Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[FantasiaMagic]

Yes there are showers in the bathrooms by the Cozy Cone pool.

Thank you!

 

[slbgnb]

You can do online check-in 60 days in advance via the app or website. I want to say I got an email reminder.

Oh Wow!! 60 days?? So I can do that next week! I would like early check in, but I'd also like "close to transportation/food hall". Is it best to just pick one though?

 

[howaboutme]

Oh Wow!! 60 days?? So I can do that next week! I would like early check in, but I'd also like "close to transportation/food hall". Is it best to just pick one though?

We just did ours recently. I don't recall both the option for "close to transportation" and "food hall". There is "close to transportation" and that is probably the same as food hall if you look at the map (for most). The other options were floors (high or low or specific), near elevators and lake view.

 

[momtotaryn]

My sister's family of 4 (Nemo suite) and my family of 4 (Lion King) stayed at the AoA from June 3-13. The youngest child was 15 (my DD). Everyone loved it! Our rooms were great, although I felt the mousekeeping service for our room was much better than my sister's room. They also had a couple of minor issues with their room, but the problems were resolved right away with the maintenance staff. We all loved the kitchenette and having two bathrooms! The rooms themselves were pretty spacious, although we didn't spend too much time in our rooms, mainly sleeping and eating breakfast.

We enjoyed walking around the resort. Simply awesome, and an attraction in itself! It was a nice walk along the lake, and only a short distance to Pop Century, where we occasionally stopped at that food court for meals too. Unfortunately, we didn't have any time to enjoy the pool (looked fun!), but we did do laundry one evening. The laundry room got fairly crowded, and a bit annoying when people leave their clothes in the washer or dryer for a long time after they are done, so waiting around for them to come back to take care of their clothes was tiresome. I had to wait 20-25 minutes for someone to take their clothes out of a dryer, so that I could put my clothes in. Not pleasant, when you're tired from a long day (after 10pm at night) and expect to get up early the next morning for another long day at the park.

The food court was convenient, but it could get a bit crowded. I did have one less than stellar interaction with a food court CM, which could have ruined my entire day (happened first thing in the morning, while picking up breakfast), but the incident was quickly forgotten, because all other CMs I encountered after her were super polite and helpful. The front desk CMs, as well as the store CMs were always smiling with greeting of "hello" or "happy birthday" (I had my birthday pin on).

The only thing that was less than satisfactory was the shuttle service. There were times that we had to wait super long (both at the resort and at the parks). There was one time that we just missed a MK one, and I swear it took 40-45 minutes for the next one to come. In the meantime, we saw 3 DS and AK shuttles, and 2 DHS and Epcot shuttles while waiting. This caused us to be almost late for our BOG ADR. We were at the bus stop at a little after 5:00pm and our BOG ADR was for 6:30pm. I thought we were giving ourselves a lot of time, but we barely made it.

Overall, I would definitely recommend AoA suites for families who need the space and the additional amenities, such as a microwave. We would definitely consider staying there again, except for the fact that we would love to experience staying at the other resorts too!

 

[bluezy]

We just returned from a 9 day/8 night stay at AoA. We really enjoyed it and our kids went nuts over the theming. I debated for months over POR and AoA and it came down to the theming. I'm glad our kids were as excited about it as we thought they would be. We did advance check-in and when our flight landed at MCO at 10am I had a text saying that our room was ready. I didn't get the exact room I wanted, but at least it was on the ground floor like I asked. We had a very early flight so it was very nice to be able to nap before hitting the parks. We went to MK for some rides and an early dinner. When we returned our groceries and luggage were waiting for us.

We used both the main pool and the Little Mermaid pool. No complaints there. A little crowded at times but nothing we couldn't tolerate. The food court was a bit chaotic and we had a couple of unpleasant interactions with CMs in the chaos. I asked for an adult slice of pizza and was given a kid's portion. I inquired because on the menu it says it is a "monster slice" and what we were given looked small. The CM was a little snippy and told me it was an adult portion. I get to the counter and the cashier said it was the kid's slice, but she was nice enough to go get me an additional slice to even it out. The pasta/pizza line was long and seemed to be the line that caused the most confusion for folks. It was always backed way up. My DH and I both enjoyed the surf and surf burger from the burger line.

