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

[kordoyne]

Hi everyone! We have two rooms booked at AoA LM rooms for Feb 2013. I keep going back and fourth if I should change to POP. I'm really worried about the walk. I have seen mixed reviews. I tried looking for a video of the walk online to give me a better idea but could not find any. I am not worried about the adults but we do have children going on the trip (ages: 19mths,3,7 &9). We are renting a stroller so we will not have it with us for the walk to and from. I really do love the look of AoA much more than POP. I now see some people are trying to switch from POP to AoA LM!!!! I have no idea what I should do!


So my question is... Should I stay with AoA LM or see if I can book at POP?

[TSM]

Originally Posted by kordoyne

Hi everyone! We have two rooms booked at AoA LM rooms for Feb 2013. I keep going back and fourth if I should change to POP. I'm really worried about the walk. I have seen mixed reviews. I tried looking for a video of the walk online to give me a better idea but could not find any. I am not worried about the adults but we do have children going on the trip (ages: 19mths,3,7 &9). We are renting a stroller so we will not have it with us for the walk to and from. I really do love the look of AoA much more than POP. I now see some people are trying to switch from POP to AoA LM!!!! I have no idea what I should do!


So my question is... Should I stay with AoA LM or see if I can book at POP?

Stay at AoA!!! We stayed in the LM section in Sept and loved it.just request closest to bus stop.we were in building 9 parking lot view and could walk around parking lot to bus stop pretty quick.(4 min walk)

[jimandami]

Originally Posted by kordoyne

Hi everyone! We have two rooms booked at AoA LM rooms for Feb 2013. I keep going back and fourth if I should change to POP. I'm really worried about the walk. I have seen mixed reviews. I tried looking for a video of the walk online to give me a better idea but could not find any. I am not worried about the adults but we do have children going on the trip (ages: 19mths,3,7 &9). We are renting a stroller so we will not have it with us for the walk to and from. I really do love the look of AoA much more than POP. I now see some people are trying to switch from POP to AoA LM!!!! I have no idea what I should do!

So my question is... Should I stay with AoA LM or see if I can book at POP?

One quick suggestion: rent a real stroller from Kingdom Strollers or one of the other companies instead of renting from Disney. It is cheaper and you will have it for the resort.

[jcarwash]

Originally Posted by kordoyne

Hi everyone! We have two rooms booked at AoA LM rooms for Feb 2013. I keep going back and fourth if I should change to POP. I'm really worried about the walk. I have seen mixed reviews. I tried looking for a video of the walk online to give me a better idea but could not find any. I am not worried about the adults but we do have children going on the trip (ages: 19mths,3,7 &9). We are renting a stroller so we will not have it with us for the walk to and from. I really do love the look of AoA much more than POP. I now see some people are trying to switch from POP to AoA LM!!!! I have no idea what I should do!


So my question is... Should I stay with AoA LM or see if I can book at POP?

I really don't think the walk to the LM rooms should be enough of a worry to cause you to switch resorts. The walk to LM is the longest but it's been reported to be a 5-7 minute walk at a normal pace.

At either resort, Pop or AoA, you will need to walk from the buses to your room. Yes, it's more likely to get a building/room at Pop with a closer walk to the buses, but you're not going to be just steps away no matter where you are.

As kordoyne suggests, looking into a third-party stroller rental is a good idea -- having a stroller for little ones is something you will want all around, at the resort and for the walk to and from the buses to the front of each park.

[mnmhouston]

Are all in favor of requesting building 9 to be closest to bus/Animation Hall?

[Tigger's ally]

Originally Posted by jimandami

One quick suggestion: rent a real stroller from Kingdom Strollers or one of the other companies instead of renting from Disney. It is cheaper and you will have it for the resort.

But also remember that you will have to haul them on and off the busses if bus transportation is you plan.

[jcarwash]

Originally Posted by mnmhouston

Are all in favor of requesting building 9 to be closest to bus/Animation Hall?

Looks like a good idea to me. Parts of building 7 are pretty much the same distance as building 9, but depending on where you are placed it could be a longer distance. So I think I would give the nod to requesting building 9.

[disneydreamfan14]

Just returned!! Ahh I didn't want to leave AoA! Its amazing! The decoration is superb.

Ill write a more detailed review later today.

As for the walk to the bus from AoA, it shouldn't be more than five minutes with strollers. I would choose Art or Animation.

[HLAuburn]

Originally Posted by mnmhouston

Are all in favor of requesting building 9 to be closest to bus/Animation Hall?

Just curious...how do you put in a request for a certain building? I know when you do online check in, some resorts give you options like "close to transportation" and I think I've read about people faxing in requests.

So what's the best way to request for AoA? Going in a couple weeks...can't wait!

[CityGirlLost]

Just returned! If you're concerned about the walk, don't be. The resort is much smaller than it looks.

We were in building 5, Nemo and it was incredible. Surprisingly, the coffee table/stools in our room were already showing significant wear but other than that, the room was perfect. We are a family of 6 and this was just perfect.

The QS dining was a tad crowded too but really, those are my only complaints!

[mom2rtk]

Originally Posted by mnmhouston

Are all in favor of requesting building 9 to be closest to bus/Animation Hall?

I actully requested building 7. I didn't wan to be tempted to walk through the parking lot to shave a minute or two off of my walk. I want to walk through the courtyard and enjoy the scenery. But we are arriving very late at night, so I'm expecting to have trouble with the room placement. Since we'll be there 10 nights, I'm prepared to change rooms at some point if needed.

[slabau]

Originally Posted by HLAuburn

Just curious...how do you put in a request for a certain building? I know when you do online check in, some resorts give you options like "close to transportation" and I think I've read about people faxing in requests.

So what's the best way to request for AoA? Going in a couple weeks...can't wait!

Hi HLAuburn, I called Disney just yesterday and requested the Tow Mater building. They will not guarantee your request but it is added onto your reservation.

Happy Planning!!!

[Mom2Luci]

Originally Posted by mom2rtk

I actully requested building 7. I didn't wan to be tempted to walk through the parking lot to shave a minute or two off of my walk. I want to walk through the courtyard and enjoy the scenery. But we are arriving very late at night, so I'm expecting to have trouble with the room placement. Since we'll be there 10 nights, I'm prepared to change rooms at some point if needed.

I was worried about the same thing - I had requested bldg 7 or 9 with adjoining rooms and we arrived at the resort a little before 10 pm. We got bldg 9, parking lot view, 3 rooms from the middle and our rooms were connecting.

[mom2rtk]

Originally Posted by Mom2Luci

I was worried about the same thing - I had requested bldg 7 or 9 with adjoining rooms and we arrived at the resort a little before 10 pm. We got bldg 9, parking lot view, 3 rooms from the middle and our rooms were connecting.

Thanks for that. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

[rhul]

Originally Posted by Jenna319

Does the standard room not appear because they are all sold out?

One thing to remember right now is that the LM rooms are not included in many of the discount promotions. So for example if you started your search with the "Fall Package Discount" only the suites will show up. If you clear your cookies & start a new search with no discounts then the Mermaid rooms are available.

For my Dec trip I had a major choice between staying again in a LM room (which I loved) for 3 nights or staying at POP for 4 nights for less $$. So I'm staying at POP but using the bridge to visit & eat at LoF. (I'm sooo craving the Vegetarian nan breakfast... with bacon. )