Surprised the kids, wife, and my readers w/ a 2 week trip to AoA!(*NEW* 11-7)

[jeremysdisneymom]

Wow!!! What amazing detail in a resort. I want to stay there. Simply stunning. I bet your children had a blast.

 

[redheadedmermaid73]

I love all your pictures of AoA! I am dying to stay there since LM is my favorite movie/princess ever!

 

[jenny105]

hey jenny, get to moving on that TR missy...

the rooms are smaller than mods...but really they didnt seem to bother us, we have stayed in value before and it just seems like you miss out on the little extra room between the bed and the door...i just posted the room pics after you posted so enjoy checking them out.

Started my TR yesterday! The link is in my signature

I've stayed at Pop multiple times so I'm used to the value rooms. These seem identical but much more themed. Very kid-friendly I'm not a Little Mermaid fan so I don't know that I'll ever stay at AoA unless we have enough people for a suite.

$100 for a shower curtain? It is Disney after all!

Great pictures! I have pictures of the elephant graveyard and Mufasa so no worries. You can borrow them when I post them LOL

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

We stayed there last Thanksgiving. LOVED it !!! We really loved how close it was to Epcot and HS and the atmosphere at night was amazing. But our room was nice and quiet. We can't wait to stay there again !! The kids say it has the best pool.

we have talked about staying there on an upcoming trip, but still not sure...next trip will probably be camping again, so maybe after that.

its always nice when your room is off out of the hussle of the resort and quieter.

We visited for supper 1 night and found the lobby and check in area to be WAY to bright, the menu at the foodcourt is awful and it tskes soooo long to get your food !!!

it is a bright come at you experience, but we still enjoyed it.

we found there were certain times that hte food took longer but it was nice that it was freshly made for you...have a food review coming up in the next chapter...

we actually liked the change of pace of the food wasnt your typical fried nuggets and just burger options it was a nice change of pace from the parks.

Dan great pix of the resort , it was dark when we visited , the pool looked awesome , but that walk would be out of the question with our special needs groups , we would have taken 15 - 20 mins to get to the bus !!Did you check if Pop buses were closer , it looks like you were close to the bridge and that is a short walk to Classic hall!!!???

i can see how it might take your group longer to do the walk, and of course stopping to look at everything every time you guys walked up.

it actually wasnt any closer, it would take about the same amount of time to get across the bridge as it would to get to our bus then you still have the resort of pop to walk through that would add on time.

i timed alot of stuff this trip for people

Great pics of the resort! I've seen many but I love seeing the ones people I know take. Makes it much more personal!

thanks dawn, your right, it does add something knowing the source of the pictures.

feel free to use any of the pics for your clients that you want.

The lobby alone at AoA just looks so cool. I can't wait to see it in person.

LOL, I love it. Without kids, 5 minutes. With kids, 8-10 minutes.

I really love the fact that the resort is just so colorful, and the colors are absolutely beautiful.

Thanks for all of the great shots of the resort. I'm especially a fan of the shower.

i was curious how long it took for the without kids power walk to fill the drinks...and nights when we got back to the room and wanted a drink it was nice to now that in 12 minutes round trip, including filling the mugs i could be back with cold refreshments...that was about the time it took candi to get the kids washed up so worked out nicely.

only later did i find the 6 packs of beer in the food court.


the lobby was very neat, we didnt take as long to look at all the drawings as we should have but still appreciated them and liked seeing them each day....the shower was really cool and a cool feeling when you were in there, really felt like you were under the water.

Thanks for sharing pics of Art of Animation! What a cute resort - my grandson would love it! Your son looks so serious taking everything in - your kids are so adorable! The walk looks far on the map but then if it only takes 8-10 mins, that's nothing compared to how much you walk in the parks.

i dont know how any kid could not love the resort...are you guys staying there on an upcoming trip?

he did take it all in and loved everyminute of it...the walk also goes pretty fast because you are looking at everything along the way and always something in front of you to see. makes the time seem much less that way as well.

AoA is seriously such an amazing resort, we were so impressed with it while we were there!

