Tip Tuesday: Boardwalk at night

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

Recently, I've been talking about all the fantastic things to do at the different Disney parks at night. However, there's also lots happening at Walt Disney World outside the parks as well. Best of all, some of it is free!

Along the boardwalk outside the Boardwalk Resort at night, street performers come out several times during the evening to give impromptu performances. While we were at the Boardwalk in December 2010, one cast member was performing several magic tricks, working with cards or doing memory tricks. Another was doing some small acrobatic acts. Of course each performer will pull various audience members to help with the magic acts or acrobatic stunts.

There doesn't appear to be any set time for when performances take place. Cast members just show up, set up shop and start interacting with guests as the pass by. Within a few minutes a small crowd gathers and soon gets much larger. Most of the time, they set up on the boardwalk near the entrance to the Boardwalk resort itself. I happened to catch both performers a few times. They will do their show, which is around 15 minutes, and then pack up. About 15-30 minutes later, they set up again in a new location along the boardwalk. This happens during the evening hours between sunset and the start of Illuminations.

Watch for yourself on Blip.tv. (I tried to embed the video, but it keeps coming as an "unplayable" error. Very odd.)

I happened to meet the magician as he was setting up and we had a few moments to talk about the mechanics of some simple hand magic. The cast member was very helpful and as other people started to watch, he moved right into his performance.

Beyond the boardwalk performers, the Boardwalk offers a great deal of nightlife options including Jellyrolls, which is a dueling piano bar (there usually is a cover charge and this is a 21 and older only bar) and the Atlantic Dance Hall, where you can dance the night away.

Then there's the ESPN Club, where you can sit back and watch a game (or two, or three) on multiple big screen TV's. The ESPN Club doesn't take reservations, so if you want to dine there, be ready to stand in line for a while.

The boardwalk also has a game center where you can try your hand a some traditional boardwalk games of chance to possibly win prizes. These are your typical midway games including basketball shooting, softball toss, water gun horse races and more. The games can get expensive (at least $5 to play), but it's a fun way to experience the boardwalk atmosphere.

Of course the boardwalk is lit up in lights all year round and is beautiful to see and walk around. It's a beautiful sight from the Yacht and Beach Club across Crescent Lake and makes a pretty evening picture.

Make time to visit the boardwalk during your next trip to Walt Disney World, it's a great way to get away from the parks for a bit and enjoy some different parks of Disney!