ShannonMB
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2008
- Messages
- 3,920
DD (15) and I just returned from a quick trip to the World, stayed at Art of Animation for the first time! It was a wonderful mother-daughter trip and I thought I would share some of our thoughts on this lovely resort.
Being just the two of us, we just needed a standard room with 2 double beds - which put us in a Little Mermaid room. We were in building 9, right behind a gigantic Ursula statue. I knew full well that the Little Mermaid rooms were in the back of the resort, and it wasn't a HUGE issue since it was just the 2 of us. But with the heat, I wouldn't have minded having a room closer to transportation! We have been staying at moderates for years, and so this was a bit of a difference for us as the other places we've stayed had multiple bus stops to accommodate the size of the resort. That said, if it weren't for the heat, it was pleasant walking through the beautiful lion king section each time we went back to the room.
Compared to other values which we've visited, this place was above and beyond. The larger than life character theming was what we expected of a kid-centric value, but the landscaping took AoA to another level. It was amazing how the plants in the LM section actually looked like sea plants - same with the savannah grasses of Lion King, etc. We were really amazed by the lushness and beauty of the place! The rooms themselves are very themed, down to the last detail - a touch that is not lost on DD and me. We LOVE a good theme!
I find the food courts at the values in general to be a step above most moderates, and I imagine it's because the more budget conscious guest tends to frequent QS more often. AoA's food court was quite gorgeous, spacious, and with a lot of choices. I only had one meal there - fish with a lime butter sauce, acorn squash and green beans. I was trying to splurge in moderation, so I saved room for multiple servings of the housemade chips that DD and I were a little obsessed with on this trip. The make your own pasta looked great, as did the usual pizza and burgers. And they had a "surf and surf" burger, which was a crab cake with fried shrimp on a bun. That looked good!
Bus service was not what we would have hoped.
DD and I have been to WDW and stayed on property, utilizing WDW transportation 11 times since 2006, so we are used to the drill. It is possible that we were jaded by it being so hot! But at Hollywood Studios one night, late into EMH but not at the end of it, there were 3 bus loads of people waiting at our stop. Pop had a couple bus loads waiting as well, but the other stops were fairly clear. We saw multiple empties from several other resorts pass us by as we as an AoA group sadly wished they would stop for us. Multiple instances of that, it seemed. In fairness to the WDW transportation system, it never really was more than 20 minutes between busses, probably. And again I'm sure the heat played into it. But if anyone was waiting, it seemed it was always the AoAs. The fact that the AoA bus stop is almost always the LAST bus stop in a long line of bus stops and that once we hiked it in the heat to the furthest bus stop from each park, then we had to hike in the heat to the furthest section of rooms at our resort, really jaded our love of the resort I'm afraid to say.
By the end of our stay, we agreed that we had a lovely stay at AoA, but that we likely won't return. The Little Mermaid rooms are rarely included in any deals and so a better price can often be found elsewhere. Add that to the extra 1,000 steps every time we went back to the room from a park and that about counts us out. Sure was pretty, though!
Being just the two of us, we just needed a standard room with 2 double beds - which put us in a Little Mermaid room. We were in building 9, right behind a gigantic Ursula statue. I knew full well that the Little Mermaid rooms were in the back of the resort, and it wasn't a HUGE issue since it was just the 2 of us. But with the heat, I wouldn't have minded having a room closer to transportation! We have been staying at moderates for years, and so this was a bit of a difference for us as the other places we've stayed had multiple bus stops to accommodate the size of the resort. That said, if it weren't for the heat, it was pleasant walking through the beautiful lion king section each time we went back to the room.
Compared to other values which we've visited, this place was above and beyond. The larger than life character theming was what we expected of a kid-centric value, but the landscaping took AoA to another level. It was amazing how the plants in the LM section actually looked like sea plants - same with the savannah grasses of Lion King, etc. We were really amazed by the lushness and beauty of the place! The rooms themselves are very themed, down to the last detail - a touch that is not lost on DD and me. We LOVE a good theme!
I find the food courts at the values in general to be a step above most moderates, and I imagine it's because the more budget conscious guest tends to frequent QS more often. AoA's food court was quite gorgeous, spacious, and with a lot of choices. I only had one meal there - fish with a lime butter sauce, acorn squash and green beans. I was trying to splurge in moderation, so I saved room for multiple servings of the housemade chips that DD and I were a little obsessed with on this trip. The make your own pasta looked great, as did the usual pizza and burgers. And they had a "surf and surf" burger, which was a crab cake with fried shrimp on a bun. That looked good!
Bus service was not what we would have hoped.
DD and I have been to WDW and stayed on property, utilizing WDW transportation 11 times since 2006, so we are used to the drill. It is possible that we were jaded by it being so hot! But at Hollywood Studios one night, late into EMH but not at the end of it, there were 3 bus loads of people waiting at our stop. Pop had a couple bus loads waiting as well, but the other stops were fairly clear. We saw multiple empties from several other resorts pass us by as we as an AoA group sadly wished they would stop for us. Multiple instances of that, it seemed. In fairness to the WDW transportation system, it never really was more than 20 minutes between busses, probably. And again I'm sure the heat played into it. But if anyone was waiting, it seemed it was always the AoAs. The fact that the AoA bus stop is almost always the LAST bus stop in a long line of bus stops and that once we hiked it in the heat to the furthest bus stop from each park, then we had to hike in the heat to the furthest section of rooms at our resort, really jaded our love of the resort I'm afraid to say.By the end of our stay, we agreed that we had a lovely stay at AoA, but that we likely won't return. The Little Mermaid rooms are rarely included in any deals and so a better price can often be found elsewhere. Add that to the extra 1,000 steps every time we went back to the room from a park and that about counts us out. Sure was pretty, though!
