Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[andee515]

Okay, We are staying at Nemo at the end of October.

I am finishing up a grocery list fore Wegoshop today or tomorrow, but before I send it; I was hoping someone had or could point me to a pic of an open fridge so I could better decide on things. I'm pretty sure I've seen one on this forum, but I looked for about an hour last night and couldn't find one....HELP! Descriptions or pics of what you jammed in would also be very helpful...lol

 

[bluezy]

Okay, We are staying at Nemo at the end of October.

I am finishing up a grocery list fore Wegoshop today or tomorrow, but before I send it; I was hoping someone had or could point me to a pic of an open fridge so I could better decide on things. I'm pretty sure I've seen one on this forum, but I looked for about an hour last night and couldn't find one....HELP! Descriptions or pics of what you jammed in would also be very helpful...lol

There are pictures of an empty fridge here:

http://allears.net/acc/g_artanimation_lion-king2.html

I was pleasantly surprised at how much stuff we could get in our fridge at AoA. We had a half gallon of milk, several small bottles of soda, water bottles , leftovers, and a few other odds and ends and still had space.

 

[goofy4tink]

Hi, we're staying for 16 nights. The groceries are really just basics for breakfast and night-time snacks. If we are in Epcot it night be worth it to head over to the Boardwalk and check out the Screen Door General Store or maybe even walk over to the HESS gas station. Or maybe we'll just order from the Garden Grocer.

Thanks everyone for the info.

In all reality? You are going to pay a premium for those groceries at the Screendoor. I stay there quite often..it's my home resort. For what you want, you can probably buy the same stuff at AoA. Or just pay to have Garden Grocer or WeGoShop deliver what you need.

I would call and tell the CM what you're looking for and ask them what their suggestion is then ask that they put the request in.

Just be aware...when you call, you are getting a call center. And the people working at the call center tend to be pretty clueless about the resorts. They aren't going to be able to give you valid suggestions. Call and add simple requests....ground floor, or higher floor, near the food court, etc. Then, when you get to the resort to check in, if you don't care for what you got, you can always see if there is anything else available.

 

[jcarwash]

Great thread!
I'm having a hard time if I should go with the little mermaid or a suite.
What do you guys think? Why must we have so many choices!!

If you're willing/able to pay the rates for a suite, I think you should choose a suite.

To me the real Little Mermaid comparison is against rooms at Pop Century or All-Stars, not against the suite rooms at AoA.

 

[andee515]

There are pictures of an empty fridge here:

http://allears.net/acc/g_artanimation_lion-king2.html

I was pleasantly surprised at how much stuff we could get in our fridge at AoA. We had a half gallon of milk, several small bottles of soda, water bottles , leftovers, and a few other odds and ends and still had space.

Thanks very much, You were a big Help!

 

[4mybabes]

Do they show movies by the pool in February?

 

[PinkiexLi]

I have an afternoon free. Leaving the park at 3. I am debating whether or not to go to DTD or stay and explore AOA. I do like to shop but hate to spend money... Is there enough at AOA to spend the rest of the day?

 

[mom2cgj]

Do they show movies by the pool in February?

Someone who's been there more recently might be able to tell you if this has changed, but in January they were showing them in the LK section right underneath Mufasa.

 

[mom2cgj]

I have an afternoon free. Leaving the park at 3. I am debating whether or not to go to DTD or stay and explore AOA. I do like to shop but hate to spend money... Is there enough at AOA to spend the rest of the day?

I could have spent a couple of hours exploring! If you plan to do some pool time, dinner, and explore you could probably fill most of the time and maybe catch the evening movie too!

 

[threebeesatdisney]

Thanks so much! We also are not concerned about the walk, more about noise levels! The last time we stayed at Pop, it was really loud outside of our room. Granted, we were in 60s with a pool view, which is great, don't get me wrong, but there seemed to be a lot of foot traffic.

How's the pool area at LM? I imagine it must be quieter than the main pool.

We also put in a request for a king bed rather than two doubles. Do you know if these are exclusive to a certain building?

Thanks for all of your updates while you're on vacation!!!

The door at the Nemo pool slams LOUDLY all day with people going in and out of the gated area. I don't know how it sounds if you are actually in a suite but it seems to me if I was trying to put my child down for a nap the pool view of Nemo would NOT be my choice.

 

[threebeesatdisney]

LM pool is pretty popular, noisy but not as bad as Nemo.

 

[threebeesatdisney]

Forgot to mention that they have a pool party from 2:30 -4 pm which is nice if you are awake but Very Loud if you are trying to get a child down for a nap. This is at the Nemo pool Every day.

 

[threebeesatdisney]

Thanks so much!

Thanks for all of your updates while you're on vacation!!!

You are welcome! I learn so much off of disboards I try to give back what information I can update.

 

[jpessa]

AoA included in the FP+ test for September!

 

[marym821]

Do people decorate the windows at AOA like they do at the other value resorts? If so, does anyone have pictures?

