Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[puffinp51]

Great Place for Adults, Too!

Just returned from a week's long stay and thought I'd share my thoughts . . . . We usually stay at the WL but we were traveling with our 20-year old DD and her friend so a suite just made sense. This was our first 'value' resort and many of the things I was concerned about turned out totally fine! This is a beautiful, fun resort that four adults really loved.

The good:

• Very Disney themed. So fun and cute!
• Very quiet - this really surprised me. We rarely heard anyone while in our room. We requested a top floor (LK Building 10) so know that probably helped.
• CM's - most were absolutely wonderful. I did run into a few at the concierge desk that were a bit clueless (which really surprised me) about transportation issues and event times, but had several delightful CM's that knew the game and were so helpful.
• Mousekeeping was spectacular!
• Food court wasn't five-star but the variety of the food can't be beat. We enjoyed several quick meals/snacks here and all was good, or better than good.
• Being able to have a mini-kitchen is great - we ate breakfast in the room every day we didn't have a pre-ropedrop meal scheduled.
• Two bathrooms with two adult girls, and me and my DH was such a time-saver! No waiting for the shower which equals more park-time for us!

The not so good:

• Probably my biggest knock against AoA is the bus stop at MK. I know walking is part of the deal but that bus stop at the end of a long day is . . . . so . . . . far . . . . away! Early in the trip it was doable but by day 7, I was dragging!
• The wake-up call button worked, but only sometimes. Other times it would hang-up, connect me to a CM, or put me back in the queue. Minor thing though
• Only had one situation where I got irritated but it's something that only happens once a year so it was just bad timing. The Fire Department has to test back-up power once a year and yep, the morning we were leaving was the day. It was supposed to occur between 2:30 and 5:00 am and they had notified up twice by voice message and by a very informative note in the room. So we figured at 5:10 we were safe to take the bags down to airline check-in (we had to catch a 6:00 ME). Nope. Power off at 5:15. Carried a 49.5 pound bag down 4 flights of stairs by emergency lighting (just mention the weight because I was so proud that I was under the 50 pound max for Southwest - tehe!)

We would definitely stay here again if we needed the suite set-up!

 

[VAB2013]

We will be at AoA a week from today. None of us have been to Disney in many years. I have a few questions.

What toiletries can be found in the room?

Is there a hairdryer?

How large is the minifridge? We have two children with us and will need to be able to keep milk in there.

We are big coffee drinkers. Is it a regular coffee pot or a single serve machine?

Thank you!

 

[bluezy]

We will be at AoA a week from today. None of us have been to Disney in many years. I have a few questions.

What toiletries can be found in the room?

Is there a hairdryer?

How large is the minifridge? We have two children with us and will need to be able to keep milk in there.

We are big coffee drinkers. Is it a regular coffee pot or a single serve machine?

Thank you!

I believe there were small bars of soap and small bottles of body wash and a shampoo/conditioner combo. It's been almost 2 years since we stayed in a suite, so that may have changed.

There are hair dryers in each bathroom.

The mini fridge is certainly big enough to hold milk. We had 2 half-gallon containers in our fridge (along with a lot of other stuff) when we were there.

The coffee makers are the kind that just brew 1 or 2 mugs at a time. They use the coffee pods.

Here's a link with some pictures of the kitchenette area to give you a better idea of the size of things.

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2012/06/07/art-of-animation-resort-kitchenettes-and-room-service-menu/

 

[VAB2013]

Thanks Bluezy! So glad to see there is a small freezer. I had heard the fridge didn't have a freezer so I am glad to see there is one.

One more question, has anyone used grocery delivery before? I am super frugal and hate to pay extra for anything but I could be tempted to use grocery delivery for this trip if it's available.

 

[Cherlynn25]

We are a family of 6 and are considering staying here. I am just not sure how comfortable it will be for us. The kids are 16,15,10,8. The 10 yo is fairly small. The older boys are average size. Would there be room for a twin air mattress or 2? Wasn't sure how the space was. thanks for any feedback. Of course I know 2 rooms would be a better fit, but 2 rooms at a mod is a bit more than staying in a suite here. Also would love to try out the new resort.

 

[Gowans]

Here now and obviously just glad to finally be here, but a little disappointed, we did online check in the day we could, requested a top floor lake view and we have been given a ground floor car park view.

Small thing and it won't take away our enjoyment , but just to forewarn you won't always be guaranteed what you ask for.

 

[Madame]

Thanks Bluezy! So glad to see there is a small freezer. I had heard the fridge didn't have a freezer so I am glad to see there is one.

One more question, has anyone used grocery delivery before? I am super frugal and hate to pay extra for anything but I could be tempted to use grocery delivery for this trip if it's available.

We ordered from Garden Grocer when we stayed at AoA. Super simple online. You have to fax in your ID for alcohol.

The desk will keep your order for you if it arrives before you & will refrigerate items if necessary.

 

[dansdad]

Here now and obviously just glad to finally be here, but a little disappointed, we did online check in the day we could, requested a top floor lake view and we have been given a ground floor car park view.

Small thing and it won't take away our enjoyment , but just to forewarn you won't always be guaranteed what you ask for.

Exactly, they are called requests for a reason. Otherwise they would be called room guarantees. I hope you have a magical stay.

 

[bluezy]

We are a family of 6 and are considering staying here. I am just not sure how comfortable it will be for us. The kids are 16,15,10,8. The 10 yo is fairly small. The older boys are average size. Would there be room for a twin air mattress or 2? Wasn't sure how the space was. thanks for any feedback. Of course I know 2 rooms would be a better fit, but 2 rooms at a mod is a bit more than staying in a suite here. Also would love to try out the new resort.

