Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[dansdad]

Has anyone ever tried to get a 'complimentary upgrade' at check in?

Asking for a complimentary upgrade is the surest way to not get one. Upgrades are given to benefit the resort, rooms taken out of service etc, not benefit the guest.

A bit like the $20 trick if anyone has ever done this in Vegas??

That doesn't work at WDW resorts. A front desk CM taking a cash tip is likely to get fired for it.

 

[BMWwife]

Just booked for December and I'm so excited! Someone else asked but I didn't see a reply. Does anyone know if Almond Milk is available at the resort?

 

[wendow]

Just booked for December and I'm so excited! Someone else asked but I didn't see a reply. Does anyone know if Almond Milk is available at the resort?

We have not stayed at AoA but have stayed at several other resorts. I've never seen almond milk available at the resorts we've been at. We take our own with us as this is what one of our ds's drinks. The resorts typically have soy and, sometimes, rice milk.

 

[jenseib]

Has anyone ever tried to get a 'complimentary upgrade' at check in? A bit like the $20 trick if anyone has ever done this in Vegas??

Some people ask for upgrades but they usually charge you for them. And rarely is it discounted. Sometimes they will move Little Mermaid people into suites but it's more rare as the resort itself is often booked up.

 

[ls1222]

Last January we were upgraded from a Little Mermaid room to a Finding Nemo suite!!! It was a really fun surprise!

 

[CanadianMouseDad]

Does anyone know if the Family suites are generally included in room discounts? and if so, what percentage do they qualify for?
Cheers!

 

[CreightonsMomma]

We are back from our first stay at AoA. I loved every single second of it. We were in room 1607 (2nd floor Cars Building 1). Ramone was right outside our window. It rained a lot on our trip and my son and I laid on the bed with the curtains opened and watching the cozy cone sign turn while it rained. It was so relaxing. LOL.

The walk to the buses and food court was just a few minutes each. Probably a minute or two if you went down the stairs instead of the elevator. We did have to wait a while for the buses a few times but it was no big deal. Everyone was very patient.

I say if you are on the fence for AoA - don't be! All beds were comfortable (we were 3 adults, 2 kids). The room was clean. Housekeeping was great!

 

[CreightonsMomma]

Does anyone know if the Family suites are generally included in room discounts? and if so, what percentage do they qualify for?
Cheers!

I believe the suites are but not the little mermaid rooms. They will fall under whatever the discount for value hotels are.

 

[CanadianMouseDad]

We are back from our first stay at AoA. I loved every single second of it. We were in room 1607 (2nd floor Cars Building 1). Ramone was right outside our window. It rained a lot on our trip and my son and I laid on the bed with the curtains opened and watching the cozy cone sign turn while it rained. It was so relaxing. LOL.

The walk to the buses and food court was just a few minutes each. Probably a minute or two if you went down the stairs instead of the elevator. We did have to wait a while for the buses a few times but it was no big deal. Everyone was very patient.

I say if you are on the fence for AoA - don't be! All beds were comfortable (we were 3 adults, 2 kids). The room was clean. Housekeeping was great!

What Size beds are they?

 

[bluezy]

Does anyone know if the Family suites are generally included in room discounts? and if so, what percentage do they qualify for?
Cheers!

We've stayed at AoA in June of 2013, 2015, & 2016 and we've always gotten a discount. It was always 15% on the package but the last 2 times also included free park hoppers (which we always buy so it was an additional discount for us. Might not be as much of an incentive if someone doesn't want or plan to use park hoppers). Actually, now that I think about it, I think both of the 15% + free park hoppers were PIN/UOC offers. The public offer was probably just 15%. Last year we originally booked with the Summer Meal Deal (one free QS meal per person per night) which would have saved us about $650-700 (we had 6 people in the suite) but the UOC was a bigger savings for us.

The suites are always included in the discounts but sometimes the Nemo suites are difficult to get at a discounted rate -- though it seems to be easier since they started charging more for the Nemo suites than the Cars or LK suites. Little Mermaid rooms are not included in discounts.

What Size beds are they?

The bed in the master bedroom is a queen. The other 2 are approximately doubles. The sofa bed measures 77" x 53" x 6" and the table bed is 75" x 54" x 8". (A standard double is 53" x 74".)

