Reviews of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by ccooney1307 Review Date: 02/17/2021
Rating: (9) Recommended
We stayed in a Lion King family suite in 2015 and it was magical. The kids adored all of the immersive theming as did we. We also really enjoyed the room layout, having extra space and an extra bathroom ! The food court had some great selections too.
Pros:
Incredible theming, spacious family suites, great food options, awesome poolsCons:
Having multiple lines to get various food court offerings instead of one order location. Very spread out so you could be far away from dining and transportaion. The little mermaid rooms are very small and only have two full size beds instead of queens.Reviewed by jensmousemagictravel Review Date: 02/16/2021
Rating: (8) Recommended
I enjoyed staying at AoA. I stayed in a standard Little Mermaid room. The Big Blue Pool was great. The Little Mermaid pool was also a nice quieter pool option. We will be staying in a Lion King family suite next month and we are looking forward to returning to this resort.
Pros:
Great theming! Great transportation options with the Skyliner and the buses.Cons:
We had to wait a while for our room to be ready, even after check-in. We had to contact the front desk in order for an update.Reviewed by iflagum Review Date: 02/13/2021
Rating: (9) Recommended
Tons of fun and walking
Pros:
Great features, the theming was off the charts. The big blue pool!Cons:
The place is huge. We stayed in the Little Mermaid rooms that were a long way from everything. I guess look at a map next timeReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 02/13/2021
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We took our trip to Disney and stayed at Art of Animation (Ariel area) for our honeymoon in Jan 2021. (Wife is a big Disney Fan and so am I) The theming of the resort is really good for what it is. (Loved the sketches in the main lobby building) Our first night we have a drink spill and had to use towels to clean it up. (No worry) We call up the Housekeeping from our room phone and ask for more towels. They say they will send some up "asap". We figure they would send some up that day but instead we don't get towels till we have to call the Front Desk (Because the cleaning stuff never showed up) two days later to ask where are the new towels are at? (We decided to get some food from the local food court and try some of the items there) They finally gave us fresh towels during our "normal" cleaning service that is apparently every three days now. (Also around 6pm-7pm when we were eating dinner that day) I would also add they just changed out towels/washcloths and wipe the sink down but they don't change the bed anymore. (Ok understandable) BUT the other incident was our last night at the resort. We decided to go Disney Springs during the day. (Get lunch and shopping done) while we get back early in the afternoon. (4ish) housekeeping still didn't show up for that day so we just put our "Room Occupied" sign up since we were going to call it an early day so we can catch our bus at 3am. So my wife is taking a shower when house keeping shows up (Probably around 5pm) They knock, I say something of “Ill be there in a sec” trying to find my mask to put on so I can open the door. Instead when I get to the door, the door gets pushed open anyway; and hits the lock on the door. I then close the door; remove the top lock and greet housekeeping; telling them we are find for today on towels and such since we are leaving tomorrow that they can skip us. So two hours later someone from the Staff shows up and tells me that they need to do a mandatory “Security Check”. Im like, can it wait till tomorrow since we will be gone and my wife was trying to sleep (and so was I) he said sure it can wait till tomorrow and left. SO I then call the front desk because that was super sketchy and wanted to make sure it was an actual staff member. They confirmed it was and I asked if they can hold the check till the morning, as we had a bus leaving at 3am ish and was trying to sleep. They said they would pass that info on and such. (I should note my wife got improperly raided by the DEA/Police a few years ago and is now on the verge of tears and freaking out over a random security check from Disney this time)
Cue probably 30 mins later someone shows up; claims to be the head of whatever staff and had to do a required security check, no exceptions. SO I ask to give us a min so we can get dressed and such. (So my wife can put full cloths on) He does his check walks around the room, asks if anything is wrong and when we say no. (Wife is now crying) he then leaves and then we call the front desk to file complaints about that garbage and although they were friendly there was nothing they could really do since it was our last night. Unfortunately, this resort made us both to basically never stay at Disney again and hesitant on any other kind of Disney experiences. We don’t hate Disney still but this is a massive horrible moment that is even hard to talk about since its normally suppose to be such a magical place.
