Disney's Art of Animation Resort Info Thread! Mouseketeers welcome!

[lynn71092]

I just got back from LM section where we were for the grand openng on Saturday. The resort is awesome, I can't say enough. Our room was beautiful.
Loved it. I went through the Lion King section on my way to the Food Court and the landscaping and decor are totally amazing. That being said, I am going back to Pop. We were in Building 8 in LM section and the distance to the Food Court is just too far for me. I saw someone take their car to the Food Court b/c it was just too far away.But that would be my only issue. A friend was also there at the AKL with the savannah view and he complained how his room was so smalll. For that kind of money I would recommend the AoA Family Suites instead.

 

[RSHale]

Yes, we assume there are Little Mermaid section rooms with interior connecting doors, but we don't yet have the extra detail as to exactly which floors/rooms have them. Same with king bed rooms in LM.

I can tell you that I had a room in the Little Mermaid section with a king bed and what appeared to be a connecting door on the inside. I don't have the room number here in front of me, but I think it might have been 9829. I was on the fourth floor of the King Triton building.

 

[deedee2177]

I just got back from LM section where we were for the grand openng on Saturday. The resort is awesome, I can't say enough. Our room was beautiful.
Loved it. I went through the Lion King section on my way to the Food Court and the landscaping and decor are totally amazing. That being said, I am going back to Pop. We were in Building 8 in LM section and the distance to the Food Court is just too far for me. I saw someone take their car to the Food Court b/c it was just too far away.But that would be my only issue. A friend was also there at the AKL with the savannah view and he complained how his room was so smalll. For that kind of money I would recommend the AoA Family Suites instead.

Funny you mentioned someone driving over there...I had the same thought!! I guess we will just see how far it is for ourselves, and see how tired we are!

 

[parqueen]

I can tell you that I had a room in the Little Mermaid section with a king bed and what appeared to be a connecting door on the inside. I don't have the room number here in front of me, but I think it might have been 9829. I was on the fourth floor of the King Triton building.

Did you request a king bed? Just wondering. I requested one and I hope I get it.

 

[lynn71092]

We were in room 8750 with 2 beds and it had a door for a connection. However try not to stay in Building #8 unless you have a car to take you to the Food Court.

 

[motofox4]

Thanks for your answers I'm really torn between staying at the Art of Animation in a LM room and Pop... Has anyone stayed at Pop before and then in the LM section at Art of Animation?? I'm wondering if the distance from the LM section to the main building is any further than the 80s or 90s section at Pop is from their main building... can anyone comment on this? I don't mind the walk at all but we're going with my mom and dad and I'm going to be dragging them around enough at the parks, I don't want them to have to do much more walking back at the resort! LOL

 

[RSHale]

Did you request a king bed? Just wondering. I requested one and I hope I get it.

I didn't request one, but I was travelling alone this trip. I'm not sure if that made a difference.

 

[RSHale]

Thanks for your answers I'm really torn between staying at the Art of Animation in a LM room and Pop... Has anyone stayed at Pop before and then in the LM section at Art of Animation?? I'm wondering if the distance from the LM section to the main building is any further than the 80s or 90s section at Pop is from their main building... can anyone comment on this? I don't mind the walk at all but we're going with my mom and dad and I'm going to be dragging them around enough at the parks, I don't want them to have to do much more walking back at the resort! LOL

Pop has been my "go to" resort since it opened. I've stayed in the 80s/90s sections many times. After three nights at AoA in a Mermaid room, I didn't feel like there was much of a difference in the distance, but it may be my imagination. If you get that Roger Rabbit building at Pop, it seems to me like you're walking just as far as you would to the Mermaid section. At AoA, you get to walk through the Lion King area to get to the LM rooms.

The thing at Pop is that there's a chance you could get something closer to the main building. At AoA, you know if you are in the LM section, you are going to have a little bit of a hike.

 

[lynn71092]

Thanks for your answers I'm really torn between staying at the Art of Animation in a LM room and Pop... Has anyone stayed at Pop before and then in the LM section at Art of Animation?? I'm wondering if the distance from the LM section to the main building is any further than the 80s or 90s section at Pop is from their main building... can anyone comment on this? I don't mind the walk at all but we're going with my mom and dad and I'm going to be dragging them around enough at the parks, I don't want them to have to do much more walking back at the resort! LOL

Yes, Pop Century is our resort of choice but since we were coming down on Sept. 14th, we wanted to try out LM. So on the 14th we stood at Pop since AoA wouldn't open until the 15th. Checked out and went to AoA on the 15th. As stated earlier the rsort is amazing but the walk to the Food Court is very far. Plus the 90 degree heat wasn't helping. If you have a car it shouldn't be an issue. If not, if you walk you might want to take your time and check out the scenery which is amazing from what I saw of the Lion King section. Plus we were in Building #8, which is the farthest from the Food Court. At Pop we always try to get the 70's section. Hope this helps!!

 

[squirrel4569]

When we went a couple of years ago we were in the 50's section of POP and that walk was a little rough at the end of the day. The most annoying thing about it though was that it just added on to time to get out of the resort and to the buses. This trip we're staying at LM but we're driving there instead of flying, so we'll have the option to skip the buses. When we first saw the map of the resort and saw the difference between LM and the suites we looked at upgrading. The difference for a family of 4 (2 adults/2 kids) is $1500! For that much I'll gladly walk. Plus with the number of miles we already will be walking each day an extra quarter to half mile a day won't hurt us.

