Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[dgramling]

At Art of Animation Resort Sept 12-21 was to be in the Nemo Suites but they called today and said they are taking 70% of Nemo rooms for renovation and moved us to Lion King Suites wasn't given any other offer

 

[cinderkelly]

At Art of Animation Resort Sept 12-21 was to be in the Nemo Suites but they called today and said they are taking 70% of Nemo rooms for renovation and moved us to Lion King Suites wasn't given any other offer

Oh no!!! We will be there 9/19-21 how did you take this news and are you upset? I'm not wanting to check my phone now for fear of getting the " you're being moved" call

 

[dgramling]

Oh no!!! We will be there 9/19-21 how did you take this news and are you upset? I'm not wanting to check my phone now for fear of getting the " you're being moved" call

I am disappointed We planned the trip around my nieces and my oldest niece requested the Nemo suites which I personally felt are the nicest looking of the 3 buildings. I feel this is poor business of Disney 15 days before we arrive to call and move us. I can understand if it was an emergency but that's not what was communicated it was more like someone picked a date this morning and said move everyone.

 

[PennockFive]

We check in on September 26 to a Cars suite. Wondering if anyone can tell me what toiletries they are putting in the rooms? Is it shampoo and conditioner all-in-one or a shampoo and then a separate conditioner? body wash or bar soap? Trying to lighten our luggage up a bit. Thanks in advance!

There was a facial soap, a body soap, and an all in one shampoo/conditioner.

 

[cinderkelly]

I am disappointed We planned the trip around my nieces and my oldest niece requested the Nemo suites which I personally felt are the nicest looking of the 3 buildings. I feel this is poor business of Disney 15 days before we arrive to call and move us. I can understand if it was an emergency but that's not what was communicated it was more like someone picked a date this morning and said move everyone.

I totally understand where you're coming from. I would be quite upset myself, having picked Nemo specifically for the same reason as you. I'm sad to hear they didn't give you any other options, such as " we would be happy to upgrade you to a moderate resort, etc..." I haven't received any notification myself as of yet but yes, pretty crummy they would decide to do this 15 days before your arrival. I researched around on the internet and can't find anything that indicated this was a pre-planned refurb so I'm confused as to what is really going on.

Anyhow, I wish you safe travels and hope the rest of your trip is wonderful

 

[Zombierella]

Our party of 11 for 2 adjacent Nemo suites checked in on Saturday. Did not get our rooms until 3:30-4, building 5. Both rooms had no air conditioning and both refrigerators were broken. They moved us to Nemo building 5(after we had unpacked and were trying to head out to park). We had to repack. They moved us but in the process lost several of our things and still have not found them. Our new room had broken drawers and we could not open them. Took until Monday to fix. While the parks have been empty the pool has been packed. No chairs, running out of towels, very crowded in the water. There seems to be a lot of walls up everywhere, front of arcade, outside entrance to gift shop, Cars characters going on. They do seem like they are trying their best but do appear to be very overwhelmed.

The rooms are nice, spacious. However I did not think the pool was anything special other than big. We missed having a slide. For the price I don't feel you get many amenities, next time we would chose 2 moderate rooms for our family of 6. We would have jumped at getting a room somewhere else!

 

[jennilouwho]

Wait, the Cars characters are covered up? Am I understanding that right?

 

[cakebaker]

Sorry for your room troubles- I hate wasting time with issues like that and what a disappointment to have to be moved!


Our stay starts 9/26- staying in the Cars section.

I sure hope they don't have them covered- My 2 1/2 yr old grandson is crazy over Cars and we've been doing nothing but showing him pictures of the Cars area- going to be tough explaining why he can't see them!

Anyone have an idea as to how long this is going to last or more details on exactly what they're doing?

I'm not past trying to move to a different resort if there are a ton of things not accessible- Sure wish Disney would give us more notice on these kinds of things. It's not like people pick a specific resort just to have a place to sleep.

 

[Zombierella]

I'm sorry, one character was covered up. Not all!

I also want to say I don't mean to be negative. I expect refurbish of various things and that did not really matter to us. The move we could understand as well. Just annoyed about them losing some of our stuff and not really updating us on finding it. We waited a day then called again and every day thereafter. Each time we called we had to explain again what happened and what was missing. It made us feel like they are not looking at all and I guess we are out of luck.

Staff for the most part are nice. They sent up some balloons and autograph books for the kids which was nice.

 

[newestkg06]

To the person who lost things during a room move: I have read on here that the "front desk" button on your phone doesn't actually dial the front desk, but rather a call center off site. Maybe try going physically down to the desk itself (and speaking to a manager) about your stuff might help the process along. Also, I would not be above asking for a few fastpasses or something else for your trouble....

 

[cakebaker]

Thanks for the clarification- guess I'll just keep an eye on it and see how this thing goes.

But, I get there and they've got those cars covered- THEY can deal with the grandson!