I agree that it is a bit of a fair walk to the room, but cutting across the parking lot really saved us time in the mornings (we went the long way at night). Great pictures! I'm excited to read more!

us too, we loved it, and would stay there again, if you are staying value, why not stay there for pretty much the same price as other values. i think it was 5 bucks more a night.


how far back in the resort where you? if you were in the the rooms closer to the lion king i think it would easily knock off another 2 or 3 minutes.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Joing in! Really enjoying reading your TR so far! I love that you were able to surprise your kids (even though their reaction wasn't what was expected!) AND your wife! You have an adorable family and I can't wait to read more about your trip! AoA looks like a very fun place to stay!

thanks for joining in and hope you continue to enjoy it the rest of the way.

thanks for the nice comments, congrats on the new addition to your family saw you had a little one.

That's a great story of the surprise! Can't believe you managed to carry all that luggage off the bus.

thanks for reading along...sometimes our super dad powers kick in and we are called upon to do what others can not

I feel your pain. At least it made a good story!

sad part it that it wasnt the first time that has happened to us when arriving.

Looked at all your AoA pictures, and all I can say is: WOW! Just wow. I am blown away by all the detail in the lobby, the exteriors, and the room, right down to the shower stall. Keep up the good work with the storytelling and the photography!

thanks many many more resort pics to come, we have over 2000 total. the detail was everywhere even down to the CM's saying sketch you later whenever you left them.

thanks for joining along and reading

thanks, i see in your signature that you are checking in shortly...what section are you in?


We are staying in the Cars section I can't wait!!

very cool, maybe if we get one of the parents to stay in the hotel with us we will pull that off some trip...just not sure when.

looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

Wow!!! What amazing detail in a resort. I want to stay there. Simply stunning. I bet your children had a blast.

they did, parker loved the shower the best, and really enjoyed search for hidden mickeys while showering up and shouting out what he saw in there each night.

I love all your pictures of AoA! I am dying to stay there since LM is my favorite movie/princess ever!

thanks alot, are you staying there on your next trip?

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Started my TR yesterday! The link is in my signature

I've stayed at Pop multiple times so I'm used to the value rooms. These seem identical but much more themed. Very kid-friendly I'm not a Little Mermaid fan so I don't know that I'll ever stay at AoA unless we have enough people for a suite.

$100 for a shower curtain? It is Disney after all!

Great pictures! I have pictures of the elephant graveyard and Mufasa so no worries. You can borrow them when I post them LOL

thans for the link and heads up, i commented over there.

im sure if given a choice parker would choose another section of the resort, but actually he did not say even one time, why are we not staying in one of hte other sections he was very happy about his section. so that was a plus.

yes pretty pricey but couldnt buy one as not sure the kids would want one forever of that, but considered it for our master shower..but candi wouldnt let me.

thanks, will grab those from you when you post them.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

what sort of disney CD's of park music do you guys have...the only one i have is like 12 years old, i cant seem to find other ones.

want to get a CD that has a good variety so i can put our pictures to music for a video...and of course we planned on going to check them out in DTD, but forgot once there because of the rain and some other issues we had.

i saw one online but it was over 40 bucks for a 2 disk pack, seems a little high to me.

 

[Mariep26]

Joining in. I finished your last TR yesterday and loved it! We are headed to AoA in December so I am excited to see your pictures and read all about your trip!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Joining in. I finished your last TR yesterday and loved it! We are headed to AoA in December so I am excited to see your pictures and read all about your trip!

thanks for reading along, and glad you enjoyed the last report...disney in December is awesome...i have a report before that one of our trip in December of 2008, if you need some more "light" reading in between now and our trip.

the next chapter i break down the dinning court

 

[Trentmom]

yay!! room pics

Love the mirror and octupus hooks. The shower curtain is so cute and love the bathroom

Great hidden mickey

Such a cute room and love the colors

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Great updates Dan!

Love the photo tour!

Looking forward to Panoramics!

 

[glennbo123]

Thanks for the pictures of the resort Dan! It's very interesting to see. I like the things they have hiding the stairwells and that tree trunk with Timon and Pumbaa walking on it. Very cool details.

 

[rachel09985]

I am in!

Your kids are super cute!!! I am loving your AoA pics. It is making me so excited for my trip. I can't wait to explore and take photos.

 

[macfinn]

ugh....waiting for more...PLEASE!!!!

 

[caralyn817]

Just found your post. Can't wait to read more. You have such a cute family.

 

[marvali]

Dan, nice updates with the resort pics. Not sure why, but somehow the whole place seems strangely familiar. Like Glenn said, so many great details with the scenery hiding the stairwells, and agree that the fallen tree you can walk under is pretty cool.