 

[RSHale]

Yes, Pop Century is our resort of choice but since we were coming down on Sept. 14th, we wanted to try out LM. So on the 14th we stood at Pop since AoA wouldn't open until the 15th. Checked out and went to AoA on the 15th. As stated earlier the rsort is amazing but the walk to the Food Court is very far. Plus the 90 degree heat wasn't helping. If you have a car it shouldn't be an issue. If not, if you walk you might want to take your time and check out the scenery which is amazing from what I saw of the Lion King section. Plus we were in Building #8, which is the farthest from the Food Court. At Pop we always try to get the 70's section. Hope this helps!!

It sounds like we came away with some similar feelings about AoA. I love Pop and have stayed there almost every trip since it opened. I was afraid that after staying at AoA, I wouldn't want to go back to Pop, but that's not really the case at all. There were things I liked better about AoA and things I still like better about Pop. More often than not, I will probably be returning to Pop. In the near future, I expect that it will be easier to get a discount on a Pop room than a Mermaid room. AoA is just across the bridge if I want to walk around or get some gelato at the food court.

Still, I don't think you can go wrong at AoA. I wouldn't discourage someone from trying it, and I certainly wouldn't turn down the chance to stay there.

 

[bookgirl]

29 days till checkin!

I'm not too worried about the walk from LM since I'm only going to be there 1 night, but if I like it and decide to return there for a longer period, I don't know that the walk would be a deal breaker.

I do know that if it was so far that I feel like I couldn't stay there unless I drove myself to the parks, I'd stay somewhere else.

Transportation for the majority of my vacation is the reason I stay on site. I get a car for the week since I do some off site time but when I'm on property and traveling within the resorts/parks I really prefer to use the buses/boats.

 

[ksh1111]

We are here, and have a King Bed Room, with a connecting door. It is 7503.

 

[DanieD0909]

We are here, and have a King Bed Room, with a connecting door. It is 7503.

Hi,
Is the King room a handicapped accessible room or a standard room? Please let me know if you can. Thanks!

 

[bgenew1]

We also just returned from a 6 night stay in the LM rooms. Our room was 9619 and did have a connecting door. It was a VERY long walk to the main bldg and bus stops. When I read previous posters worrying about distance I honestly didn't think it would be a problem for us as we are walker/runner and have done half marathons. After all day in the park and in the rain it is really something to consider if you have children.

My other complaint was the free wi-fi that never worked and no cell service in the room. I made multiple calls to the help number and received the same response each time - my ticket would be referred to the next level tech and try again in 30 min. Never worked. I did take my iPad to the main pool where it worked with no problem. We stayed at Pop in May and had no issues with the wi-fi or cell service.

Also there is a lack of drawer space. I had to ask for additional hangers to hang our clothes.

It was a one time to AoA for us and back to Pop in Decenber.

 

[RSHale]

My other complaint was the free wi-fi that never worked and no cell service in the room. I made multiple calls to the help number and received the same response each time - my ticket would be referred to the next level tech and try again in 30 min. Never worked. I did take my iPad to the main pool where it worked with no problem. We stayed at Pop in May and had no issues with the wi-fi or cell service.

My service wasn't quite that bad, but it was close. The wi-fi wasn't great when I stayed at Pop Century in March, so I made sure I had a cellular data plan active for my iPad this trip. The cell service in my LM room was terrible. My wi-fi was a little better than the cell signal, but I kept dropping the wi-fi. I tried to remember to make any neccessary phone calls before I went back to the room.

 

[TSM]

Thanks for your answers I'm really torn between staying at the Art of Animation in a LM room and Pop... Has anyone stayed at Pop before and then in the LM section at Art of Animation?? I'm wondering if the distance from the LM section to the main building is any further than the 80s or 90s section at Pop is from their main building... can anyone comment on this? I don't mind the walk at all but we're going with my mom and dad and I'm going to be dragging them around enough at the parks, I don't want them to have to do much more walking back at the resort! LOL

We were in building 9 king Triton area and it took 4 minutes to walk to food court. A little less when we went to bus stop on outside of building.we had parking lot view and there is a walkway to buses.it really wasn't that bad.wexwalked back and forth several times a day.we also used the big blue pool a lot and even went over to cars pool.I loved the resort! Loved the scenery the room and food court! Will definately stay there again!

 

[Bibbidi]

We are booked for a LM room for Thanksgiving week. Since these rooms are sold out for that week but suites are not (when I last checked), is there a chance that we'd get upgraded to a suite at check-in?

 

[ZoeisMommy]

Anyone currently staying AoA (preferably Nemo Suites) I have a question about outlets and the windows...so if you could PM that would be great

 

[dansdad]

We are booked for a LM room for Thanksgiving week. Since these rooms are sold out for that week but suites are not (when I last checked), is there a chance that we'd get upgraded to a suite at check-in?

Sure, there's a chance. Like if a pipe burst and your LM room was flooded. Or the A/C broke, toilet overflow, etc.