AoA...A Total Disappointment

[Dizneefamily+4]

Well, we received a message on our phone that we would receive the itemized list, and they apologized profusely for it not being delivered. And I never received it in an email either.

We think that on our next trip, we might stay in a moderate. We like to try different things each time. DH likes the looks of CBR, but I think we'll end up going to POFQ. It is beautiful, compact, and I think we would enjoy it.

POFQ is our favorite moderate - for just the reasons you listed. It's lovely and small - everything (pool, food court, buses, ferry to to DTD) is a very short walk away. We travel in August when it's super crowded and POFQ was always quiet and very low-key - even the food court!

Honestly to me it just sounds like you are describing a Value resort. We have never stayed at a Value and what you describe are some of the reasons why we never would.

The Values scare us. We're not snobs by any means, it's just the large size and chaotic atmosphere of the values just puts us off. Our first on-site resort was CSR. We didn't care for the large size of that resort either.

 

[cantslowdownptwn]

the only thing i didn't like about AoA was watching parents let their kids climb all over and play on the statues of characters even though there are signs everywhere that say to stay off. its going to ruin a good picture opportunity for everyone when they put fences around them one day!

 

[Missoutandabout]

Do you know if this new policy of emailing the checkout receipt is at all resorts or only at the values? I know we received the express checkout documents in December at the BWI.

Hey, I know you. It kinda caught me off-guard because I'm used to getting them in that little envelope on the door! It happened last September at both POR and Beach Club, didn't happen in January at YC (for whatever reason?) and then it was email-only receipt again earlier this month at both CBR and AKL.

 

[Pixie Princess]

I agree with the majority of the OPs comments regarding the LM section of AoA. I felt the bathroom was lovely, but the rest of the room seemed like a toddler's bedroom. Too juvenile for my tastes.

I also agree with the complete disorganization at the AoA food court. The food is so good, and we've been there several time just b/c the food is good, but good gracious. It is just poorly designed and the service is slower than its seems like it should be regardless of whether it is a "rush hour" or not. However, I have had some great conversations with the CMs there while waiting in line.

We didn't uses the buses while we were there, and we did really like the gift shop. On our May trip we went over to AoA to eat since we were staying at Pop, and I also noticed all the cracked tiles in the floor. I guess it is bound to happen with people dragging luggage and what not over the floors, but I was surprised to see so much of it with the resort only having been open a year.

Compared to some of the mods, I didn't think the walk to the main building in the LM section was that bad, and I made MANY trips to the food court as my DD came down with a stomach bug while we were there.

I don't think I'd go back to AoA unless I were staying in one of the Cars suites. I'd rather save the few bucks and stay at POP. We really enjoy it there.

I agree, OP, we just weren't feeling it at AoA/ LM. As other have said, some resorts just don't click. Having stayed at CBR a couple of times, don't think I'll be back. Far prefer the other mods. And I know this is practically a sacrilege, but having visited the Poly a number of times, I don't think I'd stay there either. The resort just doesn't appeal to me enough to lay out the cash to stay there. Maybe when/if they build the villas out over the water. Probably as close to the Bora Bora Four Seasons as I'll ever get.

 

[Nutbean]

First of all, while beautiful to look at, the walkways and landscaping are not designed with guests in mind. Especially in LM, we had people walking through grass and landscaping because it was so much further to walk on the sidewalks. We were on the fourth floor of Building 8 (Ariel) and we realized very quickly that the stairs on the ends opened up on walkways that went towards the parking lot behind the resort instead of into the interior of the resort.

I definitely agree with this. We stayed in the LM section. The distance from the bus stop and main building is my main complaint with this resort. Plus we had to do so much backtracking to get to our room as we didn't want to cut across the landscaping as others were doing.

We were relocated to a suite in the Cars section as the A/C wasn't working and they had no rooms left in LM. So much better. I wouldn't stay at AoA again even if they did have discounts for the LM rooms simply because of the long walk. The suites, while fantastic, are simply too expensive. If we're going to spend that kind of money on a room, we'll stay Deluxe.