 

[uccats97]

I'm sorry, one character was covered up. Not all! I also want to say I don't mean to be negative. I expect refurbish of various things and that did not really matter to us. The move we could understand as well. Just annoyed about them losing some of our stuff and not really updating us on finding it. We waited a day then called again and every day thereafter. Each time we called we had to explain again what happened and what was missing. It made us feel like they are not looking at all and I guess we are out of luck. Staff for the most part are nice. They sent up some balloons and autograph books for the kids which was nice.

Every item I've lost at Disney has been found. Hopefully your items will turn up too. Try calling Housekeeping. And try to have a magical remainder of your vacation! *O*

 

[Beamgirl124]

We are scheduled to stay at AoA 9/6-9/13 in Nemo suites...hopefully things will turn around for you guys. It's going to be our entire families first time there. Looking forward to it and our 4 yr old is ecstatic!

 

[TandLMommy28]

Anyone have a copy of the september activity guide yet? I'm antsy!

 

[TandLMommy28]

I have been reading a lot on facebook of people pool hopping... I know - i know a Red light just went off somewhere alarming people i wrote pool hopping.
Trust me this isn't trying to start anything..

Does hopping happen a lot in AoA? I know the gate is locked. Yet i am sure a LOT of people want in on the big blue?? do they check bands often at the pools?


LEAVING NEXT week!

One of my mother's friends was just ranting and raving on Facebook about how magic bands have ruined everything because she loves to stay at a cheap non-Disney hotel and then go swim at the nice resort pools and now you need your band to get into the pools and it's NOT FAIR. Yeah, I just clicked "hide". I just couldn't!

 

[jennilouwho]

I'm sorry, one character was covered up. Not all!

Thanks for clarifying! I sure hope they can find your stuff! That must be so frustrating!

 

[mommymanda]

Thanks for the clarification- guess I'll just keep an eye on it and see how this thing goes.

But, I get there and they've got those cars covered- THEY can deal with the grandson!

We checked out yesterday from a 6 day stay. Sally was in a box our entire trip and they were getting Ramone boxed off. We asked and they said he would be gone for a bit, but Sally should be back anyday. We were told they try to only have one car gone at a time.

 

[snels]

We would consider staying at Art of Animation, but we need a toaster, which does not appear to be part of the kitchenette. Has anybody requested a toaster from housekeeping? Did you get one?
Thanks for your help.
snels

 

[cakebaker]

We checked out yesterday from a 6 day stay. Sally was in a box our entire trip and they were getting Ramone boxed off. We asked and they said he would be gone for a bit, but Sally should be back anyday. We were told they try to only have one car gone at a time.

That is good to hear, thanks! Hopefully by the time we get there, they'll be done with it. As long as Mater and Lightning McQueen are there, he's a happy camper- which means we're happy campers.

 

[Julia Ann]

Hey everyone! We checked into our Cars family suite on Sunday afternoon for what was supposed to be a one week stay. One week has turned into two nights! Yesterday was quite the day! We were in building 1 (Mater). Spent the morning in the Magic Kingdom and headed back to the resort around 1:30 to take a break with plans to go back to the Magic Kingdom around 5 or 6. Just after we arrived in our suite we lost power. The power came on shortly after, but no air conditioning! The front desk left an automated message on our room telephone indicating that the air conditioning was off, they had no ETA on when it would be fixed as they didn't know what the problem was and to contact the front desk as soon as possible. I went to Animation Hall to see what was happening. Turns out only our building was affected and it had happened previously and been without a/c for 4 days. August heat in Florida and no a/c for possibly days does not sound good to me! They ended up having to move all guests out of our building to other resorts. One of the cast members told me that they had guests from 160 suites to move in one hour! We had to pack up our room in a very short time then head out front and luggage assistance called taxis for everyone. Disney provided us with vouchers to pay for the taxis. Waiting was a bit of a nightmare with several families with a bunch of luggage all waiting in the heat in front of Animation Hall for a taxi. We are now in a two bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. Had to do the check-in process all over again when we got here. I was told that our MagicBands would all work on our villa (we have 7 of them). Made the long walk to our villa and not one band worked! While Disney has moved us to a beautiful property, it just doesn't have that Disney feel I was looking for here. My 5 year old son is a huge Cars fan, which is why we booked the Cars family suite. He and my 15 month old twins were enjoying the larger than life characters and theming of the resort. Very Disney. Here is a different experience. Beautiful for the adults but not as exciting for the children. The entire process of moving took about six hours out of our day. We never did make it back to the Magic Kingdom as planned as our entire afternoon and evening was messed up. It felt like a travel day rather than the park day we had planned. I had FastPasses for the Mine Train which we did not use as we could not get back to the park so I am bummed about that and basically wasting a day on our tickets..... Hopefully today we will be more settled, however I know my 5 year old would have preferred to stay at Art of Animation.

Lisa

Sorry to hear about the hassle of the move and disappointment. It's actually made me a bit nervous now. It will be our first stay on site and only decided on this due to DD6 first visit and having the disney theming. We have had to save for a long time for this trip (no doubt others have also), just want a smooth holiday. I guess you can't plan for electrical failures and stuff like that.

Anyway, I hope the rest of your stay runs smoothly and enjoyable.