Yay or Nay for staying at AOA

[Kyla Moore]

I have been looking at different WDW resorts. Thus far (for the ones in my price range) I like the look of AOA. For those who have stayed there before would you stay again? What are the pros and cons?

 

[LisaCM614]

Hi Kyla! We have stayed at Art of Animation before and we'll absolutely stay there again. We loved the immersive Disney theming, the food court had a great selection of food, the rooms were so bright and cheerfully decorated yet so very nice and quiet when it was time to go to bed. The kids had a great time in the Big Blue pool and we found the buses to be very reliable.
The only con was that we do like to have a sit down dinner and the resort doesn't offer anywhere to eat so you had to go back to the parks for dinner. Which in some ways is not really a con

 

[stinkpickle]

I've heard the cheaper rooms are the farthest from the food court and bus stop. We stayed on the backside of POP and just crossed the bridge to eat at AoA.

 

[Kyla Moore]

Hi Kyla! We have stayed at Art of Animation before and we'll absolutely stay there again. We loved the immersive Disney theming, the food court had a great selection of food, the rooms were so bright and cheerfully decorated yet so very nice and quiet when it was time to go to bed. The kids had a great time in the Big Blue pool and we found the buses to be very reliable.
The only con was that we do like to have a sit down dinner and the resort doesn't offer anywhere to eat so you had to go back to the parks for dinner. Which in some ways is not really a con

 

[Kyla Moore]

Never been to WDW. Is the food court included? Or is there a package you could purchase. My family is used to cruises were food is all included.

 

[LisaCM614]

Never been to WDW. Is the food court included? Or is there a package you could purchase. My family is used to cruises were food is all included.

Hi Kyla! I love cruises and the all inclusive food! Great question. No food is not included in your room price. You can buy a dining plan as part of a package that would include your tickets and meals. The nice thing about the diniing plan package is that you would be able to eat at most restaurants in the parks and in other resorts. There is a lot of information out there regarding the Disney Dining Plan. You could read a bit about here:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-dining-plan.htm

It is nice to have the Disney Dining Plan so that you can get the 'all inclusive' feeling at Walt Disney World!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

I LOVE AoA. I stayed there this past spring. Me and my 5 friends were in a Nemo suite. we had plenty of space and din't feel crowded! We loved the 2 bathrooms, master bedroom, and he kitchenette! The pools are beautiful, the grounds are fantastic, the food court is great, and we had great luck with the busses. I guess one of the only cons of the resort is that the only standard rooms are the LM and they are the farthest away from the main area. I personally don't think it's too bad though. And besides, while on your walk - you have such a nice view to look at!

 

[ellie05]

AoA is the only value resort we will consider going back to. The rooms are small so depending on how old your kids are it might be too tight.

 

[SnapesGirl]

We also loved AoA. Stayed there in May 2014 and this past May as well for 14 days. It was just me and my mom so we got a Little Mermaid room, which was fine for the 2 of us. I can imagine it will get cramped with more people. Overall, we love the resort - from the pools to the food court and everything in between!

 

[JennyDrake]

As you can see in my signature, I have 50+ stays at WDW, most in the values. AoA is the one resort that I have no desire to return to. The noise and BEDLAM at the food court cannot be overstated--and I am used to the value resorts. I even walked over on my last two stays at Pop to give it another try. Ugh. It was so bad at off peak time of day that I just walked out. The food also "sounds" better than it tastes; I am a hard core foodie but not a picky eater by any means.

In addition, this is the only value resort where I've had issues with in room noise. We were in LM room 3rd floor, not facing a pool. All night long we were aware of babies crying, adults coughing, doors closing, etc.

We were in LM rooms and it was a HIKE to the main building (please note that I am a runner...); so much so that it made the refillable mug idea laughable.

The theming is outstanding at this resort. Simply outstanding--but for the money I'd stay at Pop and walk over to visit ad take lots of pictures.

 

[Magic2000]

My mother and I, along with my 4 yr old granddaughter stayed in a Little Mermaid room In May, 2015. We really enjoyed our stay! My DGD LOVED it!!!!! Although we were not on
The dining plan, my mom and I each bought a mug. Every evening we walked over to fill our mug. If we were out by the pool, we'd refill it before walking back to the room.
For our stay, busses were great, food court really good for a quick bite, and the overall atmosphere at the resort was so nice. We'd definitely stay here again!!!