 

[Pixie Princess]

Do you know if this new policy of emailing the checkout receipt is at all resorts or only at the values? I know we received the express checkout documents in December at the BWI.

I am pretty sure mine was e-mailed to me when we stayed at POR and CSR last summer (July and Sept.). We've done a lot of two and three night trips over the last year or so, and usually stay value when we go for that short of a time. It could be I'm so used to getting them via e-mail that I am remembering it wrong.

 

[rosiegmendez]

Poor quality of food, motel 6 towels, uncomfortable beds.

Though kids loved the big blue pool, and the theming obviously has magic touch, we much prefered POR (which was considerably more affordable, go figure!).

 

[darnheather]

Sorry you had such a terrible time, but thank you for the review. Reconfirms my decision to go moderate.

 

[Desnik]

OP, your comment about the LM staircases not leading to the inner walkways had me I was so annoyed by that I just walked right through the bushes/grass.

But, we loved AoA and we are resort snobs Sometimes you never know what you'll like until you try it. I'm sorry AoA didn't work out for your family. I hope your next resort stay is better for you.

As for my experience at AoA...We stayed there Xmas week. We loved the foodcourt and thought it was organized, had great food, but did notice all the guests that just couldn't seem to wrap their brains around the concept. It was comical. How hard is it to take your garbage & toss it in the trash and place your silverware and plates in the marked spots? But, almost everyone either left the food on their table or tossed their whole trays on top of the garbage station. They did have plenty of CM's cleaning up the messes though and it was really crowded. But how can I blame AoA for this? It's the guests who are at fault when they can't follow simple directions. Ok, my rant is over, sorry!

The bus service was great for us & we had no issues with housekeeping. We had stayed at WLV in a 1 bedroom before we switched to AoA. WLV was the nightmare for us! Not the resort, but our room. Housekeeping was the problem. When we got to AoA we couldn't believe how they blew away the WLV!! My point is, every resort can have problems at different times for different guests. We were both unlucky with housekeeping!

The walk to the main building from LM was not an issue for our family & my DD has issues with walking. I'm just saying this so others who are reading your review and contimplating an AoA stay in the LM section get another viewpoint. I hope it doesn't come off as combative.

Thanks for your review!

 

[Hoosier37]

the only thing i didn't like about AoA was watching parents let their kids climb all over and play on the statues of characters even though there are signs everywhere that say to stay off. its going to ruin a good picture opportunity for everyone when they put fences around them one day!

Ugh, that irritated me as well. And all that crushed shell and sand and other landscaping material, kids were kicking it up on the sidewalks and some poor CM had to stand out in the heat and humidity and sweep it all back off.

I agree with the majority of the OPs comments regarding the LM section of AoA. I felt the bathroom was lovely, but the rest of the room seemed like a toddler's bedroom. Too juvenile for my tastes.

That is a great way to describe the room - it did feel a little too simple and childlike to me.

The walk to the main building from LM was not an issue for our family & my DD has issues with walking. I'm just saying this so others who are reading your review and contimplating an AoA stay in the LM section get another viewpoint. I hope it doesn't come off as combative.
Thanks for your review!

I think the walk, in the high heat, with the crazy crowds and rude children climbing on stuff, and the weird placement of walkways, was all just one big issue for us. Normally, walking isn't a big deal. We take long walks at home, we walk all over the parks, we even walk to resorts from parks for dinner when that is an option.

But it was just the walk on top of all the other issues that got to us. And I overheard other LM guests making the walk from Animation Hall and back commenting about how we should get a shuttle service, golf carts, etc. So I know the walk got to others as well.

 

[princess aleya]

Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your stay at AOA. I really hope things improve before my upcoming stay. We have stayed at POP twice and we really loved it too.

 

[mejo]

I'm sorry you did not like it, we stayed in the LM rooms when they were new and loved it. We did not feel the walk was bad at all and the food court crowd was very similiar to POP. Also I don't know if it has changed but everytime we tried to bus our table a CM would come over and tell us not to, that they would do it.

