Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[isabellea]

I have a reservation in August for a LM room and I really don’t care walking 10 minutes to go to the food court or the buses. If my family cannot walk that distance without complaining well maybe Disney is not the right vacation destination for us then. Because if they can’t walk 10 minutes, what will it be at the parks!?!

 

[MeMom]

I need opinions because I am completely torn.

I am a HUGE fan of Pop Century. It's what I like to call my "Disney home". It's our go to resort and we've stayed there more than anywhere else.

A part of me really wants to stay at AoA this next trip to try it out and so the kids can swim in the Cars/Nemo sections.

I'd book a Little Mermaid room (which would make my daughters THRILLED) and then we can walk around/swim in the other sections (which would make my son so happy!)

The only thing I don't like is the distance the LM section is from the food court, but is it really all that bad? A part of me feels like I should just stick to Pop since it's what we know and love, but a part of me really wants to stay at AoA.

Anyone else ever feel like this? What would YOU do?

At the time of our trip, I will have a 7 year old boy, 3.5 year old daughter and 17 month old daughter.

Go for AoA, Lauren. The rooms are fresh and bright, and the kids will love the theme of the whole resort. Jake will love taking pictures all through the Cars section. As you walk toward LM, you'll walk through the Lion King stuff, and they'll enjoy seeing that, too. The walk is really no big deal. You know I would not steer you wrong. You guys will love the zero entry area at the Big Blue pool and the water splash area. I really think your family would enjoy an AoA stay. The food court is good, too, if you can eat at off times when the food doesn't get cold from waiting in line to pay for a long time.

 

[raven69david]

A bit of a downer for us during our trip 2 weeks ago. The rooms are fine, but the lobby looks like someone flushed a toilet through it, including the gift shop. The majority of the tiles in the lobby and gift shop are cracked and the floor was so filfthy it looked like you'd catch a disease if you slipped and fell on it. This was the same result morning, noon, night for 4 days straight until we checked out.

We were there on opening day and stayed there 2 other times and the main building looked fine. Went there 2 weeks ago and we were highly disappointed in the upkeep of the building and looked very un-Disney to us.

 

[hart6066]

So sorry it was like that! We stayed for the first time at Christmas this year and it was our first time at a value so we were really looking to see if there was a difference--we loved it! The place was very clean--loved the lobby, bathrooms, gift shop, food court, etc. We never saw anything dirty or out of place and DH is very picky! Hopefully it was a one off issue!

 

[cgattis]

So sorry it was like that! We stayed for the first time at Christmas this year and it was our first time at a value so we were really looking to see if there was a difference--we loved it! The place was very clean--loved the lobby, bathrooms, gift shop, food court, etc. We never saw anything dirty or out of place and DH is very picky! Hopefully it was a one off issue!

I also noticed the lobby tile was very stained and broken throughout. The rooms/room buildings were pristine. I'm guessing the tile and/or installation process had some sort of issue. I'd be shocked if they didn't refurb it soon.

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Go for AoA, Lauren. The rooms are fresh and bright, and the kids will love the theme of the whole resort. Jake will love taking pictures all through the Cars section. As you walk toward LM, you'll walk through the Lion King stuff, and they'll enjoy seeing that, too. The walk is really no big deal. You know I would not steer you wrong. You guys will love the zero entry area at the Big Blue pool and the water splash area. I really think your family would enjoy an AoA stay. The food court is good, too, if you can eat at off times when the food doesn't get cold from waiting in line to pay for a long time.

Thank you, MeMom! You've clinched the deal for us. We're staying at AoA! I'm really excited to try out a new resort and it will be super exciting since we've never been over there in person yet.

The zero entry area at the pool is definitely going to be really nice to have and I've heard many good things about the food court.

We'll also have our van with us since we'll be driving down, so if we ever need to, we can drive around to the front really quick.

 

[MeMom]

Thank you, MeMom! You've clinched the deal for us. We're staying at AoA! I'm really excited to try out a new resort and it will be super exciting since we've never been over there in person yet.

The zero entry area at the pool is definitely going to be really nice to have and I've heard many good things about the food court.

We'll also have our van with us since we'll be driving down, so if we ever need to, we can drive around to the front really quick.

If it is allowable, I will give you a few pictures from our October 2012 Little Mermaid stay to add to your excitement.









View from our door.







On the way to Animation Hall.









Looking toward the Cars area.







Nemo section.





Zero entry side of pool.




To the starter of this thread: if you do not want the pictures on here, just let me know and I will remove them, since this is mostly an information thread.

 

[mrsap]

Thanks for sharing the pictures! My kids are going to be so excited and surprised!!! Can't wait!!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Thank you so much for the pictures, MeMom! We have decided on going the week after Thanksgiving this year, so with the cooler weather, the walking won't feel nearly as long as it would in the heat of the summer.

