Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[bluezy]

Just switched from CBR to a Lion King Suite at AoA for our September 2015 trip to WDW. We are super excited about the theming. We are a family of 6 and my concern is that I had others tell me the beds are made for younger children than mine and they will not be comfortable for them because of it. Can anyone who has been there help me understand what they might have meant?

We stayed in a LK suite 2 years ago with 4 of our "kids". The oldest was 24 at the time and he's about 5'11'. He slept on the table bed and was perfectly comfortable. He said it was better than most hotel beds he's slept in. The second oldest was almost 15 at the time and was about 5'8" at the time. He slept on the sofa bed and had no complaints (and he complains about *everything*). Our daughters (ages 13 & 8 at the time) slept on air mattresses (well, actually, the then 8 yo slept on the cushions from the sofa -- her choice) because none of the kids wanted to share beds because they fling their arms and legs when they sleep and they wake each other up all night long.

The table bed and sofa bed are close to if not the same dimensions as a double bed. I have a picture of the 4 kids (really 3 "adult size" kids and one "kid") laying side-by-side on the sofa bed watching TV. While they certainly wouldn't have been comfortable sleeping like that, they had plenty of room to lay across the bed to watch TV. If your kids don't mind sharing a bed in general, they should be fine. I think the beds in the suites at ASMusic are much more suited (comfort-wise) for kids as opposed to adults. I've seen a lot of complaints that adults are not comfortable in those beds. And the murphy beds in the Moderate resorts are smaller than a standard single bed, so they're more suited to younger kids. But in my opinion, all of the beds in the suites at AoA are suited for adults (or kids).

 

[johnrd]

Whats our best bet for getting to DHS from AoA for an 0800 ADR? Bus or Taxi?

 

[dansdad]

Whats our best bet for getting to DHS from AoA for an 0800 ADR? Bus or Taxi?

Quickest and easiest is a Taxi. The buses start rolling at 6:30AM for early ADRs but they don't run as frequently. You would have to be at the bus stop around 6:45-7:00 to go by bus.

 

[finny1981]

Thanks guys I figured they were just being silly, but I had more than one person tell me that on another board when I told them I was switching and at first I thought it was nonsense, then I thought it might be true since it is themed so vibrantly (which we love) and maybe they were catering to a younger crowd. Very happy with our choice now.

 

[trishypoo]

That makes no sense. The suites have a bedroom with a queen size bed, a large sofa bed (not sure whether it's a queen or bigger), and a table bed which is a double. There are no small beds at this resort.

Agreed ! The beds are 1 queen and 2 doubles. I had a 17 year old and 13 year old in the sofa bed.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

I know check out is at 11am, but if DME is coming to pick my group up at 3:30ish the day we leave, but we want to carry our own luggage on the bus, can the front desk hold our big suitcases while we spend our last hours at the resort, and can we pick them up as we are getting ready to leave?

 

[jcarwash]

I know check out is at 11am, but if DME is coming to pick my group up at 3:30ish the day we leave, but we want to carry our own luggage on the bus, can the front desk hold our big suitcases while we spend our last hours at the resort, and can we pick them up as we are getting ready to leave?

Yes, you can check your bags with the luggage service.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Yes, you can check your bags with the luggage service.

OK great! and just to clarify, I will be able to get them and take them on the bus with me when leaving correct?

 

[jcarwash]

OK great! and just to clarify, I will be able to get them and take them on the bus with me when leaving correct?

Yes -- you go back to the luggage service area/room to get your bags.

That reminds me -- allow enough time for them to retrieve your bags before your DME pickup time (don't show up at the same time as your bus -- 15 to 30 minutes before to be safe).

And it's my advice to be sure and tip.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Yes -- you go back to the luggage service area/room to get your bags.

That reminds me -- allow enough time for them to retrieve your bags before your DME pickup time (don't show up at the same time as your bus -- 15 to 30 minutes before to be safe).

And it's my advice to be sure and tip.

Thank you so much for the info - and yes I am already prepared for that!

 

[lovingeire]

Just switched resorts to save us a little money and booked our second trip in a Cars suite at AoA for May. Looking forward to two bathrooms again!

 

[lovingeire]

Has anyone stayed recently who can speak to the cell phone service? I remember it being horrible in 2012. Has that improved at all? And hopefully the WiFi is still going strong. I may have some work to do during the little ones nap times.

 

[Curiouser&curiouser!]

We were just there Feb 10-16th. We stayed in a first floor Lion King Room. Terrible cell phone service. Part of our family stayed in Little Mermaid 3rd floor and had great service.

The Wifi worked just fine for us.

 

[dansdad]

Has anyone stayed recently who can speak to the cell phone service? I remember it being horrible in 2012. Has that improved at all? And hopefully the WiFi is still going strong. I may have some work to do during the little ones nap times.

That will mostly depend on the carrier you have. We have Verizon and had excellent coverage all over the resort. Even inside the room.

 

[lovingeire]

We were just there Feb 10-16th. We stayed in a first floor Lion King Room. Terrible cell phone service. Part of our family stayed in Little Mermaid 3rd floor and had great service.

The Wifi worked just fine for us.

That will mostly depend on the carrier you have. We have Verizon and had excellent coverage all over the resort. Even inside the room.

Thanks! WiFi is most important, but there are the occasional phone calls I may have to make so I guess I need a backup plan. (Normally if I need to make phone calls, I need the internet at the same time. We have AT&T and were in a 1st floor room in the Cars section last visit so it sounds like it hasn't changed or improved much.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

How have you found Mousekeeping to be when staying here? Has anyone ever had any issues with not receiving service? Also, how often do they change the sheets on the beds, and better yet, will they make the beds every day? Thanks!

 

[bluezy]

That will mostly depend on the carrier you have. We have Verizon and had excellent coverage all over the resort. Even inside the room.

I think some of it also depends on the phone. My husband and I both had AT&T for the last few Disney trips. We each had different phones, though. He always had great service -- even in the far interior parts of our rooms (like by the bathroom sink in our room at Pop Century or in the hall at AoA. Yet I had crappy service. I'd have to be standing right next to a window to get even 1 bar on my phone.

 

[SarahDisney]

I think some of it also depends on the phone. My husband and I both had AT&T for the last few Disney trips. We each had different phones, though. He always had great service -- even in the far interior parts of our rooms (like by the bathroom sink in our room at Pop Century or in the hall at AoA. Yet I had crappy service. I'd have to be standing right next to a window to get even 1 bar on my phone.

Totally agree on this.
My most recent visit to AoA (Little Mermaid rooms in November), I had terrible reception and had to use the wifi, and my sister had good reception and was having trouble with the wifi. We're both on Verizon, but have different phones (she has an iPhone, I have a Droid)

 

[lovingeire]

How have you found Mousekeeping to be when staying here? Has anyone ever had any issues with not receiving service? Also, how often do they change the sheets on the beds, and better yet, will they make the beds every day? Thanks!

It's been three years since our last stay at Art of Animation, but the beds were made every day. I can't speak to how often they changed the sheets though. Our Mousekeeping was great when we were there! Our at the time 2 year old spilled a cup of water on the bed and they quickly came and changed out the sheets/bedding for us. They did a great job!

 

[tcherjen]

I don't remember my cell phone service being bad. We have Verizon.