Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Information & Questions

[mfp]

How noisy is AoA? We are a family of five and I had hoped that CBR would be able to accomodate our upcoming trip, but it is looking like they aren't officially booking five yet. I have been eying the CARS suite, b/c I have 3 boys and my youngest is a CARS nut. Is AoA worth the extra $ over taying at POR (the cheapest option for a family of five)? I'm just concerned that it will be very noisy, since it sounds like there is so much concerete which makes things echo more. I wasn't a big fan of POR, but at least it was quiet. Where is the laundry room located in the CARS area?

 

[LoveMy3DisneyKids]

How noisy is AoA? We are a family of five and I had hoped that CBR would be able to accomodate our upcoming trip, but it is looking like they aren't officially booking five yet. I have been eying the CARS suite, b/c I have 3 boys and my youngest is a CARS nut. Is AoA worth the extra $ over taying at POR (the cheapest option for a family of five)? I'm just concerned that it will be very noisy, since it sounds like there is so much concerete which makes things echo more. I wasn't a big fan of POR, but at least it was quiet. Where is the laundry room located in the CARS area?

Extra post. Sorry.

 

[LoveMy3DisneyKids]

How noisy is AoA? We are a family of five and I had hoped that CBR would be able to accomodate our upcoming trip, but it is looking like they aren't officially booking five yet. I have been eying the CARS suite, b/c I have 3 boys and my youngest is a CARS nut. Is AoA worth the extra $ over taying at POR (the cheapest option for a family of five)? I'm just concerned that it will be very noisy, since it sounds like there is so much concerete which makes things echo more. I wasn't a big fan of POR, but at least it was quiet. Where is the laundry room located in the CARS area?

it isn't anymore noisy than any other place with kids running around. We stayed at the Cars location. The only noise that really annoyed me was when people would come back to the resort at 2am and let their kids race down the hall yelling. These are indoor halls. So it's much louder. The parents were no better because they never tried to tell them to stop. They were having their own LOUD conversations. Once they got to their room they would slam the door. This happened a few times while we were there. Some people have no consideration. We are also a family of 5 and staying there again. The extra room to move around, is very nice. The laundry room is located by the cozy cone pool. It was very convenient to do the laundry while the kids had pool time. Hope this helps.

 

[kastoney]

AOA is no more noisy than any other resort with a lot of kids running around. The only "extra" noise that I noticed. Was when people would come back from the parks at like 2am. Racing down the halls, yelling and the parents ye

Agree. We had a room on the first floor by the elevator and from a noise factor it was certainly less than ideal. I'd ask for a high floor to help minimize foot traffic noise.

 

[kastoney]

Crowded? So we were going to be going just the five of us (2 adults, 2 kids, 1 baby). But then... well, the baby is not an easy baby. He is just a year old now and still doesn't sleep through the night and he's still pretty fussy. So... we decided to invite my mom and my aunt to come along with us. It's a good deal for them--we booked with free dining so adding them to the room means they literally are only paying for their park tickets. In exchange for that deal, they will be on baby duty. Which means going back early at night to put the baby to bed and things like that. So now we will be 4 adults, 2 kids and 1 baby. The baby will sleep in the separate bedroom with the us, and one kid will share with each adult. The adults know that this is the arrangement and agreed to it because they are getting a practically free trip to Disney out of it. How bad is it going to be? I don't know how often all of us will be in the room together other than to sleep and none of us are particularly used to having tons of space. Typically we have had two connecting rooms at POR or POFQ with them which is obviously more beds.

Obviously this is different for everyone, but I think you will be too crowded especially with a fussy baby in tow. My parents and brother shared a suite last trip and found the room to be adequate size wise for 3 adults. Adding another adult to the mix and 3 kids sounds like a recipe for lots of arguments to me. If it were me I'd either get another room.

 

[TandLMommy28]

Obviously this is different for everyone, but I think you will be too crowded especially with a fussy baby in tow. My parents and brother shared a suite last trip and found the room to be adequate size wise for 3 adults. Adding another adult to the mix and 3 kids sounds like a recipe for lots of arguments to me. If it were me I'd either get another room.

I'm not so worried about personal space. We will be fine being crowded in that respect. PLus, hubby and I have the bedroom to ourselves and the other two adults willingly signed on to share the rest of the space with the kids, so that's their issue! It's more the physical space. What are the concerns as far as luggage and stuff? Should I give them a limit on how much to pack? For our family, personally, I bought all new luggage from Thirty-One that is all completely collapsible so that we can flatten it all down and stack it in a corner or on a shelf. We needed new luggage anyway so that seemed like the way to go!


