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

[AUDramaQueen]

If you book room only and are not doing ME, you won't get anything more than your confirmation email. No worries.

Whew! You would think as many times as I've been I would know that. Wouldn't be the week before a Disney trip without at least one panic attack. Thanks!!

 

[WinGS]

We are going Easter weekend. Will it be ok weather-wise to go swimming in the pools? Are the pools heated?

Also, I am planning a mid day break during an MK day. How much time should I allot? What times would be the best times to leave the park?

 

[nebo]

So I just looked at the food court menus and I'm a very fussy eater. I hate all salad stuff, I only eat cooked vegetables (carrots, broccoli, cabbage etc.) so basically when it comes to sandwiches I only like meat (and cheese when its melted!). I'm not keen on foreign foods, I basically stick to Italian, English and, American fast food. You're all probably thinking I'm weird right now and I seriously do not blame you! I am terrible when it comes to food. Also I am not a big eater either, I fill up so easily. I'm from the UK and when I go out for a meal, I have to order child's portions.

So I was wondering if adults are aloud to order from the kid's menu? I know that in Disneyland Paris you aren't aloud to. But the kid's menu looks just so much more appealing to me! If someone who's been could let me know that'd be great!

- Thanks

except for table service, at any counter service place you are allowed to order anything you want. the servers have no idea who you are ordering for. you are allowed to order a child's meal if you want.

another thing you might want to check out. it is just a short walk over to the Pop Century Resort. they have a food court wiht more "geeric" offerings. burgers, chicken nuggets, etc. they also have "mom's night out offerings. changes on the night, but fried chicken, turkey and stuffing, etc. and I LOVe the shrimp Lo Mein.
even thos they dont' claim to be sister resorts, you can walk from one to the other and use the others bus stops (but that might be a pain) or food courts. you just cant' usethe other's pools

 

[Jacindyyy]

It's our first trip to WDW and we'll be there in 15 days! We're spending 7 days at AOA (LM rooms) and 7 days at POP! So excited! Two things are concerning me a little about AOA.
The first is the walk to the LM rooms. I've heard that they can be a good 10-15 minute walk away from the main building which will be exhausting after a long day at the parks. Is the walk as bad as people are making out?
The second is the requests. We've requested a king-bed and a room in building 7 (in that order). I have a feeling that neither of our requests will be granted since the LM rooms are fully booked which is understandable with it being spring break and its the newest resort. I know that these requests aren't always granted but Disney will do their best. Will the chances of my requests being met be reduced significantly with the hotel being full?

There is no way it's a 10-15 minute walk to the LM section. It's 5 mins tops.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

We are going Easter weekend. Will it be ok weather-wise to go swimming in the pools? Are the pools heated?

Also, I am planning a mid day break during an MK day. How much time should I allot? What times would be the best times to leave the park?

Average high at that time of the year is 80-81 degrees. Current 10-day forecasts have it in the high 70's on that Friday. The pools are heated, so unless weather is unusually cold, you should be ok.

As for a break during the day, that's completely up to you - and has a lot to do with how old your children are and what you are trying to accomplish. If you are using the bus system, you want to allow at least 30-45 minutes each way for travel. It is a 15-20 minute bus ride, plus waiting time for the bus, loading time if there are any wheelchairs/scooters, and the walk to the room.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I am so excited that we will be able to now stay here for our upcoming trip! Only 62 days away! We were originally booked for two rooms at Pop but yesterday DH said we are able to change our resorts! I really wanted to stay here because my kids are all at the perfect age for the theming at this resort and I know we will all love it; and we also prefer suite style accommodations for our family as we like having the kitchenette and a separate living room area for downtime. We stayed in the AS Music family suite for our last trip and really liked the layout and space, but we wanted a new resort experience for this trip so I am so happy we can stay at AOA! We will be in a Lion King suite!

