Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[Iowamomof4]

Yup. It's awesome!

Is it paper and pencil or electronic drawing?

 

[dansdad]

Is it paper and pencil or electronic drawing?

Paper and pencil.

 

[cbreg1]

So excited to know that the drawing classes are offered here. Loved doing them at HS, disappointed when they discontinued them. Just one more reason to love Aof A.

 

[CanadianAli]

We got back recently from our first trip to AOA (many pre-kiddo trips to mods and deluxes), and we must tell you...VERY pleasantly surprised! Thank you to everyone for giving advice... we are converted for sure! a few things of note:

1) My questions about whether two full size rented cribs would fit in the bedroom - they absolutely did! We put one between the bed and the window and one between teh foot of the bed and the tv. We folded them up in the morning, and out of the way for us to get dressed/ready. It worked REALLY well and the twins were able to sleep in the same crib formation as home, which is comforting to them. It also left the pathway to the bathroom wide open, which we were trying to accomplish, so that I could shower early and not wake the kids. My mother slept on the sofa bed and folded it each morning when she got up around the same time as me, and having the extra running room for two year old twin boys in the living room was invaluable, as was the 2nd
2) The boys LOVED the theming in our Cars Suite. They don't know a lot of the movies yet, just the Fab 5, etc. But they loved the cars along the path and the pictures of cars in the room and especially the cone lamp shades. We were in building 2 and had a perfect location on the 2nd floor beside the elevator, so short walk to/from buses/pools/main building...all of it! And, not one ounce of noise could be heard from the elevator.
3) Food Court - really our only disappointment. Yes, there is choice, but execution lacked a lot. But we had planned for breakfasts in the room, which we stuck with and only did one lunch and one dinner in the food court, which was fine by us.
4) Pool - our guys loved it and the splash pad specifically! Huge success there. One of my boys loved saying "Hi" back to the Nemo Birds on the roof beside the pool every time they said hello.
5) Lovely little surprises - they boys loved the bug toss into Pumba's mouth in the lobby and finding characters like Eeyore, Hook and Pooh (along with a Country Bear and a Penguin from Mary Poppins) was a huge hit when returning to the hotel from the parks.
6) Buses - never a huge wait and yes, often platforms are the furthest away at parks, but we never found that a problem in the least. Buses were plentiful to come at peak periods and using the large "double" buses made for quick and easy rides. and yes...the "expected time" boards were fully functional.

We will certainly introduce the boys to other resorts over the years, but for now, we think we might just stick with AOA. It served our needs with young kids perfectly and made for a great trip all around!

 

[mevelandry]

Super excited!

DH and I had previously stayed in a LK room last year. Now we are planning a Family "Land and sea" trip with my in-laws and since the prices for hotel rooms are going up for our trip (april 2017), we decided that it would be smarter to go for a suite at AOA.

I picked the Finding Nemo suite. I did not remember that none of them had parking lot view. I'm very happy about it!

I am now wondering how is the soundproofing when you get a suite near the pool? Can you hear a lot of noise or the reduced pool hours make them really quiet? I'm sure the view is fantastic one way or another.

 

[EEva]

Hi there! Anyone who has recently used the online check in Room Request feature, do you recall seeing the "Room Ready Request" option? The text for this states, "I would like my room ready for early arrival and to prioritize that over other requests."

This option shows in the Pop Century check in choices, but not sure if AofA had this.

I learned of it in this thread, image near the end of the first post.
http://www.easywdw.com/forums/showt...eck-In-using-new-My-Disney-Expierence-website

Thank you!

 

[bluezy]

Hi there! Anyone who has recently used the online check in Room Request feature, do you recall seeing the "Room Ready Request" option? The text for this states, "I would like my room ready for early arrival and to prioritize that over other requests."

This option shows in the Pop Century check in choices, but not sure if AofA had this.

I learned of it in this thread, image near the end of the first post.
http://www.easywdw.com/forums/showt...eck-In-using-new-My-Disney-Expierence-website

Thank you!

It was definitely there when I did my AoA online check-in a few weeks ago. It didn't appear until I clicked on a room request, though. So if you just go to the online check-in, it won't be there.

 

[EEva]

It was definitely there when I did my AoA online check-in a few weeks ago. It didn't appear until I clicked on a room request, though. So if you just go to the online check-in, it won't be there.

Thank you! I'm pretty sure we are going to switch from Pop to an AoA Cars suite in mid-October. Coming in on a red eye, so it's worth a shot to try and get into the room early. I'd even take building 2 for early check in!