Will there be room in the bedroom for the stroller and the pack n play? I'd like to keep the living area as clear as possible. How crowded is the space once both beds are pulled out? Anyone have pictures of that?

 

[Disfan1968]

Crowded?

So we were going to be going just the five of us (2 adults, 2 kids, 1 baby). But then... well, the baby is not an easy baby. He is just a year old now and still doesn't sleep through the night and he's still pretty fussy. So... we decided to invite my mom and my aunt to come along with us. It's a good deal for them--we booked with free dining so adding them to the room means they literally are only paying for their park tickets. In exchange for that deal, they will be on baby duty. Which means going back early at night to put the baby to bed and things like that.

So now we will be 4 adults, 2 kids and 1 baby. The baby will sleep in the separate bedroom with the us, and one kid will share with each adult. The adults know that this is the arrangement and agreed to it because they are getting a practically free trip to Disney out of it.

How bad is it going to be? I don't know how often all of us will be in the room together other than to sleep and none of us are particularly used to having tons of space. Typically we have had two connecting rooms at POR or POFQ with them which is obviously more beds.

Interesting arrangement you've made. How old are your two kids referenced above? I ask because we have the similar numbers on our trip in our suite... ages are 46, 40, 21, 16 , 4, 3. We will have one "adult" to a each bed and the two little kids will each sleep in roll out sleeping bags. This arrangement works for us as the younger ones will be perfectly fine in bags. They consider it fun like camping.

I assume you'll be using a portable crib for your baby?

 

[kastoney]

I'm not so worried about personal space. We will be fine being crowded in that respect. PLus, hubby and I have the bedroom to ourselves and the other two adults willingly signed on to share the rest of the space with the kids, so that's their issue! It's more the physical space. What are the concerns as far as luggage and stuff? Should I give them a limit on how much to pack? For our family, personally, I bought all new luggage from Thirty-One that is all completely collapsible so that we can flatten it all down and stack it in a corner or on a shelf. We needed new luggage anyway so that seemed like the way to go! Will there be room in the bedroom for the stroller and the pack n play? I'd like to keep the living area as clear as possible. How crowded is the space once both beds are pulled out? Anyone have pictures of that?

One both beds are pulled out the living space is just cut down to the kitchenette and a few feet between the living and dining room. The stroller shouldn't be an issue and you should be able to get the pack and play in the kitchen area, but it will be tight.

Also, there is not a ton of storage and no actual closet. The bedroom has the most excess space but there isn't a lot of room for luggage storage.

If you plan on sending the inlaws back with the infant each night id also be concerned about noise when you return to the room. You may want to give thought to giving them the bedroom and putting the pack and play in there so the door can be shut and noise minimized. The pullout beds are rather comfy. My hubby and I slept o the pull out couch and our daughter had the bedroom to minimize noise.

 

[BigBlueWho]

Do all standard rooms have a minifridge?

 

[dansdad]

Do all standard rooms have a minifridge?

Yup.

 

[bluezy]

I'm not so worried about personal space. We will be fine being crowded in that respect. PLus, hubby and I have the bedroom to ourselves and the other two adults willingly signed on to share the rest of the space with the kids, so that's their issue! It's more the physical space. What are the concerns as far as luggage and stuff? Should I give them a limit on how much to pack? For our family, personally, I bought all new luggage from Thirty-One that is all completely collapsible so that we can flatten it all down and stack it in a corner or on a shelf. We needed new luggage anyway so that seemed like the way to go!


Will there be room in the bedroom for the stroller and the pack n play? I'd like to keep the living area as clear as possible. How crowded is the space once both beds are pulled out? Anyone have pictures of that?

We had 6 people in a LK Suite last summer -- 3 adults, 2 teens, and an 8 yo. I found there to be plenty of space to get things out of the way (I like to keep the living space clear, too.). We use all collapsible luggage as well. I was able to put everybody's clothing in the drawers and "closet" areas. I stacked all the empty luggage in the Master bedroom behind the door, next to the dresser/entertainment center. We took quite a bit of food with us (ate breakfast in the room every morning plus I took snacks for when we were in the room). I was able to stack all of that food on the shelf above the microwave so the counter area was always clear. I took along a hanging sweater storage thing and put that in the "closet" in the living room for more storage space. There is definitely room for a pack and play in the master bedroom and a stroller should fit as well -- especially if it's folded up. There are shelves under the sinks in both bathrooms, so I put all of our toiletry items on those shelves. There is a shelf in each "closet" so I took stored some smaller luggage items on those. There is also storage in a "chest" at the bottom of the "closet" in the living room.

