Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[MamaJessie]

Looking forward to our first visit to AoA! I was reading reviews of the kitchenette area but it is an older review and I just wanted to verify - do they still have can openers and bowls? Thinking we might head back to the room for lunch and want to make sure I pack accordingly. Thanks!

 

[Grand Michig(ian)?]

we found AoA to be way too crowded, loud, smelly and the carpets in the guest hallways was utterly disgusting. Other guests told me they tried it for a few days, but never again. Interesting comment was there was no where to escape the chaos.

We recently stayed in the LM section and had a lake view room with construction barges in use mid day and despite that we felt totally removed from any excess hustle and bustle as we saw very few people on our floor. I know most rooms were in use because of window decor and seeing room service make their way through. Now of course during peak times it does get crowded in the food court, bus stop, ect.

Another note on escaping the chaos: we used the Big Blue pool on 1 afternoon and 2 other evenings and it only felt crowded the 1 afternoon as we really had to search for a poolside chair to kept our stuff but I would not describe it as chaotic. The LM pool was even less crowded. And we learned to avoid some of the morning crowd headed to the buses buy finding walkways that avoid the main paths leading to the lobby/main building and having to go through that.

On cleanliness of the resort: I found it to be very clean. I saw a housekeeper using a broom/brush to clean the ceilings of the outside hallways one day, a paint crew touching up the treasure chest, and crew cleaning the outside walls of the LK buildings using lifts to reach the highest levels. Our room was great. No complaints about cleanliness and all the dresser drawers worked (we've had some at other resorts not work so great). I did hear a neighbors baby crying on occasion. It was nothing to complain about but the walls may be thinner there then other places.

As has been said, it may not suit everyone but I wanted to share our experience and option that we had a great time and stay. Enjoy the Fall.

 

[Grand Michig(ian)?]

Does anyone know where the connecting rooms are located in the LM section?

We recently stayed in room 7840, Ursula building, facing the lake and Pop, 4th floor, pretty much the middle of the block of rooms and we had a connecting room (which we didn't need, just got).

We had tremendous luck with the buses the entire trip both to and from the parks. We waited no more then 3-4 minutes at the most just a couple of times. Once on the bus it can be slow at the intersection where ESPN Wide World of Sports is because of the construction but coming back to AoA was quicker. And from the LM rooms I timed it taking 5m34s to walk from food court to our room so can be time consuming doing that multiple times per day if you do that.

You will have the songs they play in the food court burned into your memory if you spend anytime there. I discovered some new to me songs that I annoy my household with singing. We had a wonderful time staying there and hope you do too.

 

[Travelstovegas]

Hello! I'm doing a split stay with WL & AoA in early December with our group of 10 people (5 adults, 5 kids). I was wondering if anyone who has stayed there recently could give me an idea of transportation times from AoA to the various parks - AK, EP, HS, MK. I have read that AoA has dedicated buses (doesn't share them), and would love input on how long transportation takes, especially in the morning from AoA. Thanks!

 

[dansdad]

Hello! I'm doing a split stay with WL & AoA in early December with our group of 10 people (5 adults, 5 kids). I was wondering if anyone who has stayed there recently could give me an idea of transportation times from AoA to the various parks - AK, EP, HS, MK. I have read that AoA has dedicated buses (doesn't share them), and would love input on how long transportation takes, especially in the morning from AoA. Thanks!

MK 15-17 minutes
EP 7-8 minutes
HS 6-7 minutes
AK 11-13 minutes

 

[disneyfanatic60]

We are staying our first night at AOA and then switching resorts. The day we check out of AOA, we want to just chill some by the pool. We are wondering if our magic bands will allow us into the pool area after check out.

 

[dansdad]

We are staying our first night at AOA and then switching resorts. The day we check out of AOA, we want to just chill some by the pool. We are wondering if our magic bands will allow us into the pool area after check out.

Yup. You are considered a guest until midnight of check out day with full access to all amenities.

 

[Grand Michig(ian)?]

Hello! I'm doing a split stay with WL & AoA in early December with our group of 10 people (5 adults, 5 kids). I was wondering if anyone who has stayed there recently could give me an idea of transportation times from AoA to the various parks - AK, EP, HS, MK. I have read that AoA has dedicated buses (doesn't share them), and would love input on how long transportation takes, especially in the morning from AoA. Thanks!

Because of the construction the morning times going to parks was slightly longer but the construction didn't affect going back to AoA at the end of the day. AoA to MK in AM was 20 & 22. MK to AoA in PM was 18 both days. AoA to HS was 19 in AM, back to AoA in PM was 10. AoA to AK in AM was 16, back to AoA in PM was 14. AoA to Epcot in AM 13, and back to AoA in PM was 12. Those times are when the bus left the bus stop to when we were off the bus at our destination. Hope this helps.