 

[LizAnn4908]

We got back recently from our first trip to AOA (many pre-kiddo trips to mods and deluxes), and we must tell you...VERY pleasantly surprised! Thank you to everyone for giving advice... we are converted for sure! a few things of note:

1) My questions about whether two full size rented cribs would fit in the bedroom - they absolutely did! We put one between the bed and the window and one between teh foot of the bed and the tv. We folded them up in the morning, and out of the way for us to get dressed/ready. It worked REALLY well and the twins were able to sleep in the same crib formation as home, which is comforting to them. It also left the pathway to the bathroom wide open, which we were trying to accomplish, so that I could shower early and not wake the kids. My mother slept on the sofa bed and folded it each morning when she got up around the same time as me, and having the extra running room for two year old twin boys in the living room was invaluable, as was the 2nd
2) The boys LOVED the theming in our Cars Suite. They don't know a lot of the movies yet, just the Fab 5, etc. But they loved the cars along the path and the pictures of cars in the room and especially the cone lamp shades. We were in building 2 and had a perfect location on the 2nd floor beside the elevator, so short walk to/from buses/pools/main building...all of it! And, not one ounce of noise could be heard from the elevator.
3) Food Court - really our only disappointment. Yes, there is choice, but execution lacked a lot. But we had planned for breakfasts in the room, which we stuck with and only did one lunch and one dinner in the food court, which was fine by us.
4) Pool - our guys loved it and the splash pad specifically! Huge success there. One of my boys loved saying "Hi" back to the Nemo Birds on the roof beside the pool every time they said hello.
5) Lovely little surprises - they boys loved the bug toss into Pumba's mouth in the lobby and finding characters like Eeyore, Hook and Pooh (along with a Country Bear and a Penguin from Mary Poppins) was a huge hit when returning to the hotel from the parks.
6) Buses - never a huge wait and yes, often platforms are the furthest away at parks, but we never found that a problem in the least. Buses were plentiful to come at peak periods and using the large "double" buses made for quick and easy rides. and yes...the "expected time" boards were fully functional.

We will certainly introduce the boys to other resorts over the years, but for now, we think we might just stick with AOA. It served our needs with young kids perfectly and made for a great trip all around!

I really liked reading your post about AOA. Can you tell me what is provided in the kitchenette, for example are there bowls, cups, paper plates, silverware etc... I am wondering if I would need to order this kind of stuff from garden grocer.
Thank you for your help.

 

[bluezy]

I really liked reading your post about AOA. Can you tell me what is provided in the kitchenette, for example are there bowls, cups, paper plates, silverware etc... I am wondering if I would need to order this kind of stuff from garden grocer.
Thank you for your help.

They do provide paper plates, bowls, and cups as well as plastic utensils. If I remember correctly, they provide 6 of each thing and refresh those supplies daily. If you need more, you could call mousekeeping or simply leave them a note in the morning requesting extras. This blog post has pictures of everything in the kitchenette (I don't think they have a picture of the paper plates, but those are provided).

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

 

[LizAnn4908]

They do provide paper plates, bowls, and cups as well as plastic utensils. If I remember correctly, they provide 6 of each thing and refresh those supplies daily. If you need more, you could call mousekeeping or simply leave them a note in the morning requesting extras. This blog post has pictures of everything in the kitchenette (I don't think they have a picture of the paper plates, but those are provided).

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

Thank you so much! Very helpful!

 

[WEDWDW]

Here is the info for the new bike availability at AoA/POP.

ed.

 

[CanadianAli]

I really liked reading your post about AOA. Can you tell me what is provided in the kitchenette, for example are there bowls, cups, paper plates, silverware etc... I am wondering if I would need to order this kind of stuff from garden grocer.
Thank you for your help.

Yes, there is quantity of 6 each: bowls, plates, cups, plastic spoons, forks and knives, plus coffee/tea, whitener/sugar, etc. We requested more knives and forks particularly, since I used them to cut fruit (instead of bringing a kitchen one from home) and when mousekeeping came, they came with a bag of everything for us (and still replenished as normal each day to standard). So, plentiful for sure! So, don't order from Garden Grocer. For some reason, I also recall seeing a can opener and a corkscrew, but since I didn't need them, I didn't totally register that in my brain.

On those higher shelves(there is a picture somewhere along this thread), we also kept a box of croissants, a box of muffins, a bag of bagels, peanut butter, extra jugs of water, 2 bunches of bananas and other snacks for toddlers, so the actual counter with the sink remained as clutter free as possible (also out of little hand reach!).

