Talk to me about art of animation

[megs1313]

I really don't like the other values, primarily because of noise. I'm assuming AoA is similar? I'm traveling with a large group, so the suites are appealing, but the "value" category is frightening me. What is it really like there?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Yes, AoA is a value resort. Don't be fooled by the cute theming. It's, by far, the loudest resort we've stayed in on WDW property (paper thin walls). And the bedding is horrifically uncomfortable.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

The suites come at a deluxe price but even with the neat theme of the resort it is still a value and is made like a value.
It's loud.
Honestly the least loud area is the LM standard rooms but they are a long hike to the main building and buses.
The dining hall is very very very loud because there are no carpets.
This makes everything echo and the chairs being moved on the floor are like nails on a chalk board. Plus there are constantly plates and silverware being dropped which is also rather loud.
The food is good and the theme is over the top but if you want quiet its not the place for you.

 

[bookgirl]

If my family wanted to stay in a family suite I'd book here, other than that it's my least favorite of all the resorts + offsite stays that I've done visiting WDW.

This coming from someone who LIKES the Values and is a fan of The Little Mermaid.

Most noisy resort I've stayed in.

 

[GTApex]

We're doing 3 nights at AoA in April '18 followed by 5 nights at BCV... I'm thinking that the noisier AoA is... the quieter BCV will seem afterward.

/ sort of like wearing shoes that are a half-size too small ... taking them off feels wonderful.

 

[jlwhitney]

The dining hall is crowded all the time it seems. Wait to get order food wait to get it wait to pay and its food court style so if family wants stuff in different areas got to wait in multiple lines.

 

[Clara Fett]

We (myself, DH, then 5 & 3 yo DDs) stayed in a Lion King room for our first family trip to WDW last May & honestly had a great time.The room was very clean, beds & seats were comfortable & the room was beautifully themed. Huge fan of having two bathrooms - made getting ready so much easier! We had no issues with noise between rooms. We only visited the dining area once - lots of variety & not crazy busy but we were there during low crowds. I only had two disappointments - CMs at the front desk weren't terribly friendly despite never appearing busy (I visited several times to pay off charges with gift cards) and the often long waits for AoA buses to arrive at the end of evenings at the parks. We are returning to WDW 11/25 - 12/1 this year but staying at Wilderness Lodge CL. As much as my DH & I are looking forward to trying a deluxe (even if it's at the lower end of the deluxe scale), I do feel guilty not going back to AoA as my now 6 & 4 y.o.'s are still in love their Lion King room and I feel like I may even miss it too!

 

[kwdw]

I love AoA suites! We've stayed in Cars and Lion King and while we had occasional noise from the hallway, we actually had a pretty quiet stay. We never went to the food court at peak hours, but found it calm and had great service when we went early in the morning or later at night. Love the two baths, the kitchenette, etc. The queen bed in the bedroom was okay, not awesome and we thought the table bed was quite comfy. Haven't used the sofa bed, but I suspect that is just so-so.

 

[pigletliz]

We've stayed at the AoA suites several times. While the food court is noisy during prime hours, the rooms themselves were quiet. It was really nice to have the ability to retreat into our own separate areas in the suite. The lake view is pretty and is an easy walk over to Pop, if you want a different menu.

 

[smitty0705]

We stayed in a Nemo suite and really enjoyed it. We are commando style park tourists though and basically only slept there. Was nice and comfy though.

 

[Jaimie1911]

I really liked AoA! We stayed in a Nemo suite facing the lake, high floor. It was very quiet. The dining hall on the other hand, always crowded and very loud. It could be chaotic. However, we were there for a marathon weekend and it was sold out. Busses were the worst I've ever seen. Not sure if that's the resort or because I've never been at such a busy time. All that said, it's a cute, fun hotel and my kids loved it.

 

[goofyintoronto]

We stayed in the Cars Suite and loved it!! It was very quiet in the rooms...and this was in August! No issue with noise at all. Food court wasnt too crowded either. I find it noisier at the other values....pop especially.

 

[10CJ]

Only been there once and have not been to any of the other values. I enjoyed our stay. The two bathrooms were very helpful. I don't have strong opinions on the noise so I guess it was not too bad. We were in a Nemo room.

 

[Marc D]

We've been there three times, staying in both Cars and Lion king suites. While the food court is often noisy, crowding was never a problem for us, but we tend to go to the least popular stations. We've never had a problem with noise in the rooms. We've had problems with housekeeping on two of our three stays (they skipped our room for a couple of days) but the response from guests services was appropriate. We like the fact that the bus service is not shared and that you can use Pop Century busses if you miss the AoA bus. We also find that the ride to the parks is faster than other resorts because of the location near the main road.

