Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[cakebaker]

Our stay is 9/26-10/1- staying in Cars.

So sorry for those of you getting moved around. I'd be furious if it were me.

What's so strange is we had some serious issues when adding a night on to our existing reservation a few weeks ago- to the point we were on the phone to a supervisor of some kind trying to get that night added. They had openings, clearly, but didn't want to book a single night.

The point being, the supervisor at one point called the resort directly to get permission to add on the night and at that point, the hotel (according to the supervisor) asked her to do her best to get us to move to Nemo because it had much more availability. We said no, they added the night to our Cars stay. And now Nemo guests in that time frame are getting moved out????

Seems one hand doesn't know what the other is doing!

 

[cinderkelly]

Yep - my travel agent got "the call" regarding our Nemo reservation as well. I'm furious. I know the theming is great for all three...but I'll just be honest - I don't really like either of the other movies...and my daughters haven't even seen Cars or Lion King!!!! So I have zero desire to stay in one of them. TA is working with Disney to see what, if anything, they can do for us. Curious...what reasons were you given? We were told they were refurbishing the AC in the Nemo suites, but I suspect they are just oversold.

We have decided on Cars after we got the boot out of Nemo. Still not thrilled but we are trying to make the best of it. The lady I spoke with told me it was AC maintenance. I can't imagine they would be working on both buildings at once, that would be crazy. I didn't even think about asking if one building was still available and insisting I get to stay in Nemo. When she said " I can give you Cars or Lion King suite" I did ask if that was my only choice, including getting moved to another resort and she said we could change resorts but at our own expense ( of course). First she offered me water park passes, we don't have a free day for that, then she offered me a 4th FP+ and after I whined a little more she offered me 25% our first night. That was the extent of the offers before I caved in. I asked if I got both the FP+ and the 25% off and she said no, I get one or the other. I'm sure we will still have fun but as my 6 yo DD said " that's not very magical" and I have to agree

 

[Frozen2014]

For us, we really wanted the Lion King suite. First, I heard building 10 (where we got) was a good location and LK is the most neutral between our kids.
But then they offered the RO discount. Our TA said that we had to switch to the Cars suite to get the discount. Anyone know why since they are both suites?

Am worried we are far away now from the parking and animation hall. Also, a few years ago my DS would have gone crazy in Cars suite, but now that he's older (9), he's quite anit-Cars like he's "too told for that". Hopefully he'll be ok in it. (Although I'm sure any of the rooms are super cool with the theming)

 

[Eeyore2007]

I just called about my Finding Nemo room fir September to see if I would be affected and was told there is no refurbishment happening there?

 

[bluezy]

For us, we really wanted the Lion King suite. First, I heard building 10 (where we got) was a good location and LK is the most neutral between our kids.
But then they offered the RO discount. Our TA said that we had to switch to the Cars suite to get the discount. Anyone know why since they are both suites?

Am worried we are far away now from the parking and animation hall. Also, a few years ago my DS would have gone crazy in Cars suite, but now that he's older (9), he's quite anit-Cars like he's "too told for that". Hopefully he'll be ok in it. (Although I'm sure any of the rooms are super cool with the theming)

When we had reservations at AoA last summer, we had to move from Nemo suite to either LK or Cars because there were no discounted rooms available at Nemo. If a section is booked to capacity or near capacity, they have no need to offer discounts. They prefer to book the rooms at full price, but they'll book a room at a discount rather than having an empty room. I'm guessing that either the LK rooms are completely booked (or close to it) or that your TA just wasn't able to get one of the discounted rooms at LK -- Disney only offers a certain number of discounted rooms. Once they're gone, they're gone and you have to pay rack rate.

I'm guessing that your son will be fine in the Cars section -- especially once he sees it at night. It's really amazing at night.

I just called about my Finding Nemo room fir September to see if I would be affected and was told there is no refurbishment happening there?

It's my understanding that the rooms aren't being "refurbished" (that would mean updates/remodeling). They are being taken out of inventory for unexpected maintenance issues.