We kept running into a problem where we were being charged table service credits at Landscapes. Our receipts were always correct when we checked out though. It happened three times but the concierge desk was able to help. After the first two times, I went directly to the desk after we ate the third meal and sure enough it happened again. Make sure you keep track of what is being charged to your band! The concierge desk was also very patient with me when we were paying down our balance. I was a bit complicated with gift cards, rewards cards, cash, and a credit card, lol. For some reason I was really stressed out about getting the balance paid. I didn't exactly understand the process, but again they were patient.

We stayed in the Little Mermaid area as we didn't feel the need for a suite. It was a bit of a walk but completely enjoyable! My kids loved stopping to run through the elephant graveyard. We had a great view of the HS fireworks from between the Lion King and Mermaid rooms.

My only real complaint is the bus service. Maybe we just had bad timing but we had multiple 30+ minute waits and twice we waited for almost an hour. We finally started taking the Pop bus if it was there and walking across the bridge. It might not have saved us any time but at least we were moving and out of the sun.

If given the option we would certainly stay there again! Lots of great memories!

I really think these issues (bolded parts above) have to do with timing. I always find it interesting how several people can be at the same resort during the same time period and have very different experiences. I really think timing can make or break a vacation to Disney World.

We just got home from 8 days in a Nemo suite. The only time we saw the food court crowded (long lines at the stations and check outs as well as nearly every table in use) was one morning when we walked through at about 9:00. In multiple stays at AoA (21 nights total) I've never seen the food court as full as it was that day -- and we eat there several times during our stay plus we walk through there every time we are coming to or leaving the resort (which is at least 4 trips through there in a day not including the visits to fill our mugs). We ate lunch/dinner there 3 times last week and usually had our food and were heading to a table within 5-7 minutes of walking in the door. The only exception was the pasta/pizza line which took closer to 10 minutes one night. I will say that we tend to eat dinner between 5-6 and lunch around 11:00 to avoid crowds regardless of where in Disney World we're eating.

As far as buses, we found the bus service during our stay last week to be awesome. We had one evening that we waited 25 minutes for a bus to DHS but we knew a bus had just left as we were walking up to the bus stop. Not everyone in our party had arrived at the bus stop yet so we didn't try to catch the bus that was there. We did rope drop at each of the 4 parks and buses were plentiful and frequent at that time (about 75-90 minutes before opening time). Other than that one 25 minute wait, we really didn't have any long waits. I think there was one or two waits of about 15 minutes and all of the rest were under 10 with most of those under 5. We rode the buses at least 30 times while we were there.

Glad you had a great time despite the little glitches!

 

[Aeweddle]

I really think these issues (bolded parts above) have to do with timing. I always find it interesting how several people can be at the same resort during the same time period and have very different experiences. I really think timing can make or break a vacation to Disney World.

We just got home from 8 days in a Nemo suite. The only time we saw the food court crowded (long lines at the stations and check outs as well as nearly every table in use) was one morning when we walked through at about 9:00. In multiple stays at AoA (21 nights total) I've never seen the food court as full as it was that day -- and we eat there several times during our stay plus we walk through there every time we are coming to or leaving the resort (which is at least 4 trips through there in a day not including the visits to fill our mugs). We ate lunch/dinner there 3 times last week and usually had our food and were heading to a table within 5-7 minutes of walking in the door. The only exception was the pasta/pizza line which took closer to 10 minutes one night. I will say that we tend to eat dinner between 5-6 and lunch around 11:00 to avoid crowds regardless of where in Disney World we're eating.

As far as buses, we found the bus service during our stay last week to be awesome. We had one evening that we waited 25 minutes for a bus to DHS but we knew a bus had just left as we were walking up to the bus stop. Not everyone in our party had arrived at the bus stop yet so we didn't try to catch the bus that was there. We did rope drop at each of the 4 parks and buses were plentiful and frequent at that time (about 75-90 minutes before opening time). Other than that one 25 minute wait, we really didn't have any long waits. I think there was one or two waits of about 15 minutes and all of the rest were under 10 with most of those under 5. We rode the buses at least 30 times while we were there.

Glad you had a great time despite the little glitches!

