Disney's Art of Animation Resort Info Thread! Mouseketeers welcome!

[kbarrett]

We stayed at LK family suite in October 2012 and it was amazing! and we waled to both the Nemo pool and LM and like LM the best (less crowed)! The theming is wonderful!!! Plus I didn't think any building was much of a walk even after a long day at the parks with 4 young children!

 

[disadventurer]

Does anyone know of a low-cost transportation option one way from Art of Animation to Hilton Bonnet Creek. I know it's pretty close, but I want to make sure I budget the correct amount. Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA

 

[katiegirl]

We just got back from 7 fantastic nights at Art of Animation!!!

We were in Mater (building#1) on the first floor. I made no requests and the location was perfect!!! Even though we were right outside the pool and the "road" to the "wheel well" building we didn't hear a thing and the walk was only a couple minutes to the food court, buses, giftshop and the Big Blue pool.

The suite was more than enough room for the 4 of us, having 2 full bathrooms was awesome in the mornings!!! There was plenty of room in the fridge and the area around the kitchenette. It was great having a separate area with a dining table, though we didn't find the table bed to be all that comfortable. My DH and I slept on the pullout couch while my DS's shared the bedroom. I have no complaints about the pullout and they certainly didn't complain about the queen bed in their own room!

There was a fantastic amount of storage room for all of our stuff and we were able to keep it clutter free and organized with very little effort. Mousekeeping was great and we got the best towel animal ever...a monkey hanging on a clothes hanger!!! It was cool and a little creepy all at the same time! The free WiFi was great in the room and around the main pool but our cell reception in the room was horrible. We ever only had 1 bar in the room unless we had the phone on a corner of the dresser near the window, then we would get 2 whole bars. Everywhere else reception was just fine.

The food court had great food! We really enjoyed the "make you own..." options, didn't feel the disney gut bomb from eating there ever.

We never had any issues with buses except leaving Epcot after Illuminations on night but that was more a tour group/crowd control issue than a transportation issue. We also used the POP buses at times and just walked over the bridge, it was kinda relaxing in the evening.

All in all we were more than satisfied with our stay and would gladly return to stay there again!!

 

[twopearls]

We stayed at LK family suite in October 2012 and it was amazing! and we waled to both the Nemo pool and LM and like LM the best (less crowed)! The theming is wonderful!!! Plus I didn't think any building was much of a walk even after a long day at the parks with 4 young children!

Agreed. We were there same time - LK in October. After walking all over the parks all day, walking from one end of the resort to the other to check out different pools was nothing!

Also, I had worried so much about which building, which view, etc. We were there EARLY on check-in day, like 11 AM. They had two rooms available, one on 3rd or 4th floor in building 10 (nearest parking lot) facing into the LK courtyard, and one in the other building (forget the number) facing the lake on the first floor. We took the lake view. It was so nice. I was worried about the 1st floor being noisy, but we never heard anyone in the hallways. Never heard any little feet running or jumping above us. Loved it! My DH was at Coronado Springs last weekend for a work thing. That was my other hotel option, but even he said how glad he was that we spent the extra money to have more space and privacy in the suite. I have a DH6 who needs a lot of sleep, so it was nice to not have to tiptoe around a hotel room after she was asleep for 8 nights!

When we do shorter trips somewhere 2-3 nights, we're fine in a regular room. More than that, and we try to get a suite.

 

[goofy4tink]

We stayed in a LM room in December after staying at Pop 5 trips in a row. And I honestly didn't notice the difference.

Me too. I didn't really notice any difference. Maybe a little tiny bit bigger but nothing substantial.

Hi, Just booked our reservations for May after school lets out at AOA in the Cars suite. very excited! It will be the first trip for my husband, two sons 8 and 6, and for me my first in 10years, love this site

I'm mostly concerned with getting a request filled for bldg 1 which would be closest cars/Mater bldg. to the food court and buses, how backed up the food court will be on a Holiday weekend, and how backed up the buses will be for the same reason. Any thoughts?

Anyone stayed in building 1? I would like to know a room number to request. We want upper floor which will hopefully be more quiet and in the leg of the "T" shape closest to the parking lot.