 

[cakebaker]

I just called about my Finding Nemo room fir September to see if I would be affected and was told there is no refurbishment happening there?

There is no refurbishment on the schedule and that's all the cm's would know about.

 

[tiffany2009]

I feel bad for those guests that are getting switched. We are booked in a Nemo room for December because that is the room my kids wanted. But sometimes stuff happens and things change. We all get that. However, in my opinion Disney could handle this a bit differently and make people feel a whole lot better. They could do something to make you feel you were in control of the options. They would be equal to them but give you the decision-making power. Something like:

"Nemo is undergoing unexpected refurbishment on the AC unit. Therefore, we need to switch you to a different room within AOA. You can choose between a Cars suite, a Lion King suite or two connecting rooms in the Little Mermaid section. In addition, we will offer you your choice of 1) Free water park passes for your entire party that do not expire, so you can use them at any time 2) An additional FP+ option for your entire party for every day of your stay or 3) An additional 25% off the first night of your stay on top of any discount you have."

IMO they should offer you a bit more than that, but I think the matter of delivery is important.

 

[cinderkelly]

Yep - my travel agent got "the call" regarding our Nemo reservation as well. I'm furious. I know the theming is great for all three...but I'll just be honest - I don't really like either of the other movies...and my daughters haven't even seen Cars or Lion King!!!! So I have zero desire to stay in one of them. TA is working with Disney to see what, if anything, they can do for us. Curious...what reasons were you given? We were told they were refurbishing the AC in the Nemo suites, but I suspect they are just oversold.

Just curious GAJulie were you able to get anything resolved? We ended up settling for Cars but still not entirely thrilled. We considered moving to a different resort altogether but it would have been at our expense and probably also loosing our free QS dining. I hope you end up with something you're happy with. I think I still might see if any Nemo suites are available when we check in, you never know..

 

[Frozen2014]

When we had reservations at AoA last summer, we had to move from Nemo suite to either LK or Cars because there were no discounted rooms available at Nemo. If a section is booked to capacity or near capacity, they have no need to offer discounts. They prefer to book the rooms at full price, but they'll book a room at a discount rather than having an empty room. I'm guessing that either the LK rooms are completely booked (or close to it) or that your TA just wasn't able to get one of the discounted rooms at LK -- Disney only offers a certain number of discounted rooms. Once they're gone, they're gone and you have to pay rack rate.

I'm guessing that your son will be fine in the Cars section -- especially once he sees it at night. It's really amazing at night.

Thanks for explaining. That makes sense that the TA only have a certain number they can sell at discount.
Good to hear too that the Cars section is still quite amazing.

 

[cajunfan]

3. The pool area is fenced in and isn't handicapped accessible. Seriously?? That isn't ok, and I am writing to Disney to complain. I use a scooter. You have to use your magic band to access the pool gate, but it just allows the gate to unlock, briefly, it doesn't open the gate, so then you can't actually get into the pool area without getting off the scooter and trying to juggle the gate and driving a scooter you're not riding on! I'm lucky I can walk, and sometimes someone would be around to help, but really when I asked the CMs at the pool and again at the front desk, the answer I got was "I guess you'll just have to wait for someone to help you" Really??? Not acceptable.

I have a question!

I will probably be using a scooter this next trip (my knees hate me!). Where did you store your scooter and recharge it? I am able to walk (just not long distances) and just need to know what my options will be...we are staying in a suite (not sure which location yet)...also, we may have a second scooter person too.

Thanks!

 

[nydancemom]

I was able to drive my scooter into the bedroom and kept it next to the bed between it and the bathroom door. There is a plug in that wall to plug in the charger. It was sort of in the way, but my husband and I could walk around it to get into bed or into the bathroom. I had rented the portable scooter from Buena Vista, which is a bit smaller than some others I think.

We had three adult kids with us so they were in living room area, one on an air mattress which we stored on top of the table bed area--hard to explain what I mean but we didn't take a picture (which we kept set up as a bed the whole ten days). I think you could easily have a second scooter in the living room near the kitchen area. I had a small freezer there so I know there's a plug in that wall for the charger.