We were a party of 6 on our last stay at AoA and there was plenty of space for us. The "kids" were 24, 14, 13, & 8 at the time. We were planning to use 2 air mattresses as none of the kids were interested in sharing a bed. The 8 year old ended up sleeping on the seat cushions from the couch rather than an air mattress -- her choice. I wrapped the cushions in a sheet and they fit nicely between the open sofa bed and the wall. She said that was her fort. The 13 yo used a twin-size air mattress that we put in front of the kitchenette area and that worked out great -- it wasn't really in the way unless you needed to get something out of the refrigerator after she was laying on it. And even that wasn't impossible -- just tricky. During the day we leaned the mattress against the wall between the kitchenette and the sofa so it was out of the way. We would have had room to use a 2nd air mattress if we had needed to -- it may have partially blocked a doorway or walkway, but it would have been doable.

 

[bluezy]

Could someone who is there now (or in the next week or two) check if they are still selling the cases of water either in the Ink & Paint shop or Landscape of Flavors. They're on a shelf -- not refrigerated. TIA!

 

[Ava]

Does anyone have or know where I could find a list of approximate travel times by bus from AoA to each of the parks, including the water parks? Are there direct buses to each park, or do any of them share? For example, from CBR there was one bus that serviced both Typhoon Lagoon and DTD during certain hours. Is there anything like this from AoA, & if so does anyone have the schedule?

Thank you all in advance!

 

[JaySwash]

The DW and I have decided to change our December trip reservation from Saratoga Springs to Art of Animation Cars suite, due to someone dropping out of the trip AND the fact that my 2 year old and 3 1/2 year old loooooooooooove the Cars movies/shorts/toys/clothing/etc... =)

Looking over the messages, it looks like AoA is pretty popular, which makes me happy. Question tho, do you guys have any room recommendations for a location that is decently close to the food court but also on the quieter side?

Thanks =)

 

[mom2cgj]

Does anyone have or know where I could find a list of approximate travel times by bus from AoA to each of the parks, including the water parks? Are there direct buses to each park, or do any of them share? For example, from CBR there was one bus that serviced both Typhoon Lagoon and DTD during certain hours. Is there anything like this from AoA, & if so does anyone have the schedule?

Thank you all in advance!

I can't point you to a specific list, but from what I remember, DHS was about 15 minutes, AK and Epcot about 20 minutes, and MK was about 30. We didn't do the water parks, so I don' know about those. I seem to remember that the bus to DTD stopped at one of the water parks (TL?). And the AK bus may have been scheduled to stop at BB, but it was closed when we were there so I'm not entirely positive.

 

[mom2cgj]

The DW and I have decided to change our December trip reservation from Saratoga Springs to Art of Animation Cars suite, due to someone dropping out of the trip AND the fact that my 2 year old and 3 1/2 year old loooooooooooove the Cars movies/shorts/toys/clothing/etc... =)

Looking over the messages, it looks like AoA is pretty popular, which makes me happy. Question tho, do you guys have any room recommendations for a location that is decently close to the food court but also on the quieter side?

Thanks =)

Closest to the food court is going to be building 1. For quiet, I would ask for a top floor room as long as being on the ground floor isn't necessary for you. I thought the whole resort was reasonably quiet. If quiet is more important than being right next to the food court, building 3 with a lake view would be a good option - back side of the resort would be quieter. Depending on where you are in the building, some rooms in 3 would be closer than the farther rooms in 1.

 

[brooke789]

Hi! We're planning our 2nd family trip to WDW for next May! We stayed in Pop Century on our last trip (2 adults + 2 kids) but we're thinking of staying at AoA this time! We'll have two adults, 2 6 year olds and 1 2 year old this trip. We're leaning towards the standard room as it'll be the last time we even have the option for the cost savings. Anyone done this with 5? When we traveled last time our 6 year olds were 2 and they slept in travel tents in the floor. So, I assume our to be 2 year old would do the same with the 6 year olds sharing a bed.

Are there any rumors to the price list for next spring? (Are we expecting a big increase, etc?)

What would I need to ask for to get the most quiet room. When we stayed at Pop Century we followed the advice of the board on our request and were in possibly the furtherest away building but it was very quiet and we very much enjoyed that. However this time the older kids will be walking and I imagine they'd prefer less walk at the end of the day! So, what is quiet plus not too far from the bus stop?

Are movies shown by the pool here?

I haven't read this whole thread, but any other must knows for first stay at AoA?

 

[JaySwash]

Closest to the food court is going to be building 1. For quiet, I would ask for a top floor room as long as being on the ground floor isn't necessary for you. I thought the whole resort was reasonably quiet. If quiet is more important than being right next to the food court, building 3 with a lake view would be a good option - back side of the resort would be quieter. Depending on where you are in the building, some rooms in 3 would be closer than the farther rooms in 1.

Thanks, that is very useful. All 4 boys are super thrilled that we are staying at "Radiator Springs"

 

[Chicago Mo]

We have stayed there and it is a very convenient location. My kids love the Cars section!

Thank you! I am so excited to go back!

 

[Chicago Mo]

where is the number to call in for you room requests? I checked the first post and it isn't there or i missed it.

Thank you in advanced

 

[lovingeire]

where is the number to call in for you room requests? I checked the first post and it isn't there or i missed it.

Thank you in advanced

Just call Disney reservations and they will add the requests to your reservation. You can add up to three requests.

 

[jenny105]

Just switched to AoA from POFQ. I was able to get a travel agent rate for the standard room which is almost never available. Saved almost $200 in the process. Looking forward to staying here!