are long and you'll get back before the boat gets there. We're staying at BWV in September partly because it puts us about halfway between Epcot and HS (I'll be trying to get a room close to the end of the BWV and near an exit that will cut off a fair bit of a walk to HS). We're only there for two days after our cruise so we picked BWV specifically so we could do Epcot and HS in those two days (or we picked HS and Epcot because we were staying at BWV - not sure which came first).