Just back! Thoughts on first time at AOA and Little Mermaid room

[nkereina]

Just back from a brief 3 night stay in a Little Mermaid room at Art of Animation. This was a last minute trip, and we had never stayed at a value resort before - always usually moderate or will rent points for DVC. I didn't know much about the resort prior to arriving, which ended up being a good thing because we didn't have any preconceived notions. Some bullets to recap our experience:

• Did online checkin noting our arrival time at 8:30am. Our flight landed at 8:30 and I already had a notification from MDE (and an email) stating our room was not ready yet. If you don't get a text, make sure you check your app notifications and/or email because that is the only way they kept me updated on my room status. Never once got an actual text message.
• Room was ready around 10:30am - room 7522, ground floor, and a king room which is what we requested. Great location - close to the walkway to the Skyliner and among the first set of buildings walking from Animation Hall. Very close to the pool.
• The room was no frills but served our needs just fine. It was DH and I and we noted the bathroom was a little small when we were trying to get ready. Also lacked storage, which could pose a challenge on a longer stay.
• When we came back to our room around dinner time, I called to have our luggage delivered to the room. We did not use DME, we had just stored it when we arrived since our room wasn't ready. It took exactly an hour for us to receive our luggage from the time we called, which I felt was excessive. The only reason we got it when we did is because I saw the delivery man walk by with a cart full of luggage, so I chased him down to grab ours. Otherwise, it would have easily been another 30 minutes on top of that at least based on the amount of luggage he had to deliver. I would recommend just claiming your own if you can, even though its a long walk.
• For whatever reason, our room didn't receive any housekeeping service our first full day. They apparently forgot us. We had the Room Occupied sign on the door for about an hour mid-morning, but it was off and we were out of the room the rest of the day. I called the next morning to let them know they missed us and to make sure they serviced our room that day, and when we returned that day, our room was made up and they left us a towel animal and tons of extra towels. Felt like they tried to make up for missing us the day before, which I appreciated.
• I knew that it was a common complaint that the walk to the Little Mermaid rooms was a long one from the bus stops and Animation Hall. DH and I are both fine with walking so it was manageable for us. Never found it to be too prohibitive or an issue, though I can see where it would be tiresome on a longer stay. It wasn't long enough to deter us from staying again.
• Only used the buses to go to and from Disney Springs on two separate occasions. Good experience, and the wait was relatively brief every time even though we went at 10am one morning. I also like the queues for each of the buses, which differs from the sometimes crazy free-for-all at the moderate bus stops.
• Landscape of Flavors food court was pretty good. We ate breakfast here each morning and had dinner one night. Dinner options were more eclectic than I was expecting for my basic pallet. Everything we ate was very good. The food court was consistently busy, but we never had trouble finding a seat.
• Spent one morning at the Nemo Big Blue Pool. It was about 9:45am and we tried to go to the Little Mermaid pool, but it wasn't open yet. Not sure why and didn't see posted hours. But the Nemo pool was really nice and also very quiet with only a handful of people around, even though it was a hot day. It was enjoyable.
• The highlight of the stay for us, which is a complete game changer, was the Skyliner. This was our first experience with it and we loved it. Quick, easy ride to DHS and Epcot with no waits, no lines. I would probably choose to stay here again over POR/POFQ/CSR or the deluxe resorts, because it was such an improvement over the buses for us.

I think that sums everything up from our experience! Great stay, and we were very pleasantly surprised by everything at AOA. We were sad to leave which is always an indicator of a good experience Feel free to ask any questions and I will check back!

 

[spot28]

Hi - Thanks for the review! We are planning one night there in December...I was nervous about LM based on reviews...did it seem clean and not too tired? Thinking of jumping over to a suite if needed...We really just want to be near the skyliner.

 

[TigerlilyAJ]

TY so much for this. We're booked in two rooms there because doing so was less than a suite during our stay and two of my kids love merfolk. But so many people have said negative things that I've been second guessing. You helped clarify why I chose it, and it should be fine. My kids aren't always going to be of an age to think AoA theming is amazing, and my merkids are going to adore those headboards and bathroom.

 

[nkereina]

Hi - Thanks for the review! We are planning one night there in December...I was nervous about LM based on reviews...did it seem clean and not too tired? Thinking of jumping over to a suite if needed...We really just want to be near the skyliner.

Our room was very clean! I didn't think it felt tired or beat up or anything like that. No noticeable issues on the carpet, headboard, bathroom, etc. Nothing in disrepair. However, our room was a king bed which I assume is typically occupied by a couple or a parent with 1-2 kids. So, it may not be getting as much wear and tear as other rooms might. But we were very happy with the room itself. Personally, I wouldn't be able to justify the cost difference between a LM room and a suite unless I were a party greater than two people where the extra space would come in handy. But its not worth it from a location perspective, IMO. If you stick with a LM room, request building 7 - we were closest to the pathway to the Skyliner and thought it was a fairly quick and easy walk.

