Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Information & Questions

[estherhead]

Sorry guys. I just now finished work and realized I didn't link my TR. Goofy person that I am. Here is the AoA thing. http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=49552788&postcount=52

 

[mom2cgj]

I was wondering the easiest way to get from CR to AOA at night after Wishes. We are going to eat dinner at CR, then watch the fireworks. Should we go to MK and get the bus back to AOA? This will be a Tuesday in January so crowds shouldn't be that bad, but wondering just how crowded this will be. I'm assuming this is the easiest thing to do.

You can either do that or take a taxi. Personally, I would go back to MK and then grab the bus, but if you don't want to fight the crowds, the taxi might be better. In January, it shouldn't be too bad though!

 

[mom2cgj]

Duplicate - sorry!

 

[mum2four]

Hi! I was just wondering how comfortable are the pull out and table beds? I'm trying to get a budget for my next trip so everyone can start saving up. So I want to know if getting a family suite is a possible option as opposed to getting 2 regular rooms. At the moment it will be my brother and I and 3 of our other cousins. My brother is almost 6' tall but the rest of us are between 5' and 5'5".
Thanks!

While I didn't sleep on either one of those beds when we were there in June, I did lay on them to try them out and found them to be comfortable. I actually found the bed in the master bedroom to be more firm than I like (and we have a firm mattress at home). I'm a side sleeper and after 2 nights on the bed my hips felt bruised. I had to put a small pillow (that I had brought from home) under my hip every night as well as taking pain reliever 24/7 for the rest of the week.

I agree with bluezy's opinion on the beds. The pull outs are definitely more comfortable than the bed in the master bedroom IMHO. I did not enjoy sleeping on that bed at all!

 

[estherhead]

You can either do that or take a taxi. Personally, I would go back to MK and then grab the bus, but if you don't want to fight the crowds, the taxi might be better. In January, it shouldn't be too bad though!

It's a really easy walk to the buses at MK from the CR. And they keep those buses coming after Wishes. So even if there are a ton of people, the wait isn't usually long. I do believe in taking taxis from resorts to other resorts, but in this case I would probably walk to MK and take the bus.

 

[pens4821]

You can either do that or take a taxi. Personally, I would go back to MK and then grab the bus, but if you don't want to fight the crowds, the taxi might be better. In January, it shouldn't be too bad though!

It's a really easy walk to the buses at MK from the CR. And they keep those buses coming after Wishes. So even if there are a ton of people, the wait isn't usually long. I do believe in taking taxis from resorts to other resorts, but in this case I would probably walk to MK and take the bus.

Thank you both! That's what we'll do.

 

[Mouser4Life]

I know this is a BIG if but if free dining is offered and you are staying in LK suite are you still only offered quick service? I know AoA is "value" resort but considering the suite pricing was hoping table service might be an upgrade for staying in suite? Right now booked at rack rate for March with fingers crossed for some sort of discount

 

[magictam2]

I know this is a BIG if but if free dining is offered and you are staying in LK suite are you still only offered quick service? I know AoA is "value" resort but considering the suite pricing was hoping table service might be an upgrade for staying in suite? Right now booked at rack rate for March with fingers crossed for some sort of discount

I don't know if you're only offered it, but.... I had a room booked at CBR for 4 of us w/free dining. Then my youngest DD decided to come so I had to change it to 5 people. The only open resort w/FD during that time frame was AofA. When I spoke with the CM about changing to that resort but wanted to keep our table service FD planning, he assured me I could but would have to pay a little more.

I don't know what the little more actual worked out too. My new cost was just over $1,000. That was for changing to a suite at AofA, staying for the original 6 nights and adding a park hopper 4 day pass.

I guess the short answer is yes, you can get FD table service at AofA.

 

[MinnieMommy]

I know this is a BIG if but if free dining is offered and you are staying in LK suite are you still only offered quick service? I know AoA is "value" resort but considering the suite pricing was hoping table service might be an upgrade for staying in suite? Right now booked at rack rate for March with fingers crossed for some sort of discount

You're wise in recognizing that it's a BIG "if" for the free dining offer to include Art of Animation.
Typically when free dining is offered, value resorts include free quick serve dining. You may upgrade to regular dining; however, you would be required to pay the difference (per person, per day) between the quick service and the regular service. So you would still receive the Quick Service portion for free.