Interesting! I had a feeling it was bad timing on our part regarding the buses because it seemed like every time we walked up to a stop it was empty. At least we got a seat!

 

[bluezy]

Just a quick report from our stay at AoA last week. We were in the Nemo section, Bldg 5, first floor. I used Touring Plans Room Request Fax service and got the room right next to the specific room I requested. I was fine with that because I really didn't care which room we got, I just wanted to be in a specific hallway. I selected a room in the middle of that hallway so really any room would have been fine. We also did online check-in and I kept my requests the same as what I was requesting through Touring Plans (first floor, close to transportation) so as not to cause confusion with the room assignor. I indicated our check-in time as 11:00 but did not choose the option of having a room ready at arrival time over all other requests. For this trip, it was more important that we have a first floor room close to transportation. At about 10:30 I got a message that our room wasn't ready yet and that they'd let me know when it was. We were driving to Disney so we decided to stop at Walmart and pick up some food supplies and waste a little time there so that hopefully our room would be ready by the time we arrived. We arrived at AoA at about noon and I still hadn't received an updated message about our room so I thought I'd head to the check-in desk to see if they could give me any new information. As we walked through the front door of Animation Hall, I got the text saying our room was ready. Perfect timing.

Our room was clean and everything was working perfectly. I do want to mention that our refrigerator did *not* have a freezer compartment. This wasn't an issue for us as I didn't have anything that needed to be frozen; however, I know that many people order frozen items through grocery delivery services so I wanted to mention it. The refrigerators in our Lion King suites always had a freezer compartment. I'm not sure if this was just a "loaner" refrigerator or a permanent replacement. We had an awesome mousekeeper. She went above and beyond what I would expect mousekeeping to do. I try to keep our room as neat and organized as I can but that can be challenging with 6 people in the room. Our mousekeeper always took the time to tidy up the items we kept on the bathroom and kitchen sink areas. She also would line up all of the shoes that were piled in the corner. She left us towel animals one day and another day she left us a Finding Dory card and helium balloon. She was probably one of the best mousekeepers we've had in all of our trips.

As mentioned in a previous post, our experiences with the bus service and food court were both very good. The bus arrival time monitors were working every day but one; however, they didn't always display an arrival time for every park bus. Several days there was never an arrival time for Epcot. The accuracy was hit or miss so we didn't really rely on them. We did notice that with some buses, the arrival time changed the instant a bus arrived on property. For example: (using random details) The board would display an arrival time of 8:47 a.m. for the DHS bus. At 8:47, the time would change to 9:05. Thirty seconds later, the DHS bus would pull up to the bus stop. On a few occasions we noticed that when people saw the time change, they'd think it was going to be another 15 minutes for the bus to arrive so they'd run inside the building to use the bathroom or grab a drink. Meanwhile, the bus was actually already pulling in the AoA driveway but not visible to the people waiting for the bus and the new arrival time was actually for the *next* bus. Just something to be aware of. It didn't happen every time, but it happened often enough for us to notice.

They were "refreshing" some of the exterior paint on building 5 in the Nemo section for a few days while we were there. What they *really* need to "refresh" (read: REPLACE) is the carpeting in the hallways of that building. It was nasty. I didn't notice any stains or marks on the carpeting in our suite, but the hallway carpeting was filled with stains. Some of them were very large (more than 6" in diameter). They are beyond the point of being cleaned and really need to be replaced. It was depressing to walk down the hall and look at that mess.

Overall we had a wonderful stay - this was our 3rd at AoA. We wouldn't hesitate to stay there again or continue to recommend it to friends.

 

[Iowamomof4]

Just a quick report from our stay at AoA last week. We were in the Nemo section, Bldg 5, first floor. I used Touring Plans Room Request Fax service and got the room right next to the specific room I requested. I was fine with that because I really didn't care which room we got, I just wanted to be in a specific hallway. I selected a room in the middle of that hallway so really any room would have been fine. We also did online check-in and I kept my requests the same as what I was requesting through Touring Plans (first floor, close to transportation) so as not to cause confusion with the room assignor. I indicated our check-in time as 11:00 but did not choose the option of having a room ready at arrival time over all other requests. For this trip, it was more important that we have a first floor room close to transportation. At about 10:30 I got a message that our room wasn't ready yet and that they'd let me know when it was. We were driving to Disney so we decided to stop at Walmart and pick up some food supplies and waste a little time there so that hopefully our room would be ready by the time we arrived. We arrived at AoA at about noon and I still hadn't received an updated message about our room so I thought I'd head to the check-in desk to see if they could give me any new information. As we walked through the front door of Animation Hall, I got the text saying our room was ready. Perfect timing.

