Reviews of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by mamalydia Review Date: 12/18/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
This is our send visit. This time we stayed at the CARS, and last visit we were at FINDING NEMO. These are the best locations, since they are close to the main entrance, and right next to the large pools! We had 3 adults this visit, and having the seperate bedroom was very convenient! having the small refrigerator and microwave is a plus...and definitely with the price to have a 2nd full bathroom!!! LOVE this hotel! You will not be disappointed!!
Pros:
great accomodations, spacious suites at a great priceCons:
noneReviewed by The Hendies Review Date: 11/12/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
First, I must mention that the staff were AMAZING when my husband lost his cell phone. We are still not sure if it fell some where as we were walking, or on a bus, but my husband stopped every day to see if it was found, and the staff was soooooo patient with him! It was found and returned after 3 days.
We ended up driving from near our room to nearer the bus area each day, because it was quite a haul from the room (building 9) to the buses.
Lastly, there was NO cell service at all, anywhere in the room. To make a call, check messages, or use the internet, we had to stand outside our room.
However, I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again! The theming is wonderful, the room was plenty big for 2 of us, the beds were comfortable, and the bus service was great!
Pros:
Price, buses, helpful staffCons:
Long walk from Little Mermaid Rooms to buses, cell service.Reviewed by mbcarol5 Review Date: 10/21/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
The resort was wonderful!! We had plenty of room for 4 adults and 2 children. The kids and I adored our stay and would stay here again. I loved all the colors and music. CMs were very helpful and friendly. It was handy to all of the parks except AK.
Pros:
vey colorful, music everywhere!!Cons:
scratchy TPReviewed by gthurber Review Date: 10/20/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We love this resort! We stayed here last year and returned this month as part of a two resort trip. Our family liked our second resort(a deluxe) but all agreed that Art of Animation is our favorite. We stayed in the Cars area both last year and this year. Great theme and the colors are not overboard. The only negative is that the food court can be really loud and confusing during busy periods. However, it would not prevent any of us from returning!
Pros:
Exciting, fun atmosphereCons:
Loud Food CourtReviewed by tiredmom812 Review Date: 10/13/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
We arrived around 1:30, and had a room by 3. Check in was quicker than I expected, given the amount of people in the lobby. It was crazy, but Disney kept it moving. The suites are the perfect size for our family of 5, and we loved having our own room and bathroom. The sofa bed, and murphy bed were easy to ready. You could hear noise from the hallway, but not from other rooms. It was very quite, not like our stays at Pop in the past. Mousekeeping was great, always clean. There was a towel fish and Mickey when we arrived, those were the only towel animals we had all week. The Big Blue Pool was great for all of our kids, ages 5,10 & 13. We didn't get to use it as much as we would have liked to because it was cold at night.
I was not impressed with breakfast. The eggs were just disgusting. DH & DS didn't like the hashbrowns either. And if you order the platter with the yellow sauce, it does not come in a bowl as pictured. It is put on the plate, and gets on everything else. By time you get through the lines, your food is cold. This is the worst food I've ever had on Disney property. We did get pizza one night, and it was good.
We also had problems with phone service in and around the buildings. We had to go to the lake, or out front to use our phones. Another problem was the parking. The closest parking to the Finding Nemo rooms is in front of the main building.
Overall, we were very happy with our stay, and will probably want to stay there again on our next trip.
Pros:
Theme, pool, size of suiteCons:
Food, parking, cell serviceReviewed by momof3inMadisonAL Review Date: 09/24/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We have APs and usually stay at the All Stars, but have tried 3 moderates. This was by far our favorite Disney Resort! Will not be staying anywhere else from now on.
Loved the theming. The suite layout worked well for our family of 6. My husband and I got a queen bed. So quiet in the back bedroom. Didn't have any hall noise - although we were close to the elevators. did hear some noise at night from pool but our room was looking over it directly. Don't know that I would recommend this type of room for a family with more than 2 adults. I definitely wouldn't want to be the one sleeping on the murphy or the sofa bed. But they were perfect for our kids. Theming was fantastic! A step above the other values and really, even the other moderates where we have stayed in the last 5 years.
Only down side was that we drive and Nemo suites were not close to parking. Next time will pick Cars or Lion King.
Pros:
new, theme, layout of suitesCons:
parking not near Nemo buildingReviewed by eric731 Review Date: 09/23/2013
Rating: (4) Recommended
Pros= Size of suites. Cast members were very friendly and helped out when needed. Bus service was fantastic and never had to wait a long period of time for a new one to get there.
Con= Atmosphere over all was very average at best. Outside of buildings looked like army barracks then Disney characters slapped on. I also felt the furniture in the rooms was very average at best.
The worst part of the resort had to be the food court. It was horrible. Thank god we only had one meal there. I could not believe the time spent in lines waiting for stuff and then getting back to the table and everything was cold. They need to really think about the way they do things and the food that they serve. It was below average. Even a late night burger and fries where not that good.
We will never stay at this resort again. For the amount of money that we paid for a suite, it should of been a lot better.
