Just back from 7 nights at AoA!

[jenrose66]

Hi Everyone. We were in the Cars section at AoA from 8-28 to 9-4. This is a great hotel! As a matter of fact I can only think of one negative so I will start with that so as to end the review on a positive note

I HATED the foodcourt. I really did, for a multitude of reasons. First off, it was way too slow...at least at the make your own pasta station. You have confused people ordering...then you have to actually wait for the food...one night there was 4 people in front of me and it took almost half an hour to get food.

Also, I'm all for trying new things but you still need your old stand by's. At POP you can choose from nachos and a chili cheese dog and traditional food (meat loaf, chicken, etc...). At AoA you seriously could have a cheeseburger but no other fast food type junk food. I eat pretty good at home, when I go on vacation I want to eat all the stuff I don't usually have at home. Don't even get me started on the kids meals. We didn't bother with those, I just ordered the kids one adult meal and they were happy sharing.

I know some people like the real plates, etc...I did not. For one, the forks are huge and when your kids are eating with their little hands the silverware is bulky. Plus after waiting forever for food the last thing I feel like doing is bussing my own plates. You have to stand at the garbage and scrape plates and put silverware in one part of the bin and plates and bowls in another, when you have 3 little kids that's a messy proposition.

I will say I liked how they had the soda fountains set up. They were in every seating area instead of just in the middle. That was a nice set up

The pools were awesome! My DD loved the splash pad. The zero entry was really nice. I liked that they have the life jackets right at the pool, it was super convenient. The theming at the cozy cone pool was awesome. For anyone that is curious, the gates were locked while we were there, sometimes the main gate in front of the nemo pool was left open, though I did see a worker pull it shut once. Either way, it didn't matter, the pools never felt busy. One night around 7 my family had the cozy cone pool to ourselves for an entire 45 minutes.

The bus service was fantastic. Every single time we needed a bus it was there! The longest wait we had was one time, going to Magic Kindgdom and the wait was only 5 minutes. There were always seats. I guess this may change once the resort is at full capacity, but for now it was a pleasure and worth the cost of the rooms alone!

The space in the rooms was awesome. Being a family of 5 I can't imagine going back to a regular room. The two bathrooms was great and the kids loved having their own sleeping space.

There are a couple other points I'd like to touch on, but my daughter has lost interest in Bubble Guppies, so I'll have to come back later. Feel free to post any questions!

 

[JennyDrake]

Thank you for posting. I will be there later this month.

 

[Disneylvr]

Thanks for your review! I read the menu for the food court and it worried me as far as finding something that my picky daughter will eat. I have a feeling that if we stay at AoA we will end up eating at POP more often.

 

[alex9179]

Thanks for the review! We're staying in the Cars section for our first two nights, then moving to another resort. I'm really excited, because when I showed the pics to the kids (they don't know we're going), they thought it was awesome.

I can understand why the food court may not work for some families. Personally, I like the fact that those choices AREN'T there. My older two are adventurous but my youngest would throw a fit if we didn't let him have mini corn dogs every time we went out to dinner! If the item isn't there he's much happier choosing something else...and really, hot dogs and such are available in all of the parks. The chance to indulge will be there.
I, too, think we'll be ordering adult meals to share. Overall, the kids meals are uninspiring.

The scraping plate thing is interesting. I'll be giving my kids a job, I think!

We are also a family of 5. The idea of our own bedroom and bathroom is lovely. I'm a little worried that we'll regret moving to the Poly

 

[momof3ds]

We loved the make your own pasta, make your own salad and I loved the surf & surf burger! It does take about 20 minutes for the pasta station.

You can also order a whole pizza to go. Took about 15 min and was around $15.

If you don't want the heavy plates, ask for to go containers.

And, if your kids want a regular burger instead of a chicken burger, you can ask for a plain burger. (or cheeseburger).

Our 3 got plenty of nuggets, etc elsewhere. So, they had no problem with the AOA food court selections. One kiddo got sushi on a few occasions & loved it.

 

[buzznina]

AOA is one of the resorts on our list for our next trip I am glad to see you enjoyed the resort and that they are trying to monitor the pool area from pool hoppers.
Our family really likes the pasta bar at POR, you cannot blame the FC if the customer is the reason it is slow. Now if it took 30 minutes to make your pasta, that would be different. Plus; I rather wait for fresh made food then for food that has been sitting in heating pans. I would also have an issue with the real plates, the to go containers is a good idea

 

[Kay1]

Sorry, but I think the food court is wonderful. I loved all the amazing choices. I wish all the Values would move in that direction. I'm sure I'll visit many time just for the nice food court.

I'm so glad you liked everything else.

 

[tracyheartsmickey]

Thanks for the trip report! 29 days until we are there in a LM room!!

 

[kasedroz]

Thanks for the review! I'm not sure how I feel about the real plates, but if we're in a hurry I guess we'll just get the to go containers! Can't wait to hear more about this awesome resort! Only 102 days til our stay there!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Great review - Thanks for posting

just a couple of questions...

- so for the food court...was the food good? and what other types of food did it have?

and...

- how far away was the cozy cone pool from the main area? and was there a refill station by that pool?

 

[jenrose66]

Sorry, but I think the food court is wonderful. I loved all the amazing choices. I wish all the Values would move in that direction. I'm sure I'll visit many time just for the nice food court.

I'm so glad you liked everything else.

