Is AoA suite really worth it?

[maxiesmom]

Everyone thank you so much for your input. You have truly given me somethings to think about. Because the additional costs for the suite was not sitting well with me at all. I want them to have a great first trip, but I don't want to regret spending so much money!

Have you thought about an All Star Family suite? It would be substantially cheaper than an AoA suite.

 

[happymommy]

Your children are still quite young. Can they share a double bed?

If you do trips in the future, as they get older, then it will become harder to share a room with all four of you (we outgrew that comfortably years ago, but I have teen/young adult kids now).

When my kids were little, we would share a room.

Your first trip will be memorable no matter what! The kids will have so much fun at the parks that the theme of the resort won't make any difference to them one bit. It's more about what you're comfortable with.

After many stays at deluxe resorts, and the pricing going up so much, my daughter and I stayed at Pop Century last August and loved it! It was just great, and we also did a two night stay over spring break with my son along (then my husband joined us when we moved over to AKV Kidani). She and I shared the one double bed, and gave my son the other one.

I'd take a look at Pop Century just to compare. You don't really "need" the suite space, but I also agree the Little Mermaid rooms are far from everything and not worth it to me.

Have you also considered pricing out points rental (like from David's) to see if a one bedroom villa somewhere would be a good idea? Our first stay all 4 of us we were at the Boardwalk Villas in a one bedroom villa, and it was amazing. My kids were 2 and 4, and Epcot was their favorite park (still is), so walking to Epcot was terrific!

The biggest difference with a moderate is a pool slide (not sure how much that plays into it), a sit down restaurant (we hardly ever do sit down meals, but if so it's likely at a park), queen beds instead of double now that they replaced them all, and a coffee maker. I bring a coffee maker, daughter and I each get our own bed, so Pop is where we're returning end of August! I can't justify the high costs of other resorts any longer!

 

[jenhum]

Our first stay was in an AoA Lion King suite, and we LOVED it. My daughter (she was 4.5) has always been a huge Lion King fan, and honestly she was so delighted with the hotel I think we could have done nothing but stay there and she would have loved the trip. We (my daughter and myself) went with my parents, and they really loved having their own bedroom. When DD needed a nap or was ready to crash after a long day at the park, they could wind down, watch tv or whatever in their room without disturbing her. The two bathrooms were great for getting ready quickly in the morning.

I was torn, because when we went we actually could have stayed in a standard room at AKL for just a tiny bit more, but with DD's love for Lion King we went with AoA, and I ended up being very happy with that decision. It was the perfect choice for our family for that trip. Good luck- you can't go wrong with any choice at Disney

 

[happymommy]

That is too darn cute! Plus, I understand having your parents enjoy a bedroom with privacy really would be best! As an adult, I wouldn't share a hotel room with my parents; we need privacy!

 

[katt789]

If you can all fit in one room, and don't have the need for the kitchenette, then don't do it. The suites are awesome, and beautifully decorated, but the cost is so much higher than a value resort.
Yes, the LM rooms are super far, but that's more if you're walking back and fourth (ie, wake up, walk down for breakfast, back up to the room to get park bags, and then BACK down to the bus).
-Try to make as few trips as possible, we get completely ready, and eat breakfast in the room, and then head to the bus
-We take the pathway near the parking lot (or are more risky and cut through the actual lot, but with kids id' advise against that lol)
-The first few trips aren't that bad because there's so much to look at along the way.
-The LM rooms are among some of my favorite on property, AoA is awesome!!

 

[Mousemommy1]

When we were a family of four, a family suite was not even on our radar. It just wasn't necessary.

We are now a family of five and stayed in a Nemo Suite in April and the extra space of the suite was glorious!!!

 

[surlecn]

Have you thought about an All Star Family suite? It would be substantially cheaper than an AoA suite.

Oh wow, that looks really spacious!

 

[surlecn]

Your children are still quite young. Can they share a double bed?

If you do trips in the future, as they get older, then it will become harder to share a room with all four of you (we outgrew that comfortably years ago, but I have teen/young adult kids now).

When my kids were little, we would share a room.

Your first trip will be memorable no matter what! The kids will have so much fun at the parks that the theme of the resort won't make any difference to them one bit. It's more about what you're comfortable with.

After many stays at deluxe resorts, and the pricing going up so much, my daughter and I stayed at Pop Century last August and loved it! It was just great, and we also did a two night stay over spring break with my son along (then my husband joined us when we moved over to AKV Kidani). She and I shared the one double bed, and gave my son the other one.