Our room was clean and everything was working perfectly. I do want to mention that our refrigerator did *not* have a freezer compartment. This wasn't an issue for us as I didn't have anything that needed to be frozen; however, I know that many people order frozen items through grocery delivery services so I wanted to mention it. The refrigerators in our Lion King suites always had a freezer compartment. I'm not sure if this was just a "loaner" refrigerator or a permanent replacement. We had an awesome mousekeeper. She went above and beyond what I would expect mousekeeping to do. I try to keep our room as neat and organized as I can but that can be challenging with 6 people in the room. Our mousekeeper always took the time to tidy up the items we kept on the bathroom and kitchen sink areas. She also would line up all of the shoes that were piled in the corner. She left us towel animals one day and another day she left us a Finding Dory card and helium balloon. She was probably one of the best mousekeepers we've had in all of our trips.

As mentioned in a previous post, our experiences with the bus service and food court were both very good. The bus arrival time monitors were working every day but one; however, they didn't always display an arrival time for every park bus. Several days there was never an arrival time for Epcot. The accuracy was hit or miss so we didn't really rely on them. We did notice that with some buses, the arrival time changed the instant a bus arrived on property. For example: (using random details) The board would display an arrival time of 8:47 a.m. for the DHS bus. At 8:47, the time would changed to 9:05. Thirty seconds later, the DHS bus would pull up to the bus stop. On a few occasions we noticed that when people saw the time change, they'd think it was going to be another 15 minutes for the bus to arrive so they'd run inside the building to use the bathroom or grab a drink. Meanwhile, the bus was actually already pulling in the AoA driveway but not visible to the people waiting for the bus and the new arrival time was actually for the *next* bus. Just something to be aware of. It didn't happen every time, but it happened often enough for us to notice.

They were "refreshing" some of the exterior paint on building 5 in the Nemo section for a few days while we were there. What they *really* need to "refresh" (read: REPLACE) is the carpeting in the hallways of that building. It was nasty. I didn't notice any stains or marks on the carpeting in our suite, but the hallway carpeting was filled with stains. Some of them were very large (more than 6" in diameter). They are beyond the point of being cleaned and really need to be replaced. It was depressing to walk down the hall and look at that mess.

Overall we had a wonderful stay - this was our 3rd at AoA. We wouldn't hesitate to stay there again or continue to recommend it to friends.

Very helpful information about the bus boards! Glad you had a nice stay!

 

[DancinMama]

We stayed at AoA last summer and here are my thoughts. We are just a family of four so we stayed in a regular room in the Little Mermaid section. I felt like it was a crazy long walk from Little Mermaid to the main building/transportation, especially after a long hot day at the parks. I know it's Disney and everything is huge and a long way to walk.
After staying at Pop Century two previous times and being able to stay in any section of the resort because all the rooms are the same, I really don't know that I'd choose AoA again for my family of 4. The only way to get a room any closer (unless I'm mistaken) is to get a suite and that's just not in the budget for our family. I loved the AoA theme but for the convenience and comfort factor we're looking at Pop Century for our next trip in November 2017. I'd rather be closer to the main building/transportation and not have the kids have such a long trip to and from the room.
Just my thoughts...

 

[Aeweddle]

The only way to get a room any closer (unless I'm mistaken) is to get a suite

Yes, you are correct. Nemo suites directly behind Animation Hall, Cars suites to the right, and Lion King suited to the left.

 

[lampshadehead]

Has anyone ever just booked a 'Family suite' instead of a specific room type (i.e. Cars or Lion King)? It's my understanding that we'd just be assigned whatever room was available at check-in. We really want a Cars room, but the only room type available at a discount is 'family suite' for now. It would just be a gamble what we get. Does anyone have experience with this?

"Family Suite" was the only option left one year when we booked a FD package. Got a Lion King room on the 3rd floor.