I think it's wonderful that they offered more choices too! I just wish that they had a station that offered all the junk food along with it, that's all. They can put all the seafood at the sandwich station then they can have all the regular vacation junk food with the burgers.

I tried the mongolian station, as well as the surf and surf burger and the veggie burger. All three things were just "ok" for me. I did however enjoy my nachos at POP. Like I said, I eat good at home most of the time, I recently lost 30 pounds, gave up soda and am at a healthy BMI. With all the walking I actually lost 2 pounds this vacation. At the end of a long day I didn't really want "different" food...that's all I'm saying. I'm actually surprised I felt that way too, because I was really excited about this food court. However, it doesn't take away how awesome the rest of the resort is!

 

[sturowski]

Thanks for the review! 13 more days for me! I am excited to see how this food court works with my kids... The make your own salad sounds good to me and my 3 year old loves sushi, lol.. He will be happy with that daily do all the good stations take that long or was it just the pasta?

 

[nkereina]

I hear what you're saying about the pasta station but the pasta is made to order, so naturally it will take a while. They have the same station at the POR food court and it can be time consuming if you are in a hurry.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

Thanks for your report! Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[smidgy]

OP, we checked out the AOA foodcourt when we stayed at pop in aug. (didn't try it though, no time, really).

hubby and I will be in a LM room in April, and I'll probably like it, he not so much. he likes his hot dogs, corn dogs, etc. I agree with you that it's great they have healthy choices, but they should be just that.. choices.

we also find it irritating that all the buns in WDW are now those crappy (IMO) wheat buns. oh well.

I can't wait to try the surf and surf burger, and something from the asian section. but I just may have to walk over to pop to get my beloved shrimp lo mein!

one thing we are surprised isn't at more food courts. the old breaded fish (like at columbia harbour house, or long John silvers.) I think they had it at POR? can't remember.

I have to laugh at "my daughter lost interest inBubble Guppies"

 

[jenrose66]

Great review - Thanks for posting

just a couple of questions...

- so for the food court...was the food good? and what other types of food did it have?

and...

- how far away was the cozy cone pool from the main area? and was there a refill station by that pool?

The food wasn't bad...I just didn't think it was all that great either. It was your typical food court quality. I thought the desserts were nice. I also liked that they had honest teas as a bottled drink option.

The cozy cone pool wasn't that far from the main area. Probably about two football fields length from the nemo pool. No refill station at that pool! However, it would be awesome if it did.

 

[jenrose66]

Thanks for the review! 13 more days for me! I am excited to see how this food court works with my kids... The make your own salad sounds good to me and my 3 year old loves sushi, lol.. He will be happy with that daily do all the good stations take that long or was it just the pasta?

I only ordered from the pasta/pizza section and that took the longest. With the stroller and the kids it was hard to get a full meal at once so I would order the kids food (usually a make your own pasta and a pizza) then DH would go up and get food for me and him. It didn't seem to take him as long to get the food.

 

[jenrose66]

I also wanted to say that housekeeping is awesome. They did a super job with the rooms. Our room was spotless to the point it appeared to never have been occupied. It was cleaned to the same standard every day. I feel for them because they take apart the beds (sofa and table) and re tuck in the sheets and stuff, it seems like more work than cleaning a regular room. They were also quick to respond to requests. I always got towels within 5 to 10 minutes of asking. There was a blip with my pack n play. It wasn't in the room as requested...so I called and they brought me one right away, but with no sheet...so I called again to ask for just the sheets before we went to eat and when I returned to the room there was a whole other pack n play...and still no sheet! So I called again...they returned promptly, with 3 sheets and took the extra pack n play. So annoying...yet efficient. I was confused to the fact that we got a pack in play...because when you make the request at AS Movies they call the pack in play a pack in play...but at AoA they call it a portable crib so I thought there was a difference...but there was not.

I know a lot of people have been asking about walking distances. I feel like the resort is more compact than I was expecting. However, the walks to places are all about perception. If I was on vacation alone or with DH I would have said that the cars section was super convenient to everything and that the walk was 2 minutes to the food court and busses.

However, I was with 3 kids ages 1, 3, and 6 and the two older ones did not have the benefit of a stroller. Being northerners, you would have thought we were making them walk across the Sahara barefoot. It easily took 10 to 15 minutes to walk to the bus stop and a good 10 minutes to walk to the food court. I had a lesson in patience this vacation. I think a stay in the heat in the mermaid section would be downright agony if you have lazy kids This vacation will go down in family lore as the vacation Mom and Dad made the kids do Disney on foot. Funny they wouldn't sleep in while on our trip but they are making up for it now that we are home. Poor DS started first grade today but his younger siblings took an almost 4 hour nap on top of sleeping 12 hours the night before.

I don't really think I have anything else to add that hasn't already been said. But I know that I enjoyed reading everyone's perception of the new resort...and I will continue to enjoy it! Hope everyone loves their stay at AoA as much as my family did

 

[dtripli]

I was wondering where AoA is located in the world. I was checking out the Disney Resort Map and it hasn't been added yet. Could anyone tell me what other resort it is close too...is it an Epcot resort? Downtown Disney resort? I would definetly consider staying here with our family of 6 some time....but I'd like to know where it is.

 

[Mousemommy1]

I was wondering where AoA is located in the world. I was checking out the Disney Resort Map and it hasn't been added yet. Could anyone tell me what other resort it is close too...is it an Epcot resort? Downtown Disney resort? I would definetly consider staying here with our family of 6 some time....but I'd like to know where it is.

It's right across the bridge from POP!