AOA resort is it as good as it looks?

[xxpeplyxx]

Am very excited about staying there next summer we will be staying in the LM room it looks pretty

I really don't know much about the resort though so what is there to know?! any responses would be great

 

[katrina1122]

We drove around the outside of it 2 weeks ago. It looks nice but the LM rooms were SUPER far from the checkin/food court/bus stops. It almost looked like they built all the suite buildings and then decided to skip some land then add on the LM rooms. We decided while it looked cute, it's going to be a no go for us since we don't need a family suite. We'll stick to Pop.

 

[siskaren]

Check out this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2966053

 

[delilah18]

It was absolutely wonderful, I didn't find the LM rooms too far we stayed 9 nights and had 2 and 4 year old and they loved it.

 

[AuroraRora]

We wound up there by accident during our trip this July thanks to a wayward bus from DTD, and I couldn't resist taking a peek. It looked gorgeous, from what I could see! We briefly visited the pool, and then wandered around their gift shop and arcade, and the lobby area. Everything looked really classy and new, and the reception staff were doing some kind of "welcome" dance routine for the people checking in which we thought was pretty neat

 

[detarica]

Loved staying there. I stayed in Lion King suite. Best Disney hotel room I have ever stayed at. I would book AoA over a couple of the deluxe rooms I have stayed in. Theming is amazing in the rooms.

 

[xxpeplyxx]

It was absolutely wonderful, I didn't find the LM rooms too far we stayed 9 nights and had 2 and 4 year old and they loved it.

I'm sure we won't find them too far either, we don't mind walking anyway!

 

[TDC Nala]

It is a beautiful resort. Maybe because it is brand new. I did not think the Mermaid rooms were too far. But you do have to walk all the way through the Lion King section and depending on where your room is, perhaps the whole Little Mermaid section. If that does not bother you then go for it.

The Cars section is particularly awesome looking.

 

[Funfire240]

We stayed in LM in September with 2 kids - 2 and 4. DD4 loved it as Ariel was her new favorite at the time. For the resort, we were very pleased with it and have talked about staying there the next time. I didn't think the walk was bad at all (considering how much you walk at the parks to me it seemed like a piece of cake). We only ate at the resort once but I did enjoy the food and liked the babycakes snacks we were able to get! All in all - very pleased!

 

[JennyDrake]

I was there in October. The theming is INCREDIBLE. You really MUST visit if for no other reason. But my overall review was not positive.

This resort is big and it is a hike to the food court and bus stops. I just completed a half marathon, so I *don't* mind walking, but this was a hike. We had a senior with mobility issues, so it it was more pronounced in our situation.

There seemed to be more "room noise" at this resort than AS--and I am a heavy sleeper. Very aware of babies crying in rooms and doors opening and closing all around. We were on the second floor. In the future, I will ask for a top floor room.

Bus service was good to/from parks. We did not go to DTD. All the CMs were super nice.

The REAL negative is the food court. It has a terrible layout and it is just BEDLAM. The queing lines are not nearly as long as they need to be. Service was sluggish and I can't tell you why. It seemed a bit understaffed, but not terribly so. It took 10-15 minutes (one time 20 min) to get through the lines and get food, then stand in line again to pay. By the time you are seated, the food is tepid. Then you have to get silverware, drinks, find a table, etc. The noise level is HORRENDOUS even at non-peak times. And the traffic flow design (WHAT traffic flow design??) is very poor. There is no real flow pattern.

Seating is ample, which is nice. You get real plates and silverware which is good news/bad news. I found that I bristled at having to so bus my own table. You have to try to get the trash and remnants into a trash receptable with a too small door that is spring loaded to close. Then you sort of recycling and the dishes in one bin and flatware in another. It reminded me WAY too much of bussing tables in a restaurant.

Food quality was OK but not remarkably better than AS, which is what I had hoped for... The food "looks" better than it tastes. Naan bread is VERY good and I really enjoyed the build your own fruit bowls and yogurt/granola bowls for breakfast.

Mousekeeping was fine.

I was currently booked there again in December, but I switched to Pop and just walk over with a friend to show it all to her. The food court & noise levels put a damper on the overall experience for me.

 

[Paticake]

We stayed there 2 weeks ago for 1 night before checking into SSR. The theming is great. The kids loved walking around. The LM room was fine. Very cute. My 2 1/2yo DGD said "I want to sleep in my mermaid bed" several times thoughout our trip. The food court had great choices- make your own pasta, make your own yogurt and fruit for breakfast. It is very busy though.

 

[piratehookspixiedust]

We stayed there in September and had a 5 year old and 13 month old and were not bothered by the distance from the buses and main building to the LM rooms.

 

[xxpeplyxx]

I was there in October. The theming is INCREDIBLE. You really MUST visit if for no other reason. But my overall review was not positive.

This resort is big and it is a hike to the food court and bus stops. I just completed a half marathon, so I *don't* mind walking, but this was a hike. We had a senior with mobility issues, so it it was more pronounced in our situation.

There seemed to be more "room noise" at this resort than AS--and I am a heavy sleeper. Very aware of babies crying in rooms and doors opening and closing all around. We were on the second floor. In the future, I will ask for a top floor room.

Bus service was good to/from parks. We did not go to DTD. All the CMs were super nice.

The REAL negative is the food court. It has a terrible layout and it is just BEDLAM. The queing lines are not nearly as long as they need to be. Service was sluggish and I can't tell you why. It seemed a bit understaffed, but not terribly so. It took 10-15 minutes (one time 20 min) to get through the lines and get food, then stand in line again to pay. By the time you are seated, the food is tepid. Then you have to get silverware, drinks, find a table, etc. The noise level is HORRENDOUS even at non-peak times. And the traffic flow design (WHAT traffic flow design??) is very poor. There is no real flow pattern.

Seating is ample, which is nice. You get real plates and silverware which is good news/bad news. I found that I bristled at having to so bus my own table. You have to try to get the trash and remnants into a trash receptable with a too small door that is spring loaded to close. Then you sort of recycling and the dishes in one bin and flatware in another. It reminded me WAY too much of bussing tables in a restaurant.

Food quality was OK but not remarkably better than AS, which is what I had hoped for... The food "looks" better than it tastes. Naan bread is VERY good and I really enjoyed the build your own fruit bowls and yogurt/granola bowls for breakfast.

Mousekeeping was fine.

I was currently booked there again in December, but I switched to Pop and just walk over with a friend to show it all to her. The food court & noise levels put a damper on the overall experience for me.

Thanks for your review, to be fair though we only used the food court 3 maybe 4 times at pop as we don't really spend much time at the hotel and we bring biscuits/cereal bars for breakfast, we generally tend to leave the hotel at 7am and return at around midnight so we rarely eat there! Shouldn't be a problem for us very much looking forward to having a walk around and seeing everything :-D