 

[saskdw]

POFQ is our favorite moderate - for just the reasons you listed. It's lovely and small - everything (pool, food court, buses, ferry to to DTD) is a very short walk away. We travel in August when it's super crowded and POFQ was always quiet and very low-key - even the food court!



The Values scare us. We're not snobs by any means, it's just the large size and chaotic atmosphere of the values just puts us off. Our first on-site resort was CSR. We didn't care for the large size of that resort either.

Exactly my thoughts. Very chaotic atmosphere. At least at CSR spread out means there is always a nice quiet spot with a great view to relax. The Values are just non stop chaos everywhere. There are parents that don't watch their kids at all resorts, but I think a lot higher percentage at the values.

 

[sjs314]

Hey, I know you. It kinda caught me off-guard because I'm used to getting them in that little envelope on the door! It happened last September at both POR and Beach Club, didn't happen in January at YC (for whatever reason?) and then it was email-only receipt again earlier this month at both CBR and AKL.

how very odd so I guess there is no real consistent policy

 

[disneybliss2]

First off, I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience. On our previous trips, we stayed at Pop twice. The first time was good, but we really didn't have anything to compare it to. The next (and last) time we stayed there wasn't so great. It was notoriously loud with people constantly running past our room at all hours of the night. Very hard to get my little ones to sleep. Bussing wasn't great, and overall I felt sensory overload after a long day in the parks in the heat in June to go back to Pop. We then switched to POFQ. We LOVED it. We noticed a huge difference. It was so much quieter, calm, and peaceful. Buses were great too. The whole feel of the resort was so much better. It was very relaxing to go "home" to after being at the parks. We then tried AKL. LOVE it too! I saw a huge difference in the deluxe as well, but I saw a bigger difference between the value and the moderate. I think you will love POFQ, and it is so worth the small upgrade.

 

[Disneytwinsmom]

thank you so much for sharing your experience. I am sorry to hear it wasnt magical for you.

 

[disney-akj]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your stay. We were probably there the same time (stayed June 6-11). We though it was a standard value resort- nothing special or awful. The food court was busy but we usually eat in the parks more than the resort. Honestly I don't think "on property" resorts are worth the $$ after staying at bonnet creek for $120 a night. My kids really wanted to try AoA though so we splurged, but we will probably be back to WBC again. I say this with trying several Disney resorts too including POR.

 

[dpswift]

I am sorry you did not enjoy it. I cannot help but wonder if you got lucky with your stay at POP. Your complaints about the food court are similar to my experience with the food court at POP on past trips. This year at AoA I thought that the food court was not as crazy than at POP. By the way I found after many stays at POP that 10 am is an extremely popular time for breakfast. We try to do all food court dining off hours.


Overall I thought that AoA was about the same as the other values. However I went expecting that and I was not disappointed at all. Our stay was in February during PRESIDENTS WEEK, an extremely busy time.


From what you say I think the Moderates would be a better choice for you. The values are too crazy for a lot of people.

 

[Patience]

I felt the bathroom was lovely, but the rest of the room seemed like a toddler's bedroom. Too juvenile for my tastes.

I really wanted to stay at AoA-LM because I knew my 6 year old daughter would love the theming and because I wanted to stay in a new room. My husband, however, said almost exactly the same thing about the pictures of the LM room as what Pixie Princess did. He was willing to stay there for the sake of our daughter but when free dining was released, we switched to a Royal Room at POR. My husband likes the looks of those much better, they have been recently refurbished and our 6 year old is going to love the princess touches. Can't wait!

 

[bluejasmine]

We visited AOA in Dec & thought the theming was really good, we ate dinner in the food court and really enjoyed it.

That being said I wouldn't want to pay those prices up stay at AOA, I'd rather stay mod or even deluxe for those prices!

I think with the walkway from Pop a d with the resort being pretty new ppl are coming from other resorts to eat and check out the resort, causing the food court to be insane..

Thanks for the review!

ASMU/POR Dec 16-22, 2012 & CR Sept 8-15, 2013