Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[Fleurlur]

Hey, I'm planning to book my fiance and I's first stay in a Disney resort next month for September 2014! We will be in the Little Mermaid room as we are only a party of two. Can anybody tell me is there anywhere in the Little Mermaid section that has a good view which we can request?

 

[dizzycrazy]

I would like to know this too! That is my project for next week! If it does not work, I can spend time doing something else! How tall/wide are the windows?

Has anyone decorated their resort room door with magnets in the family suites? I thought I had heard that the doors were metal but I also thought I heard that someone had a hard time getting their magnets to stick. I was just wondering if I could get some input before I spend time and money making magnets for our door. Thanks in advance!!

 

[ToyStory3]

This is a mini report in behalf of my sister in law and her family (2 adults 3 kids). She's not on the dis. They stayed in a Cars suite the second week of June. Rey absolutely lived the resort. It was their favorite part of their trip.

They took an unexpected day off from the parks just to stay at the resort and use the pools. They said its even more beautiful than the pictures. She highly recommended the Cars section for theming.

Only negative was how crowded and congested the food court was. They only used it once bc they has to wait so long. But they loved the resort overall!

 

[bluezy]

I would like to know this too! That is my project for next week! If it does not work, I can spend time doing something else! How tall/wide are the windows?

We were in a Lion King suite and I did not see any doors decorated in our building or in the Nemo building we walked through a few times. Granted, I didn't walk down every hall, but I did walk down 4 of them in our building on a regular basis and I could see down 2 others. I don't think the doors are metal on the suites. I know I couldn't use magnets on the inside of the door, but I didn't check if the outside was metal. I suppose there could be a metal fire barrier on the outside of the door -- I just didn't think to check. I just assumed that if the inside wasn't metal, neither was the outside.

 

[bluezy]

This is a mini report in behalf of my sister in law and her family (2 adults 3 kids). She's not on the dis. They stayed in a Cars suite the second week of June. Rey absolutely lived the resort. It was their favorite part of their trip.

They took an unexpected day off from the parks just to stay at the resort and use the pools. They said its even more beautiful than the pictures. She highly recommended the Cars section for theming.

Only negative was how crowded and congested the food court was. They only used it once bc they has to wait so long. But they loved the resort overall!

I agree that the theming in the cars section is awesome and that pictures (even professional ones) don't do it justice. Actually, I feel that way about the whole resort.

Sorry they didn't have a good experience in the food court. We ate there for lunch or dinner every day when we were at the resort a few weeks ago. During the busy times, some of the lines could get long but other than the Create Your Own Pasta line, they all moved fairly quickly when we were there. And whether we were eating, refilling our mugs, or just walking through the food court on our way back from a park, there were always plenty of empty tables. Too bad they weren't able to eat there more often, there are some very yummy options there.

Glad they had a great time overall, though. I have been recommending this resort to people over and over again because we enjoyed it so much.

 

[dizzycrazy]

How was your time at the LK suite? We just booked ours for first week in Aug! I wanted Nemo but my DD 6 and DS 10 overwhelmingly wanted LK!!!! So LK it was! Very excited! Already getting decorations ready for door and windows in Mickey/ LK theme! The grandparents will be coming as well! How did the room work for all 6 of you? What building were you in? Which LK building would you suggest to request? Right now, we just want ground floor. Grandma had 2 knee replacements and will be in an ECV and would prefer not to do elevators. The rooms look so beautiful! I am getting more excited everyday! Any tips??? Send them on!

We leave in three weeks for a 6 day stay. We are staying in a LK family suite. I have four kids ages 6, 7, 11 and 14. My kids are already fighting over who gets what bed. LOL...

I cannot wait! This is my kids's first trip to Disney!

 

[dizzycrazy]

Thanks so much! I will probably not bother with magnets then! Why waste time!
Would love to hear about your time at the LK suites!!!! We have a LK suite in Aug!
Any tips?

We were in a Lion King suite and I did not see any doors decorated in our building or in the Nemo building we walked through a few times. Granted, I didn't walk down every hall, but I did walk down 4 of them in our building on a regular basis and I could see down 2 others. I don't think the doors are metal on the suites. I know I couldn't use magnets on the inside of the door, but I didn't check if the outside was metal. I suppose there could be a metal fire barrier on the outside of the door -- I just didn't think to check. I just assumed that if the inside wasn't metal, neither was the outside.

 

[bluezy]

Thanks so much! I will probably not bother with magnets then! Why waste time!
Would love to hear about your time at the LK suites!!!! We have a LK suite in Aug!
Any tips?

We really enjoyed our time in the suite and at the resort. We had a great location: Building 10 in the wing closest to Animation Hall. We were on the 4th floor 2 doors away from the steps (which we used most of the time). We could be at Landscape of Flavors in about 2 minutes and at the bus stops in 3 minutes. It was a great location.

We had 6 people in the room and never felt crowded. DH & I had the bedroom. DS24 slept on the table bed; DS14 slept on the sofa bed; DD13 slept on an air mattress; and DD8 was supposed to share the sofa bed with her brother but she decided she liked the cushions from the couch better and slept on those on the floor (We put a sheet on them. They sort of have a squared "u-shape" to them so when you turn them upside down, it makes a bed with built in short railings -- hard to explain but you'll understand once you see them. ) Even with 2 people sleeping on the floor, we still had plenty of space (we would stand the air mattress up between the "kitchen" and the couch during the day and the "sofa cushion" bed was against the wall by the window in the living room so it was already out of the way). There was plenty of storage space as well. We all unpacked and put our stuff in the drawers in the dressers. There is also a deep drawer in the "closet" in the living room. I stacked our suitcases/bags in the "closet" behind the door in the bedroom so they were out of the way. And there are several shelves throughout the room to store things on as well. I'm the queen of over packing (we drive) and there was plenty of space for my junk. We've had connecting rooms at Pop Century on 3 previous trips and while the square footage of the suites is similar to two standard rooms, it felt much bigger as it's a much more efficient layout. Having the larger refrigerator was nice -- plenty of room for drinks and leftovers without having to use my Tetris skills to fit everything in. And the microwave came in handy for making popcorn (brought from home) and reheating leftovers.