That is quite some hike you had to your room! Of course, I could certainly use the exercise every day........ Although I might feel like somebody was trying to do me in with all the extra hiking.

And I spotted the other HM in the mural on the wall. I actually spotted it first as for some reason it just jumped out at me in the pic. Since you had mentioned one HM I didn't look for any others right off, so didn't spot the one you highlighted until you zoomed in with the extra pictures.........

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

yay!! room pics

Love the mirror and octupus hooks. The shower curtain is so cute and love the bathroom

Great hidden mickey

Such a cute room and love the colors

did you guys find any hidden mickeys? i found one for sure in each of the other buildings.

the octopus hooks would fit in my luggage but i resisted the urge.

Great updates Dan!

Love the photo tour!

Looking forward to Panoramics!

thanks GB, good panoramics on the new camera are hard to get perfect each time with each area of the picture requiring a little different light exposer etc...but the indoor ones turned out pretty good...the outside ones not as much but i still will share them a little later.

Thanks for the pictures of the resort Dan! It's very interesting to see. I like the things they have hiding the stairwells and that tree trunk with Timon and Pumbaa walking on it. Very cool details.

your welcome...glad you liked them...each building had something different hidding the stairs...they were all really well done.

I am in!

Your kids are super cute!!! I am loving your AoA pics. It is making me so excited for my trip. I can't wait to explore and take photos.

thanks and

your trip will be here soon, next i have a detail update on the food court which according to your plans you will use the first day so hope it helps you out some.

ugh....waiting for more...PLEASE!!!!

not a problem, hope to have one up later today.

my normal posting speed is 2 updates a week, but trying to get them out faster....

thanks for reading along.

Just found your post. Can't wait to read more. You have such a cute family.

and thanks for joining in.

and for the nice comments.

Dan, nice updates with the resort pics. Not sure why, but somehow the whole place seems strangely familiar. Like Glenn said, so many great details with the scenery hiding the stairwells, and agree that the fallen tree you can walk under is pretty cool.

i think the fallen tree would have been cool if it was hollow and you could climb through it.

That is quite some hike you had to your room! Of course, I could certainly use the exercise every day........ Although I might feel like somebody was trying to do me in with all the extra hiking.

it was a hike, but like i said there is so much to take in around each corner even the 8 or so minute walk seemed to fly by, your attention is always taken with something.

And I spotted the other HM in the mural on the wall. I actually spotted it first as for some reason it just jumped out at me in the pic. Since you had mentioned one HM I didn't look for any others right off, so didn't spot the one you highlighted until you zoomed in with the extra pictures.........

i knew ou would spot it with your eagle eye, i give you one glenn eagle eye point for it.

 

[Imagineer5]

Joining in as well! Just started our TR and our trips overlapped a little bit so can't wait to hear what you did on the 4-6th! I think I remember Jenny mentioning going to CP breakfast on the 5th as well? Jenny and I missed each other, but it was both of our 30th birthdays that day

 

[KatMark]

AWESOME updates, Dan. Wait until I show Mark these pictures. He's been bugging me to stay here for a night or two in April during his business trip, and once he sees these pictures, there will be no stopping this man and I know he wants to be in the Little Mermaid section.

You did a great job capturing a lot of the theme and they did a really great job.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

Joining in as well! Just started our TR and our trips overlapped a little bit so can't wait to hear what you did on the 4-6th! I think I remember Jenny mentioning going to CP breakfast on the 5th as well? Jenny and I missed each other, but it was both of our 30th birthdays that day

thanks for joining in.

lets see the 4th we were in BB and DTD that night the 5th we were also in MK suppose to be at the breakfast and meet jen, but something came up...however we were in the park all day till the party started. you might be in the background of some of my pictures.

happy late birthday hope you had a great day, will check out your TR shortly.

AWESOME updates, Dan. Wait until I show Mark these pictures. He's been bugging me to stay here for a night or two in April during his business trip, and once he sees these pictures, there will be no stopping this man and I know he wants to be in the Little Mermaid section.

You did a great job capturing a lot of the theme and they did a really great job.

thanks kathy, if you want me to send you more of our section i have some that i will post later in the report but if you need help now, i can email you...wait it would help him out so if you dont want them i wont send them.