Pros:
Buses,Mousekeeping,Cast MemebersCons:
Food courtReviewed by jamesilkstone Review Date: 09/08/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I stayed at Art of Animation (AoA) in June 2013 and absolutely loved my stay here.
Having added an additional member to my party just prior to arriving, there must have been a mix up with my reservation and when I got to the front desk, they informed me that I wasn't due to check-in for another two days. This took some time to sort out as well as my own efforts finding the confirmation emails that showed I was checking in that day. However, this mistake was not the hotels, and although it took them some time to fix, they made up for this by upgrading me from a Little Mermaid room to a Cars suite. This was amazing service and was so much more than I ever expected to receive.
From then on there were no more errors, just great experiences...
The suite itself was spacious with an amazing living area and a large master bedroom. The fact that the room had two bathrooms really helped to speed things up on a morning or before heading out for dinner. We are big fans of tea and coffee and quickly used up our supplies, but the front desk were happy and incredibly fast at responding to our request for replacements - this was also true with a request for additional pillows.
Our favourite aspect of staying in the Cars wing had to be the pool. The pool was themed around the Cozy Cone Motel in the Cars films and had around 8-10 cabanas in the shape of cones! This made for great shade during the day if you needed a little break from the sun. In addition, the life guards at this pool were so attentive that I never had any hesitations over safety.
I've read a few reviews that talk of the AoA food court negatively, however, I cannot agree with this. My experience at Landscape of Flavors was only positive. For breakfast I tried waffles with bacon and sausage and yoghurt pavlova (which you personalise). Both were great - the yogurt was particularly good!
For lunch I tried the make-your-own-pasta - this was delicious with so many options available, including some great seafood! It was a bautiful meal that I would never expect from a value resort. There were so many other options, many which I have forgotten, but I never had a bad meal. I also ordered pizza to my room one night with chicken wings - also brilliant!!
The bus service was also wonderful - one of the main reasons I chose to stay at AoA was because it had its own dedicated transport and it didn't disappoint. My longest wait was around 10 minutes, but other than that, the busses came frequently and they didn't stop at any other resort.
in addition, one day i got in the pool with my iPhone in my pocket (disaster). I quickly got out and visited the food court - the cast members were so friendly and helpful and quickly delivered me some dry rice and a cup to pop my phone in. Thankfully, due to the cast members speed, the phone fully recovered!
I absolutely loved my stay at AoA, so much that I've booked to return this November and I've spent the extra money to stay in a suite. Believe me - it's worth it. i would recommend it to everyone!
Pros:
Great pools and spacious suitesCons:
—Reviewed by D1sneyg1rl Review Date: 09/03/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Stayed 8/21 - 8/27 with my husband and two little boys (2 and 5). We've stayed previously at Pop, as well as other Moderate resorts (POFQ, CBR, and POR). We decided to take a second trip to Disney this year and chose AOA to save some money. It was a good decision. The theming at Art of Animation is outstanding -- outside and inside, which made it feel a lot less like a Value resort. We spent the entire first afternoon / evening checking out all areas of the resort, taking pictures with the characters, and playing in the different play areas.
Our check-in was fast and very friendly. The staff there was nice throughout our stay.
We stayed the first two nights in a Mermaid Room and the remaining nights in a Cars suite (a complimentary upgrade! We were shocked and thrilled!!!).
Little Mermaid Room: We were in Bldg 7, third floor. LOVE the elevators at this value resort, especially with a double stroller! We had a lake view, which we did not request, but I would recommend. It is very peaceful. Our room was adorable and I was surprised that even our boys loved it...there were ooh's and aah's I didn't expect! The details on the table (like the lyrics of Under the Sea) and the headboards, which have lights embedded in them, are just a few of the details that make the room really magical! To combat the lack of storage space (half of the dresser is a facade that stores a mini-fridge), we requested an extra luggage rack/stand from Mousekeeping (there is already one in the room). This let us leave 2 suitcases on racks, and empty the third one (shared by our boys) into the dresser. The beds are double (vs. queen like at a Moderate resort). This was fine for our family, but something you may wish to consider. We don't tend to spend too much time in our room, except for naps and sleeping at night so we found this room to be more than adequate for a family of four. We did have a pack and play in the room for our 2 year old and it fit between the bed and the bathroom wall (out of the way). As far as the walk to the Little Mermaid area, it isn't too bad (even in the August heat). If you have stayed at Port Orleans Riverside or the Caribbean Beach Resort, the walk will not phase you! Plus, there is so much to look at on the way! Finally, Mousekeeping in this area did a fantastic job...(I'm the Mom who brings Lysol along and cleans the entire room when we get there since little kids touch everything). I was extremely pleased with the cleanliness of the room --the bathtub, corners, floor, A/C vent -- it was really well cleaned prior to our arrival.