 

[CreightonsMomma]

What Size beds are they?

The couch and murphy were full size and the bedroom was a queen.

 

[kemmerlinj2]

Has anyone stayed at AoA just as an adult's only trip? Instead of spending 10 nights in a DVC 2 bedroom suite I was thinking of doing a family suite and potentially using the savings for myself and parents to go to the Disneyland Backstage Magic Trip next year. It'll be myself and my mom with her fiance. I don't mind sleeping in a bed in the living room!

 

[10MoreMinutes]

Has anyone stayed at AoA just as an adult's only trip? Instead of spending 10 nights in a DVC 2 bedroom suite I was thinking of doing a family suite and potentially using the savings for myself and parents to go to the Disneyland Backstage Magic Trip next year. It'll be myself and my mom with her fiance. I don't mind sleeping in a bed in the living room!

I went last year with my brother, sister-in-law, and a friend, all of us over 21. We stayed in a Lion King suite and it was great. There was plenty of space, and having a tiny kitchen and two bathrooms was incredibly helpful, imo, especially when trying to get out the door quickly in the mornings. Word of warning on the beds though: my brother and SIL slept in the bedroom and said the bed was rock-hard. My friend slept on the Inovabed and said it was comfortable. And I slept on the sofa bed, which was more comfortable than I expected, but I wouldn't be able to sleep on it for more than 3 or 4 nights in a row (by the morning of the third day, my back was hurting when I woke up and it took a few hours to work out the kinks).

 

[bluezy]

Has anyone stayed at AoA just as an adult's only trip? Instead of spending 10 nights in a DVC 2 bedroom suite I was thinking of doing a family suite and potentially using the savings for myself and parents to go to the Disneyland Backstage Magic Trip next year. It'll be myself and my mom with her fiance. I don't mind sleeping in a bed in the living room!

I wouldn't hesitate to stay there with just adults. All but one of our "kids" will be adults on the next trip (ranging from 18-28 with the "non adult" being 14) and they still like to stay there -- and I'd stay there with no kids as well. I agree with the PP about the beds. The queen bed is way to firm for my liking -- I felt bruised and sore after one night. I called mousekeeping and got an extra blanket and folded that into a "pillow topper" for my side of the bed which worked great for me. Now I just request the blanket the minute we arrive. However, my husband prefers a firm mattress and loves that bed. My sons have both raved about the Inovabed -- saying it was more comfortable than most hotel beds they've slept in. And none of the kids has complained about the sofa bed (but haven't raved about it either) but said it was more comfortable than the sofa beds they've slept on in other hotels.

 

[10MoreMinutes]

And none of the kids has complained about the sofa bed (but haven't raved about it either) but said it was more comfortable than the sofa beds they've slept on in other hotels.

That, I can agree with, it's definitely more comfortable than any other sofa bed I've ever slept on. If I had a healthy back, it might have been fine, but I already had lower back problems going into that stay, so the thinner mattress just aggravated it. An extra blanket as a "pillow topper" might have helped me too, but I didn't think about it at the time.

 

[EyeofDTiger75]

We just booked our daughter's (age 4) return trip to Disney Wold here for February 2018. We booked the Little Mermaid Room. We are all very excited. However, she doesn't know. She will find out as we drive under the "Welcome" sign.

 

[Tinkerbell8956]

Has anyone stayed at AoA just as an adult's only trip? Instead of spending 10 nights in a DVC 2 bedroom suite I was thinking of doing a family suite and potentially using the savings for myself and parents to go to the Disneyland Backstage Magic Trip next year. It'll be myself and my mom with her fiance. I don't mind sleeping in a bed in the living room!

We had 4 adults and a child in one room and were fine last year. If the savings would allow you to do the Backstage Magic Adventures by Disney trip...DO IT!! We did it in 2012 and it was one of the best vacations I have ever taken!

 

[4DisneyWVUfans]

Does anyone know how late the Big Blue Pool will be open in late July? Thanks in advance!

 

[WEDWDW]

Does anyone know how late the Big Blue Pool will be open in late July? Thanks in advance!

11:00 PM.

 

[4DisneyWVUfans]

Thank You!! Really want to check it out after Epcot one night.