What is the earliest the buses start running ususally? thanks

The food court will be busy at 'busy' times....from about an hour prior to park opening until about an hour after. Midday, it gets busy at normal lunch times, and dinner wasn't an issue for us.
As far as a specific room number? Best to just ask for a room on an upper floor, closer to the parking lot.
As far as buses go, they start running about 6:30 in the morning...but they come a bit less frequently than the regular buses do, so plan accordingly. They can get crowded an hour prior to park opening. You have to figure that everyone wants to do the same thing you're doing!! And at park closing, all buses are crowded.

 

[pjfranklin]

I'm sooo excited for our trip in August.... Almost official ADR time!!!

 

[LisaTN]

Looked through about 40+ pages before asking... but I have a question:

How far of a walk are the little mermaid rooms from the bus stops. My mom does not want to rent a scooter, but at the end of the day I know she's not going to want to walk way far.

 

[mom2rtk]

Looked through about 40+ pages before asking... but I have a question:

How far of a walk are the little mermaid rooms from the bus stops. My mom does not want to rent a scooter, but at the end of the day I know she's not going to want to walk way far.

If your mom is back and forth about a scooter, then the LM rooms will be a very unwelcome surprise at the end of a day in the parks.

If she's unsure, but erring on the side of no scooter, I'd stay at POP in a preferred room. If she goes for the scooter, I'd try the LM rooms.

 

[LisaTN]

If your mom is back and forth about a scooter, then the LM rooms will be a very unwelcome surprise at the end of a day in the parks.

If she's unsure, but erring on the side of no scooter, I'd stay at POP in a preferred room. If she goes for the scooter, I'd try the LM rooms.

Perfect information!!!! THANK YOU!

 

[LSANTI]

Just a thought we had a double stroller in our room which was hard to collapse so we left it open and found the floor space a little tight. As it seemed that you opened the door and hit the bed

 

[happywifeandmom]

Looked through about 40+ pages before asking... but I have a question:

How far of a walk are the little mermaid rooms from the bus stops. My mom does not want to rent a scooter, but at the end of the day I know she's not going to want to walk way far.

my mom was really resistant to the scooter the first time we rented one for her, but since then it's been great! she loves it! she's had knee surgery and it just makes all the difference in the world. the last thing you want to do is be in pain from walking at a wonderful place like Disney! seems like the scooter rentals are very reasonable for a week (just over $100?) and SOOOOOO worth it! just get a ground floor room so you don't have to mess with the elevator.

 

[kimkarli]

Is there any storage space under the beds in the LM section?

TIA!!!!

 

[bookgirl]

Is there any storage space under the beds in the LM section?

TIA!!!!

Solid bases.

 

[kimkarli]

That's what I was thinking, oh well!

THANKS!!!!

 

[troof]

Just returned from AoA stay in LK suite and I thought I'd share my thoughts for those who are planning:

The Lion King section is probably the safest bet if having a quiet room is your priority as there is no pool and windows are a decent distance from walkways. Most of the LK rooms are pretty close to buses and FN pool. If you get a room in the FN section that is off in the wings, it will be quiet but you may not be any closer to food court/buses than LK or parts of Cars, so consider that in choosing your section. The theming in all areas is adorable, although I thought the outside areas in Cars were the cutest. I would choose based on the movie your kids like best. The views are going to be better the higher up you are. We were on a ground floor facing the lake and had some service areas in our view that wouldn't be noticeable on a higher floor. The landscaping and theming is also more likely to block views on the ground floor in the LK section, although this certainly does not affect a majority of the rooms.

The murphy bed is close to the door to the hallway and will get some noise from passersby. The bedroom for us was super quite - no hallway noise and no plumbing noise. The first morning my 3 year old in the murphy bed thought she heard Grandma's voice in the hall which got her up earlier than we hoped so consider that in how you place light sleepers. My kids were so tired on subsequent days that it didn't matter.

We had good luck with the buses. This was our first Disney trip and I fretted about whether to get a rental car. I'm very glad we didn't. We used WeGoShop for grocery delivery and never waited more than 10 minutes or so for a bus, and often less.

The rooms look just like the pictures online and the kids absolutely loved them and the pool. This place is made for little kids. At least in the LK section, the landscaping seemed nicer than at other value resorts.

