Boardwalk Restaurants

[TwinkleStar]

Hi, we are staying at Boardwalk this June. We arrive at noon on the first day. My question is, it does not seem that there is a quick service at this resort. Any suggestions on where I can take the kids to eat upon arrival? I know they're be hungry! I tried to get us into Beach Club but I obviously waited too late to book!

 

[amandaC]

Walk over to Beaches and Cream.


I love the boardwalk resort area- but quick service places are quite limited.

 

[Anal Annie]

There is a pizza place down on the boardwalk that you can buy by the slice or by the whole pie and there is the ESPN Zone if you'd like something a little heartier. But no "real" quick service places. We especially missed that when we were at the pool.

 

[VrBchJ]

ESPN Zone is fun for kids. And the Big River Grille offers a good view of all the activities on boardwalk and lake. The Dolphin has an outdoor restaurant by the pool that's also pretty good. Inside the Dolphin is Picabu's. It's a variation of a buffet. There's some fresh food and some prepared items. And of course there's the ever popular Beaches and Cream.

 

[MichiganDVC]

Or you can go the opposite direction over to the Swan and dolphin hotels. The dolphin hotel has a really good counter service/food court type place called Picabu.

 

[jekjones1558]

There is a kiosk on the BW in front of Seashore Sweets. The name escapes me. It has hot dogs, fries, nuggets, meatball sandwiches, corn dogs, etc. It is not Disney owned so it is not listed on Disney's website. Kids we bring to BWV like to eat there. It is not gourmet but it fits the bill for a fast meal.

 

[DebbieB]

The bakery is expanding, I think it will open in April. They are supposed to have more choices and seating. I expect it to be like the Beach Club Marketplace.

 

[Inga]

ESPN Zone is fun for kids. And the Big River Grille offers a good view of all the activities on boardwalk and lake. The Dolphin has an outdoor restaurant by the pool that's also pretty good. Inside the Dolphin is Picabu's. It's a variation of a buffet. There's some fresh food and some prepared items. And of course there's the ever popular Beaches and Cream.

Our experience with Big River Grille was horrible! Has it gotten any better?

 

[goofy4tink]

Try ESPN....my family seems to like it. Or, walk over to the Dolphin and check out Picabu...love it there. It's almost cafeteria style. And they have a ton of great choices...much better than run of the mill CS spots. It's on the bottom level...walk in the back door (by the fountain), go left, towards Fresh. Keep walking down towards the elevator bank, take a right at the end of the hall, and there it is.

 

[DebbieB]

Our experience with Big River Grille was horrible! Has it gotten any better?

When we stay at Boardwalk, that's always our arrival lunch. Always been good, usually get the burgers.

 

[Splashboat]

There is a kiosk on the BW in front of Seashore Sweets. The name escapes me. It has hot dogs, fries, nuggets, meatball sandwiches, corn dogs, etc. It is not Disney owned so it is not listed on Disney's website. Kids we bring to BWV like to eat there. It is not gourmet but it fits the bill for a fast meal.

It's called 'Boardwalk To Go'. We like it for fast food as well but it is a 1 man operation and we find the hours are hit or miss and the service is not very quick. (The fried ravioli and chicken wings are pretty good) He makes everything to order (which is good) but you can easily wait 30 minutes for food. In addition, if you go there and plan to bring it back to the room you should bring something to carry it (bag or box) - sometimes he has small bags for the food (nothing to carry drinks) and sometimes he doesn't have anything so feeding a family makes it impossible to carry back to the room if you're not prepared. If you eat there the Seagulls are brutal. I find them really cute but they are aggressive and will come right on your table to take the food.

 

[Anal Annie]

Our experience with Big River Grille was horrible! Has it gotten any better?

We went there for a late dinner one night (after the parks) last summer and thought it was pretty good. We were not disappointed anyway. And they took the TIW card. But it was far from being a quick CS meal. I thought the OP was looking for quick / cheap food....

 

[CarolMN]

We like the Dolphin Fountain over in the Dolphin Resort. It's similar to Beaches 'n Cream (as far as the menu) and is seldom as busy. We've never had a problem getting right in. PLUS, if you are DVC members and have your membership card, you can get a 20% discount. If you don't want to walk over, catch a boat - you'll want one that is headed towards DHS to get there and one headed to EPCOT to get back.

 

[Deb & Bill]

You could also go to Hurricane Hannah's over at Stormalong Bay.

 

[Alice Sr.]

You can put your swimsuits on and go to Luna pool. The cabana has sandwiches.

 

[chateau]

I can't wait to try out the Boardwalk... ate at numerous other places, just never there (yet), so I'll be watching for suggestions.

Wow, this thread was odd.... it had two replies then exploded to enough to fill a page, but then some comments showed they were posted yesterday... odd.

 

[Tamar]

Beach Club Marketplace has sandwiches, salads, and individual size pizzas. Picabu is good, too. They recently started serving burritos and bowls. Their pizza only takes about 5 minutes; they have one of those really hot pizza ovens.

 

[TwinkleStar]

These suggestions are great! Thank you so much! I knew asking "Disney Experts" would be the way to go if I wanted to get great advice!

 

[Dean]

Our experience with Big River Grille was horrible! Has it gotten any better?

I think that has been a recurring theme and is our experience as well. It's interesting that there are 2 restaurant's on the BW that are as similar in many ways as Big River and ESPN. I keep expecting BR to close and possibly a QS open in that area or something different that is present now maybe Italian. It'd be a great location for a Bistro type of place.

 

[DebbieB]

I think that has been a recurring theme and is our experience as well. It's interesting that there are 2 restaurant's on the BW that are as similar in many ways as Big River and ESPN. I keep expecting BR to close and possibly a QS open in that area or something different that is present now maybe Italian. It'd be a great location for a Bistro type of place.

They are expanding the bakery to make it more of a quick service, similiar to Beach Club Marketplace. I don't think they want to take away a table service for quick service. I often wondered why they don't do something with the former kids club, make it a quick service.