 

[Disneylover99]

We stayed once in a LM room. I liked everything about it except for the walk from the LM rooms to the food court. So for us, it's once and done. But the food court and buses were great.

 

[Bricket]

The resort does not offer a place to eat??

 

[Disneylover99]

The resort does not offer a place to eat??

Yes. There's a counter service food court, but not a sit down table service restaurant.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Not sure if the OP was considering a Mermaid room, or a suite. I've stayed in a Mermaid room and I liked the intensive theming but I thought the room was a bit small even for just one person.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

I stayed in a Nemo Suite with my family of 4 plus SIL. We loved it. Having two bathrooms was fantastic with 5 people in the room. The Nemo themed pool is excellent and my younger DD loved the splash area. We had no problems with the buses and found the food court to be good. No problems with food quality and as for crowds, yes, it gets crowded at meal times but no worse than any other resort food court.

To the OP, you didn't mention who you would be travelling with. If you have a larger group with young kids, I would recommend AoA. If you are a smaller family or older kids, then maybe not. I have not stayed in a LM room at AoA, but they are located a fair distance from the main building/food court, and those rooms are smaller. If a suite is in your budget or you have a larger group, go for that. If not, maybe a preferred room at another value resort would be better since you get closer to the main building.

 

[dugthetalkingdog]

My daughter(20) and I stayed at AoA before our Disney Cruise last December during Christmas Break and we loved this resort. My daughter wanted to stay in the Little Mermaid room, yes the room was smaller but we wanted Little Mermaid so it really didn"t matter and not in the room that long. The room to me wasn't really that long of walk because the grounds are so beautiful to walk thru. We did not have any problems with noise and our room faced the parking lot. The cafe there did not seem to busy even tho it was during Christmas Break. My daughter and I ate breakfast there before heading out to the park for the day. Needed to get our Mickey Waffles.

 

[cjparker0110]

Never been to WDW. Is the food court included? Or is there a package you could purchase. My family is used to cruises were food is all included.

Hi Kyla. Welcome to Disboards! As Lisa mentioned, there are various dining plans available. I am not as well versed with some of the sites around here as others, but I know there are a few sites where you can get a good idea of meal pricing for various restaurants at WDW. My suggestion would be to read through some restaurant descriptions, pick where you might like to eat and figure out an average cost to decide if the dining plan is worth it. Some say it is, others say it isn't. I didn't use it my last few times going as a single adult, but we decided it would probably be worth using when we go with our kids in 2017. Seems like the cost will balance out but we are still choosing food locations.

That said, think realistically about what you will want for dining while running around the parks. The Regular plan offers just one table service (sit down, have waiter come serve you) meal per day. The Deluxe plan offers three (if you so choose). Those kinds of meals are grand but can also take a lot of time out of the day in comparison to quick service (you go to the window and order your meal then take it back to a table....think fast food that actually tastes good). Just think about how much time you want to spend sitting to eat and then make your choice. Or, if you don't think your meals will equal the cost of the plan, just do without and plan on spending accordingly.

Since you've never been to WDW, I will let you in on a few things you NEED to be aware of. Dining reservations are a must for table service meals. You will want to schedule them as soon as they are available for you! Don't forget about your FP+ (Fast Pass). That is equally as important to do when it opens up for you.

Look around on here and you'll find plenty of info on everything you need to know. Good luck planning. If it seems overwhelming, don't worry. It is all worth it!

 

[Aurora0427]

Check out www.easywdw.com for tons of great information. Josh also does a great write up on the dining plan to help you decide if it's cost effective for your family.

 

[Momof2girls1920]

We stayed at AoA the last week of August and my two daughters (5 and 3) thought it was great. They loved all the larger than life characters and the pools. However, it will definitely be the only time we stay there. We usually stay at French Quarter because we like the smallness and quietness of it but my daughter who is 5 has been asking for 2 years to do AoA. AoA was very loud- no matter what time of day you came back (10am or 11pm) the food court area was full of people and noisy. We are from Jersey and the buildings reminded us of the motels at the Jersey shore- not exactly what we wanted. Everyone was super nice and the resort was clean but we never had a sense of "down time" coming back from the parks. Some people may love that, however, we prefer that upon returning from the parks the resort feels relaxing. The walk from any area was not terrible- the furtheest point (Ariel Building 8) to the main Building was a 6 min 40 second walk to be exact I think its a personal preference of what you are looking for because the resort was beautiful and clean and the staff was friendly but again the feel wasn't exactly what would would normally choose.