I'd take a look at Pop Century just to compare. You don't really "need" the suite space, but I also agree the Little Mermaid rooms are far from everything and not worth it to me.

Have you also considered pricing out points rental (like from David's) to see if a one bedroom villa somewhere would be a good idea? Our first stay all 4 of us we were at the Boardwalk Villas in a one bedroom villa, and it was amazing. My kids were 2 and 4, and Epcot was their favorite park (still is), so walking to Epcot was terrific!

The biggest difference with a moderate is a pool slide (not sure how much that plays into it), a sit down restaurant (we hardly ever do sit down meals, but if so it's likely at a park), queen beds instead of double now that they replaced them all, and a coffee maker. I bring a coffee maker, daughter and I each get our own bed, so Pop is where we're returning end of August! I can't justify the high costs of other resorts any longer!

For a moment, I was leaning towards Pop. I figured we could just walk over to AoA to visit or eat. I really have my heart set on AoA.

 

[surlecn]

Our first stay was in an AoA Lion King suite, and we LOVED it. My daughter (she was 4.5) has always been a huge Lion King fan, and honestly she was so delighted with the hotel I think we could have done nothing but stay there and she would have loved the trip. We (my daughter and myself) went with my parents, and they really loved having their own bedroom. When DD needed a nap or was ready to crash after a long day at the park, they could wind down, watch tv or whatever in their room without disturbing her. The two bathrooms were great for getting ready quickly in the morning.

I was torn, because when we went we actually could have stayed in a standard room at AKL for just a tiny bit more, but with DD's love for Lion King we went with AoA, and I ended up being very happy with that decision. It was the perfect choice for our family for that trip. Good luck- you can't go wrong with any choice at Disney

View attachment 182185 View attachment 182186 View attachment 182187

Adorable! My boys have both loved Cars since day one, so I know they will be thrilled with the suite.

 

[surlecn]

If you can all fit in one room, and don't have the need for the kitchenette, then don't do it. The suites are awesome, and beautifully decorated, but the cost is so much higher than a value resort.
Yes, the LM rooms are super far, but that's more if you're walking back and fourth (ie, wake up, walk down for breakfast, back up to the room to get park bags, and then BACK down to the bus).
-Try to make as few trips as possible, we get completely ready, and eat breakfast in the room, and then head to the bus
-We take the pathway near the parking lot (or are more risky and cut through the actual lot, but with kids id' advise against that lol)
-The first few trips aren't that bad because there's so much to look at along the way.
-The LM rooms are among some of my favorite on property, AoA is awesome!!

We can all fit in one room, but 2 double beds may not be very comfortable. I was thinking we could use the kitchenette for breakfast or late night snacks. Plus it would be great for our midday breaks/naps. It will give us separate spaces to rest during the day. I'm afraid the long walk for LM will be rough when we take our midday break.

 

[surlecn]

I looked at the moderates and nothing about them appealed to me.

I think I am going to reserve a LM room. Hopefully as our date approaches there will be some discount offers that will make the Cars suite more affordable. If not, we will just have to deal with the LM!

 

[maxiesmom]

I looked at the moderates and nothing about them appealed to me.

I think I am going to reserve a LM room. Hopefully as our date approaches there will be some discount offers that will make the Cars suite more affordable. If not, we will just have to deal with the LM!

You have already hit on one way to make the suites more affordable--use the kitchentte for quick meal. Even doing breakfast in the room every day will save you a lot of money.

 

[surlecn]

You have already hit on one way to make the suites more affordable--use the kitchentte for quick meal. Even doing breakfast in the room every day will save you a lot of money.

We are actually doing the meal plan. However, if we get the suite then we can do the QS meal plan instead of the DDP.

 

[NeverTooOldForWDW]

We are actually doing the meal plan. However, if we get the suite then we can do the QS meal plan instead of the DDP.

We are a family of 5 with children the same ages as yours. We are staying in an AoA suite. The main considerations for us were having a separate room so we parents can stay awake after our DCs go to bed, eating breakfast in the room, and an independent bus route. We saved money by not doing a meal plan figuring our family would not be able to eat all of that food (even QS) nor want to spend much time sitting and eating. We will have cereal and snacks delivered to the room to same money. The money we could have spent on the dining plan is being spent on upgrading to the suite. I booked our room via an online reseller (which can be used if you don't want DP) for a significant discount off of what Disney as well as TAs quoted.

 

[stratus]

I read through this post and even though you say moderates arent appealing I thought I would toss my opinion in here in case others who read this post are curious.

