Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Thread

[MarvinTheSpartan]

A gallon of milk will fit in the fridge in a suite (at least the 3 suites we've stayed in). Not sure if it will fit in the mini fridge in a LM room.

The last 2 times we were there, the movies were show in the grassy area between LK building 6 and Nemo Building 5...but closer to Nemo. I don't think they'd be a noise issue for any of the LK rooms.

Full gallon won't fit in the LM fridge, but a half gallon will laying on its side.

Also, as of this week they're showing the movies at the pool.

 

[dansdad]

Full gallon won't fit in the LM fridge, but a half gallon will laying on its side.

Also, as of this week they're showing the movies at the pool.

We were able to get a gallon of milk in the fridge by removing the shelf. Actually we were able to get a gallon of milk and a gallon of Ice Tea to fit.

 

[Alicenwonderment]

Does anyone know the current schedule for the drawing classes? Is it held in the lobby area?

We're staying at Pop, but we plan to wander over the bridge and enjoy the grounds

The classes were mentioned in the Art of Animation review. Times are 11 am, 2pm, and 5 pm. I'd check just to be sure they haven't been changed or are different week days vs weekends.

 

[dansdad]

The classes were mentioned in the Art of Animation review. Times are 11 am, 2pm, and 5 pm. I'd check just to be sure they haven't been changed or are different week days vs weekends.

Those are the correct times every day.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

Hi guys! First time staying at AoA this summer. Two logistics questions.

1. Use of space. The main reason we are staying at AoA in a suite, is because we have a 1 year old and a 4 year old that we want separate sleeping spaces for. I'm sure we're not the first people do stay here for that reason. Our thought is to put the pack n play in the bedroom with us, and put our son in the living area on either the pull down bed or the pull out sofa. There is a chance we will have a third adult with us, who would sleep on whichever sleeping space our 4 year old does not occupy. Does this sound like the best use of space? Is this what most of you in our situation have done?

2. Buses. I've stayed at Pop Century many times, and I've never had a complaint about the buses. But this was before small children. Since we've had children, we've been to WDW twice - staying at the Poly and Caribbean Beach. We had no issues taking Disney transportation at either resort. This trip, we'll be driving, so we'll have a car. Which parks do you guys think we are better off driving to? My concern isn't necessarily waiting for the buses - my son actually loves the buses - what I am thinking about is the huge walk between the bus stops and some of the park entrances. Off the top of my head I feel like the walk from the Pop Century bus stop to the Epcot entrance is ridiculously long. Is it a shorter walk to park? We are rope droppers. Any other parks where we're better off driving?

Thanks!

 

[roxiepenguin]

I don't have questions but just a big thumbs up to all of the people who've posted replies and answered questions for folks! DH surprised me with "Let's go to WDW" last weekend and within a week we're set to arrive early on the 21st, staying at AoA for the first time. (To be honest, we didn' have many options. We were basically left with rooms at AKL for about $5k and then blessedly a few LM rooms opened at AoA on Tuesday!) We've stayed at POFQ previously and after all of the comments, I'm really looking fwd to our trip!

 

[jgleason]

Well we decided to upgrade from a LM room to a cars suite. Does anyone know what kind of locks are on the inside of the doors. Don't want the little one to get out.

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

My guess is that the LK section is the least popular because it doesn't have a pool...but I have no data to back that up. I've read several posts over the years where a lot of people who choose the generic "Family Suite" when booking end up in LK so that makes me think it's the least "direct" booked section. The first time we stayed at AoA we were booked in a Cars suite but when we checked in and saw the location of our room, we were as far away from the food court and buses as you could be in a suite (and further than some of the LM rooms). I asked if they had a suite in any section that was closer to the food court/bus stops. The CM did his little computer search and said, "I have the perfect location for you in the LK section." He was right. We loved our room location in the LK section. We've stayed there twice now. Both times at the end of the building closest to Animation Hall. We could be at the food court in less than a minute (important to us because we use the refillable mugs a lot while we're there) and it was also a quick walk to the bus stops. We only swim 3 or 4 times during our stay, so being close to a pool isn't critical to us. And the reality is that the Nemo pool is a very quick walk. We found ourselves going to the LM pool most of the time when we were in the LK buildings because it wasn't *that* far and it was so much less crowded. We stayed in a Nemo suite the last time we were there and we loved our location. We were close to everything that was important to us. We were booked in a Nemo suite again for our upcoming trip in June, but when the Summer Meal Deal came out last week we had to switch to LK to get the deal. We didn't bat an eye at switching to LK...we really enjoy that section. I will say that the Cars section is my favorite outdoor themed area and we always make sure to walk over there one night.

Hi there, we were able to snag LK w/ Free Dining release this am. Our initial reservations included Nemo suite; however, unable to obtain promo unless we switched. Do u happen to recall ur room number? We would like to b as close as possible to dining hall for our boys who eat 24/7!

