Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Information & Questions

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I'm trying to figure out what time that I should plan to leave the room, wait in line at Skyliner and then get to HS itself for Rope Drop ( hopefully arriving around 8:30am ).

What would @scrappinginontario say? 90 minutes! I haven't been since 2015 so I know very little firsthand anymore, but I have seen her answer this question all over the boards... The answer to any transportation question seems to be 90 minutes. If the park opens at 9am, arrive to the line at 7:30am.
 
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I always plan the last full day at MK so that we can enjoy it as the last best park to spend the day at where we can go into the evening. But I've had to change that up to spending the day at HS and then coming back after dinner time so that we are not out late.

It's gonna be a long night before and the day of travel, but I guess I have little to no choice. :confused3

Refresh my memory, we have to have our luggage outside of our doors the night before so that the Resort can put it onto the bus?

I forget how that works.

You could also take a ride share over to the airport at night when you are finished. Then, check in to the Hyatt inside the airport. That way you are there for your early flight... in case you are worried about missing flight.
 
What would @scrappinginontario say? 90 minutes! I haven't been since 2015 so I know very little firsthand anymore, but I have seen her answer this question all over the boards... The answer to any transportation question seems to be 90 minutes. If the park opens at 9am, arrive to the line at 7:30am.
From what I understand you want to be at the park line around 7:30 because they park actually is opening about 45 mins early most days.
I think I read you need to bus it if you want to be there on time too because the sky liner doesn’t run that early.
could be totally wrong though and hope some of the people who actually do it post
 
Forgive me if this has been asked before - but are pool toys of any kind allowed in the big blue pool or the smaller pools? I read somewhere that pool noodles are allowed in some resort pools, and even for sale in some of the resort gift shops. What about my daughter's bath doll? Could she bring that in the water with her?
 
You could also take a ride share over to the airport at night when you are finished. Then, check in to the Hyatt inside the airport. That way you are there for your early flight... in case you are worried about missing flight.
Thanks for responding and the advice.

My usual plan was to check out the day before we fly out, go to the park for the day, go back to the resort to take a late night shuttle to the Airport and then check in at the Hyatt MCO hotel that is located in the airport itself. That way, we just wake up and walk downstairs to the gate to save time.

Unfortunately; in order for me to change my reservation from staying 5 nights to 4 nights, I would have to completely cancel the reservation and then re-book it based off of the current rates. The problem is that I booked my stay at AoA months back when the rates were really good. If I were to change it now, even if I were to stay 1 less day....this would translate into me paying several hundred $$$ more just to stay 1 less day while not including the cost to stay at the Hyatt MCO Hotel itself.

It will be a very long morning, but I would have to simply get the family to wake up and leave the room by 4:40am in the morning :coffee:
 
From what I understand you want to be at the park line around 7:30 because they park actually is opening about 45 mins early most days.
I think I read you need to bus it if you want to be there on time too because the sky liner doesn’t run that early.
could be totally wrong though and hope some of the people who actually do it post
Thanks, I did not know this. I googled it and saw this on the WDWPrepSchool website.

The operating hours for the gondolas tends to vary depending on what time the parks are opening and closing, but you can typically find them starting from around 7:30 am to 8:30 a.m. and going until 10 or 11 p.m.. Note: Disney does expand the hours during busy times of the year.

Unfortunately, as of right now, the only place the schedule is published is on signs outside of the stations.

We strongly recommend you do not rely on the Skyliner to get you to Epcot or Hollywood Studios for Rope Drop.

I guess we won't be riding the Skyliner in the morning to HS for rope drop.
 
Does anyone know if the Business Center at AoA is open 24 hours?

I may need to do some late night travel document printing and wasn't sure when I would have to do it.
 
From what I understand you want to be at the park line around 7:30 because they park actually is opening about 45 mins early most days.
I think I read you need to bus it if you want to be there on time too because the sky liner doesn’t run that early.
could be totally wrong though and hope some of the people who actually do it post

I'm not sure about that... although with crowd increasing, the recommendations for getting into transport lines may also be changing at this point. The problem with getting to the park line 90 minutes early is that Disney transportation doesn't start until approximately an hour before the officially posted opening time. And the parking lots don't open that early either. The only people who might be able to get to parks 90 minutes before official opening are walkers. Here are 2 posts from a mod from the last 24 hours:
 

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This is from Pop Century, but they look like this:
 

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From what I understand you want to be at the park line around 7:30 because they park actually is opening about 45 mins early most days.
I think I read you need to bus it if you want to be there on time too because the sky liner doesn’t run that early.
could be totally wrong though and hope some of the people who actually do it post
I'm not sure about that... although with crowd increasing, the recommendations for getting into transport lines may also be changing at this point. The problem with getting to the park line 90 minutes early is that Disney transportation doesn't start until approximately an hour before the officially posted opening time. And the parking lots don't open that early either. The only people who might be able to get to parks 90 minutes before official opening are walkers. Here are 2 posts from a mod from the last 24 hours:
Just wanted to clarify: This does not mean lining up at the parks 90 minutes early. This means be in line for transportation at your resort 90 minutes before official park opening. This will get you on one of the first busses or gondolas. Yes, transportation begins approximately 1 hour before park opening. This means you will be waiting at your resort for about 30 minutes in the bus or skyliner queue. This will get you to the parks at the time they open (about 45 minute before posted opening.) This is the recommendation because if you queue up when at the 1 hour mark when the transportation starts, you will be behind 100 or so families that began lining up 30 minutes before you, thus putting you on a later bus/gondola that may or may not get there in time for unofficial park opening.
 
Thinking about staying here. Can I have some good reasons why and some some good drawbacks also. Three adults going my disabled dad, me and my sister. We usually stay at a 5th sleeper at CBR, but with the price hike, just cannot do that.
 
I think my post got lost in the shuffle. Or nobody who's stopped by knows the answer. :)

Are pool toys of any kind allowed in the pools at AoA? Pool noodles or a little water doll?
 
Thinking about staying here. Can I have some good reasons why and some some good drawbacks also. Three adults going my disabled dad, me and my sister. We usually stay at a 5th sleeper at CBR, but with the price hike, just cannot do that.
the extra room and double bathroom would make it worth it IMO
Just left AoA and had a great time. On the way out today I noticed the arcade was open. It was still closed up until this morning.
sweet have some left over cards from past trips
 
Thinking about staying here. Can I have some good reasons why and some some good drawbacks also. Three adults going my disabled dad, me and my sister. We usually stay at a 5th sleeper at CBR, but with the price hike, just cannot do that.

If you're thinking of staying in a suite, I think it would be a good move. You'd have 2 bathrooms and a lot of open space. And you would have a mini-kitchen with a microwave which comes in handy if you like to eat breakfast in the room or like to be able to heat up leftovers. It's also nice to have the separate bedroom so that if someone is on a different sleeping schedule or just needs more privacy, they can have it.

If you're thinking of getting a Little Mermaid standard room, then I'd suggest staying at Pop Century or ASMovies as those rooms have the fold-up bed where the LM rooms don't. Being able to fold up that bed during the day will provide you with more open space in the room.
 

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