 

[EEva]

Hi there! Does anyone know what the pool hours usually are during the fall, specifically mid-October?
I've read some info for summer and spring, but not fall.
Thanks!

 

[ColoradoK]

Hello all,

Was wondering if someone could give me an approximate length of the Cars suite sofa cushions. I'm considering using it as a bed for our daughter so my mother (who is paying for most of the trip) can have a bed to herself. My daughter will be 7 and she is quite tiny. 4-5 year old size right now. I saw this sofa cushion suggestion for 2-3 year old toddlers but another poster said her 8 year old slept on it. Not sure what I can expect. We can bring a travel cot but we're coming from Germany so I'd really rather not

 

[DeAnna4140]

What are the chances of a Little Mermaid room opening Oct 17-20? Totally booked now but wondering if anyone else has waited and something has opened up for them around the 30 day mark.
Thanks!

 

[bluezy]

Hello all,

Was wondering if someone could give me an approximate length of the Cars suite sofa cushions. I'm considering using it as a bed for our daughter so my mother (who is paying for most of the trip) can have a bed to herself. My daughter will be 7 and she is quite tiny. 4-5 year old size right now. I saw this sofa cushion suggestion for 2-3 year old toddlers but another poster said her 8 year old slept on it. Not sure what I can expect. We can bring a travel cot but we're coming from Germany so I'd really rather not

We've never stayed in a Cars suite - only Lion King and Nemo -- but the couches should all be about the same size. I know the mattress on the sofa bed is 53" wide and the sofa is a few inches wider than that. I would guess that when put end-to-end, the seat cushions would be around 57" long. My tall-for-her-age 11 yo daughter just spent a week sleeping on the seat cushions and she's about 5' tall. She sleeps on them every time we stay there (her choice - we always take an air mattress for her). When she was stretched out this time, her feet hung off the edge but she tends to curl up a bit when she sleeps so it didn't really matter. I think your daughter will fit with no problem.

 

[ColoradoK]

We've never stayed in a Cars suite - only Lion King and Nemo -- but the couches should all be about the same size. I know the mattress on the sofa bed is 53" wide and the sofa is a few inches wider than that. I would guess that when put end-to-end, the seat cushions would be around 57" long. My tall-for-her-age 11 yo daughter just spent a week sleeping on the seat cushions and she's about 5' tall. She sleeps on them every time we stay there (her choice - we always take an air mattress for her). When she was stretched out this time, her feet hung off the edge but she tends to curl up a bit when she sleeps so it didn't really matter. I think your daughter will fit with no problem.

Oh thank you SO much!! What do you use for sheets? Is it better for me to bring something from home, I wonder? I am so happy to have this information. Thanks again!

 

[bluezy]

Oh thank you SO much!! What do you use for sheets? Is it better for me to bring something from home, I wonder? I am so happy to have this information. Thanks again!

I just call mousekeeping and ask for an extra set of sheets, blankets, and pillows and they usually have it in the room within an hour. This time there were mousekeepers working on our hall when we arrived so I just asked them if they had an extra set or if I should call to request it. They gave me a set of sheets right there but I still had to call for pillows. I then just take one of the flat sheets and wrap it around the cushions like a burrito.

 

[BoatyMcBoatface]

Oh thank you SO much!! What do you use for sheets? Is it better for me to bring something from home, I wonder? I am so happy to have this information. Thanks again!

We also just use an extra sheet from Mousekeeping . The other thing I'd note, and I think it actually works in your favor, is the Cars suite is a single cushion (Lion King is two cushions, don't know about Nemo). It honestly makes a great little bed.

 

[bluezy]

We also just use an extra sheet from Mousekeeping . The other thing I'd note, and I think it actually works in your favor, is the Cars suite is a single cushion (Lion King is two cushions, don't know about Nemo). It honestly makes a great little bed.

Nemo is two cushions as well. I agree, it makes a great little bed. My daughter looks forward to using it and prefers it over an air mattress. She likes to put it between the sofa bed and the wall so she has her own little private space.

 

[Jerusalem Gal]

Anyone there now and can confirm if they still have the create your own pasta dish at the food court?

It's no longer on the Disney site menu..