 

[CJK]

Hi all! Can you decline housekeeping when staying in one of the suites at AOA?

 

[dansdad]

Hi all! Can you decline housekeeping when staying in one of the suites at AOA?

Yup.

 

[bluezy]

Hi there, we were able to snag LK w/ Free Dining release this am. Our initial reservations included Nemo suite; however, unable to obtain promo unless we switched. Do u happen to recall ur room number? We would like to b as close as possible to dining hall for our boys who eat 24/7!

In Building 10, we were in room 0836 -- parking lot view but we could see the fireworks from DHS every night. In Building 6 we were in 6807 - courtyard view and we could actually watch our kids/teens walk from our building to the food court door from our room. Those were both 4th floor rooms so we usually used the stairs by our room when exiting the building, but often walked to the elevators in the center of the building when returning to the room because it was a little easier on our tired legs to walk an extra 50 feet on a flat surface than to walk up 4 flights of stairs. Congrats on the free dining!

 

[lorilclevelandrn]

In Building 10, we were in room 0836 -- parking lot view but we could see the fireworks from DHS every night. In Building 6 we were in 6807 - courtyard view and we could actually watch our kids/teens walk from our building to the food court door from our room. Those were both 4th floor rooms so we usually used the stairs by our room when exiting the building, but often walked to the elevators in the center of the building when returning to the room because it was a little easier on our tired legs to walk an extra 50 feet on a flat surface than to walk up 4 flights of stairs. Congrats on the free dining!

Great to know.., thank u for sharing. Sounds like building 6 will workout great for the boys!

 

[Trinity88]

Just booked a lion king family suite with free dining!

I can't believe DH said yes, we weren't even talking about going to Disney this year. I'm excited to learn more about AoA over the next few months!

 

[Meghan4]

So how are the suites with fitting 2 adults and 4 kids? My kids will be 12, 9, 7 & 5 during our trip.

 

[bluezy]

So how are the suites with fitting 2 adults and 4 kids? My kids will be 12, 9, 7 & 5 during our trip.

We've done a suite with 4 "kids" (ages 23, 14, 13, and 8 for the first stay) a few times. It works out great for us, but I'm sure there are people who feel it's too tight. On our last trip, our kids were 26, 17, 16, and 11 and we still felt like we had plenty of space...in fact we're staying there again in June.

The sofa bed and Innovabed are both double beds so they can be a tight fit (but certainly not impossible) for 2 "older" kids to share if they're not used to sleeping with someone else or are restless sleepers. None of our kids is used to sharing a bed with someone so we try to avoid doing that on vacation since none of them sleep well when they share a bed. They can deal with it for a night or two, but 7-8 nights would be a big problem. Our youngest child usually uses the seat cushions from the couch as a bed (I get extra sheets and blankets from mousekeeping to use on the cushions). It actually works really well and I've seen other people post that they've done that and the kids said it was very comfortable. Our youngest is probably going to be very disappointed when she's too tall to use these cushions as a bed. She likes to put them on the floor between the sofa bed and the wall so she has her own little "cave" to sleep in. We drive to Disney so we take an air mattress for one of the kids to use and then the other two kids each take one of the beds. Everyone is happy. We stand the air mattress up against the wall during the day so it's not in the way.

Having two bathrooms and having everyone under 1 roof is really important to us so we love the suites. We could do 2 rooms at a value resort for less money (and that's what we did before AoA opened), but we like the extra space of the suites and it's not a problem for us to bring the air mattress so the sleeping arrangements work for us. Plus it's nice for the parents to have their own private space.

 

[Riss]

The sofa bed and Innovabed are both double beds so they can be a tight fit (but certainly not impossible) for 2 "older" kids to share if they're not used to sleeping with someone else or are restless sleepers.

My family of 6 adults and 1 child will be staying in the suites and I've been kind of apprehensive about the issue of space as well, but we've found that 5 of us have been able to comfortably sleep in a family suite at ASMu with plenty of space (at least 1 was always in the high school band and the child is one we babysit, so we're taking him for the first time). On our last trip staying at ASMu, my parents had the bedroom, my brother had the pull out chair, and my one sister and I slept on the pull out couch. However, my sister also did use the ottoman or something once in a while.

But hearing you say, from your experience, that it's certainly not impossible does make me feel a little bit better about the entire thing. I know that changing resorts wasn't going to be a thing for us, no matter the space issue, because it was important to my mom that we were all in 1 room because this is the first time all 6 of us are going to be staying in one hotel room there together. She also definitely wanted a 2nd bathroom, I think she might have told me she wasn't going to stay in a place, even if we all were in one room, that only had 1 bathroom, at least when it was going to be all 6 of us and a toddler.

