Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[kmarsh44]

How are the buses from AOA? Fast, slow, horror stories? Thanks.

 

[Jackandsally0912]

This resort looks beautiful

 

[Dixiemom]

Am I the only one who finds it completely unfair that the you are punished for booking a Little mermaid room? Since AoA opened, we thought it would be great to stay there until finding out that there is no suck thing as a preferred room if you aren't in a suite. Thanks so much for offering such wonderful choices, NOT! Stayed at Pop before and had dinner at AoA and loved it. Will continue to possibly dine there on future trips but will never book a room there.

 

[Disneylover99]

How are the buses from AOA? Fast, slow, horror stories? Thanks.

Last August we stayed at Pop and frequently used the AofA buses. We never waited more then 5 or 10 minutes for a bus.

Last October we stayed at AofA and bus service was amazing again. We've never had a problem and usually only waited for a few minutes to get to the parks.

 

[Disneylover99]

This resort looks beautiful

It really is!

 

[kmarsh44]

Last August we stayed at Pop and frequently used the AofA buses. We never waited more then 5 or 10 minutes for a bus. Last October we stayed at AofA and bus service was amazing again. We've never had a problem and usually only waited for a few minutes to get to the parks.

Thanks so much! We are considering switching to AOA if a RO discount is announced for our dates. We are at POR right now but I really think we would benefit from the extra room

 

[mum2four]

How are the buses from AOA? Fast, slow, horror stories? Thanks.

Last August we stayed at Pop and frequently used the AofA buses. We never waited more then 5 or 10 minutes for a bus.

Last October we stayed at AofA and bus service was amazing again. We've never had a problem and usually only waited for a few minutes to get to the parks.

I agree. Our stay at AOA was the best transportation experience we have had at WDW!

 

[Parkerpirates]

I booked a little mermaid room for our two night stay before our cruise in October. Any special requests I should make? Thanks!

 

[Simba07]

We are starting to plan a late summer 2015 trip to the World, staying at AoA. But I'm concerned about buses and transportation times (despite all the recent positive comments about the buses - i'm a worrywart!) anyway, for a 9am rope drop at MK, what time would you want to be at the bus stop? Thanks!

 

[dansdad]

We are starting to plan a late summer 2015 trip to the World, staying at AoA. But I'm concerned about buses and transportation times (despite all the recent positive comments about the buses - i'm a worrywart!) anyway, for a 9am rope drop at MK, what time would you want to be at the bus stop? Thanks!

Between 7:45-8:00.

 

[jennilouwho]

How well do the curtains darken the rooms in the suites? We are coming from mountain time and I'm thinking for the first half of our trip we would sleep in until around 9, which is 7 our time and then stay out and do the night time entertainment, but if it's light in the room, the kids won't sleep. Any thoughts?

 

[kalee45]

We had no issues with the rooms being too bright. The curtains were fairly heavy and had an overlap when they closed

 

[tink_sparkles84]

My family normally stays at POP, but with it only being my mom and I this time we were able to swing AOA. My dad and brother would not agree that the price difference is worth it!
Questions ... I noticed a few things as I was reading through the thread ...
1. No Mickey Waffles? Are they still at POP?
2. Someone mentioned the floor was being remolded in the food court, has this been finished?
3. How does check-in work with the MBs? I've already done online-check in. Do they scan your MB at the resort?
4. Mugs now have RFID? How does this work? What does it mean?
5. Last, but not least, I was SUPER excited about the LM rooms and the reviews were pretty positive at the beginning of the thread and slowly begin to dwindle more recently. Is it really that bad?
**6. Is there a thread with pictures of decorated doors (at any resort)? I could search for this myself, but wondering if someone has a URL handy?**

Thanks! 29 days to go!!

 

[dansdad]

1. No Mickey Waffles? Are they still at POP?

No Mickey Waffles at AoA but they are still at Pop.

2. Someone mentioned the floor was being remolded in the food court, has this been finished?

I have not seen any reports that the floor is done. That doesn't mean it isn't, just haven't seen any reports yet.

3. How does check-in work with the MBs? I've already done online-check in. Do they scan your MB at the resort?

Pretty much the same as before. Only instead of giving you KTTWs, you already have your Magic Bands. So you're good to go.

