Happy with AOA?

[larryz]

Anyone have any issues to discuss?

 

[Jennifer_W]

Anxiously waiting, too.

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Me too...we are down to AofA or POP for a summer extended family trip..
Only read one issue mentioned about a long wait for buses...the rest are very positive...

 

[discookiemonsta]

Me too...we are down to AofA or POP for a summer extended family trip..
Only read one issue mentioned about a long wait for buses...the rest are very positive...

Honestly, since POP and AoA are so close to each other, I'd catch the POP bus back, if there was one available and there was a long wait for the AoA bus.

I've also read some issues about the AC thermostat and it not getting cold enough for some people.

I've also read some issues about the food court being unorganized, crowded etc...

I've also read that the LM section is a LONG walk to the main building, but then again I've read reports that it's not as bad as others report..

Oh, and I have also read that the cell service/internet service can be spotty...

These are all just opinions anyway and for each negative review of each of these things, you can also find a positive review on the same topic...everyone's perception and opinion is different for every thing, regardless whether it's a resort, restaurant, etc...

I love reading any and all reports from AoA....only 9 more days until we check in for our LM room

 

[dreamcruiser]

My "issues" were....

LM is waaaay too far from the food court.

There are no trees on the landscape that I remember (we only were there for a less than 24 hour visit) which makes it even hotter in the Florida heat to walk around the resort.

Those bedspreads are so heavy and unwieldy! I've got blankets that are not that heavy~

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Discookiemonster..pleas write a trip report!! We would be getting LM rooms...we have two families but please don't suggest family suites as my husband and I need down time and quiet from son, daughter in law and granddaughter!! Youngest in group will be 5, so a walk is do able as no strollers this trip...Yippee!!

 

[discookiemonsta]

Discookiemonster..pleas write a trip report!! We would be getting LM rooms...we have two families but please don't suggest family suites as my husband and I need down time and quiet from son, daughter in law and granddaughter!! Youngest in group will be 5, so a walk is do able as no strollers this trip...Yippee!!

Will do a trip report! We'll won't be home until Dec 29th so if you don't see a trip report from me after that, just send me a PM to remind me

 

[sunsetbeachgal]

Will do a trip report! We'll won't be home until Dec 29th so if you don't see a trip report from me after that, just send me a PM to remind me

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[discookiemonsta]

Have a wonderful trip!

Thank you!!!

I'm so excited...our girls have no clue that we are staying at AoA in the LM section!!! I can't wait to see their faces

 

[Miffy]

My sister's been in an LM room at AoA all week. She loves loves loves it there. She never mentioned anything about long waits or long walks. This is possibly because she lives in Philly and uses public transit all the time. I think that people who are used to driving around everywhere have a different perspective.

 

[sasquatch]

There are no trees on the landscape that I remember (we only were there for a less than 24 hour visit) which makes it even hotter in the Florida heat to walk around the resort.

It's my understanding that landscaping is one the of features that differentiates a moderate from a value.

I'm headed to AoA for the first time in two weeks!

 

[TriciaSDMom]

We stayed in a LM room this past October. We didn't think the walk was that bad, but we didn't have little ones with us. The waits for the buses didn't seem that bad either. I think our longest wait was maybe 20 min. We really didn't eat in the food court much. It was busy at meal times, but isn't that expected? The variety of food was good. My only complaint was I wish there was a refillable mug station near the LM pool. After a long day at the parks and the semi-long walk to the room, we really didn't feel like heading back to the food court to fill up our mugs. We tried taking the mug with us to the parks, but hubby got tired of carrying it around with us (we only brought a small bag so it didn't fit). Other than that we really loved it there!

 

[TDC Nala]

I was only there for one night but I had no problems whatsoever with lines for the buses. Best bus karma ever. I didn't think the walk from LM was that long. But I'm a big city public transportation user also.

It is true what they have written here about the thermostats. You cannot set them below 68.

As far as the landscaping...they try to fit it into the theme. Little Mermaid has short bushes that are cleverly cut to look like undersea plants and coral. Nemo has the pool. Cars takes place in the desert - you won't find shade trees there. The only place they would probably plant big trees might be Lion King.

