Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[Dizjunkieee]

I arrive on 5/2, staying in a Finding Nemo suite and got the email yesterday. Honestly though, I am not concerned one little bit about it as I have stayed at numerous other WDW resorts whilst they were under refurb and it has never been an issue. We are always just a group of adults though, so I suppose for folks traveling with littles, it could potentially be an issue if it were really noisy during the day when little ones were trying to nap. I personally would never worry about it and would never try to be moved elsewhere. They do a great job of minimizing the impact of any renovations to guests.

 

[bluezy]

I arrive on 5/2, staying in a Finding Nemo suite and got the email yesterday. Honestly though, I am not concerned one little bit about it as I have stayed at numerous other WDW resorts whilst they were under refurb and it has never been an issue. We are always just a group of adults though, so I suppose for folks traveling with littles, it could potentially be an issue if it were really noisy during the day when little ones were trying to nap. I personally would never worry about it and would never try to be moved elsewhere. They do a great job of minimizing the impact of any renovations to guests.

I'm with you -- I wouldn't request to be moved because of the construction -- especially since this one doesn't appear to be anything major. My luck, if I did ask to be moved to another resort, I'd end up in a room with really noisy neighbors *and* right by the gathering area for the Mousekeepers/Groundskeepers each day and I'd hear them talking constantly and hear the golf carts "beep, beep, beep" every time they backed up all day long. Can you tell we had a room like that on one trip??

 

[DMLAINI]

Is there dish soap provided in the kitchenette area in the suites?

 

[Dizjunkieee]

Is there dish soap provided in the kitchenette area in the suites?

I was initially inclined to say yes, but I looked and the room tour videos I've looked through do not seem to have any. In hind sight since it is technically a "value" resort, I suppose the thought is you are just using paper, BUT....there is a sink....hmmmmm.

 

[Dizjunkieee]

I'm with you -- I wouldn't request to be moved because of the construction -- especially since this one doesn't appear to be anything major. My luck, if I did ask to be moved to another resort, I'd end up in a room with really noisy neighbors *and* right by the gathering area for the Mousekeepers/Groundskeepers each day and I'd hear them talking constantly and hear the golf carts "beep, beep, beep" every time they backed up all day long. Can you tell we had a room like that on one trip??

Yeah, that sounds super annoying! In that case, I just might asked to be moved!

 

[bluezy]

Is there dish soap provided in the kitchenette area in the suites?

There hasn't been any the 3 times we've stayed in a suite. I just buy a small bottle of dish soap at the Dollar Store or in the travel-size aisle of Target/Walmart to take along (same for liquid hand soap for the bathrooms). I also buy a bottle brush at the Dollar Store to take along and use for the mugs and anything else that needs washing. I always put the soap under the kitchen sink when we check out (and throw away the bottle brush) in hopes that maybe housekeeping won't throw it away and leave it there for the next guest. Probably doesn't happen, but at least I try.

I've seen people say they load up some sponges with liquid soap, let them dry, cut them up in 4-6 small pieces, and pack them in Ziploc bags. Then at the resort they just take one out and wet it when they need to wash things. I've also used the Bounty paper towels with Dawn soap already in them (just pulled a bunch off the roll and packed them in a Ziploc bag so they were flat) but I prefer to just take soap and a brush. We drive, so we have the space in our bags to do that.

 

[bluezy]

Yeah, that sounds super annoying! In that case, I just might asked to be moved!

I probably would have, but that was the room they had moved us to when I didn't like the location of the original connecting rooms we had been assigned. Our youngest daughter was running a fever when we checked in and I had mentioned that in passing to the CM handling our check-in. When he saw that our originally assigned rooms weren't ready, he offered to find something else for us so our daughter could rest. I asked where our rooms were supposed to be (because if they had been a great location, we would have dealt with the wait -- we had a car so we could let her sleep in the a/c there if we needed to until the rooms were ready). The location sucked, so I happily accepted his offer to find connecting rooms that were available immediately -- they certainly wouldn't be any worse than our original location, right???? Well, the location of the new rooms was great as far as being close to the bus stops and main building, but we quickly found out why those rooms hadn't been assigned originally. The area right below our room was the "gathering area for the groundskeepers/Mousekeepers and starting at about 8:00 in the morning, they were coming and going constantly from that area. Ongoing noise that was just loud enough to be annoying if we were in the room during the day. Fortunately, we weren't in the room all that much, but the noise (and they weren't being loud intentionally -- it was just that what they needed to do caused a lot of noise) woke us up early on the days we planned to sleep in and the 2 days we wanted to try and nap a bit in the afternoon. It didn't ruin our trip, but I know to be more aware of where that "gathering" area is at whatever resort we stay and and make sure to request a room away from there.

 

[2010_Bride]

Just wondering if you heard anything about the animation classes?

Yes they do!! I just finished drawing Goofy lol! The classes run daily at 11am, 2 and 5pm.

 

[CJK]

Yes they do!! I just finished drawing Goofy lol! The classes run daily at 11am, 2 and 5pm.

Yay, thank you! I wonder why the activities guide doesn't mention it anymore?? Enjoy your Goofy drawing!

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Yes they do!! I just finished drawing Goofy lol! The classes run daily at 11am, 2 and 5pm.

Excellent!!! Thank you so much

 

[bluejasmine74]

Regardless of what that person said, you were not talking to someone directly at AoA. You were talking to a CM at some offsite call center -- probably not even in Orlando. Even when you push the "front desk" button on the in-room phone you don't get some one who is physically at the resort. And many of the people who answer the phones unfortunately don't have accurate information -- in fact, many times it's not even close to reality. Hopefully you got someone who gave accurate information.

It is in Orlando, I know bc I worked there... but refurb info is only given to us as 'its happening and its the only info we have"

 

[Chief Cardinal]

Does anyone know the price for bike rental or where I can find the price? Also anyone that has rented bikes before......Are the 6 person bikes easy to pedal?

 

[Rolltideguy77]

If you're needing easy to pack/travel soap go to the camping section and buy camping soap or order it online here http://a.co/24nE11I It comes in little sheets and is small enough to pack in your pocket.

 

[lindsayjs]

A quick question for you all: In the family suite buildings do all the ends of the T shapes have stairwells?

 

[roller99]

A quick question for you all: In the family suite buildings do all the ends of the T shapes have stairwells?

Yes. So elevator in the middle, and stairwells on each end (three total).

 

[ShyMiss]

POP guests this summer (including myself) are receiving the same email. Pop is getting room refurbs but there's a rumor that email could also be referring to putting in bases for gondola transportaion near the bridge between the two resorts. Key word ="rumor" I'm keeping an eye on both threads for more info.

 

[lindsayjs]

Yes. So elevator in the middle, and stairwells on each end (three total).

Thanks!

 

[jpeterson]

Staying at AoA now. Been here since Sunday, today I noticed some heavy earth moving equipment and building supplies near the parking entrance way out on the edge of the lot. That implies more than a little landscaping work.

 

[WonderlandisReality]

Does anyone know how late the food court serves breakfast?

 

[bluezy]

Staying at AoA now. Been here since Sunday, today I noticed some heavy earth moving equipment and building supplies near the parking entrance way out on the edge of the lot. That implies more than a little landscaping work.

Reliable sources on another message board have been saying for a few weeks that Gondola construction will begin on 5/8. So what you're seeing supports that rumor/information.