I'd like your opinions on AoA TLM

[EOD K9]

Hey Gang, I hope you are all well. Those of you that know me know I am a DVC Member and I like to cruise. That being said, my in-laws planned a huge trip for next December (10 adults and 5 children). They are paying for everything and we really don't have a say in too much of the planning despite our experience. Anywho, they got us a room at AoA Little Mermaid and it will be the wife, myself, and by then my 2 2 1/2 year old daughters.
Having never stayed there, I am wondering if it would be disappointing having gone from DVC to a "standard" room. Before DVC I had stayed in All Stars/Sports and Movies, CBR, POFQ and what was Dixie Landings. Am I in for a culture shock? They have also gotten us the dining plan with 1 QS and 1 TS. I'm just looking for thoughts and insights. We have a trip planned for next month and we will most likely be scouting that location just for a look see. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[Fox&Hound]

I haven't stayed at AoA, but at nearby Pop and enjoyed it very much! Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure the animation suites have their own bus, unlike all-star movies that shares with the other all-star value hotels. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[ToTBellHop]

It will certainly be a culture-shock coming down from deluxes due to lesser amenities, not the least of which is being crammed in a small room with (IMHO) gaudy aesthetic design (I don't personally like bathing in Ariel's antique shop under the sea...). Also, TLM rooms are quite far from the main building and bus stop. You get one counter service restaurant which I happen to think is pretty good. As you likely remember from the All-Stars, value resorts are not themed. They are (heavily) decorated motels that are sometimes overcrowded necessitating the chained-in queues at the bus stops that you don't see at moderates or deluxes. That said, the bus service is prompt but on a crowded day, you may need to wait for a 2nd or 3rd bus.

Even so, you're still going to Disney World on someone else's dime with dining. It'll be great. Just temper your expectation on the resort. And show your twins The Little Mermaid and Nemo so they will be invested in those areas of the resort.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

We've stayed at AoA many times. We've only stayed in LM once, the day they opened. Those rooms are just too small for us. The bathroom is tiny. There's only one sink. The rooms are pretty far from the food court and the buses. However, we love the resort itself. They have a good food court with lots of healthy food choices. We always stay in the suites when we stay there. They are a really nice size with two bathrooms. I strongly suggest you upgrade to a suite if possible.

 

[MissingDisney]

We just returned from a split stay that included a LM room at AoA. Biggest thing we missed...a second sink. Biggest irritation...hearing every time the toilet flushed and/or shower ran in neighboring rooms. It's pretty much the same as Sports, Movies, Pop, just different decor. The food court was LOUD all the time. The bus situation was fine. I thought the food selections at AoA were way better than AKL where we spent the majority of our trip. Not bad, just....different, louder, busier. We were in building 7, I think, on a corner area so it was the closest possible LM room area to the main building. It was a walk but honestly, you can walk a hike depending on your room at GF, Poly, CR too so that's really not a resort-specific negative. It's a Disney trip someone is blessing you with. Accept it for what it is, a wonderful opportunity to make family memories, regardless of the resort. Enjoy!!!

 

[patch553]

youll hear a lot about the walk to the food court,while it is a little long the theming is brilliant which makes it very enjoyable,the food court is good and the pools are cool, we really enjoy staying there, hope u do too

 

[Tom P.]

If you have stayed at All Star Sports and All Star Movies, I can't imagine you'd be in for a culture shock staying at Art of Animation. It is certainly head and shoulders above those resorts. In fact, I kind of object to AoA being in the Value category. As was discussed when it first opened, I almost feel there needs to be a new category like Value+ for it. I think the theming is excellent, and even though it lacks some of the amenities that a moderate or deluxe would have, such as a table service restaurant, what it does have is very nice. The Landscape of Flavors food court is simply fantastic, as is the main pool.

All that being said, our experience with AoA has been in a family suite. I understand from others that the Little Mermaid rooms are a bit small. If there's any possibility of upgrading to a family suite, I would highly suggest it. Other than that, though, I have no complaints about the resort itself. It's not going to be a DVC villa, but it's still an extremely nice resort.

 

[EOD K9]

Thank you all for your replies. We may just spring for the upgrade out of pocket so the wife and kiddies and I can have some room to sprawl out. I sincerely appreciate all of your insights.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

It's the exact size room and amenities as an allstar or pop century room just the little mermaid theme and a higher cost per room night. It's the farthest building away from the main pool and food court, in fact you can easily see pop century from the king triton section. I didn't feel like the theme used outside was as immersive feeling as it was in the cars area but maybe that's just me. I loved staying in the cars section at AoA (even though in terms of disney movies I'm a much bigger LM fan compared to cars) but just didn't feel the extra money and location of the little mermaid rooms were worth it unless I had a little girl who lived and breathed ariel.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

I never stayed in the LM rooms or AoA at all, but I was in wdw 2 weeks ago, stayed at POR and my friends were staying at AoA in a LM room. They loved the theming, but they said the room was so small and the walk to the food court and buses was long. I did go there one night to check out the area, their room and we had dinner at the food court. The food court was fantastic, but the room is small (even for 3 people). The walk to their room was long and they were in building 9 (the closest one on the map I think). The theming and grounds were awesome. I walked into the lobby and it was just amazing! I would also suggest springing for an upgrade to one of the suites - The Lion King area looks awesome!

 

[surfsupdon]

You are in for a culture shock. I am a Deluxe snob and I just returned from a stay at AoA because it was the only Resort available on such late notice.

The food court, however, was far superior to any Deluxe counter service location. Great "make-your-own" selections and great variety.