 

[mum2four]

I know this is a BIG if but if free dining is offered and you are staying in LK suite are you still only offered quick service? I know AoA is "value" resort but considering the suite pricing was hoping table service might be an upgrade for staying in suite? Right now booked at rack rate for March with fingers crossed for some sort of discount

IF free dining is offered for AOA suites, it would be quick service, same as all the other value rooms. You would need to pay the difference to upgrade to the table service dining plan. Yes, the family suites are more expensive, but the other way to look at it is that you could "theoretically" get free dining for up to six people in a family suite compared to only four people in a standard room.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

You're wise in recognizing that it's a BIG "if" for the free dining offer to include Art of Animation.
Typically when free dining is offered, value resorts include free quick serve dining. You may upgrade to regular dining; however, you would be required to pay the difference (per person, per day) between the quick service and the regular service. So you would still receive the Quick Service portion for free.

I noticed that AOA was excluded from the current Oct-Dec free dining offer, this resort must be extremely popular considering the price of a suite here

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Just checked out after an impromptu weekend getaway!

After spending about 2.5 hours at the front desk with magic band issues we ended up getting last night for free and got to stay two nights instead of one! The front desk staff were so great and helped entertained the 7 and 5 year olds that were with us!

We were in the Lion King building 10 with a suite on the 4th floor (we got our request). The room was perfect for 3 adults and 2 children. The room was spotless and very clean. We called for box fans ( to drown noise) and was told they didn't have any at the resort but when the housekeeper brought us the requested pillows she said they did have boxed fans and came back with two within 30 mins. We were so thankful and she got a really great tip!

We ate at the food court for dinner and lunch. The burger and surf and surf were really great and fresh! The resort seemed very packed as it seemed busy at all times of day.

The pool was nice but we wished they had more shaded areas besides the umbrella tables. We like how at POFQ they have umbrellas set over the pool area with the lounge chairs but it was a beautiful pool area and we loved the mug refill station.

The buses that we used to MK and DHS were great too, never waited more than 10-15 mins.

Overall, I would stay at AOA again but for just my fiance and I, a suite is a lot of space if you don't spend a lot of time especially when we could spend almost the same $ and stay at WL or AKL. For my 2 friends and their 2 DD's the space was perfect and the girls LOVED the Lion King decor!

 

[kristinradico]

Which building would you say is the best to request in the CARS section??

 

[akclayton]

I'm sure this has been covered plenty. But, I'm on my phone and the search isn't pulling anything like I would think it should. What's the average bus ride time to the parks? Are the waits usually long at parks to get back to the resort? We are going in February but trying to decide to stay here or POFQ. My DH was asking the bus times. We have a 3 yr old TIA

 

[mom2cgj]

I'm sure this has been covered plenty. But, I'm on my phone and the search isn't pulling anything like I would think it should. What's the average bus ride time to the parks? Are the waits usually long at parks to get back to the resort? We are going in February but trying to decide to stay here or POFQ. My DH was asking the bus times. We have a 3 yr old TIA

I don't think we waited on any bus more than about 10 minutes, except for right after Wishes at MK. That night, we waited about 45 minutes, but they were loading bus after bus after bus. I think the bus rides were only about 15 minutes to the parks.

 

[bek]

Since lots of February is low crowds, there's a good possibility that POFQ will share buses with POR. POFQ is the first stop but if you go on to POR, I think that's an additional 4 stops.

AoA has dedicated buses that board from one location at the front of the resort. MK is the furthest at about 15-20 minutes after boarding. AK, HS and EP are relatively close. I'd say about 5-10 minutes after boarding.

I stayed this past July 2013 and I was very happy with the bus service. Waits were never over 10 minutes at either AoA or pick-up at the Theme Parks.

 

[akclayton]

I'm sure this has been covered plenty. But, I'm on my phone and the search isn't pulling anything like I would think it should. What's the average bus ride time to the parks? Are the waits usually long at parks to get back to the resort? We are going in February but trying to decide to stay here or POFQ. My DH was asking the bus times. We have a 3 yr old and he's not wanting long wait lines for buses or worrying about not having spots to sit once on. We are used to going in the summer months so this may not even be an issue in February. We just want to be for sure on our resort before we book this week. TIA.

 

[akclayton]

Sorry. I didn't realize my first post posted. Apologiee for the repeat post.

 

[akclayton]

Sorry. I didn't realize my first post posted. Apologiee for the repeat post.

 

[tnd]

Which building would you say is the best to request in the CARS section??

We stayed in Building 1 and I thought it seemed to be the most convenient of the Cars buildings in terms of being close to Animation Hall and the main pool. Also very convenient to the parking lot if you have a car. But no matter which building you stay in, I think you will love it. We had so much fun!