 

[jenhum]

Just returned from AoA stay in LK suite and I thought I'd share my thoughts for those who are planning:

The Lion King section is probably the safest bet if having a quiet room is your priority as there is no pool and windows are a decent distance from walkways. Most of the LK rooms are pretty close to buses and FN pool. If you get a room in the FN section that is off in the wings, it will be quiet but you may not be any closer to food court/buses than LK or parts of Cars, so consider that in choosing your section. The theming in all areas is adorable, although I thought the outside areas in Cars were the cutest. I would choose based on the movie your kids like best. The views are going to be better the higher up you are. We were on a ground floor facing the lake and had some service areas in our view that wouldn't be noticeable on a higher floor. The landscaping and theming is also more likely to block views on the ground floor in the LK section, although this certainly does not affect a majority of the rooms.

The murphy bed is close to the door to the hallway and will get some noise from passersby. The bedroom for us was super quite - no hallway noise and no plumbing noise. The first morning my 3 year old in the murphy bed thought she heard Grandma's voice in the hall which got her up earlier than we hoped so consider that in how you place light sleepers. My kids were so tired on subsequent days that it didn't matter.

We had good luck with the buses. This was our first Disney trip and I fretted about whether to get a rental car. I'm very glad we didn't. We used WeGoShop for grocery delivery and never waited more than 10 minutes or so for a bus, and often less.

The rooms look just like the pictures online and the kids absolutely loved them and the pool. This place is made for little kids. At least in the LK section, the landscaping seemed nicer than at other value resorts.

Thanks for the review! I have been debating whether to request ground floor or top floor, think I might go with top floor, hopefully overlooking Pride Rock. Good to hear that you had good bus luck too!

 

[Chavaleh]

We recently booked for a Cars suite May 11th-19th. I'm so very excited! Our last trip was back when my 5 year old son was 18 months old and I had two little girls instead of a 12 and 14 year old. There will probably be many more pirates and Cars than Princesses this time around but I'm sure it will be fantastic.

My husband and I are also looking forward to having our own space and a door to close. I get people overload pretty quickly so a little quiet time before sleeping will be wonderful. And with two teenage/tweener girls two bathrooms are almost a must have these days.

I'm also in the middle of planning for an anniversary trip for my husband and I the last week in Aug. to celebrate our 20th. We're hoping to get a bounce back offer in the room (*fingers crossed*) and to stay for a week at the Wilderness Lodge.

AoA looks like so much fun with the kids though. We stayed at Pop for our last trip and the decrepit 'decade' buildings looked so sad. I'm very glad the area has been brought back to life.

How long is the jaunt from the bar at the main pool back to the quieter (hopefully?) Cars pool? My poor husband may be making that trip more than once. :

 

[beth4]

Checking in the Finding Nemo suites in 35 days for 7 nights! We have 12 people, so we have 2 suites. We have 4 kids and I want to be on the ground level so that I don't have to deal with elevators or stairs with our 2 strollers. We also want rooms next door/across the hall since we will be sharing breakfast foods. I would also like to be near the bus stops so that my mom doesn't have to walk too far.

How should I make my requests? Are those 3 requests too many? And, since I booked both of the rooms can I put the same requests on each reservation, or do I need to have my parents call and put in the same requests on their reservation?

 

[pookie10]

Leaving in 10 days!!! For our 4 night trip! Sooo excited!!!!!!! first timers!!!

Few questions...

The magical express at the airport..is that easy to find?? Is there only one bus or several to choose from??? Does it bring us straight to the resort? When we board busses from AOA to the parks is there different busses for different parks?? We need to get to poly for breakfast one day, does a bus do that or do we need to go to magic kingdom then ride monorail??

 

[AHullMN]

Leaving in 10 days!!! For our 4 night trip! Sooo excited!!!!!!! first timers!!!

Few questions...

The magical express at the airport..is that easy to find?? Is there only one bus or several to choose from??? Does it bring us straight to the resort? When we board busses from AOA to the parks is there different busses for different parks?? We need to get to poly for breakfast one day, does a bus do that or do we need to go to magic kingdom then ride monorail??

Magical Express is pretty easy to find. But we did end up walking a long ways to get there. There are many buses - the one we had for AoA went to Caribbean Beach and Pop first. We had to go to Poly one day too. We ended up renting a town car from Mears (it was a Cadillac escalade). It was $17 for the trip from the front door of AoA to the front door of Poly. Your other option is the bus to magic kingdom and then either the monorail or a boat to the poly. They do start running buses early for the advanced ADRs.