Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[lauren_elizabeth]

3507, Bottom floor of building 3, facing the Cozy Cone Pool. Loved it! Normally I request high floors, but since we were there because we were relocated for Irma from the FW Cabins, I was not about to be picky, but we had no sound issues or anything above our heads. Not crazy far from parking, nor crazy far from Animation Hall in my opinion, so we were very, very happy!

Thank you!

 

[pigletgirl]

This will be our first time staying at this resort starting in December 2018. When we booked, i didn’t specify which area we wanted to be in. What are my chances of getting a Nemo suite? Should i change my reservation so i can guarantee that’s what we get?

 

[bluezy]

This will be our first time staying at this resort starting in December 2018. When we booked, i didn’t specify which area we wanted to be in. What are my chances of getting a Nemo suite? Should i change my reservation so i can guarantee that’s what we get?

The Nemo suites cost more than the LK and Cars suites so your chances of getting assigned to a Nemo suite when you've booked the generic "family suite" are probably slim to none. I know the Nemo suites are often sold out. I would say if you have your heart set on a Nemo suite, you should specifically book a Nemo suite.

 

[wehrengrizz]

Has anyone ever seen/heard of Moana meeting at AoA? I saw 2 reports on Twitter that she is "back" meeting at AoA but...

Edit: I think this is actually a Disneyland Paris thing...and the names in the tweets were not specific. I'm sorry! Please disregard that bad info. (also, darn!)

 

[Herding_Cats]

For those who have stayed in the Cars section...

What was your room number? Did you like your location?

3833. Building 3, top floor. View over Ramone/Flo and cozy cone sign to the left. We never saw other guests in the hallway on our floor and it was quiet. Could also see the higher/larger fireworks from HS in the evening. We liked it a lot, but don’t have anything to compare it to. Con was it’s a long way to haul stuff from your car if you’re driving/dealing with your own luggage.

 

[helpmabob]

We are thinking of staying here in October and through the Disney website. Son has been reading up on different suites and The Lion King seems to come out on top. It is an option on Disney website and think we will just go for it. There is just the 2 of us but like our space.
Wondering how everyone feels about AOA as a resort. Unable to get our go to resort POFQ, and have OKW booked but the flights are much cheaper on different dates to OKW booking, which is why we are considering changing.

 

[Disneylover99]

We are thinking of staying here in October and through the Disney website. Son has been reading up on different suites and The Lion King seems to come out on top. It is an option on Disney website and think we will just go for it. There is just the 2 of us but like our space.
Wondering how everyone feels about AOA as a resort. Unable to get our go to resort POFQ, and have OKW booked but the flights are much cheaper on different dates to OKW booking, which is why we are considering changing.

i love the theming, the food court, having one bus stop, and the ease of visiting Pop for their buses and food court.

 

[ShellieR]

My family will be staying at AOA in May....does anyone know if the speakers in the big blue pool are working? We stayed there 2 years ago and the under water speakers were not working. The kids wanted to know what music sounds like under water LOL

 

[Mal6586]

My family will be staying at AOA in May....does anyone know if the speakers in the big blue pool are working? We stayed there 2 years ago and the under water speakers were not working. The kids wanted to know what music sounds like under water LOL

They were working mid-September.

 

[Caitlin Ryan Persche]

Does anyone who's stayed at AOA in February recommend using the pools at that time of year? Thank yoU!

 

[Caitlin Ryan Persche]

Yes. One is in the master bedroom and the other is in the common area. The one in the common area is a split bath -- the sink is outside of the actual bathroom.

Thank you for this info! So helpful!

 

[Caitlin Ryan Persche]

Would you be so kind as to mail me a few maps of the resort? I called Disney reservations as well as the concierge desk at AOA and they told me they no longer mail maps. I’m taking my 9 year old Bruce in March and each week I send her something in the mail to get her excited for the trip .

If you write to the WDW princesses or characters, they will send you a postcard for free! That might be a fun way to get your son excited about the trip. I googled "free postcard from Disney princess" to get the address. Enjoy!

 

[dansdad]

Does anyone who's stayed at AOA in February recommend using the pools at that time of year? Thank yoU!

All depends on the weather. It can be anywhere from 30-80.

 

[Caitlin Ryan Persche]

All depends on the weather. It can be anywhere from 30-80.

Oh, jeez! That sounds super fun to pack for! LOL!

 

[jenseib]

Oh, jeez! That sounds super fun to pack for! LOL!

It typically isn't that cold, but you never know. If you have been watching the weather over the last few weeks you would see that Florida is unseasonably cold right now.
You just have to watch the weather before you go any time of year.