 

[bek]

I had bus issues. But I was there over Veteran's Day weekend, which was the weekend when all the resort rooms were filled by early October. I did a split stay AKL/AoA because AoA was the only Disney resort with availability for Saturday and Sunday when I had to change my dates from the prior weekend to Veteran's Day weekend. Both Saturday night trying to get back to AoA from Hollywood Studios and on Sunday late morning trying to get to Epcot, the bus lines were such that it would've required a wait of at least 3 buses -- long lines already well past the end of the metal posts that create the bus lines. And, yes, I checked the Pop Century line on Saturday night and it was as long or maybe even longer.

In addition, between my sister and I we had two iPads and two phones all on different cell services. Cell Service was awful and Wifi non-existent in the Finding Nemo suites.

Also the dresser drawer in the living area wouldn't shut correctly and there are other signs that furniture is already falling apart.

There isn't much storage space -- my sister and I are light packers but we pretty much used it up.

The landscaping is, of course, newly planted. So there isn't much shade. Eventually it'll be very nice when the trees grow in.

The lines in the Food Court move slowly and it's tough to deposit the trash. The food was reasonably good.

On the plus side, the theming is superb. I was previewing it as a possibility for my grandkids who will be 3, 5 & 7 on their next trip. I know they would love it! The big, blue pool is fabulous and the room decor is adorable.

As you can see from my signature line, I've made a number of trips to WDW during 2012. My two off-site stays were far superior to my onsite stays. My onsite stays -- including my AoA stay -- had key and ticket issues that really make me wonder how detail oriented Disney Resorts are these days.

At AoA, I checked in and walked up to the suite to double-check that the key worked. We had moved from AKL so it was about 10:40 am. I was actually surprised the room was ready. We went back to my car, moved it to a closer lot and got our bags. By the time we got back to the room, it was after 11:00 and the keys did not work -- two Mousekeepers helped us verify we were back at the correct room and that the keys did not work even though they'd worked less than 30 minutes earlier. It took nearly an hour to straighten it all out. Last January, when we stayed at AKL. We walked down to our rooms and the keys didn't work at all. So it was a huge hike back to the lobby, wait in line again and then trek back to the room. Later the concierge desk added our park passes to our room keys and my husband's pass didn't work the next morning at the Magic Kingdom. It got straightened out -- and in all three incidents the CMs were great at fixing the errors -- but 2 out of 3 times and the keys don't work Plus I didn't really enjoy taking vacation time to fix issues that shouldn't happen -- room keys should work. Plus once is a fluke but twice is trend.

I think bus and WiFi issues can be problematic at any of the Disney resorts. Also it appears that key issues can be had at any level of Disney resort. If you like AoA's theming and if you have small children, I'd give AoA a try.

 

[lynn71092]

I was there for opening day, loved the resort hated the walk to the food court from the LM section. Will not be staying there again, going back to Pop. However the rooms were awesome!

 

[bookgirl]

I had no issues or at least none that would make me absolutly refuse this resort in the future, but it's not my favorite.

I sleep hot but did not notice that it was overly warm at night. I did notice that it wasn't 'cold' but it was fine for me. (just to give you an idea I sleep with only a sheet for most of the winter and I sleep in shorts and tshirt, I get hot when sleeping and it wakes me up if I"m too warm). However I did notice it never would set below 68 and I don't think it ever got lower than 70

Was in the Ursula Building 7, 3rd floor on the end near the LK section (could see the parking lot from my corner) overlooking the walkway to the LM pool. The walk was nominal. I'm so not in great shape but I made the walk in less than 5 minutes it was easy, and had nice scenery. Heck I had more trouble navigating the Beach Club hallways then this, and it took longer to get to the buses, food or Epcot and it was no further from Ursula to the FC than it was from the back of Music to the FC, okay maybe a little further but both walks were about the same to me. Really a non issue. Don't worry about the walk unless you are seriously immobile or you have no stroller for your toddlers other than that I don't think you'll have a problem. Saw tons of kids walking it without even a whine.

I had no problem connecting to wifi with my ipad. I used my phone all over the resort (at&t iphone 4s). No real noise to speak of and no extreme noise from the neighbors. I could hear the occasional flush, but I hear the occasional flush in lots of hotels and it was not constant or bothersome.