You will enjoy yourself, and have a nice trip, but you will notice the differences from that of a Deluxe, most notably for me--no towels at pool and no quiet pool. The rooms are very basic too. But they are functional.

 

[Tom P.]

You are in for a culture shock. I am a Deluxe snob and I just returned from a stay at AoA because it was the only Resort available on such late notice.

The food court, however, was far superior to any Deluxe counter service location. Great "make-your-own" selections and great variety.

You will enjoy yourself, and have a nice trip, but you will notice the differences from that of a Deluxe, most notably for me--no towels at pool and no quiet pool. The rooms are very basic too. But they are functional.

Art of Animation has two quiet pools -- the Cozy Cone pool in the Cars section and the Flippin' Fins pool in the Little Mermaid section -- in addition to the main pool (the Big Blue Pool).

 

[MissingDisney]

Art of Animation has two quiet pools -- the Cozy Cone pool in the Cars section and the Flippin' Fins pool in the Little Mermaid section -- in addition to the main pool (the Big Blue Pool).

There is no such thing as a "quiet pool" in reality, at a value resort. The place is filled with kids and families, understandably so. The only difference in the less loud pools is that they lack the mid-day "party". If that qualifies as quiet, er, ok.

 

[surfsupdon]

There is no such thing as a "quiet pool" in reality, at a value resort. The place is filled with kids and families, understandably so. The only difference in the less loud pools is that they lack the mid-day "party". If that qualifies as quiet, er, ok.

I would tend to agree. I know that AoA had 2 pools in addition to their "feature pool," but neither of them were quiet, and they are right out in the middle of a main thoroughfare.

Check out the quiet pools at BoardWalk and Yacht Club, to see a true relaxing, quiet pool. We have had great experiences with both remaining quiet on many, many vacations.

 

[Tom P.]

According to Disney, however, both of those are classified as quiet pools, and are supposed to be subject to the same rules regarding noisy activity. Whether or not that is enforced is another matter, but that is how Disney classifies them.

 

[MissingDisney]

Just like Disney classifies AoA as a value resort but the majority of the rooms cost as much as a deluxe.

 

[GoTheDistance]

Just like Disney classifies AoA as a value resort but the majority of the rooms cost as much as a deluxe.

I mean, if Disney weren't charging more $$$ for an extra bathroom, a separate bedroom, a mini kitchen and overall accommodations for up to 6, I'd be confused? I don't think AOA is overpriced, it comes in cheaper than having to get two separate rooms at most places and you don't have to worry about whether or not the rooms will be close together. TLM rooms are priced in line with the other values.

 

[Dad 2 M & M]

We just returned from a split AoA Pop Century trip. AoA TLM is the same room as Pop, albeit much fresher/nicer furnishings. The room is small, and the bath room is cramped (if TLM room is any bigger than Pop, I couldn't tell). The AoA dresser/TV stand was wired for USB/phone charging, and Pop is not.
As far as distance from the food court, TLM rooms are a hop, though a pleasant walk through nice themed areas. Busing was fine and we had zero issues. I will say, the walk from Pop 70s area to the AoA food court didn't seem any further than from our TLM room. See pic below; lines in yellow are Pop/TLM, red are walking distance from Each to AoA Food Court.

The Food Court....well any resort Food Court in the A.M. IS BRUTAL!! If you're not there before 7:30, and you are wanting to buy/credit a hot breakfast, you are in for a less than Magical wait!

As far as culture shock, I wouldn't expect any with your previous All Star stays. We have stayed at each All-Star, and have yet to have a shared bus (we have stayed during peak and slow periods). Not sure when the All Star shared busing occurs, but it must not be often and even wonder if it is an Urban Legend. For anyone concerned with this issue, I recommend staying at Music, as it is a short walk from any of the other All Star Resorts.

AoA is the nicest Value Resort and the Standard Pricing (Non - Discounted) Pricing is about $15 - $25 per night more than the other Value Resorts. We are staying at Coronado (1st time at this resort) the 1st week of December, and will be staying at AoA for one weekday night; the price for AoA is $126 vs $114 for Pop........AoA is worth the extra $12 when comparing to Pop.

 

[surfsupdon]

I mean, if Disney weren't charging more $$$ for an extra bathroom, a separate bedroom, a mini kitchen and overall accommodations for up to 6, I'd be confused? I don't think AOA is overpriced, it comes in cheaper than having to get two separate rooms at most places and you don't have to worry about whether or not the rooms will be close together. TLM rooms are priced in line with the other values.

I just think the rooms should fit, or have, more permanent bed/ bedrooms. AoA has a locked off queen bedroom, but the other two beds are your couch and your kitchen table. That is a super tight fit for 6. I commend Disney for getting Value style suites, but wish they kept half the suite as a standard hotel room (2 queen beds plus bathroom) and the other side have 1 queen bed, and the kitchen/living space where the other bed would go, and then the 2nd bathroom in the rear.

 

[Tom P.]

Just like Disney classifies AoA as a value resort but the majority of the rooms cost as much as a deluxe.

But do they, really? Yes, I know people have sticker shock when they see pricing at Art of Animation, but think about what you are getting.

Where else on property do you get a single resort room that can sleep six? About the only other place you could accomplish that would be to get a 2 bedroom villa at one of the DVC properties, or to get one of the very limited number of suites at some of the resorts. In either case, you're looking at spending a pretty penny to get those accommodations. In all other cases, you'd be looking at booking two rooms to accommodate that number of people which, again, prices you far above the cost of a suite at AoA. As @GoTheDistance pointed out above, when you consider what you're getting, AoA definitely comes in cheaper.