How far are the Little Mermaid Rooms from the main Art of Animation Building?

[fazdevils]

We were staying at Pop Century recently and for some reason our bus from Downtown Disney stopped at Art of Animation before continuing on to Pop. We took his as an opportunity to explore Art of Animation for a short while before walking over the bridge back to Pop Century.

One thing that surprised me was that the Little Mermaid rooms looked to be extremely far from the main building, bus stops, and food court. Was this an optical illusion?

Comparing Art of Animation to Pop, is the distance from the Little Mermaid wing to the main building, most like the distance from Pop Century's main building to:
* the 50's building
* the 80's building
* the 90's building


Thanks!

 

[HopperFan]

Main Hub middle doors to closest location of the building - little more than Bldg 7 of 80's. It's a long walk, really long if you are on the T of the far LM Building. Honestly it's the biggest thing stopping me right now.

The LM buildings are the original ones built when POP was built that sat there for a long time. You could actually have a room at POP just as close to AoA main building as a LM's closest room.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

I stayed at AoA twice this year. The first time was in April. We were in the Little Mermaid section (just me and my hubby). We didn't find the walk to be bad at all. We honestly couldn't understand why there were so many complaints about the distance. We enjoyed looking at all the character statues, and took the walk as an opportunity to take a lot of cute pictures.

The second time, we stayed for 5 nights during the 4th of July (we had our 4 kids with us, 21, 17, 13, and 13). We were in the Finding Nemo section. We still walked back to the Little Mermaid section (more than once) to show the kids and snap photos. They didn't mind the walk either. In fact, the Lion King section (which you have to walk through to get to the Little Mermaid section had misters going on by the hyenas, to keep guests cool). It was SUPER cute.
Don't let the distance bother you. It's worth the walk.
29 trips to Disney World and counting...next stop POFQ match 2014

 

[HopperFan]

I stayed at AoA twice this year. The first time was in April. We were in the Little Mermaid section (just me and my hubby). We didn't find the walk to be bad at all. We honestly couldn't understand why there were so many complaints about the distance.

I think they did a great job with the theme! I think the complaints come more from families of young children or others with walking issues (I travel with a DS who is disabled). After a long day, getting off the bus and trekking all the way to your room can be rough, especially if you are carrying sleeping kids. For adults or teens I see no issue with staying in those rooms. And most families will not mind, but it is a consideration when booking. Another is purely a visual thing but the expanse of grass and virtually no landscaping between the LM and the rest of the resort make it feel disconnected. It is obvious that this section is not the same as the rest. It would have been nice if they put something like a gazebo, playground or something there to make if connect. As wonderfully creative as the resort is, this was a spot they dropped the ball.

 

[Jenny Sanders]

We had a view of the lake. It was actually nice and quiet. However, there were dead bugs all over the ceiling upon arrival, and Mousekeeping had to come and clean what should have been done before we got to the room...
I can see how the walk could be cumbersome with little ones.

 

[HopperFan]

We had a view of the lake. It was actually nice and quiet.

I always request lake view at POP. Best value on property - lake view room at the value standard price. I've got this view booked in Feb for $76 a night.

And you are right the rooms are very quiet. Spent 12 days in Sept and both directions I never saw another guest on our floor.

 

[WantToGoNow]

We stayed there the beginning of October. We were on the back T portion of the Titan building not far from the parking lot. When we first checked in, the walk didn't seem bad. But after about 3 days and after long days in the park, it seemed extremely far to me (I do have some foot issues and am always in some pain by that point anyway). Since we drove to Florida, I started driving the car back and forth from the main building. I personally would not want to stay in the LM section if I didn't have a car. I did use dd's ECV several time to go up to the main building and fill all of our mugs, which were filled maybe 5-6 times during 9 days.

 

[no1steelerfn]

Just got back from an 8 night stay, 1st night was in pop Century 90's building rest of week little mermaid Ariel building, which was the last building. Let me first say that I thought the 90's building at pop was a little closer but the walk at AOA was not that bad, only bad for snooty people that like to whine. We have a 5 year old and she didn't complain once. With that being said comparing the 2 resorts I HATED Pop Century, glad we only stayed one night.