These definitely are getting me excited to go! It feels like it's been so long since we've been down to Disney (Feb '13), but the long wait will all be worth it.

I absolutely love the look of the interior of the LM rooms. It is so well done and makes you feel totally immersed in the Disney experience for sure.

 

[mrsap]

Thank you so much for the pictures, MeMom! We have decided on going the week after Thanksgiving this year, so with the cooler weather, the walking won't feel nearly as long as it would in the heat of the summer.

These definitely are getting me excited to go! It feels like it's been so long since we've been down to Disney (Feb '13), but the long wait will all be worth it.

I absolutely love the look of the interior of the LM rooms. It is so well done and makes you feel totally immersed in the Disney experience for sure.

We will be at AOA the same time! We'll actually be in Disney the week before as well, but are doing a split stay. When we went last November, we took the kids to see AOA... not only did they not want to leave, but they loved it so much they actually cried when we left!!! So we decided to book it for half of our stay and surprise them when we get there! I think they're going to be SO excited when we pull up! The hardest part is keeping the secret!!

 

[CinderElsa]

We will be at AOA the same time! We'll actually be in Disney the week before as well, but are doing a split stay. When we went last November, we took the kids to see AOA... not only did they not want to leave, but they loved it so much they actually cried when we left!!! So we decided to book it for half of our stay and surprise them when we get there! I think they're going to be SO excited when we pull up! The hardest part is keeping the secret!!

We'll also be there the week after Thanksgiving!

Thank you for the pictures, MeMom. I always like to see pictures from "real people" when it comes to this kind of thing. Those rooms are absolutely adorable. LOVE those lights above the beds!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

We will be at AOA the same time! We'll actually be in Disney the week before as well, but are doing a split stay. When we went last November, we took the kids to see AOA... not only did they not want to leave, but they loved it so much they actually cried when we left!!! So we decided to book it for half of our stay and surprise them when we get there! I think they're going to be SO excited when we pull up! The hardest part is keeping the secret!!

We'll also be there the week after Thanksgiving!

Thank you for the pictures, MeMom. I always like to see pictures from "real people" when it comes to this kind of thing. Those rooms are absolutely adorable. LOVE those lights above the beds!

It's a great week to go! It's probably my favorite week. Weather is nice, crowds are low and the best part of course... Christmas decorations!

 

[mrsap]

We'll also be there the week after Thanksgiving!

Thank you for the pictures, MeMom. I always like to see pictures from "real people" when it comes to this kind of thing. Those rooms are absolutely adorable. LOVE those lights above the beds!

That's great! You'll love it! Since our Honeymoon in '04, we only go Thanksgiving week and the week after. We honestly can't see going any other time. We love everything about Disney for the holidays! Enjoy!

 

[mrsap]

It's a great week to go! It's probably my favorite week. Weather is nice, crowds are low and the best part of course... Christmas decorations!

It really is a great time to go! Crowds unfortunately weren't that great last year though!! We definitely waited a lot longer than we have in the past to get on rides! Crossing my fingers for them to be a little lighter this year! Enjoy!

It will be fun going through the rest of our planning all together. It will be here before we all know it! Can't wait!

 

[Disneymoon09]

I've decided that the LM rooms are always booked! I've been checking daily with no luck. Looking for May 6th for one night. Bummer!

 

[Irish9697]

We are staying there in May. Do they still have bedspreads or have they switched like most of the other resorts to the sheeted beds with accent? Anyone have a picture?

 

[dansdad]

We are staying there in May. Do they still have bedspreads or have they switched like most of the other resorts to the sheeted beds with accent? Anyone have a picture?

No bedspreads. Triple sheeting with an accent.

 

[urbanhooligan]

So looks like this is where we will be staying in November... We gave the final choice to the little one and she picked AoA. We were looking at the CR or GF (Poly was out due to construction) and of course she picked AoA. At least we get to save money this time around! Now just need to decide to book now or wait until whatever deals come around for that time. I don't really care about free dining, but whatever deals come out for the rooms.

 

[CinderElsa]

So looks like this is where we will be staying in November... We gave the final choice to the little one and she picked AoA. We were looking at the CR or GF (Poly was out due to construction) and of course she picked AoA. At least we get to save money this time around! Now just need to decide to book now or wait until whatever deals come around for that time. I don't really care about free dining, but whatever deals come out for the rooms.

The LM rooms are usually excluded from discounts, but not the suites - I think they usually receive a nominal discount. We also ended up here due to the construction at the Poly.

 

[isabellea]

I would book now if you want to stay in a LM room because they sold out. If you're looking at a suite, I think it's safe to wait a little bit but keep in mind that some promotions exclude AoA (especially LM room).