 

[GAJulie]

Just curious GAJulie were you able to get anything resolved? We ended up settling for Cars but still not entirely thrilled. We considered moving to a different resort altogether but it would have been at our expense and probably also loosing our free QS dining. I hope you end up with something you're happy with. I think I still might see if any Nemo suites are available when we check in, you never know..

My TA is still working on it. They relayed my response to Disney, which was basically...NO. I wrote a big long email to my TA explaining why this wasn't acceptable to me, and suggesting other alternatives. Since it's clear they aren't moving everyone, just some of us, it looks like they'll just leave us where we are....at least that's what I hope. They said we won't really know anything until Monday. Makes me nervous, bc we leave home on Friday...checking in to AoA on Sunday...one week from today!!

 

[cinderkelly]

My TA is still working on it. They relayed my response to Disney, which was basically...NO. I wrote a big long email to my TA explaining why this wasn't acceptable to me, and suggesting other alternatives. Since it's clear they aren't moving everyone, just some of us, it looks like they'll just leave us where we are....at least that's what I hope. They said we won't really know anything until Monday. Makes me nervous, bc we leave home on Friday...checking in to AoA on Sunday...one week from today!!

I hope you get a favorable outcome. I just got an email invoice for an extra $15 now due on my reservation since they moved us to Cars and I paid in full for Nemo back in July! Now I have to call again and get THIS fixed. I know it only 15 bucks but no way am I paying anything for being moved out of the room of my choice. Frustrated. I wish I had a TA to to the fighting for me!

 

[betterbutter]

Yep - my travel agent got "the call" regarding our Nemo reservation as well. I'm furious. I know the theming is great for all three...but I'll just be honest - I don't really like either of the other movies...and my daughters haven't even seen Cars or Lion King!!!! So I have zero desire to stay in one of them. TA is working with Disney to see what, if anything, they can do for us.

Curious...what reasons were you given? We were told they were refurbishing the AC in the Nemo suites, but I suspect they are just oversold.

My nephew works at AoA and told me two weeks ago that they were in the process of scheduling maintenance that would take down one of the buildings for a couple of weeks. According to him, it has something to do with the a/c, although he isn't in engineering, so there's no guarantee that info is accurate.

It is not an oversold situation, that he is sure of. I hope that helps.

 

[momminnie]

Hey all, just started reading this thread today. I have reservations for LM for 10-3_10-5. How many bus stops and how far approximately is it from LM. Thanks in advance.

 

[myminnieme]

I'm pretty sure there is only one stop and it is at/near animation hall. Which is fair trek from the little mermaid section. Some people say it's a long way and others say it isn't so bad.

 

[rcklein5269]

Hey all, just started reading this thread today. I have reservations for LM for 10-3_10-5. How many bus stops and how far approximately is it from LM. Thanks in advance.

There is just one stop up in the front... Just spent 10 days there and the busses were amazing. We never waited more then 10 minutes for a bus tops. Only down side at all four parks the bus stop is furthest away but wasn't that bad

 

[chelseabun76]

I'm pretty sure there is only one stop and it is at/near animation hall. Which is fair trek from the little mermaid section. Some people say it's a long way and others say it isn't so bad.

This is the one reason I was hoping my mom didn't want the little mermaid room, but as it's just her and I along with my dd, I wasn't going to fight for a suite at one of the other buildings when she's paying for the trip. LOL! I always seem to be the furthest building away, when we stayed at All Star Music in 2007 we were the furthest away and were sweating buckets before we even hit the main hall to catch the bus. lol

 

[mzadell]

Hey all, just started reading this thread today. I have reservations for LM for 10-3_10-5. How many bus stops and how far approximately is it from LM. Thanks in advance.

There is one bus stop at the main area and it's approximately a quarter mile from LM.

 

[momminnie]

Thanks so much. I'll make sure to not be in a hurry ,and be prepared to walk just hope it doesn't rain. I just have tickets to the MNSSHP. Looking forward to my stay any way.