Anyone not like art of animation resort

[cottontail]

Hi: We usually stay at Port Orleans. Next trip we are looking at the art of animation family suites for more room. Is there anything people do not like about this resort?

Deb.

 

[DreadBaroness]

Stayed there in 2014 and we loved it. Four adults in a Lion King Suite. ***2 BATHROOMS*** was the best feature!!! One couple stayed in the King BR, the other used the Murphy bed, all were comfy and happy. Food Court is a good size and a good variety. The oversized themed grounds are a lot of fun. Would definitely stay there again.

 

[DisMommyTX]

We were in the Little Mermaid rooms which were reeeeeaaaaalllllyy far away. If I walk that far, I expect to be at Space Mountain, not a food court! Beware, some the suites were almost as far away as the LM rooms. That being said, the theming in common areas was amazing, much more 'Disney' than PoR (which we also loved). We have not stayed in the suites because we prefer 'real' beds in the form of two (hopefully connecting) rooms at Value/Mod. Still, the kids loved the courtyards, statues, pools, and complete immersion in all things Disney at AoA.

 

[katt789]

Family suites: NOTHING bad to say!! The layout worked perfectly, LOVED having 2 bathrooms, and the kitchenette. Added bonus: interior hallways at a value, and you have to scan to get into them, just a little extra added security. The main pool is awesome, being able to hear music/characters underwater, so cool! The resort is VERY Disney feel, obviously, but it's always fun on arrival day to wander around and see all the cool character statues.

AoA has my favourite food court too, so many different options of food, healthier options than many places, just great all around. The gift shop is great, lobby is beautiful! The Lion King or Nemo would be my pics of suites, LK is going to be the closest to the lobby.

Now, if you chose the Mermaid rooms, fair warning, it honestly isn't THAT far of a walk, BUT it sure can feel like it after a long day in the parks, and I'm assuming kids would find if horrendous lol. We usually cut through the parking lot, but not the safest with kids.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I don't have anything bad to say about AoA, and we've generally found it great to try different resorts. WE love the food court, though it has been a little while since last we ate there.

A fun option we often enjoy greatly is splitting our vacation among more than one resort! For WDW, - in short- a good strategy is to book most of your trip at one resort, and just one or two nights at a different resort. For this kind of split at WDW, it is usually a good idea to do the short stay at the end, and book it as a "room only" booking. (instead of booking it as a package). If you have never done a room only, you may find you like the booking/cancelation terms better, but do read them, so you know what you are getting. Sometimes packages offer bigger discounts, but usually any discounts offered are the same. Sometimes room only is a better deal.

I should add, when we stay at AoA, we booked one of the non-suite rooms. When we stay at one of the bigger resorts, we usually pay for a preferred location (whenever that is an option). I'm no fan of lousy room locations!

The only other opinion I have on the matter, is that for us, prompt transportation is important. We used to use the WDW buses all the time, but now prefer to have a rental car most of the time. Between the two resorts you name, I'd gladly take the AoA buses over POR's, but if you know WDW, you probably have your own preference.

 

[bluejasmine]

We stayed at AOA in a little mermaid room and we didnt care for it only bc it was so far away from everything...

 

[lesliekatya]

We loved the resort, but after staying at the POFQ, I realized how spoiled moderates are with the buses. We never had to stand on the POFQ bus, and did about half the time on the AoA bus. It has covered bus stops, though, IIRC, so that’s nice.

 

[dosekies]

I stayed there in 2015 and loved it. 2 adults in a Little Mermaid room. We had no complaints about the room location, didn't really think it was that bad of a walk. Pool was fun and food court was great

 

[HopperFan]

NOTE: There are not king beds in the suites. There is a queen in the bedroom, and both murphy and sofabeds are fulls. There are some kings in the Little Mermaid regular rooms.

We stay POP often, have toured the LK Suites and would not hesitate to stay in a suite, although my preference would be Cars for the interior design and outside theme. The two bathrooms are great! The living/dining area is spacious and plenty of room to hang out. Seating a bit awkward other than sofa but we don't spend that much time in room.

Love the food court, eat there whenever we can. Personally I think having three themed pools is great and the two secondary pools give moderates good competition. Busing can be good or bad no matter where you are. We love POR but haven't even eaten at the TS last few trips so not having one isn't a negative.

 

[Anniefrances]

We stayed at AOA in a little mermaid room and we didnt care for it only bc it was so far away from everything...

Same here - we tried a LM room for a last minute trip in Nov and were surprised at how far away the room was. The resort itself was okay (the food court was a bit better than the other values). Can't comment on the pool (outdoor temp was too cold for our comfort to swim). All in all though, I don't think we will return considering there are several other resorts we like much better.

 

[KMarston]

I prefer the Mods but AoA's suite was very doable for four of us. I didn't like the food court because it was pure craziness in my opinion. In fact, the other grandparents I met there said never again! It's cute, suites are very convenient, great to have the kitchenette with a toddler who wants to eat when he wakes up! Worked well for the 4 generations girls trip we took. Amazing splash pad. It was just crazy, IMO!

 

[TLM2015]

I love AoA but I stayed at the Little Mermaid rooms not the suites, and went with my DD,5 so my perspective might be different. I like the resort because of the over the top decorations from the movies. At the time that I went, my daughter had not seen most of the movies referenced, but I had, most were from my childhood, but she loved the theming so if going with young children, the theming can't be beat. I don't know if it is really worth the additional cost however. Only traveling with 2 people (my husband didn't come) I didn't really think about how much more I was paying since I was saving with one person not travelling so I could splurge a little, but I'm not sure I would pick this hotel, even the value rooms are more expensive and I'm not sure the family suites are worth the money except for the theming. I always rent a car so the distance for walking is never an issue but it is a large resort. With my DD though I would say it took us maybe 5-7 minutes to walk from Little Mermaid area to the main pool so it wasn't bad but it was when we wanted to use the pool not at the end of the night after touring.