4. Mugs now have RFID? How does this work? What does it mean?

This should help. http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013/...ugs-for-walt-disney-world-resorts-now-in-use/

5. Last, but not least, I was SUPER excited about the LM rooms and the reviews were pretty positive at the beginning of the thread and slowly begin to dwindle more recently. Is it really that bad?

Some say it is that bad and others say it's not. You'll have to decide for yourself.

**6. Is there a thread with pictures of decorated doors (at any resort)? I could search for this myself, but wondering if someone has a URL handy?**

Here you go. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1867638&highlight=guest

 

[tink_sparkles84]

Thanks Dansdad! Very helpful!

 

[kalee45]

Although there are no Mickey waffles, there are waffles in the food court, just with pictures of Simba on them. We did not find the walk to,the LM rooms that bad, but if we were going to have a long, late day, we just drove from the parking lot right outside our building to the one right next to the busstops. I thought the LM rooms were very nice! Clean and pretty. Also they are more square than the rooms at ASMo, so they felt more spacious. As far as the floor redo goes, they are doing it in like 10 x 10 sections so it didn't really impact much. Hope you have a magical trip, ours was!:-D

 

[somesong2sing]

You know what is mind boggling to me? We stayed at AoA in September of 2012 when the LM section opened. When we were there, they was floor tile construction fixing cracked tiles.. and yet all throughout the time since 2012-today, there is still the issue. What in the world is going on with that floor that it is in need of repair so often. My Word.

I will say it didn't bother us any. They had some type of thick sheet material that was like a tan piece of paper but in huge sections over tile areas. Some times were still missing, cracked, etc. It didn't ruin or bother us, just seems odd that they still since then have had so many issues.

We were in building 8 in the LM section. After the first day, since we are park people from open to close, we drove our truck to the front parking area by the busses so at night, we could put our little on in the truck and drive back to the section instead of carrying her.... because we were just as tired. However, there is a lot to look at if you decided to walk back and forth.

Also, there were Mickey Waffles when we went in 2012. They also had small waffles with the other characters on them. Irregardless of the shape, they will always be my favorite waffle in the world!

Can't wait to head back in 43 days.

 

[PattnFmly]

I have questions re: the food court: Are there other "sides" than what is listed in allears (cauliflower w/tomatoes, squash, rice, lentils)? If rice is already with the entree, why is it a side - so one can have double? My family will eat exactly none of those sides, so every single one of the tandoori dishes is out. (Not even sure they will eat tandoori - is it spicy?) In looking at the lunch/dinner menu, I think my family may only eat a burger, pizza or the meatball sub. Unfortunately my extended family really wants to stay here ... I don't want to if there's nothing for my immediate family to eat. Kind of a bummer. We always all stay at the same resort so we can be close and do lots of things together. Ugh.

 

[39CINDERELLA]

as of last week the floors were still under construction in food court, gift shop and lobby.

 

[Mariep26]

I have questions re: the food court: Are there other "sides" than what is listed in allears (cauliflower w/tomatoes, squash, rice, lentils)? If rice is already with the entree, why is it a side - so one can have double? My family will eat exactly none of those sides, so every single one of the tandoori dishes is out. (Not even sure they will eat tandoori - is it spicy?) In looking at the lunch/dinner menu, I think my family may only eat a burger, pizza or the meatball sub. Unfortunately my extended family really wants to stay here ... I don't want to if there's nothing for my immediate family to eat. Kind of a bummer. We always all stay at the same resort so we can be close and do lots of things together. Ugh.

The whole tandoori think is just one station out of four. I thought that the rice was also a side for the kids meal and some of those didn't include rice but I could be remembering incorrectly because like you, we didn't spend much time at that station.
After a few days at AoA's cafeteria we walked over to Pop for lunch and really didn't find anything overly different (it was just a change of scenery in the end) from what was available at AoA. The standard stuff is available at AoA --- burgers, sandwiches, salads, pasta bar, pizza and then all the grab and go items. Where do you usually stay and what type of food are you looking for? Walking over to Pop may be an option to fill in the gaps?

ETA - I just went back and looked at the menus. The sides are cauliflower, squash, spinach and cheese, pickled veggies, lentils and rice (2 kinds). The rice isn't included the tandoori options.. only the mongolian BBQ options. Hopefully the menu I pulled up is still current but it resembles what I saw when I was there last year.