 

[threebeesatdisney]

I have seen windows that say Birthday in them. I am not sure if people are decorating their own or if it is a Disney thing you can purchase.

I tried the butter chicken tonight in the food court. It was pretty good. Does anyone know if it is the same as Sanaa's as we are going there Saturday for lunch. TIA!

 

[Tys Nanny]

We'll be in a Cars suite in just six days. We haven't been to DW in probably 20 years and this will be the first trip for our DGSs, 3 years and four months, respectively. It's getting hard to contain our excitement.

I'm a little unclear about the coffee makers. Do they take K cups or do they use those little packets you get in most motels?

TIA!

 

[Figee17]

Just got home from a fabulous 3 night stay in the Cars suites. DS3 LOVED LOVED LOVED it and had to say "good morning" and "good night" to all of the cars every night. We also used the Cozy Cone pool every day and loved the fact that it was QUIET in the morning, when we wanted to be there.

Only weird part was when we first checked in, they said "we have you swimming with Nemo" even though we had specifically booked Cars and it took a few minutes to figure that whole thing out. But we were there around noon, and they had a room ready for us, so that worked out!

 

[chrystalc77]

Just got home from a fabulous 3 night stay in the Cars suites. DS3 LOVED LOVED LOVED it and had to say "good morning" and "good night" to all of the cars every night. We also used the Cozy Cone pool every day and loved the fact that it was QUIET in the morning, when we wanted to be there.

Only weird part was when we first checked in, they said "we have you swimming with Nemo" even though we had specifically booked Cars and it took a few minutes to figure that whole thing out. But we were there around noon, and they had a room ready for us, so that worked out!

Glad to hear you loved Cars suite. We are booked for a Cars suite for November 2014, and I have been torn whether to change to a LM room....it would save $1400! But my DH talked to a friend of his that just got back and he said he would never stay in LM again for the long walk at the end of the night. So every time I read how much people love the Cars suites, I convince myself that it's going to be totally worth the money!

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

Here now at the LM pool, and I finally have some time to post thoughts/experiences. I've been wanting to share some things since I love reports from other people, so hopefully something will be moderately helpful. So here's the good and the things we could do without:

Love the theme of the room and the resort as a whole. Our first impressions were that the rooms look louder in photos than they do in real life. My favorite part is the tiling on the bathroom floors, which I know probably sounds pretty dismissive of the rest of the room, but it's not meant to be. It's all very cute. And who doesn't like to wake up to a picture of Prince Eric every morning?

The outdoor theming of the other sections is outstanding. The cars section is my favorite, but it's awesome to walk through the lion king section every day.

The LM pool and the cozy cone pools don't require key entry. This may be common knowledge, but it came as a nice surprise to me. The gate at the back of the nemo pool has always been unlocked too, but that may be a fluke.

The nemo splash zone area is just adorable. Bunches of kids having a ton of fun.

Our key entry on our room door has fallen off a number of times. Not sure what's up with that since they're so new.

Food court is nice, though we've only had the pizza on arrival night so I can't speak to the food. The mugs are still non-RFID. The coffee-drinking member of our group says the new coffee is better than it was before, though the filling of the coffee machines has been inconsistent. There are also two hot chocolate machines that have been only dispensing hot water since we got here Wednesday evening.

Our room is in the Ursula building on the ground floor. We requested facing hourglass lake "as close to lion king as possible." Our room is 7552 which is just past the Ursula statue on the back side. I've been meaning to get walking times to post here, but I haven't gotten to it. It's on my agenda for today if it cools off.

The shower pressure is pathetic. If you are used to or expecting a decently-pressured shower, you should adjust your expectations.

Advice: put the lid down on your toilet before flushing.

The shampoos are new since our last visit and now have a cute Mickey head on the top of them.

Out luggage took about 11 hours to get to our room. We got in a hair before 8 pm and didn't get out bags until 7:30 the next morning. All the cast members who we talked to though were very nice and helpful except the ones who we were supposed to be talking to who were pretty unhelpful.

We requested a fridge by phone once we heard about the situation. We did have a fridge in our room with the dreaded note, but we did also have a smaller one plugged in next to the dresser.

There are some fire ants that we have only noticed by the LM pool.

The nightly movies have been near the big blue pool.

The big blue pool has nemo-, ocean-, and Australian-themed music. The LM pool has relatively quiet non-themed music. In the time I've been writing this, I've heard Beatles, sixpence nonethericher, and kool and the gang.

The room doors need to be pulled shut behind you when you leave. Obviously not a big deal, but most of the other rooms where we've stayed had doors that shut and latched once you stopped holding them open. Just something to get used to remembering.

I feel like I'm missing a couple mental notes. I'll update once I get wait times and if more things pop into my head. Feel free to ask any questions or if you have anything you'd like me to look into.

I will add that we have encountered a handful of openly-defiant guests since being here (here being Disney, not specifically AoA). So to borrow Ellen's words in closing, be kind to one another!