Cars suite: We stayed on the fourth floor in Bldg 4 (Mater's building). For a family of four, the suite offered more than enough space to spread out. Once again, the details were impressive. The postcards from Radiator Springs sitting (permanently) on all the dressers and nightstands look so real and the cone lamps were adorable. We loved having two bathrooms, a larger place to eat breakfast (the table seats 4), and a couch / living area for the kids to play. The room is stocked with paper plates, paper bowls, cups, plastic silverware, etc. (which Mousekeeping replenishes). Since we eat our breakfasts in the room (cereal / yogurt) this was great. The pull down Murphy Bed was a breeze to use and my oldest son loved sleeping there, especially with Mater sleeping on the headboard and his own adjustable "night light." We did not need to use the pullout sofa. The master bathroom has a nice walk-in shower and the second bath has a tub shower. Again, more than enough space for a family of four here. We generally bring Mom / Dad and I will say we would have had room for them too, but it would have been less convenient to have to make / unmake the sofa bed each day....if you can afford the suite, go for it. Our boys are still talking about their Cars room!! If not, the Little Mermaid rooms make for a standard, but still very magical, stay.
We spent time at each of the three pools. Based on another review, we brought our own beach towels. However, I learned part way through the trip that you can request pool towels from the front desk (they look the same as the bath towels). For a family with two small children, the advantages of the Big Blue Pool were the zero-entry area and the separate splash area. I loved being able to sit in a sun chair and watch them run in the splash area (it was nice not having to hold someone and be in the pool the entire time!). TIP: There is a mug refill station at the Big Blue Pool Bar (so you don't have to go inside Landscape of Flavors). The Cozy Cone pool is definitely the most quiet / tranquil. You can't beat the atmosphere and our boys loved swimming with the Wheel Well Motel in the background. We loved how the music played at each of the pools fit the theme (i.e. at the Cozy Cone pool, all of the songs are about cars, driving, the road, etc.). If you aren't going to the parks everyday (and even if you are), I recommend pool hopping! It really gives you a chance to enjoy all of AOA.
Also - based on another review re: swimsuits fading....we experienced the same thing, but only with one Gap swimsuit. It was not your standard spandex / lycra, but more of a cotton swim short. Despite rinsing it in cold water after every swim (hoping to avoid what I had read) my son's suit is now a very light orange and blue plaid (previously fluorescent!).
We didn't have any problems with the buses while we were there. The single transportation stop is laid out well, with separate queues for each park / Dwtn Disney. Yes, they are crowded on the way home if you leave when the parks close, but that is true with any resort. One night, when we left the Magic Kingdom, there was a significant line and they sent two buses simultaneously.
Lastly, I will discuss the Landscape of Flavors food court. The theming inside is cute -- with sections of tables matching each of the different areas of AOA (Lion King, Cars, etc.). I was pleased with the selection of food, but disappointed in the wait times. Even though it wasn't crowded, the service was VERY slow. Having been to Disney a number of times, my husband and I always split up and order from two lines to avoid going from one to the next and having our meals ready at pretty much the same time. Even doing this, the first two days we found we were eating in shifts / pieces as meals from one line were ready well before meals from another line. Later, we decided the whole family would order from one line to avoid some meals being cold. TIP: There is a microwave in Ariel's Grotto (the portion of the food court that resembles being Under the Sea!). We reheated our meals a couple of times. We also microwaved our popcorn there for Movies Under The Stars!
This is now our favorite Value resort! The theming and landscaping are perfect for children....and adults too! We had a very magical vacation and can't wait to return!
Pros:
Theming, details, staff, pools, good value for priceCons:
slow food court, faded swimsuit!Reviewed by igpg826 Review Date: 08/29/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
My family of 4 stayed at AoA 8/18-24 in a Lion King suite. Check in was a breeze since we had done the online check in before hand. They held our carry ons (did Magical Express so bags were to be delivered to our room) and we went to AK the first day. I got a text shortly after arrival (probably around noon) that our room was ready.
We eventually made it back to the room...gorgeous, wonderful layout, tons of storage drawers and space, plenty of hangers, immaculate, lots of towels, etc. I loved everything about this room. I had ordered stuff from Garden Grocer and it was waiting in the room for us. I also ordered from Diapers.com and that too was delivered to our room. Luggage was there as well.
The pool is amazing. My kids loved it. Grounds are beautifully maintained. Mousekeeping did an excellent job every single day.
Had a wonderful experience with Zach (front desk) who worked tirelessly to try to get our bag back which was stolen along with our rental stroller in MK one day. He was amazing and handled it all for me so that I didn't have to spend my vacation time dealing with it all.
My only negative comments really relate to Landscape of Flavors. I had high hopes for this even after reading mixed reviews. My family and I didn't enjoy a single meal we had there. First of all, the lay out is stupid, you have to go from line to line, the "cooks" are very slow in getting stuff out and by the time you get to another slow person at a register, the food (which was awful - breakfast, lunch and dinner) was ice cold. The drink area was always a mess and no one really seemed to clean it. While I appreciate their efforts to go green, there has to be a better way than to have to scrape your food off of plates and organize all the dirty dishes. Every station was a disaster and kids were just throwing stuff in the garbage, making it worse.
My other negative comment was due to several different cashiers at Ink and Paint. Slow doesn't even begin to describe what is going on there. They had no idea where stuff was located and didn't make any effort to help.
All in all, we loved loved loved this hotel and I would stay there again in a heartbeat. I would just order more stuff from Garden Grocer to ensure I would not ever have to eat in Landscape of Flavors while there.
