Reviews of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by bmdisney Review Date: 04/15/2013
Rating: (8) Recommended
My daughter and I stayed in the Little Mermaid standard rooms in April 2013. Check-in was efficient, cast members fun and enthusiastic. we ate lunch at the food court. It's nothing fancy but serves its purpose. My daughter loves to swim so we tried both the Little Mermaid pools and the Big Blue Pool. Art of Animation obviously has the best pools of the value resorts.
Each section is wonderfully done - Cars, Nemo, Lion King and Little Mermaid. We enjoyed walking around and looking at all the details.
We stayed for only one night. We did not travel anywhere by bus so I cannot comment on the bus service.
We would return.
Pros:
great job on charactersCons:
LM rooms a bit crampedReviewed by thorntda Review Date: 04/11/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We have stayed at the AOA Resort 4 times since opening, and we have stayed in Nemo, Cars and Lion King, since we bring the grandparents with us we have not stayed in the Little Mermaid Section. We have has a wonderful experience everytime. The food choices are different in the food court which is a nice change. The rooms are great we give the grandparents the bedroom and the husband and I with our small daughter use the other part of the room works out great having two bathrooms makes it so easy when getting ready in the morning, it is our new go to resort if we can not get a good deal at one of the deluxe villas.
Pros:
EverythingCons:
noneReviewed by killnme Review Date: 04/06/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed at AA from April 1st-5th. We were in the Finding Nemo section building 4 which is Mr. Ray's. The suite was very nice and my 9 yr old daughter was over the moon with the Murphy bed. The whole resort is really nice. We toured the whole place and like every section, but if we go back I would like to try and stay in the Cars section. Bus service was a little slow, but we didn't use it during peak times so I knew we would wait a little longer.
The food court had really good food options but at dinner time was a mad house. The main reason for this is the always popular Italian area was even more crowded with the create your own pasta and everyone looking for pizza. The second negative was on our last night I decided to see if we could extend one more night. The front desk lady was very nice and checked into it for me. But the price for 1 extra night at a "Value Resort" was going to be $477. So we decided to just come home as planned.
All in all a great resort and would like to stay that again sometime.
Pros:
The Whole ResortCons:
food court/extra nightReviewed by mtakac Review Date: 04/01/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
This was our first value resort. Our family is comprised of 2 adults and 2 children (5 & 3). We wanted the extra space, 2 bathrooms and kitchenette/eating area. We chose the Lion King section, primarily, because we liked that there was NOT a pool area. Hoping that our 3 year old would take his afternoon nap, we thought it would be quieter than the Cars or Nemo sections. It was very quiet, however, he only napped once during the trip. None the less, the Lion King section was great.
We were in Lion King building #6. Our room was immediately to the left of the main entrance across from the ice/vending machines. My first thought was, oh no! This is going to be so noisy. I was so pleasantly surprised that it was not. Even in the evening when they were showing movies in the courtyard, it did not prevent the kids from going to bed. The suite felt much more spacious than I expected, even with 2 sets of bed rails and a large, double stroller. We never used the buses as we had a rental car. Parking was convenient - less than 5 minutes to the lot. We usually cut through Lion King building #10 to get to the lot. The main building was also a short walk from our room. It wasn't a big deal at all to run over to refill mugs or grab a snack.
With two small kids, we expected to have to do laundry, which I did twice. I used the laundry room at the Nemo pool area. It was always immaculate, and I never had to wait for a washer or dryer.
The themeing was really fun - great for kids. Since this was our first non-deluxe/moderate, the quick service dining took some getting use to. However, I thought that they had a varied menu and some unexpected choices for a quick service restaurant.
We would definitely stay again. The only reason that I didn't give a score of 10 was, because we never used the buses. I didn't think it was fair.
Pros:
size of the resort; menu choices at quick service; size of roomsCons:
quick service can get very crowdedReviewed by ntaylor28 Review Date: 03/29/2013
Rating: (5) Recommended
We stayed in the Little Mermaid section for our stay. Had we known about the long walk to the buses and cafe, we may not have chosen this resort. It seemed closer to Pop Century than to Animation Hall. Disney should consider a shuttle to that area from the buses (or a separate bus stop) because after a long day at the parks, the last thing you want to do is walk even more.
Good selection of food in the cafe. Clean. Liked how a coffee/soda station was set up midway from LM section to Animation Hall.
Rooms were nice, although our second room (we had to change rooms mid stay) was showing a lot of wear already (scuff marks on the walls, trim coming loose, etc).
Glad we stayed for the experience, Would spend more for the suite if we stay there again.
