Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[TandLMommy28]

We just added a day onto our vacation! woohoo! We were going to drive (1100 miles each way) but I came up with a budget for what food, gas and hotels would be, plus hubby taking an extra day off without pay (we've had some illnesses and tons of snow days already this year so he's ALREADY short on paid time off for the year and it's only March)... and it's cheaper to fly. YEA!!!!!!!! So now we have nonstop flights and we will get there in two hours instead of two DAYS.

And since we won't be driving for two days, we will actually check in at AoA on Saturday instead of Sunday. If we had driven, we would've arrived in Orlando late Saturday and stayed offsite until morning. But now our flight lands in Orlando at 9:15am on Saturday! So we changed our reservation to include Saturday! Yea!

I'm pretty excited about the extra time and the NOT driving with three kids.

 

[Loftin716]

We just added a day onto our vacation! woohoo! We were going to drive (1100 miles each way) but I came up with a budget for what food, gas and hotels would be, plus hubby taking an extra day off without pay (we've had some illnesses and tons of snow days already this year so he's ALREADY short on paid time off for the year and it's only March)... and it's cheaper to fly. YEA!!!!!!!! So now we have nonstop flights and we will get there in two hours instead of two DAYS. And since we won't be driving for two days, we will actually check in at AoA on Saturday instead of Sunday. If we had driven, we would've arrived in Orlando late Saturday and stayed offsite until morning. But now our flight lands in Orlando at 9:15am on Saturday! So we changed our reservation to include Saturday! Yea! I'm pretty excited about the extra time and the NOT driving with three kids.

YAY!!!!! We also are now flying and I am so happy about that! However, you would have had to drive much further than we would have!

April 2013- All Star Music

 

[TandLMommy28]

If anybody is headed down soon would mind taking some pictures of what is available in the gift shop as far as FOOD, I'd really, really, really, really appreciate it!

I'm looking for an idea of what I need to try to pack/have shipped down vs. what I can get when we arrive. We will do QS dining this time but we will try to eat some breakfasts in the room and pack some lunches because honestly, I can only handle so much Disney food before my digestive system gets angry.

 

[jrsharp21]

4 days away from the AofA!

 

[lemonears6]

I wish we could fly but it is not in the budget. With family of 6 and 16 hr drive there and 16hr drive back is lots cheaper then flying

 

[Chicago Mo]

I wish we could fly but it is not in the budget. With family of 6 and 16 hr drive there and 16hr drive back is lots cheaper then flying

I'm with you... For my Family of 5 it will cost 1300... where the 16 hour drive will be about 700 (or less i high balled) round trip!

 

[Frozen2014]

I'm with you... For my Family of 5 it will cost 1300... where the 16 hour drive will be about 700 (or less i high balled) round trip!

I know...the flight for just 4 of us adds over 2k, but driving isn't really an option for us. Makes the Disney trip quite costly...but we've decided to go for it (but may be a once in a lifetime thing for us for that reason)

 

[LLM]

Our flights right now are looking at just over $3,000 and that is only purchasing three seats. My twins are infants and will travel in our laps so no cost there. We don't have much of a choice but to fly though. We live on an island and it would take us five days to drive to Florida, one way!

 

[jrsharp21]

We are driving on our trip in a few days also. $1,400 to fly versus $600 to drive for 16 hours.

 

[blueangel2]

We have to fly...we are a family of 6. But with 4 adults and 2 kids in carseats we would have to drive seperate vehicles and we are coming from California so with gas and time off for the drive, it will cost the same.

 

[hsmamainva]

We are driving. I believe it's around 900 miles from our home in Virginia to Disney.

It's just too expensive to fly down with our family of six.

And we're stopping in St Augustine on the way home for hubby's college reunion weekend so we will actually be on vacation for 11 days -- a real treat for us!!

 

[tinkerbell615]

We'll be making the 902 mile drive also. Flights are just so expensive. It will probably take us a little while longer than normal this time, because we will be traveling with our 18 month old DGS. There are quite a few of us in the minivan, but we've made the trip previously and everyone seems fine with it. Before the baby arrived, we usually had a friend of one of our kids instead. If they are uncomfortable, they never complain!

 

[mrsap]

We also drive, NJ to FL. We love to drive there and actually look forward to it!! For us, it's part of our vacation! We rent a car every year for the ride down. Just make sure you pack plenty of snacks and drinks, and lots of fun stuff for the kids (movies, tablets, toys, etc.) It's fun if you make it fun!! Enjoy!

 

[alayne]

Can you put magnets on the doors at AoA? We are booked in the Cars family suite and I wanted to decorate the door and window.

 

[AthenaBolina]

We are flying from Kansas, but strongly considered driving. My husband is military though and we have limited vacation time, so it's easier for us to fly even though it costs more. I wish we could have saved that money!

 

[TandLMommy28]

I know...the flight for just 4 of us adds over 2k, but driving isn't really an option for us. Makes the Disney trip quite costly...but we've decided to go for it (but may be a once in a lifetime thing for us for that reason)

OUr drive is roughly 21 hours each way but I scored flights for the five of us for under $1,000. Granted, the baby is free but still, we are actually coming out cheaper to fly.

 

[bluezy]

I wish we could fly but it is not in the budget. With family of 6 and 16 hr drive there and 16hr drive back is lots cheaper then flying

We're in the same situation: ~16 hour drive (1000 miles one way); party of 5, 6, or 7 depending on how many kids are traveling with us (and I use the term "kid" loosely as 2 of them in their early/mid 20's). Just for the fun of it, I always check the price of flights when we're planning a trip but I've never gotten a price of less than ~$1800 for the flights. And that didn't include the cost of parking the car at the airport while we're at Disney. Our most expensive drive cost us just under $650 for gas and 2 hotel nights on the drive. We don't include food when figuring out whether it's more economical to drive or fly since we have to eat whether we're in the car, in the airport, at home, or wherever. So that's not a factor in the decision.

We don't mind the drive -- it's part of the vacation for us. We drive on all of our vacations. We're also fortunate that I don't have a job outside of our home and DH has 28 days of vacation so taking 6 or 7 vacation days for a Disney trip isn't a problem.

 

[alayne]

Wasn't sure if my question might have gotten missed - Does anyone know if you can put Magnets on the doors at AoA? Thanks!

 

[Mama2girlz]

Does anyone know what type of coffee maker the rooms have? What would I need to bring from home to make additional coffee? Thanks

 

[Lifeangel1]

Just booked an October trip. Oct 2nd-11th!! Can't wait. Last year we stayed at Pop in two rooms and walked over to AoA and were in awe! This year we decided to do a LK suite. It is my daughter and her fiancé, my two grandsons and myself. I'm taking the table bed. I'm very excited and hoping for FD. We go every year now and every year I am still just as excited as the last..lol. We have stayed at POFQ, Pop and Caribbean Beach. We like Pop and POFQ but not so much CB. It was just too big and spread out. Love the theming of AoA and enjoyed the food court while we were there. We are looking forward to MNSSHP and EPCOT Food and wine. Anyone else going to be there when we are?