Pros:
- Good Theming around Resort and Room was really neat. - Most of the Staff was very Friendly(Front desk staff was great) - Overall the area at the resort was clean - Disney Skyliner Access which was awesome.Cons:
- Housekeeping was slow/always showed up late in the day (Understaffed maybe) - Walls are "Thin" could easily hear outside and the neighbors - Dining area food was "meh" (cupcakes were good though) - Small walk to the buses - Security Check made my wife cry. - Ruined the Disney Magic that is normally expectedReviewed by Fantasmaniac Review Date: 02/11/2021
Rating: (10) Recommended
In rating this against other value resorts. If I were rating this against say the Polynesian it wouldn’t be as high.
We really enjoyed our stay here.
Sparkling clean rooms, with a small fridge. And who doesn’t love staring at prince Eric? (Maybe it’s just me.) We spent the evenings enjoying tours of each of the areas. So many fun details down to the paths and plants. Disney didn’t miss a beat!
Once you got to the center of the resort everything was in close proximity. Eat your breakfast and then it’s just a quick hop on the Skyliner or a bus. Forget something you need for the park? Gift shop had plenty of sundries (including moleskin). We would definitely stay here again!
Pros:
Inexpensive Skyliner resort Beautiful fun theming and unique details Buses were very quick! Breakfast was pretty good, particularly the children’s options. Refillable mugsCons:
Lots of walking from the Little Mermaid section of the resort (but this could also be a pro tip for walking off all the calories you take in.) Dinner was just meh in the food court.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 02/09/2021
Rating: (8) Recommended
This resort is so cute! Stayed here with our 6 year old, and he was amazed. The atmosphere is definitely made for the kiddos. But adults, if you are a big Disney fan, you will love it too. If you have kids, you are wanting totally emersive Disney experience at value prices this is the resort for you.
Pros:
Totally emersive experience. Good food for a value resort. It's on the Skyline route.Cons:
If you stay in the Little Mermaid section, it's a long walk to the main building. Not good for a romantic vacation.Reviewed by Kiba5401 Review Date: 02/09/2021
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
Meh... We've stayed at two other value resorts that we preferred to AoA. We started in a Little Mermaid room... we knew the section was in the far end of the resort but my daughter wanted this particular theme so we booked it. Although we requested a closer building in the little mermaid section, we were told one was not available and got booked in the farthest building on the backside. Although the themed room is cute, I much prefer the refurbished rooms at all stars and pop Century with the murphy bed/folded table and bright new bathroom with open closet. Perhaps if we stayed in a family suite we would love this resort. We were disappointed by the food here as well- breakfast was good but we felt the quality of the lunch and dinner options was lacking. Lucky the resort is next to the skyliner so we just resort hopped to eat elsewhere.
Pros:
Next to skyliner, love the cozy cone pool cabanas (first come first serve) ...the little mermaid pool and big blue pool were also great.Cons:
If staying in the little mermaid rooms- small, dark compared to the refurbished rooms at Pop/ all stars, long walk to transportation and foodReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/26/2021
Rating: (8) Recommended
We Stayed in a little mermaid room we were very happy that our dog could come room was very clean we loved the bathroom ceramic tile was coll because it went with the under the sea theme painting in the shower also wowed us when you take a shower it feels like you are under the sea the skyliner being there is also nice same with the gift shop
Pros:
skyliner and dog friendlyCons:
room is smallReviewed by Fantasmaniac Review Date: 01/22/2021
Rating: (9) Recommended
The theming is wonderful here! We stayed in a standard Little Mermaid room. We really loved it. It was great to be at a Skyliner resort.
Pros:
Skyliner Walkable resort Transportation was quick and easy Comfortable room Fun activities Fantastic themed sectionsCons:
Food court food wasn’t great. Poor WiFi in some locations of the resortReviewed by AshBake330 Review Date: 01/21/2021
Rating: (7) Recommended
This resort is awesome! Outstanding outside and room theming! Stayed in the Lion King suite and was in complete awe of all the details! The walk in shower with the sun OMG so stunning! Loved the pool bar with Frose! The Cars pool is underrated! Loved the quiet and being able to relax in an actual Cozy Cone!Food typical of value resort.