LOVE how the seagulls (on the stairs for the Nemo section) say "Mine, Mine". Detail is fabulous!
Pros:
Beautiful decor/detailCons:
LM section was a LONG, LONG walk to cafe & busesReviewed by Chrisb908 Review Date: 03/28/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We stayed in the Little Mermaid room at AOA March 16-24, 2013. The theming is awesome, four story tall Ariel, Tritan and Ursula. The rooms are small, although enough for my family of three. Again, theme is great, loved bathroom tile, Ariel's Grotto. Our room on first floor near lake with view of Pop Century resort, great location to be in no noise from passersby. Walls, however, very thin, heard neighbors shower. Mousekeeping ok at best. Only got one "towel character" after leaving $10 tip, rather than $5 daily tip. We slept late one day, but out of room by 11 am. Room not cleaned. Expected more for $40+ total tip. Towels are awful, scratchy. No towels at pool, have to use room towels and call mousekeeping for extra. Really long walk to food court which is very crowded at times. Quick service food good, very overpriced. Long lines to checkout. The big pool area in Finding Nemo area, is awesome, you can hear music under water, kids play area with slide, "pop up water" area, which was a big hit with my 6 year old daughter. Movie every night outdoors, also a big hit. Area for kids to draw in front of resort. Bottom line would stay again, only because of theming, but prefer moderate resorts.
Pros:
Theme of ResortCons:
Mousekeeping, long wait at food courtReviewed by charmed Review Date: 03/27/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We would recommend this value resort to everyone- We will stay there whenever we travel to Walt Disney World.
Pros:
Stayed in Little Mermaid-Great place to stay-Loved the decor- Cast members did great job keeping it clean and supplied- everyone was friendly- pools were fabulous- great poolside movies every night- food at food court was delicious- We wish all food courtCons:
we have no consReviewed by MClark301 Review Date: 03/18/2013
Rating: (7) Recommended
We stayed in Building 4 Room 1415 which is a Nemo suite. My husband and I loved having a sleeping area separate from the kids! The main room has a small fridge, microwave, and coffeemaker. Housekeeping did nice job and kitchen area was restocked daily with paper plates, plastic utensils, cups, and coffee pods. Plastic furniture in room gives it a pre-school type feel, but the kids loved the decor. The resort exterior decor is really fun. The Big Blue pool was spacious and clean. Kids loved the underwater music. Heard lots of complaints about the food court. The food court is small and seems more expensive than similar food items within the Disney parks. We purchased breakfast items, snacks and drinks at the Publix store instead.The room had a nice amount of space for the 5 of us, but I wish Disney would invest in bunk beds as there are still only 3 actual beds in this suite (a double murphy bed over the table - very easy to pull down; a double sofa sleeper, and a queen in the bedroom). Bus service was good to and from each park during our stay, but we were there during an 'off-season' March 3-7.
Pros:
One separate sleeping area; Two bathrooms; Great pool area and exterior decorCons:
Room decor initially feels like pre-schoolReviewed by thebeachdreamer Review Date: 03/11/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed in the Finding Nemo section for the last 2 nights of our 12 day vacation. It is absolutely rich in Disney themeing....just beautiful. The size of the suites with two bathrooms was wonderful! The resort is new, but I did notice the furniture is already starting to show wear and tear. The light paint colors will make it hard to cover up for long. I must admit we were not crazy about the choices at the food court. We stayed at POFQ the first 10 nights and the selection and taste was so much better. The bus was quick and frequent. I would not stay if I had to stay in the Little Mermaid section...it is sooooo far away. If a family can afford, this is an fun choice!
Pros:
Size of SuitesCons:
CostReviewed by WingsAt46 Review Date: 03/09/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
Wow! My granddaughter (4) and I visited for a week in early December 2012. Our suite was great! Near the Little Nemo pool (NOT a little pool) we had 2 full bathrooms- one with a tub and the other with a shower, a small kitchen area (microwave, sink, and college dorm sized fridge), a very comfortable bed, along with a Murphy bed and a sofa pull-out, we had plenty of room and plenty of storage.
The food in cafeteria was good, not hot enough, and didn't look quite like the pictures but was surprisingly tasty!
The temperature inside the arcade was FRIGID so all I wanted was to get out of it but g-daughter enjoyed playing until her $5 ran out.
The bedspread was the heaviest of anything I've slept under. I could hardly move my legs and felt pinned to the mattress! We laughed about it every night.
Just returned from a week in Saratoga Springs (2/25-3/2/2013)and with so much to complain about I suggested to my husband that we get our money back and return to Art of Animation for $162 LESS per night. He just didn't want to pack up and move.
