In the coming years, Disney's BoardWalk Inn & Villas will see a number of changes to its dining options, along with modifications to the resort lobby and guest rooms.
Disney has announced several changes planned for the BoardWalk resort and shopping district, many of which involve reconfiguration of dining venues.
The Cake Bake Shop by Gwendolyn Rogers is a new option, coming to Disney's BoardWalk sometime in 2023. Following the model of its two other locations, The Cake Bake Shop will feature light food service, a dessert menu and an afternoon tea.
Menus for a current location in Carmel, IN include a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches, quiche and more. The dessert menu includes dozens of options like cakes--including Gwendolyn's Famous Earl's Court Chocolate Cake--pies, cheesecake, cookies, pastries, and home made ice cream. The afternon tea service features finger sandwiches and sweets, along with an alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage.
Disney did not reveal a location for The Cake Bake Shop, however website WDWMagic.com reports that it will take over the space which was previously home to the ESPN Club. ESPN Club closed in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is the only BoardWalk-area eatery yet to return.
Nearby, the BoardWalk Bakery will be reconfigured to serve as a sandwich shop. The bakery currently serves a small number of sandwiches while focusing more on sweet treats, a market which is made redundant by the addition of The Cake Bake Shop.
The resort's lobby and hotel rooms will be refurbished, adding what Disney calls "light and airy touches" designed to "[carry] the seaside breeze right inside." No specifics have been revealed. Recent lobby renovations at Disney's Old Key West Resort and Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa involved the removal of massive front desks in favor of smaller podiums, allowing for more personal guest interaction. Additional seating has also been added to lobbies.
The lobby renovation will also bring the addition of a new coffee bar offering small food items, with both indoor and outdoor seating.
Aside from the 2023 opening of The Cake Bake Shop, no timeline has been provided for the full project completion. Disney billed the project as occurring "over the next few years."
Disney Vacation Club villas were not specifically mentioned during the brief announcement. However, according to our Refurbishment Tracker, the villas were most recently updated in 2016 and are due for a full renovation as early as 2023.
Disney's Polynesian Village Resort recently completed a 1.5 year renovation project which involved reconstruction of the porte cochere and monorail station, along with refurbishment of all hotel rooms and DVC villas.