We loved walking around the resort at night and had a nice view of the Epcot fireworks (the high ones) from the bridge between AoA and Pop Century. On a few occasions we took a bus from a park to Pop because it either arrived first or the line had far fewer people in it so we knew we'd be able to sit on the bus rather than stand. We used the Big Blue Pool most of the time but did try the Little Mermaid pool one day. The LM pool provided a nice quiet uncrowded swimming environment -- though the kids made sure to tell me that they preferred Big Blue instead.

We really don't have any complaints about our Lion King suite or the resort in general (other than I found the mattress in the bedroom to be firmer than I like. I'm a side sleeper and my hips felt bruised every morning. Nothing a handful of ibuprofen couldn't fix. ). I can't wait to stay there again. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

 

[hart6066]

We just realized that with being in the LM rooms, we won't have a coffee maker. And since we go just after Christmas, we will be on the 6am bus BEFORE the food court opens!!! We don't drive down, so we were wondering if we could ship a small, inexpensive coffee maker from Amazon? How do people ship things--have heard about water from Staples as well. Thanks!

 

[esdot]

I would like to hear opinions of folks that have stayed in the LM standard rooms. We're still on the fence between staying at PC in standard rooms, or staying at the AoA standard room.

We're going (DW, DD4, myself) on 2/8/14 - 2/15/14 and don't want the additional cost of the suite. I am scared that the distance to Animation Hall from the LM standard rooms will be too far after a long day at the parks.

How bad is it? We'd be doing the dining plan, so I have to keep in mind potential walks to fill up a drink cup, etc. Would we be better served staying at PC and just walking over to visit the sights of AoA? Or is it fairly manageable distance wise from the LM standard rooms? I've stayed at PC 2x before, so something different would be nice, but it's not a requirement as we've always enjoyed PC.

Also, when free dining/discounts are offered, is AoA usually excluded due to it's "newness"? Would I be more likely to get discounted rates (as they are offered) by staying at PC?

Thanks in advance!

 

[jcarwash]

I am scared that the distance to Animation Hall from the LM standard rooms will be too far after a long day at the parks.

How bad is it? We'd be doing the dining plan, so I have to keep in mind potential walks to fill up a drink cup, etc. Would we be better served staying at PC and just walking over to visit the sights of AoA? Or is it fairly manageable distance wise from the LM standard rooms? I've stayed at PC 2x before, so something different would be nice, but it's not a requirement as we've always enjoyed PC.

Also, when free dining/discounts are offered, is AoA usually excluded due to it's "newness"? Would I be more likely to get discounted rates (as they are offered) by staying at PC?

There is a distance, but you shouldn't be scared by it. It's about a 5-8 minute walk, which at some moderate resort buildings would be considered a short walk.

If this matters, LM rooms tend be priced $10 per night higher than standard rooms at Pop Century.

When special offers are available, LM rooms have consistently been excluded due to popularity. You can expect to get discounts/free dining availability at Pop Century and the All-Star resorts, or in the AoA suites.

 

[esdot]

Thanks for the feedback! The potential for discounts part does matter to me, so I think we might choose PC for this trip and look at AoA for the future. We can always walk over to AoA and enjoy the scenery.

 

[katiee37]

I know I already introduced myself on this thread a few pages earlier, but I'm officially booked in a LM room in January for my birthday!

 

[collegeprogram01]

What are you opinions on the little mermaid rooms? we are looking to stay there in April. Thanks!!!

 

[DisneyMomChristine]

Thanks for the feedback! The potential for discounts part does matter to me, so I think we might choose PC for this trip and look at AoA for the future. We can always walk over to AoA and enjoy the scenery.

Just something to keep in mind - if you book at PC, while you can visit AoA, you won't be able to use the pools. With your DD being 4, she *may* want to swim there. We just booked our LM room for our DDs who will be 4 & 5 when we travel. To us, paying a little extra for at this resort is worth it, because we think they are at the PERFECT ages for AoA.

Good luck deciding!

 

[RoseRoni2]

But for @ $100 more for the week and my DD14 is obsessed with the LM it was a no brainer staying in the LM room. She and I can't wait!

 

[ADisneyQueen]

There is another thread on the resorts board about the fridges in many of the resorts being taken out and slowly replaced due to a fire hazard. I am hoping that we can get some people who are there now or will be in a few weeks to report to us if the LM rooms or suites still have the fridges. We will be there Aug. 7th and I am anxious to know what's going on.

 

[MamaJessie]

There is another thread on the resorts board about the fridges in many of the resorts being taken out and slowly replaced due to a fire hazard. I am hoping that we can get some people who are there now or will be in a few weeks to report to us if the LM rooms or suites still have the fridges. We will be there Aug. 7th and I am anxious to know what's going on.

The suites are excluded.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

The suites are excluded.

Thanks, I just now saw this on another thread. We have 3 LM rooms so I hope somebody can give me some info on these rooms.

 

[hglenn]

Can someone please expound on decorating the doors? We are headed to AoA next month and its my kids first trip! What do you do for decorations?