 

[DisneyBeth94]

except for table service, at any counter service place you are allowed to order anything you want. the servers have no idea who you are ordering for. you are allowed to order a child's meal if you want.

another thing you might want to check out. it is just a short walk over to the Pop Century Resort. they have a food court wiht more "geeric" offerings. burgers, chicken nuggets, etc. they also have "mom's night out offerings. changes on the night, but fried chicken, turkey and stuffing, etc. and I LOVe the shrimp Lo Mein.
even thos they dont' claim to be sister resorts, you can walk from one to the other and use the others bus stops (but that might be a pain) or food courts. you just cant' usethe other's pools

Thank you! Its just on the food court menu I found online said that the Kid's picks menu is for children aged 9 and under. I just checked that website again and it has that written on every menu for every food court/quick service/restaurant in Disney. Hopefully they won't be too strict.

And we're staying at Pop Century for the second week of our vacation. Even in their food court the Kid's menu appeals more to me.
This happens everywhere I go, even McDonalds. I must just be a big kid at heart

 

[elleinad16]

We stayed at Art of Animation from February 26th - March 1st (3 nights) and had an absolutely MAGICAL stay. Seriously, one of the best resorts we've ever stayed at, and we've stayed in a variety! (See signature below.)

• We stayed in a Little Mermaid room, which was beautiful and clean. The theme of the room was so cute--Ariel's grotto in the shower was our favorite part.
• The walk from the bus stop at the end of the day was a little rough, but overall it didn't take us more than about 8 minutes.
• We were on the first floor of the Ursula building (room #7562) facing the pool and never heard any loud noises from the kids having fun. (Although we did hear a lot of door slamming from the next-door neighbors…)
• The food court was chock full of offerings. We were overwhelmed, actually. We only ate there for lunch on our first day since it was packed for breakfast and dinner every time we walked through! The cast members were friendly and our food was decent. (The bread on our pastrami burger was a little dry, in my opinion.)
• The gift shop had a great spread of Art of Animation merchandise along with other Disney goodies.
• The lobby is gorgeous. I took a few minutes out of my day just to sit and enjoy the lights and art.
• We did not utilize any of the pools, so I cannot comment on them, but they looked like fun!
• We made sure to walk around to the other areas of the resort to enjoy the theme and fell in love with the Cars area. If we ever go back with a large group or family, that is where I'd like to stay.
• On our last night I dragged hubby over to POP Century for some tie-dye cheesecake. It was a lovely walk over the bridge and only took about 10 minutes from our room. After staying at both, if I were to choose a future stay between POP and AOA, I would go for AOA. It was nice being in a newer / fresh resort. And I thought the beds and pillows were more comfortable. (Never got a good nights sleep from POP).

Well, hope that helps! Here are some pictures:

Our Little Mermaid room:

Ariel's grotto, aka shower:

Lion King light in Landscape of Flavors:

Pastrami burger from Landscape of Flavors:

Amazing lobby:

Hanging out with Simba in the lobby:

Visiting the Cars section of the resort:

Chris found Mater!:

Elephant graveyard in Lion King section:

Ursula building we stayed in:

Water art on the pavement:

 

[bigfish32]

Ok. Can someone provide done info on the buses? We will be in the finding nemo suites. We usually rent a car but I am weighing the options. We have ressies at chef mickeys and ohana, so go we go to the ttc and go monorail or go to downtown Disney and take a bus? Confused
Also, had anyone yet requested a late check out? What are the chances of getting one? Do we have to wait til we get there?

Advice much appreciated...44 days to go!!

 

[smidgy]

for chef mickey's take the bus to MK, (not the ttc). you can wait for a monorail to the contemporary if you want, but from the bus stops, it is about the same walk to the CR as it is to the monorail station. I would just walk to the contemporary from the MK bus stop.

never mind downtown disney! yikes! that's way out of your way.

I have no idea about late check out.. since this is a new resort and pretty much filled all the time, I would kinda doubt it.. you could always ask, though.

 

[bigfish32]

for chef mickey's take the bus to MK, (not the ttc). you can wait for a monorail to the contemporary if you want, but from the bus stops, it is about the same walk to the CR as it is to the monorail station. I would just walk to the contemporary from the MK bus stop.

never mind downtown disney! yikes! that's way out of your way.