 

[Jessirip]

I was wondering this exact same thing, but I don't see an answer to this question here. We still have about 90 days until our stay, so we haven't done the online check-in yet. When I reserved I picked the "any suite" option hoping for LK or Nemo but my Disney account says Cars. It just isn't our first or even second choice. Do we have the option of asking what other suites are available when we check in or when we do the online check-in?

I was wondering as well (we booked the family suite option when the only other option was Cars) for our April trip, so I called this afternoon to see what they would say. The extremely sweet CM I spoke to explained that it means you could get any of the 3 suite areas assigned upon arrival, which could include the Nemo Suites. It sounds as if when you are booking the family suite option you are giving yourself the possibility of an upgrade to the more preferred location if something is available.

We would be happy in any of them, but Nemo appeals the most to us theme-wise so she put a note on our reservation that we would like the Nemo suite if possible, but gave the usual we can't guarantee it speech, which I get. I would give them a call and just place your preference on your reservation just in case. You never know!

 

[flav]

Do they sell lactose free milk at the shop? I am trying to figure out if I need to bring lactase drops. TIA

 

[lindsayjs]

Here now staying in a LK suite. The room is great, very clean and few signs of wear. I don't love the mattresses on any of the beds but they're fine. We stayed at Pop the first night in a renovated room and those mattresses are amazing so I might've been spoiled prior to arrival. The bridge is open still from pop to aoa, we just walked our stuff over. Our room was ready at 11am when we checked in.

 

[Moneypenny]

Here now staying in a LK suite. The room is great, very clean and few signs of wear. I don't love the mattresses on any of the beds but they're fine. We stayed at Pop the first night in a renovated room and those mattresses are amazing so I might've been spoiled prior to arrival. The bridge is open still from pop to aoa, we just walked our stuff over. Our room was ready at 11am when we checked in.

Thanks for the info! If you don't mind, I have the same question as a previous poster...are there bowls, can openers, plastic silverware, etc in the rooms? I won't bother to pack those things if they are already there.

 

[HappyGal]

How loud are the first floor rooms, specifically the ones next to the main pool? I’ve stayed at Pop next to the Hippy Dippy pool and it wasn’t that bad.

 

[lindsayjs]

Thanks for the info! If you don't mind, I have the same question as a previous poster...are there bowls, can openers, plastic silverware, etc in the rooms? I won't bother to pack those things if they are already there.

There are paper plates, bowls, cups and plastic cutlery. No can opener that I've seen.

 

[bluezy]

Thanks for the info! If you don't mind, I have the same question as a previous poster...are there bowls, can openers, plastic silverware, etc in the rooms? I won't bother to pack those things if they are already there.

There are paper plates, bowls, cups and plastic cutlery. No can opener that I've seen.

We've stayed in the suites 3 times and there has always been paper plates, bowls, cups, plastic silverware, a manual can opener and a cork screw on the kitchen shelf.

This blog post has a bunch of pictures from the kitchen area.

 

[Moneypenny]

There are paper plates, bowls, cups and plastic cutlery. No can opener that I've seen.

We've stayed in the suites 3 times and there has always been paper plates, bowls, cups, plastic silverware, a manual can opener and a cork screw on the kitchen shelf.

This blog post has a bunch of pictures from the kitchen area.

Thanks so much!

 

[flav]

Can anyone confirm whether the Captain Pineapple (Dole Whip + rhum) is still offered at the Drop Off Pool Bar, please?

 

[melificent]

Can anyone confirm whether the Captain Pineapple (Dole Whip + rhum) is still offered at the Drop Off Pool Bar, please?

As of this afternoon, yes.

 

[flav]

As of this afternoon, yes.

Yes, can’t wait for my arrival celebratory drink on Thursday

 

[Nairnyn]

Sorry if these questions have been addressed before. I've tried going through previous pages, but I just can't read through the whole thing!

We recently decided to switch from two rooms at POFQ to one suite at AOA, but some in our party are a little worried about the sofa bed. I've seen conflicting reports. Some people say they don't have metal bars like a traditional sofa bed, and that it's more like a platform. But I've seen about 1% of people say that no, it does have the metal bar right in the middle.

So my question is: do the sofa beds at AOA, specifically in the Cars suite, have the metal bar? Or are they on a platform?

And secondly, does AOA have egg crate mattress toppers that we can request for the room?

Thank you in advance!!!!