Is Little Mermaid "worth it"?

[jnoble82]

I know that something being "worth it" is different person to person but I have a conundrum. When my mom and i went down last October for my 30th, we visited AoA inbetween parks and loved it! We decided to visit again this September and booked room only for Little Mermaid(going to get tickets from Undercover tourist sometime over the summer). We had free dining last time and liked the convenience. Free dining is being offered again but Little Mermaid is not included. It will be a little over 1500 for the 2 of us with tickets and room but no food to stay at Little Mermaid. It would be the same for room and tickets with free dining to stay at Sports or Pop (not sure yet, Pop is a bit more). We really want to stay at Little Mermaid but the idea of saving some cash on food is kind of enticing. I don't eat much and it would hard to judge how much I would eat over a 7 1/2 day period (we arrive late on the 9/24, leave mid afternoon on 10/1). I get why Little Mermaid is probably not included (they have no issues booking those rooms). Are the AoA rooms that much better than Pop or Sports to pay out of pocket for food vs having everything on your room key?

 

[Southern Bell]

For me personally it would just come down to if I could afford to stay at AOA , still buy the number of days tickets that I want, and still eat a good meal a day! It doesn't have to be an expensive place to eat for me. I like Flame Tree at Ak, Sunshine Seasons at Epcot, Columbia House at MK.

If AOA made it hard on me financially to do anything else but stay at the resort itself, then no I wouldn't stay! I go to Disney to see the theme parks first, then enjoy some dining out, and a little bit of shopping etc.,

As far as the rooms I think AOA are a lot prettier than the other value. I don't think they are any bigger.. So I guess your paying for a newer room with prettier decorating in a newer resort!

 

[bigbabyblues]

Were you planning to get the dining plan anyway? If you were, it truly would save you the cost, I would switch. If you don't want the dining plan, I would stick with AoA.

 

[Sphinx610]

The rooms are pretty similar in all the values. Different art and stuff but same basic amenities. If I could get free dining by switching hotels, I'd do it... Especially for Pop since its just over the little bridge. You could walk over and eat free at aoa lol

 

[Blessedwithboys]

I am going to say yes for us! I switched to Pop saved the money and I am not feeling as great as I had hoped about my choice. I <3 AOA!! Now our reasons are different from yours of course. Nemo is my youngest fav and to have total access to the Nemo pool and spray park area I know will light up his eyes! My oldest loves Lion King and Cars and the resort is something he talks about non stop. So I say yes because I want to feel total immersion and I want that for my kids. For two adults..... no I would go free dining and move to a mod!!

 

[jnoble82]

No we weren't planning on doing the meal plan. It definitely is not worth it for me to pay full price for the dining plan as I eat very little. I think four year olds eat more variety of foods than I do. We will likely switch to Pop so we can visit AoA pretty easily. We may also go for the room discount instead since that will save us over 200 dollars which could go towards the food and is likely more than enough for the two of u s. Mom is currently on an aniversary trip to New Orleans so I'll work it out for her when I get back if we want 30% off vs. free dining. Since it is just us we will likely switch. The pictures of the little mermaid rooms are very nice but not worth the extra money in the end. Though, like other said, if there were kids involved we'd likely stay at Little Mermaid. Pop seems nice and I like the idea that it has its own bus line which sometimes the All-Stars don't have. Thanks for the opinons! Last year was my first visit in a long time and its good to get advice from those who have more experience than me.

 

[WantToGoNow]

We are staying a AOA LM Oct 5-12 with the QSDP. We discussed whether we would switch to POP if free dining comes out during that time but we decided we wanted to stay at LM and will just pay for the QSDP. I'm sure we could actually save money by paying OOP instead of te QSDP but we like the convenience of having our food prepaid.

 

[jpessa]

Have you considered a split stay? I'm going for 10 days in September and had LM booked. When FD came out, I decided to split with POP, 5 days there with FD (actually upgraded to DDP) then 5 days LM with OOP food. I figure I can easily stretch the 5 night DDP to cover the 6 eligible days (valid until midnight on check out day), which leaves me with only 4 days of food to pay for, and by then I'll be done with table service

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[mickeygirl78]

I've stayed at both and prefer pop to aoa lm rooms. To save on dining I would stay at pop. They have the exact same standard layout, and both have cute rooms. You can also walk across the bridge to eat at aoa.

