Disney's Boardwalk Inn and Villas

The lobby of Disney’s BoardWalk Resort contains a number of homages and references to the Atlantic City and Coney Island boardwalks that it was based on. Walking into the main entrance from the parking lot, we find a Hippocampus Electrolier and carousel model under it. The electrolier (fancy word for chandelier) depicts four, 22-karat gold leaf Hippocampi: mythical creatures that are part horse and part fish. Early carousels of the seaside boardwalks would feature sculpts of beasts like these in addition to typical horses. Below the chandelier is a scale model of a carousel created by MC Illions, one of the most well-known carousel designers, as a way to sell his full-sized attractions to potential buyers. The model was purchased in 1995 and restored by Disney for inclusion in the BoardWalk lobby. Walking towards the main lobby area, we see six carousel rounding boards, evenly spaced around the room. Each one depicts a different Disney Park castle! See closeup photos of each and read more in our blog post: A Photo Tour Of The BoardWalk’s Hidden Disney Castles. About halfway down the lobby, we find a model of a roller coaster. This is the Flip Flap Railway, America’s first looping coaster. It was […]

Leaping Horse Libations is Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and Villas bar at Luna Park Pool. While the design of the bar is designed as a carousel to fit the pool area’s amusement park theme, the name actually references a famous Atlantic City boardwalk attraction of the 1920s: Sonora Webster and her diving horse. In 1991, Disney produced a movie about her life called Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com

Luna Park Pool is the main pool area at Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and Villas. Its 1920s carnival theme and name reference Coney Island’s Luna Park. The water slide (known as the keister coaster) resembles the infamous Cyclone roller coaster, which still operates at the real Luna Park. Official Information: WaltDisneyWorld.com