Reviews of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed 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 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 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 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 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 mawdryn Review Date: 04/16/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
My husband and I stayed for 1 night on April 9th (I had to get my Disney fix before going down south for my brother's wedding). We were in a corner room on the 4th floor of building #7 in the Little Mermaid section. Our room faced the lake and Pop Century. I can't remember the room number, but it was a great location and very quiet.
The room was fine for 2 adults. However, we had to call Mousekeeping, because there were dead bugs all over the ceiling and something had been splashed against the wall of the vanity and never wiped clean. They came right away, but we never should have had to call them in the first place. I expect more from Disney having visited 28 times. I've stayed everywhere from the Grand Floridian to All Star Movies, and everywhere in between, and have never had to call Mousekeeping for a dirty room upon arrival.
I don't understand why there are a lot of complaints about the walk from the Little Mermaid section to Animation Hall. We found it to be lovely. It's honestly not bad at all. There are worse walks at Port Orleans Riverside.
We ate at Landscape of Flavors just to get a snack before going to our room. My husband had an iced coffee and I had a smoothie. The wait was short, and check out was a breeze.
I would have given the resort a 10 had it not been for the dirty room. We are coming back in July for a week with our 4 kids and staying in the Finding Nemo area. I can't wait!!!!
Pros:
ThemingCons:
Dirty RoomReviewed by WDWems Review Date: 04/16/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed at Art of Animation from 2nd April to 14th April. We had a great time & would definitely come back!
We are a party of 2 adults and had a room in building 9 (King Triton) in the Little Mermaid area.
Out of the 3 blocks in the L.M. area, building 9 is the best one IMO. You can walk alongside the parking lot instead of through the resort, which saves a few precious foot steps! Some of the rooms in building 7 have lakeside views of POP, which would be nice too. Our room overlooked the pool on the 2nd floor, and at first we thought it would be noisier. But we found this not to be a problem at all. We hardly heard any noise from other rooms either. We heard occasional noise overhead but this wasn't excessive and therefore bearable (and we heard this when we slept in later- when we weren't awake early for EMH!)
We had a king room which was great, and plenty of room for us two. Not much storage space though as one side of the cabinet is where the fridge is. The 'grotto' shower area freaked me out at first but I ended up loving our room- great Disney theming!!
Mousekeeping was good, we got several towel animals including an elaborate lobster!! Amazing. We tipped every other day or so. There was one day where we didn't get Mousekeeping, so we called for extra towels and explained why we needed them.
Had refillable mugs but a long way to walk to and from the food court when you have been walking around the parks all day! Luckily we could stock up from a store off-site and kept a fridge of water bottles- I would definitely recommend doing this if possible.
We found Landscape of Flavors to be great and didn't have a bad meal. Throughout our stay, we have breakfast there most mornings and occasionally lunch or dinner. I'll post more in the dining review.
Bus service worked well, we had to stand up a bunch of times but we've always had to, especially over the Easter period. We appreciated the waiting areas being covered over unlike other Value resorts.
Overall, a really positive experience and I would definitely return. We stayed at POP last year, and the general amenities are much better, brighter, more 'Disney' at A of A. We both agreed that our stay was brilliant.
Pros:
—Cons:
—Reviewed by mamalolo Review Date: 04/17/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
My family of four stayed in the Little Mermaid rooms at AOA for 10 days in March. We had an absolutely amazing time! After many negative reviews, we were concerned about the walk from the Little Mermaid section to the main building. The walk is perfectly fine!! It was not far at all! We truly enjoyed the walk from LM to the main building because each time, we got to experience seeing something new in the Lion King section.
We all really enjoyed the variety and quality of the food at the food court. There were plenty of options for all of our different food preferences.
We found Mousekeeping to be ok. There were a couple of days when there seemed to be quite a bit of trash on the grounds near the trash cans (where people had missed the trash can), but for the most-part, the resort was very well-kept. Our room was cleaned daily, and it always looked great when we returned to the room in the evenings.
The bus transportation was great. We were there during spring break...a very busy time, and the transportation was fine. Of course we had to wait for a bus sometimes, but again, it was spring break. Disney seemed to be prepared for the amount of guests that they had to accommodate during that time.
The entire resort is gorgeous, and Disney did an incredible job with the overall theme! We will definitely be back to AOA in the future!!
Pros:
Beautiful resort; fun pools; food courtCons:
noneReviewed by bodean4god Review Date: 04/20/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Love this place and am going back this year! The Little Mermaid rooms are small, but livable especially with a fridge in the room. You're their to sleep and shower and that's about it so I say it's great! The atmosphere is each area is so cool and I loved that they tried to have activities for families, even during rainy days! Check in was easy, and the only down side was trying to eat breakfast. VERY CROWDED! It seemed like the area where you order was created too small. However, I witnessed how a manager handled an irrate customer who was clearly in the wrong and I was impressed with the professionalism of the staff. They worked very hard to satisfy this person. You need to try this place, it is great!
Pros:
nice room, fridge, great atmosphereCons:
very crowded dining area, a good walk from Little Mermaid rooms to main areaReviewed by nannie Review Date: 04/20/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
A wonderful place to stay. The bed that came out of the wall over the table was so easy to pull down. And the sofa bed was easy and comfortable. Had plenty of room to put all the suitcases and room to move around. the deco was great. Even the hallways was so neat. Could not ask for a cleaner or nicer room. With two bathrooms. No problem with everyone getting ready. No noise and we were on the side facing the pool.