The pull-down bed doesn't really take up much more room than the table and chairs. We had plenty of space to walk around that bed whether we were coming in to the room from the hallway or walking out of the Master Bedroom into the living space. The chairs for the table stack, so they don't take up too much room when storing them for the night. The pull-out bed in the living room will take up most of the floor space in that area but it's not that big of a deal since it's not an area that you would walk through and there is still space to walk around it. It doesn't interfere with the kitchen space at all -- the only "tightness" is at the foot of the bed and on the wall/window side of the bed.

None of our kids likes to share a bed, so 2 of them slept on the floor each night. One would sleep on a twin-sized air mattress that we put next to the sofa bed and in front of the kitchen (leaving a small aisle so DS could get out of the sofa bed at night if he needed to) it was a little tight getting to the kitchen when that mattress was being used and we had to make sure it wasn't tight against the fridge so we could still get stuff out if we wanted to. During the day we just stood it up against a wall so it was out of the way. Our 8yo DD was also going to sleep on an air mattress but she ended up preferring to sleep on the seat cushions from the couch. They were the perfect size for her and fit perfectly on the other side of the couch right under the window. I got extra sheets and blankets from Mousekeeping and wrapped the cushions in the sheet and she was good to go.

As long as you have realistic expectations about the amount of space, I think you'll be fine. Before AoA opened, we always had connecting rooms at Pop. I found the suite to be way more spacious than 2 rooms and it felt like there was more nook-type areas to tuck away luggage and other things in the suite.

 

[BigBlueWho]

Yup.

T/y. Planning a MASSIVE family trip for next summer, staying there to help offset costs. (20 + people).

 

[lillygator]

so we arrive on 7/25. (I made a room only reservation in a LM room). I called today to pay the balance through the automated WDW line. I was listening to everything and I asked for "more details" and it said your party will be staying in a family suite. Is that the standard line for all the rooms?

 

[rcklein5269]

so we arrive on 7/25. (I made a room only reservation in a LM room). I called today to pay the balance through the automated WDW line. I was listening to everything and I asked for "more details" and it said your party will be staying in a family suite. Is that the standard line for all the rooms?

I don't know but just wanted to wish you much pixie dust

 

[tinkerbell615]

so we arrive on 7/25. (I made a room only reservation in a LM room). I called today to pay the balance through the automated WDW line. I was listening to everything and I asked for "more details" and it said your party will be staying in a family suite. Is that the standard line for all the rooms?

We stayed in a LM room a few weeks back and ours said that too! I was hoping they were going to surprise us with a suite, but it didn't happen. Maybe you will get lucky! Good luck.

 

[lillygator]

Ok thanks I will definitely not get my hopes up. I just am waffling with changing to a mod for less $. I am paying rack rate for a mermaid room for 5 of us. (1 under 3) ......

 

[rymahoney]

Ok thanks I will definitely not get my hopes up. I just am waffling with changing to a mod for less $. I am paying rack rate for a mermaid room for 5 of us. (1 under 3) ......

The theming is awesome your kids will love it! However with 5 the room may be small. I think the pics make it look a little bigger than it is. Just a thought. Moderates are a little bigger and have queen beds. We wanted theming so stayed with Lm. But we were only 3 and my daughter was 3 years old.

Edit
Just saw in Ur sig you have stayed in value rooms before so you know the size. Enjoy Ur trip

 

[lillygator]

The theming is awesome your kids will love it! However with 5 the room may be small. I think the pics make it look a little bigger than it is. Just a thought. Moderates are a little bigger and have queen beds. We wanted theming so stayed with Lm. But we were only 3 and my daughter was 3 years old.

Edit
Just saw in Ur sig you have stayed in value rooms before so you know the size. Enjoy Ur trip

it is the theme that is the draw, my son loves cars so I wanted to be able to walk him around the area - it looks fabulous!

 

[rymahoney]

it is the theme that is the draw, my son loves cars so I wanted to be able to walk him around the area - it looks fabulous!

Cars was my favorite! So real looking!

 

[bluezy]

it is the theme that is the draw, my son loves cars so I wanted to be able to walk him around the area - it looks fabulous!

Cars was my favorite! So real looking!

I agree. Even though we stayed in a Lion King suite and were very happy with both the theming and location of that room and area, I thought the Cars section was the most immersive area of the resort -- especially at night.