 

[Trinity88]

Our youngest child usually uses the seat cushions from the couch as a bed (I get extra sheets and blankets from mousekeeping to use on the cushions). It actually works really well and I've seen other people post that they've done that and the kids said it was very comfortable. Our youngest is probably going to be very disappointed when she's too tall to use these cushions as a bed. She likes to put them on the floor between the sofa bed and the wall so she has her own little "cave" to sleep in.

That's a great idea, thanks for sharing! We're a family of 5, but my youngest (8 years old when we travel), is an octopus and my older girls don't like sharing a bed. This may be our solution for the 8 year old!

 

[bluezy]

....

But hearing you say, from your experience, that it's certainly not impossible does make me feel a little bit better about the entire thing. I know that changing resorts wasn't going to be a thing for us, no matter the space issue, because it was important to my mom that we were all in 1 room because this is the first time all 6 of us are going to be staying in one hotel room there together. She also definitely wanted a 2nd bathroom, I think she might have told me she wasn't going to stay in a place, even if we all were in one room, that only had 1 bathroom, at least when it was going to be all 6 of us and a toddler.

I know plenty of couples who sleep in a double/full-size bed every day at home (my husband and I did for many years). The challenge (for us) is when 2 adult-size siblings have to share that size bed....the "I don't want him/her TOUCHING ME!!!" issue comes up.

 

[Meghan4]

We've done a suite with 4 "kids" (ages 23, 14, 13, and 8 for the first stay) a few times. It works out great for us, but I'm sure there are people who feel it's too tight. On our last trip, our kids were 26, 17, 16, and 11 and we still felt like we had plenty of space...in fact we're staying there again in June.

The sofa bed and Innovabed are both double beds so they can be a tight fit (but certainly not impossible) for 2 "older" kids to share if they're not used to sleeping with someone else or are restless sleepers. None of our kids is used to sharing a bed with someone so we try to avoid doing that on vacation since none of them sleep well when they share a bed. They can deal with it for a night or two, but 7-8 nights would be a big problem. Our youngest child usually uses the seat cushions from the couch as a bed (I get extra sheets and blankets from mousekeeping to use on the cushions). It actually works really well and I've seen other people post that they've done that and the kids said it was very comfortable. Our youngest is probably going to be very disappointed when she's too tall to use these cushions as a bed. She likes to put them on the floor between the sofa bed and the wall so she has her own little "cave" to sleep in. We drive to Disney so we take an air mattress for one of the kids to use and then the other two kids each take one of the beds. Everyone is happy. We stand the air mattress up against the wall during the day so it's not in the way.

Having two bathrooms and having everyone under 1 roof is really important to us so we love the suites. We could do 2 rooms at a value resort for less money (and that's what we did before AoA opened), but we like the extra space of the suites and it's not a problem for us to bring the air mattress so the sleeping arrangements work for us. Plus it's nice for the parents to have their own private space.

Thanks for your reply, this really helps! I was thinking about bringing an air mattress for one of the kids, so my 12 yr old can have a bed to himself. It amazes me how few rooms Disney has for 6 people.

 

[VeeHam]

Hi guys! First time staying at AoA this summer. Two logistics questions.

1. Use of space. The main reason we are staying at AoA in a suite, is because we have a 1 year old and a 4 year old that we want separate sleeping spaces for. I'm sure we're not the first people do stay here for that reason. Our thought is to put the pack n play in the bedroom with us, and put our son in the living area on either the pull down bed or the pull out sofa. There is a chance we will have a third adult with us, who would sleep on whichever sleeping space our 4 year old does not occupy. Does this sound like the best use of space? Is this what most of you in our situation have done?

2. Buses. I've stayed at Pop Century many times, and I've never had a complaint about the buses. But this was before small children. Since we've had children, we've been to WDW twice - staying at the Poly and Caribbean Beach. We had no issues taking Disney transportation at either resort. This trip, we'll be driving, so we'll have a car. Which parks do you guys think we are better off driving to? My concern isn't necessarily waiting for the buses - my son actually loves the buses - what I am thinking about is the huge walk between the bus stops and some of the park entrances. Off the top of my head I feel like the walk from the Pop Century bus stop to the Epcot entrance is ridiculously long. Is it a shorter walk to park? We are rope droppers. Any other parks where we're better off driving?

Thanks!

1. I would let the adult decide which bed is more comfortable for them and have the 4 year old sleep on the other. We had noise makers for our kids (still do) and they would sleep through everything. I think it will work out great.
2. We always drive to Disney from Texas. We pretty much drive to every park accept MK. For MK, we take buses or boat if we are at a resort that has them. Parking for the other three parks is very close to the entrances and they have trams that pick you up in the parking lots and drop you off at the front of the park. We like having our car available so as not to have to wait for a bus, especially at night. But, we have taken buses to all the parks before. It's really whatever you are feeling that day.