I have no idea about late check out.. since this is a new resort and pretty much filled all the time, I would kinda doubt it.. you could always ask, though.

Thank you! I had read somewhere that the buses took you to DD. it didn't mention anywhere else but I knew that was an oversight. I just needed confirmation.

Thanks again!

 

[TJDisneymama]

Any recent complaints about the thermostats? I like my room COLD at night so i'm wondering if i should just have them call maintenance to override it when i check in. If the rooms are still as warm and stuffy as reported in the past, i will be miserable.

 

[jcarwash]

Thank you! I had read somewhere that the buses took you to DD. it didn't mention anywhere else but I knew that was an oversight. I just needed confirmation.

Thanks again!

Yes, you can take a bus to Downtown Disney from AoA, and that is one location where you catch get a resort-specific bus. There is no bus from AoA to the TTC.

But as posted above by smidgy, the best way to get to Chef Mickey's or 'Ohana is to take your Magic Kingdom bus from AoA, and then use the transportation options (monorail, boat to Poly, walk to CR) from there.

 

[HHMcG]

here it is

OMG, this great photo thread has me even more excited about our trip.

 

[DisneyBabies]

We stayed at Art of Animation from February 26th - March 1st (3 nights) and had an absolutely MAGICAL stay. Seriously, one of the best resorts we've ever stayed at, and we've stayed in a variety! (See signature below.)

• We stayed in a Little Mermaid room, which was beautiful and clean. The theme of the room was so cute--Ariel's grotto in the shower was our favorite part.
• The walk from the bus stop at the end of the day was a little rough, but overall it didn't take us more than about 8 minutes.
• We were on the first floor of the Ursula building (room #7562) facing the pool and never heard any loud noises from the kids having fun. (Although we did hear a lot of door slamming from the next-door neighbors…)
• The food court was chock full of offerings. We were overwhelmed, actually. We only ate there for lunch on our first day since it was packed for breakfast and dinner every time we walked through! The cast members were friendly and our food was decent. (The bread on our pastrami burger was a little dry, in my opinion.)
• The gift shop had a great spread of Art of Animation merchandise along with other Disney goodies.
• The lobby is gorgeous. I took a few minutes out of my day just to sit and enjoy the lights and art.
• We did not utilize any of the pools, so I cannot comment on them, but they looked like fun!
• We made sure to walk around to the other areas of the resort to enjoy the theme and fell in love with the Cars area. If we ever go back with a large group or family, that is where I'd like to stay.
• On our last night I dragged hubby over to POP Century for some tie-dye cheesecake. It was a lovely walk over the bridge and only took about 10 minutes from our room. After staying at both, if I were to choose a future stay between POP and AOA, I would go for AOA. It was nice being in a newer / fresh resort. And I thought the beds and pillows were more comfortable. (Never got a good nights sleep from POP).

Well, hope that helps! Here are some pictures:

Water art on the pavement:

Thanks for this info and the pics are great! I really love this one.

 

[merpbam]

Just got back from our Magical stay at AOA. We were in LM room building #9 walk to buses wasn't that bad. If you go through the parking lot it really cuts down on going through the resort buldings. Also if you have a backpack take your resort mugs with you empty and when you get back fill them up on your way to the room!! Have FUN!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Does anyone have any favorite or must try snacks or meals from Landscape of Flavors that they would be willing to suggest?

 

[RyMacJ]

I read on EasyWDW that the cheesy pesto break is fantastic and a great use of a DDP snack credit!

6 weeks from today we'll be leaving! (not checking in until the next day, though. We're spending the night in Lake City, FL on the way down).

 

[RyandGraymommy]

Question. We are staying in CARS suite in December...is there a building or spot that I should request?? Wasn't sure if there was a better spot for the CARS area.

Thanks!

 

[Marblies]

Does anyone have any favorite or must try snacks or meals from Landscape of Flavors that they would be willing to suggest?

The Surf and Surf burger!!!!! I removed the top bun and ate the filling. One of the best crab cakes - more crab than breading!

Mini crab cakes are also available in the refrigerator section.