AoA for a person who prefers deluxe?

[RookieLady]

I am taking my 2 sons (13 and 10) and 2 nieces (18 and 16) to Disney next summer (2014) over my anniversary. It goes without saying that I want my own room. When I go with my children, I have stayed deluxe, except once. I prefer the location and size of the deluxes. Made one trip to allstars with kids and hated it because the room was too small and the bus service was not as good as I had remembered. I also went once to Pop without my kids. I didn't like the exterior entry into the room or the size.

Okay, so I looked at Bay Lake Tower renting points and I looked at getting two rooms at the deluxes. I am not intersted in the moderates because of the multiple bus stops (which I know is an issue in the deluxes, too).

I can go to AoA for less than half of what the deluxes or Bay Lake will be. The rooms look cute, and the bus service doesn't appear as bad (one stop, right now not sharing resorts). My questions, will those two average sized teenage girls fit sleeping on the pull outs (I need two kids in each bed). Also, for those that have tried it, how was the privacy for the adults and the bus service?

 

[emilyindisney]

I stayed in a regular room, so I can't comment on the suites but I can say that the bus service was very good. The resort is a little bit further from the parks (which comes with the value territory) but I'd estimate that nothing was more than a 20 minute drive away.

 

[turnlisa]

We stayed at the suites at AoA in December. We stayed in both the Cars section and the Lion King section.

The hotel is really beautiful - but I don't think I would try to put 2 teenagers in one of those pull out beds. They are definitely full size beds - not queens. My 16 year old DS was in one bed and my 11 year old DS was in the other. They were comfortable but I don't think I would try to squeeze another kid in the beds. The rooms are nice size and the 2 bathrooms is a definite plus. We didn't do the buses but drove to the parks from the resort.

One thing I did notice was that the customer service was definitely not what you get at the deluxes. If you are used to the deluxe atmosphere, you won't get it at AoA. Don't get me wrong - we loved the resort but think that there is still some "growing pains" going on with the customer service aspect. It was the longest wait we have ever had on property for check-in, we had non-working keys, etc. Remember that you are still at a value despite the suites.

 

[Marthasor]

We stayed at the suites at AoA in December. We stayed in both the Cars section and the Lion King section.

The hotel is really beautiful - but I don't think I would try to put 2 teenagers in one of those pull out beds. They are definitely full size beds - not queens. My 16 year old DS was in one bed and my 11 year old DS was in the other. They were comfortable but I don't think I would try to squeeze another kid in the beds. The rooms are nice size and the 2 bathrooms is a definite plus. We didn't do the buses but drove to the parks from the resort.

One thing I did notice was that the customer service was definitely not what you get at the deluxes. If you are used to the deluxe atmosphere, you won't get it at AoA. Don't get me wrong - we loved the resort but think that there is still some "growing pains" going on with the customer service aspect. It was the longest wait we have ever had on property for check-in, we had non-working keys, etc. Remember that you are still at a value despite the suites.

I couldn't agree more. I always stay deluxe but we tried AOA last year and after one night, the "value" aspect really kicked in. I actually explored switching to a deluxe two nights into the trip. It was only me, my sister and DS4. I slept on the pullout couch. I'm pretty small and can't imagine having to share that bed with someone else.

Instead of BLT, why not consider VWL or AKLV? I'm guessing it might be a little less. Or how about Swan or Dolphin? They are like Deluxes at mod prices. We stayed at the Dolphin last December to save some $$ and we loved it!