And to give you a perspective on fridge space, we had in ours: 10 individual yogurts, 2 tubs of cottage cheese, 1lb clamshell of strawberries, 1 pint of blackberries, 1 pint of blueberries, 4 thermoses of water plus 1 gallon of spring water chilling at all times, 1/2 gallon of OJ (simply orange for size reference), cream cheese, and still had room for leftovers in takeaway containers. Hope that helps too!

Have fun!

 

[CanadianAli]

Hi there! Anyone who has recently used the online check in Room Request feature, do you recall seeing the "Room Ready Request" option? The text for this states, "I would like my room ready for early arrival and to prioritize that over other requests."

This option shows in the Pop Century check in choices, but not sure if AofA had this.

I learned of it in this thread, image near the end of the first post.
http://www.easywdw.com/forums/showt...eck-In-using-new-My-Disney-Expierence-website

Thank you!

Yes, this was there when I checked in online about a month ago. We opted not to use it actually, as we felt our "close to transportation" request was paramount. We arrived at the resort around 1pm and the room was ready (with our grocery and crib delivery ready to roll in minutes after we walked there...DME luggage delivery was about 30 minutes after our arrival) and we got close to transportation. So, you roll the dice, and this time it worked out for us. I think that request really is best when you arrive early in the day and need the drop-off location before heading to pool/parks and your actual room location/other requests aren't quite as important. But a midday arrival seems like you could likely still make it all work.

 

[LizAnn4908]

Yes, there is quantity of 6 each: bowls, plates, cups, plastic spoons, forks and knives, plus coffee/tea, whitener/sugar, etc. We requested more knives and forks particularly, since I used them to cut fruit (instead of bringing a kitchen one from home) and when mousekeeping came, they came with a bag of everything for us (and still replenished as normal each day to standard). So, plentiful for sure! So, don't order from Garden Grocer. For some reason, I also recall seeing a can opener and a corkscrew, but since I didn't need them, I didn't totally register that in my brain.

On those higher shelves(there is a picture somewhere along this thread), we also kept a box of croissants, a box of muffins, a bag of bagels, peanut butter, extra jugs of water, 2 bunches of bananas and other snacks for toddlers, so the actual counter with the sink remained as clutter free as possible (also out of little hand reach!).

And to give you a perspective on fridge space, we had in ours: 10 individual yogurts, 2 tubs of cottage cheese, 1lb clamshell of strawberries, 1 pint of blackberries, 1 pint of blueberries, 4 thermoses of water plus 1 gallon of spring water chilling at all times, 1/2 gallon of OJ (simply orange for size reference), cream cheese, and still had room for leftovers in takeaway containers. Hope that helps too!

Have fun!

So helpful! Thank you so much for the detailed response!

 

[skullsplitter]

Does AoA still use its own bus or is it sharing with the All Stars?

 

[bluezy]

AoA has it's own buses. Other than the rare occasion when the bus *might* drop off or pick up at Pop Century during a slow time or the day, the resort does not share bus service with any other resort. We've spent 14 days/nights at AoA and used the buses numerous times each day. We only stopped at Pop Century 1 time in all of those 50+ bus rides.

 

[EEva]

Yes, this was there when I checked in online about a month ago. We opted not to use it actually, as we felt our "close to transportation" request was paramount. We arrived at the resort around 1pm and the room was ready (with our grocery and crib delivery ready to roll in minutes after we walked there...DME luggage delivery was about 30 minutes after our arrival) and we got close to transportation. So, you roll the dice, and this time it worked out for us. I think that request really is best when you arrive early in the day and need the drop-off location before heading to pool/parks and your actual room location/other requests aren't quite as important. But a midday arrival seems like you could likely still make it all work.

\
Sounds like you had a great check in experience! I know it's a long shot, but like I said, we are on a red eye from the west, and I'd take building 2 if it meant we could have early check in!

 

[Iowamomof4]

\
Sounds like you had a great check in experience! I know it's a long shot, but like I said, we are on a red eye from the west, and I'd take building 2 if it meant we could have early check in!

When does your red eye land in Orlando? Just curious.

 

[EEva]

When does your red eye land in Orlando? Just curious.

5am!! I don't know what I was thinking. But super cheap fair. I really hope the kids will sleep on the flight.
I know there is no way we'd get in to the room at 7am, but even 11 would be nice.