 

[johnnyblz20]

You need to think what is more important to you. Rooms are basically the same like others have said and it is just a quick walk over the bridge by the lake to get to either resort.

I will say I did a short little stay this past weekend at AoA and while the rooms were themed nice, the housekeeping staff were very rude and not nice at all.

 

[jnoble82]

Have you considered a split stay? I'm going for 10 days in September and had LM booked. When FD came out, I decided to split with POP, 5 days there with FD (actually upgraded to DDP) then 5 days LM with OOP food. I figure I can easily stretch the 5 night DDP to cover the 6 eligible days (valid until midnight on check out day), which leaves me with only 4 days of food to pay for, and by then I'll be done with table service

Good luck and enjoy!

I had mentioned that to my mother. We would stay the first night at LM since we land at 6pm so its not like we would hit a park or anything. we would probably go to DTD or to the pool while we wait for our luggage to arrive. then move to Pop the next day. It is something to think about though I think we will probably just stay at Pop the whole time so we don't have to deal with moving luggage. With my luck, it would fall over on the way there (whether I'm moving it or Disney) and into a body of water, even if no water is nearby. I'm that awesomely coordinated.

 

[spidet1964]

I was determined to stay at AofA though it was more than the other values. I booked my trip in February and it is totally paid for. However when the free dining offer came out I had a long think about it and changed to All Star Movies. Now my food is covered and I'm getting a 82.00 refund which I will turn into Dis gift cards. What it boiled down to for me was "how much time am I going to spend at the resort?". I hope this helps.

 

[jnoble82]

That is pretty much why we didn't go for a moderate. We won't be in the room too much though more than we were last time (morning in the park, back to hotel for a nap/rest/pool, then to whatever park has EMH for that evening). Mom did say something about the hotel I first looked at (POFQ) but that also isn't part of free dining so its looking like Pop for us!

Thanks everyone. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy for leaving LM for Pop or another value. In the end, it will save us money and in this day and age, that is what matters. Thankfully I have 800 in savings to pay off my half

 

[jpessa]

That is pretty much why we didn't go for a moderate. We won't be in the room too much though more than we were last time (morning in the park, back to hotel for a nap/rest/pool, then to whatever park has EMH for that evening). Mom did say something about the hotel I first looked at (POFQ) but that also isn't part of free dining so its looking like Pop for us!

Thanks everyone. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy for leaving LM for Pop or another value. In the end, it will save us money and in this day and age, that is what matters. Thankfully I have 800 in savings to pay off my half

POFQ is part of free dining.

Totally agree free food is worth it.

 

[Patience]

I had a package with a table service dining plan booked at AoA Little Mermaid but when free dining was offered we upgraded to POR royal room with free dining and saved about $120. I know my little girl would have loved AoA and a Little Mermaid room but I think we will all be happier at the moderate resort with more room and we are excited to stay in a royal room and to try Port Orleans Riverside. The money saved will pay for my daughter's Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appointment (crown package) and also her appointment at Pirate's League with a few dollars left over to go towards tips or whatever. I'm happy saving money and I feel like my daughter will enjoy the royal themed room. Can't wait!

 

[MyTwoPrincesses]

I just got back from AoA and loved it. However, I would not pass up free dining UNLESS you can make up the difference in some other way (e.g., booking through a third party site like Orbitz with a coupon code).

 

[scrappymel]

we had the same decision to make this time last year. we went with AoA and were happy with the decision. our daughter LOVED the ariel theme and the extra expense was worth it to us. good luck with your decision.

 

[kpm76]

While AoA is newer and looks very pretty, I would not pass up free dining for the same price at Pop. I would pay the same amount of more for an upgrade in resort, but a value resort is a value resort. Some are just newer than others.

 

[johnnyblz20]

The resort itself is okay. The themed rooms are great but I didn't feel the bed was very comfortable and the wait times for the buses are too long. I definitely prefer the deluxe resorts but you also pay a lot more.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Aren't AoA prices, especially the LM rooms, basically the same price as a moderate? I'd go up and stay at POFQ or POR.