Food Court was moderatly busy on Saturday night, but lines were managable. They did not have any Ganache Mickeys. I found out I do NOT like curry. The Tandori Chicken was okay but I disliked the seeds in the rice, the red sauce on the roasted califlouer and, the spinach, though the little hunks of cheese were not bad. The naan bread was very good. Tried the vegitarian curry at the F&W festival and am now really sure I do not like indian food so it wasn't the food court it was my taste buds that were the problem. Other choices at the food court looked and smelled good, just wish I had stuck with something I knew I might like instead of trying something new so I had a better idea of the offerings.

Did online checkin and it was fine, my room was ready at 8am, and it was very quick with no wait. Staff was all very friendly.

I did not swim but I will say the pool was almost always active and busy and while not decibel squealing loud it was easy to hear everything going on by the time you got to the end of LK section.

Buses were busy. Always full and slow to pick up from the MK (only park I went to while I was at this resort), but it was a Saturday.

I might stay there again if I needed the suites (which I might next trip) or it was the cheaper of two options and I needed to save money, but I'm just not a fan of over the top icons as decorations so it would not be my first choice (I actually prefer ASMu for a value stay as I was there on this trip as well and after two stays there I think it will probably be my value choice) for a standard room stay.

 

[jenrose66]

Anyone have any issues to discuss?

I loved AoA when I stayed in August. The rooms were spacious and clean. The transportation was excellent. The kids were enthralled with the theme. This will be my go to resort, as a family of 5. I would much prefer this to two rooms at a value.

The only thing I didn't care for was the food court. It was slow, and I didn't care for the food choices. However, I did like the setup of the beverage islands being in all seating areas instead of just a central location.

 

[mike the canuck]

I love, love loved this resort. So clean and fun. Great theme too!
Here are some videos I took:
The Big Blue Pool:http://youtu.be/Sov9jQCmZoA
and
Little Mermaid room:http://youtu.be/H1Gnima3Abg

 

[mad madam mim78]

I was only there for one night but I had no problems whatsoever with lines for the buses. Best bus karma ever. I didn't think the walk from LM was that long. But I'm a big city public transportation user also.

It is true what they have written here about the thermostats. You cannot set them below 68.

As far as the landscaping...they try to fit it into the theme. Little Mermaid has short bushes that are cleverly cut to look like undersea plants and coral. Nemo has the pool. Cars takes place in the desert - you won't find shade trees there. The only place they would probably plant big trees might be Lion King.

I read this on trip advisor. Someone mentioned the way to fix the thermostat problem (if you want your room cooler) is apparently the thermostat is detachable. If you take it off the wall and put it under your pillow the AC stays on. I've never been there so I don't know if this theory works but the mechanics seem right. Just remember to reattach the thermostat.

 

[lovingeire]

We stayed in a Cars suite 12/5-12/11 and loved everything about the resort! Theming was outstanding! My son loved saying good morning and good night to Mater every day! Beds we comfy! The bedspreads were heavy and thick, but we don't use them so we just folded it back without any issues. Mousekeeping was phenomenal! One of our kids got sick and while we cleaned it up they were so kind to sterilize everything for us! And our two year old spilled a cup of water all over the master bed and they came right out to change the sheets and everything for us! We got towel animals daily! Master bath might have the best shower I've ever used! temperature was fine in our rooms. It was morally around 68-70 and a few times I woke up cold at night!

We walked the whole resort and while LM was a little further we had no issues with the walk. We stopped to refill our mugs on our way back to our room and found it to be ok. We loved the food we had at the resort. It was delicious and a lot of different, healthy options!

Pools were fun, although the Cars pool was cold. They were always doing fun activities at the pools. Bus service was great. The only time it took a while was after the Christmas party. Other than that, smooth sailing for us! We loved our stay here and if it weren't for wanting to do a monorail resort because of two little ones we'd stay here again and again. We thought it was worth every penny!

UPDATE: forgot to mention there was ZERO cell service in our room! Very frustrating since I'm a travel agent and had to do a bit of work while I was there. I ended up sitting out in front of Animation Hall to do it! Frustrating since I couldn't pick up free Internet there. Internet in the room was ok. I us it a lot and my only issue was that it would drop off and I'd have to reconnect. Annoying, but at least I was able to use it.