Our last trip we stayed at the Caribean Beach, we didn't like it that much. For one thing there was no table service for breakfast (which is a thing for me personally), we found that the bus ride took forever, each time. Since we didn't spend too much time at the resort itself it was a waste of money for us. We found the food available only so-so

I wouldn't go back there unless we were doing a resort-only or a resort heavy stay. The rooms were nice enough and the theming was great. The lagoon was nice to walk around at night as well, but overall it just wasn't our thing

 

[kayteekt]

I would seriously consider a mod. It will be cheaper. The beds will be bigger (queens instead of double). The rooms are def larger that AoA LM (not sure about other values).

We are a family of four, but often travel with my mom so that puts us at 5. We have stayed at several mods with her, the dolphin and in the LM rooms at AoA (our youngest was 2 at the time so we fit).

We have never felt cramped or that it was too much except in the LM room. Honestly, we didn't like AoA at all, but i know the bulk of my opinion comes from the awful walk to the rooms and the room size/quality.

I'm sure the suites are nicer, they are definitely much closer to food/bus/main pool, but for that amount of money you most likely can stay deluxe. Seems like the suites run around 300/nt. My personal opinion is there's no way I'm spending that much to stay at a value...heck we just did the poly for 330/nt. But that is just my opinion, obviously plenty of people do the suites and enjoy. It's harder for larger families because there aren't a ton of onsite options when you're a group of 5+.

However, as a family of 4 you have so many options! I saw someone suggested Caribbean Beach. That's a good one for little boys! They even have pirate themed rooms there (although I'm not positive but i think they may be far out). Our fave mod because of the size is POFQ. If going with a larger mod, I would suggest booking a preferred room.

Anyway, you know your family and they're all Disney property, so you can't go wrong! You can have a great trip no matter which resort you pick! Hope you have an awesome 1st visit!!

 

[NeverTooOldForWDW]

FYI, there are queen size beds in the bedrooms in the AoA suites.

 

[Oozma_Kappa]

What about staying at Pop and walking over to AoA to enjoy the theming? The only thing you wouldn't be able to do is swim there.

This. We love the AoA food, Pop food not so much. Request a room next to the bridge crossing and you have the best of both worlds!

Edited to add I've stayed in the lion king suite, and it's spacious, but your kids will obviously not care about room size. The question is will YOU care? Make the decision based on that.
Also if you stay at Pop, bring a coffee maker or a French press if you're flying, and some grinds. I do not like getting dressed and walking to the food court for coffee!

 

[mommymanda]

tTwo years ago as a family of 5 we got a great deal on an AOA suite. Same as your family it was the first trip for my youngest two and I will say we loved the room. Now two years later I booked our next stay and no way was I paying the extra $$ for a Value suite. It was great, but that that great. We are booked at CBR. For us yes we will be a little more cramped, but will be okay.

My tip is stick with the budget if you are not being forced to upgrade due to family size like I do. You are in the room so little, you can make it work for sleeping. Use the funds for extras while hanging at the park or resort. Believe me a first Disney trip is going to leave great memories no matter where the bed is. AOA in general was a fun and absolute Disney themed resort so your kids will enjoy. You can always wonder the other areas and swim in the quiet pools a bit to get the feel of a favourite theme ( we spent under 30min the whole week at the main pool, my boys loved swimming each night in the CARS pool.) . I always woke early and walked the resort, the LM rooms are really not that much further from the food court than the suites. Don't stress too much about walking unless someone has medical concerns.

If funds are not a concern than sure upgrade, my boys loved the themes of the suites and to be perfectly honest I think the thing I loved so much was having my own room/bathroom. Sharing one bathroom with my 13year old daughter this round will be an interesting experience in its own

 

[terri33inne]

I would say if you have your heart set on AofA then do that for your first trip. Be aware when discounts come out LM rooms are rarely included (I've never seen a discount). We've stayed in LM 2x now, and even requesting the closest building it is a loooong walk, and after walking miles in the parks all day the last thing I want is a long walk back to my room. Only you can answer the budget question.

We stayed in a DVC studio one time & I will say having the kitchenette was really nice. I brought microwave popcorn, and some nights we'd cozy up, pop some popcorn, and watch a movie in our room. Also great for a quick breakfast.

We've stayed all levels, and my DD judges all of them by the pools & snacks.... So at your kids ages they'll love any resort. I agree with other posters to consider a moderate, but I think if you're set on AofA anywhere else you stay will be wondering if AofA would have been better.