 

[momof2gr8kids]

Just got back from an 8 night stay, 1st night was in pop Century 90's building rest of week little mermaid Ariel building, which was the last building. Let me first say that I thought the 90's building at pop was a little closer but the walk at AOA was not that bad, only bad for snooty people that like to whine. We have a 5 year old and she didn't complain once. With that being said comparing the 2 resorts I HATED Pop Century, glad we only stayed one night.

Certainly no one with mobility issues or disabilities would complain. Just snooty whiny people .... Ummm, ok.

 

[Momtoapug]

Just got back from an 8 night stay, 1st night was in pop Century 90's building rest of week little mermaid Ariel building, which was the last building. Let me first say that I thought the 90's building at pop was a little closer but the walk at AOA was not that bad, only bad for snooty people that like to whine. We have a 5 year old and she didn't complain once. With that being said comparing the 2 resorts I HATED Pop Century, glad we only stayed one night.

Breaks my heart to read this. I am disabled- I have multiple sclerosis. I look fine and you’d never know. I’m not snooty, and I don’t whine. However I do need to know objectively how long of a walk is from point a to b, as I can collapse from walking what might be an easy distance that someone like you, who is obviously vigorously healthy, would take for granted as “no big deal”. Disappointing.

 

[tobikaye]

I only stayed there for one night last month. As long as you only make the walk a couple times a day, it would probably not be bad, but I doubt I will stay LM again. I always find I have to run back for something I forgot.

During my stay, on arrival, I walked my overnight bag to my room to check it out then walked back to the food court to get something to take back to my room. So, 1.5 trips in 30 minutes was a bit tiring. The next morning I walked back to grab food to take back to the room for breakfast and it cemented my not wanting to stay LM again.

I have a slight ankle issue that flairs up. I had a hard time with the daily 6-8 miles a day at the park so the extra walk to LM would have killed if I had stayed all week.

 

[tobikaye]

Breaks my heart to read this. I am disabled- I have multiple sclerosis. I look fine and you’d never know. I’m not snooty, and I don’t whine. However I do need to know objectively how long of a walk is from point a to b, as I can collapse from walking what might be an easy distance that someone like you, who is obviously vigorously healthy, would take for granted as “no big deal”. Disappointing.

Normally, I try to not generalize, but the quoted poster sounds like someone that thinks the only right opinion is their opinion. If you do not know about the ignore feature, there is one so you can block posts from this person. Just click on the person’s screen name and you can click ignore so you no longer see posts from them.

Now, with your listed disability, I would suggest Cars if you want to stay at AoA. If you decide on one of the other values, I would suggest paying the bit more for a preferred location. If you want a resort that is easy to get around from almost anywhere at the resort, I like POFQ.

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

I thought it was long. We stayed there in 2013, with DD5 and DS2. Often, especially when the kids were that little, I go get food and bring it back to the room. It also felt like a long trek pushing a double stroller at the end of the day.

I'm in good shape, I run or walk a few miles a few days per week. I wouldn't have thought that the long-ish walk would bug me. But after a long day in the parks - or before the day even began - it seemed like a lot of walking.

Since then, I have requested or booked a room category that would allow us an easier walk to the main building. We have not stayed at AoA again.

 

[ChimCher-ee]

I only stayed there for one night last month. As long as you only make the walk a couple times a day, it would probably not be bad, but I doubt I will stay LM again. I always find I have to run back for something I forgot.

During my stay, on arrival, I walked my overnight bag to my room to check it out then walked back to the food court to get something to take back to my room. So, 1.5 trips in 30 minutes was a bit tiring. The next morning I walked back to grab food to take back to the room for breakfast and it cemented my not wanting to stay LM again.

I have a slight ankle issue that flairs up. I had a hard time with the daily 6-8 miles a day at the park so the extra walk to LM would have killed if I had stayed all week.

Agreed! I regularly walk 20 miles a week, and we never book preferred rooms because we don't have any mobility issues, so when DD and I booked a room in LM (our first stay at AoA), I was surprised to find myself getting irritated on resort days, when we'd be at Flippin Fins and I'd go to the food court to pick up lunch, or a snack, or drinks...it all added up, and got longer each time!

It's not really too far, but it did push my boundaries a little! BTW, we were very happy to be in the Ursula building, and we loved the landscaping and other theming.

 

[ellynsoh]

Not only did I find the walk lengthy, I felt I was walking through the high class neighborhood to reach our home in the boonies. It was especially inconvenient when we needed a meal during a summer deluge.