TY so much for this. We're booked in two rooms there because doing so was less than a suite during our stay and two of my kids love merfolk. But so many people have said negative things that I've been second guessing. You helped clarify why I chose it, and it should be fine. My kids aren't always going to be of an age to think AoA theming is amazing, and my merkids are going to adore those headboards and bathroom.

DH and I were saying how my 7 year old niece and 5 year old nephew would love the theme there! It was super cute and felt very Disney to us, which was actually new to us as we typically stay at the moderate level. Have a great time!

 

[kaytieeldr]

It took exactly an hour for us to receive our luggage from the time we called, which I felt was excessive.

Yeah. Luggage Assistance isn't On Demand, it's scheduled. The suggestion to pick up ones own luggage was a great one!

did it seem clean and not too tired? Thinking of jumping over to a suite if needed...We really just want to be near the skyliner.

All AoA rooms are the same age, so would be about the same degree of "tired". As the newest non-DVC resort, I can see Disney not yet seeing a need to update.

our room was a king bed which I assume is typically occupied by a couple or a parent with 1-2 kids.

One at the most, and the child would need to be under three.

 

[saraheliz]

We were pleasantly surprised by our stay in the LM rooms, too, and my kids just loved AoA. I didn't feel the walk was bad at all, even with two exhausted kids. Much preferred the atmosphere in the food court over Pop!

 

[nkereina]

Luggage Assistance isn't On Demand, it's scheduled.

Makes sense. I probably would have been more understanding about how long it took had the CM on the phone communicated that. When I called in the request for delivery, they said the runner would be by "shortly". When I called again 40 minutes later, they said the runner was "on the way". Finally saw him walk by about 20 minutes after that. Not a huge issue in the grand scheme of things, but a minor annoyance that could have been avoided if the CM was more transparent with their delivery procedure.

 

[Disnsyncey]

One at the most, and the child would need to be under three.

so you're saying that one parent could only have 1 kid under three? The max occupancy is 1? I am thinking its more like 2, but that still seems low for a Disney resort.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

So happy to see you liked AoA! We are DVC folks, only having ever stayed DVC until 2017 when we decided to save our points and split-stayed at AoA finding Nemo suite and in an ASM family suite. We LOVED AoA which surprised us because coming from only staying DVC for 20 years we thought we’d be disappointed, but we loved it. The big blue pool is awesome, the theming amazing (kids loved the theming), food court great and general atmosphere was awesome. And this was pre-skyliner, I’m sure it’s even better now. We love it so much that we’ll be stopping by to visit (and do the animation class) on our upcoming trip (in 26 days!).

 

[hotblooded]

so you're saying that one parent could only have 1 kid under three? The max occupancy is 1? I am thinking its more like 2, but that still seems low for a Disney resort.

A king room could indeed accommodate a single parent with one child over 3 plus one child under 3 in a crib. (Double occupancy + infant)

 

[Disnsyncey]

A king room could indeed accommodate a single parent with one child over 3 plus one child under 3 in a crib. (Double occupancy + infant)

yep, that's what I thought.....normal.....kaytieeldr was saying only one person and a child under 3.....

 

[nkereina]

yep, that's what I thought.....normal.....kaytieeldr was saying only one person and a child under 3.....

kaytieeldr was responding to my post which said:

our room was a king bed which I assume is typically occupied by a couple or a parent with 1-2 kids.

I interpreted kaytieeldr's response to mean that a couple could have a child under three with them. So max occupancy of two people, plus one under 3, which jives with what PP said as well.

 

[kittylady1972]

This is so GREAT to read. We are doing a quick girls-only trip (4 adults in our 40s) in December and the only value we could book was AoA Little Mermaid room. We have 2 rooms, 2 adults per room. This is one of the few Disney Resorts where I have no experience, so I've been trying to figure out how it will go for us. I'm going to request a room in building 7 for sure. Were you on a high or low floor? I'm thinking high floor might be best for noise level as I hate staying in rooms where I hear people walking above me all hours.

We are also DVC Members so I'm used to staying at DVC Resorts but I'm out of points now. Having just visiting WDW last month and just spent one evening riding the Skyliner (all fo the lines except the one to/from AoA/Pop) I am looking forward to using this mode of transportation for sure, but we also have a car.

 

[nkereina]

Were you on a high or low floor?

We were on the ground floor, first floor. I actually prefer this because its so easy to just walk right up to your room without having to walk down long corridors to get to the elevator, and then potentially down another long corridor to get to your room. We did have some foot traffic go by, but we never heard noise above or next to us. A few loud people after park closing, but it wasn't a recurring or ongoing issue for us. You could also request a room at the end of the corridor if its a concern. Have a great trip!