The convenience of the suite, with a closed bedroom and two bathrooms, can't be beat for the price. We'll be back in 20 days...

 

[houstonmama]

We usually stay deluxe but we've stayed at the LM rooms a couple of times. We stayed in the Ursula section facing the water and we didn't have any issues with noise. I thought the rooms were adorable and the overall theming of the resort is awesome. While we would have saved some money staying at POP I thought those rooms were boring and dull. The new rooms are better but still prefer the AoA theming. The food court can be crowded at peak times. We walked over to POP food court and it was the same. We preferred the food options at AoA. No sharing busses is a plus and you can also use POP buses.

Like I mentioned we usually stay deluxe (we have a special needs child so it can make things easier). I don't expect GF and AoA to be the same. We all know (I assume) that WDW hotel prices are inflated but I think the LM room is a steal! If I needed a suite because of family size I would seriously consider AoA. We've stayed POR and I have no idea how 5 people stay in those rooms. It's not much space.

Good luck with your choice!

 

[My2Qtz0205]

We stayed in the Nemo Suite last month. We were on the top floor of building 4, with a tiny view of the lake. We did not have any issues with noise. DH and I loved having our own bedroom and bathroom. Our DD and DS had their own beds, which is a must. Nobody complained about their beds. My BIL, SIL, and 2 young nieces were next door to us, and we never heard them, despite my SIL saying they had some meltdowns.
The food court was chaotic, but that is to be expected with a value. I preferred the choices and the size of the eating area as opposed to WL.
The only thing I missed about WL was the boat transportation to MK. The walk to the buses at MK and Epcot are long! AK and DHS were not bad.

 

[CrankyDad]

We did AoA suite (Nemo) this January. Wife and I and our 17/19 year old kids..


Pros:

2 baths

Separate bedroom for mom/dad

Kitchenette area with microwave

Nemo section was close to bus/food court and pool

Nice big pool

Friendly staff


Cons:

Run down. Tons of furniture was beat up from wear and tear and little to no repairs made

Chairs in room very uncomfortable

Very loud noise via hallway traffic. 1st floor rooms but past elevator

We disliked the theming - But understand many would smaller kids would enjoy it.


We are going back this year. We don’t normally do more then values, but wife wanted to go all out for my 50th so we are doing Boardwalk.

However we would go back as the price was about same vs getting 2 rooms at another value and with the suites, it was just easier/closer at AOA then say random at POP and being miles away and no guarantee of having adjoining rooms.

 

[Aurora0427]

We usually stay deluxe, but we stayed in a Nemo suite for one night before checking in to the Grand Floridian. We'd never stayed at a value resort before, and I admit- I was really apprehensive. However, we were pleasantly surprised by AoA. We ate at the food court for breakfast and it was crazy crowded at peak breakfast time. But they had so many choices, many of them healthy, that it didn't bother us. However, I wouldn't want that chaos 2-3 meals a day for a week. We didn't notice any extra noise, and we loved the extra room, but OMG. The beds were SO UNCOMFORTABLE.

The cast members at the front desk were very helpful, great gift store. I'm not sure if we'd stay again, but overall we liked AoA.

 

[NCDisneyMom]

We were just there 2 weeks ago. Stayed in a Finding Nemo suite. I've stayed in all levels of resort form Value to Deluxe, and in terms of noise I found it no different than anywhere else. We heard some kids running down the halls a couple of times, but I've heard that at all levels of resorts. With 5 people, we had some in each of the beds, and nobody complained of being uncomfortable.

Food court can be busy at times, but we never had excessive waits, and there was always a place to sit. I found it no louder than some of the moderate food courts that we have eaten at.

Buses were very good for us. Morning waits were extremely minimal (never more than 5 minutes), and while the "end of the day" lines were long, we still never waited more than 15 minutes, and they often sent either the double-length bus (I apologize, I can't remember the correct term for it), or 2 buses at once. The only long wait I had was one early evening, around 6pm, heading back from the MK...the wait was about 35 minutes.

My only complaint was the location of the bus stops coming back from the parks. Someone else touched on that, above, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

 

[westie55]

I have stayed at all levels of Disney resorts including most of the deluded and I still loves AoA. The theming is to die for. The resort grounds are impeccably maintained and our room was clean, as we always find to be true with Disney. I had read about busy and chaotic the good court was. We stayed in late June and ate at peak times and never had a problem. In fact, there were always tons of empty tables! The bus service was as good as any other resort. Our room (in the PM section) was quiet and we were never disturbed by noise from neighbors or from people outside. The beds would be my only complaint; they are noticeably less comfortable than a moderate. However, I wouldn't hesitate to stay at AoA again.