 

[lichi45]

How far of a walk is the parking lot from the Nemo Suites? Is there just one lot?

Also - does anyone know if it's easier to bus or drive to the parks? Do you have to pay to park even if you're a resort guest?

Thank you!

 

[Mal6586]

How far of a walk is the parking lot from the Nemo Suites? Is there just one lot?

Also - does anyone know if it's easier to bus or drive to the parks? Do you have to pay to park even if you're a resort guest?

Thank you!

There's several sections of parking lot, and the one closest to Nemo is the front lot in front of Animation Hall, so you have to go through or around Animation Hall to get to it. I wouldn't call it a long walk by any means, but longer maybe than other sections of the resort can be.

I wouldn't say it's easier either way to drive or bus, it's really personal preference. Bus is almost always easier in my opinion to MK, because you can bypass the TTC, but the other parks are kind've the same either way, it just depends on if you want to wait for a bus or wait for a tram. You do not have to pay to park if you are a resort guest. They'll scan your Magic Band and wave you on through.

 

[lichi45]

There's several sections of parking lot, and the one closest to Nemo is the front lot in front of Animation Hall, so you have to go through or around Animation Hall to get to it. I wouldn't call it a long walk by any means, but longer maybe than other sections of the resort can be.

I wouldn't say it's easier either way to drive or bus, it's really personal preference. Bus is almost always easier in my opinion to MK, because you can bypass the TTC, but the other parks are kind've the same either way, it just depends on if you want to wait for a bus or wait for a tram. You do not have to pay to park if you are a resort guest. They'll scan your Magic Band and wave you on through.

Awesome! Thank you. It'll be hard not wanting to stop by the shop on the way in/out lol (if it's on way). I stayed at CBR last year, i'm looking forward to seeing AOA this time!

 

[bluezy]

How far of a walk is the parking lot from the Nemo Suites? Is there just one lot?

Also - does anyone know if it's easier to bus or drive to the parks? Do you have to pay to park even if you're a resort guest?

Thank you!

If you look at the map of the resort on Page 1 of this thread, it shows that there are parking lots all along the front of the resort. Unfortunately, neither of the Nemo buildings is right next to a parking lot. If you're in Nemo Building 4, you'll probably want to park in the lot in front of Cars Building 1. If you're in Nemo Building 5, the lot in front of Lion King Building 10 will be closest. You can also park directly in front of Animation Hall...which we *thought* would be the closest spot but we quickly found out that it was not -- mostly because there's no direct/easy way to walk between Nemo Bldg. 5 and your car in that lot because there is only one place to cross the driveway and that is at the Cars end of Animation Hall (close to Luggage Services) which is the opposite direction of where we really wanted to go. I will not park there again when I'm in a Nemo Suite. There is a lot of traffic in that lot (anyone arriving at the resort will park there while they check in at the front desk) and you have to watch for bus traffic while crossing from the lot back to the resort buildings. There isn't bus traffic in the other lots and just less traffic in general. The length of the walk from the car to the room is going to depend on where in the parking lot you end up parking your car and where in the building your room is. In general, it will be about a 200-300 yard walk...though if the parking lot is packed (I've only seen the front lot be packed. I've never seen the LK or Cars lots be "packed" even when we're there in June) and your room is at the far end of the building, you could be looking at a 400+ yard walk (close to 1/4 mile). But like I said, I think most times, your walk will be much shorter.

As far as if it's "easier" to bus or drive...there are a lot of things that factor in to that -- the biggest one being personal preference. Our family drives over 1,000 miles to get to Disney so once we're there, we park the car and don't touch it again until we leave for home. We're perfectly happy using the bus service. Yes, the buses can be crowded at times (especially at park opening and closing) but we just enjoy being able to let someone else do the driving. We also like that we don't have to get in a sweltering hot car every time we want to travel between the resort and park and vice versa. We typically hit the parks at rope drop and then go back to the resort for the afternoon and then return to the parks in the evening. So we do a lot of "traveling" in a day. However, there are many people who prefer to drive themselves everywhere at Disney World so that they are in their own car and that they aren't at the mercy of the Disney bus schedule. If you have more than one stroller, I can see where driving your own car can be more convenient.

 

[RPM1214]

We are thinking of adding a day here for an upcoming stay and would stay in the Little Mermaid rooms, which I know allow dogs. From my reading, is it just building 7 with dogs or can they be put anywhere in that section? We would NOT want to be with dogs due to my son's allergies. Thanks!