AOA ?

[NEL]

Hello Everyone,

I just booked AOA for a lomg weekend during spring break, I know it will be crazy busy. I have never stayed at AOA, although I have stayed pretty much at every other Resort at WDW. Soooooo, I am looking for reviews, information, tips, and just general assistance. I am staying at the Little Mermaid section since it will only be 3 of us, me, my wife, and my 5 year old son. My main concerns are first of all distance from food court and bus stops. I have read a few reviews stating it was a long walk. Second is food at the food court, upon first inspection of menus it seems like it is all healthy fare. I am not one to look for "healthy" food while on vacation, I want the good stuff. I specificly saw that for children they had listes "wheat mickey waffles" and saw no regular, this would definitly not go well with my 5 year old so I hope they have the option of regular. Third, I keep reading that apparently the AC in the room is motion control therefore it gets hot when you are not in the room and when you are sleeping, any truth to this or any ideas how to bypass it. ALso interested in the activities they offer at the resort. Any and all help and information is welcome and appreciated.

Thank You,

 

[JustInTime]

I think if your 5 year old isn't not going to allow a "wheat" mickey waffle to fly, you should spank him. Otherwise, I think you'll have a blast.

 

[melmood2000]

The little mermaid rooms are the furthest way like you said, however the theming is awesome. The food court does have many healthy options, but they also have the burgers and pizza and pasta options. I'm not sure about the kids breakfast but I do know that the regular size Mickey waffles are regular not wheat waffles. If you like the food court at pop they are right across the bridge you could even take the bus from the parks to pop and eat then walk back across the bridge to your room. I noticed the first few days we were at AOA when we returned to our room the AC was set at 75,we like to keep it at 70. My guess was the maids turn it up I didn't think about it being automatic because after we kept turning it down it stayed at 70 for the rest of our week. They do offer some activities for the kids in the afternoon around the main pool. They also offered nightly movies outside in the lion king section, they would move pool chairs out to sit on,you should get a schedule when you check in that lists the movies and the times the pool games start.

Although the long walk to the mermaid rooms was a bummer for us I loved the theming, the bus stops have shade cover, you don't share buses with any other resort and you could take the pop bus if you wanted to walk back over the bridge. The shop at AOA was great with a large selection of merchandise. The food court was sectioned off nicely so you don't feel like you are eating in a school cafeteria.
Any other questions just ask.

 

[DRC68]

If the wheat waffles shaped like Mickey aren't gonna fly with Jr., don't get the waffles. Chances are, he won't care once the syrup's on em'.

 

[popcenturylover]

The little mermaid rooms are the furthest way like you said, however the theming is awesome. The food court does have many healthy options, but they also have the burgers and pizza and pasta options. I'm not sure about the kids breakfast but I do know that the regular size Mickey waffles are regular not wheat waffles. If you like the food court at pop they are right across the bridge you could even take the bus from the parks to pop and eat then walk back across the bridge to your room. I noticed the first few days we were at AOA when we returned to our room the AC was set at 75,we like to keep it at 70. My guess was the maids turn it up I didn't think about it being automatic because after we kept turning it down it stayed at 70 for the rest of our week. They do offer some activities for the kids in the afternoon around the main pool. They also offered nightly movies outside in the lion king section, they would move pool chairs out to sit on,you should get a schedule when you check in that lists the movies and the times the pool games start.

Although the long walk to the mermaid rooms was a bummer for us I loved the theming, the bus stops have shade cover, you don't share buses with any other resort and you could take the pop bus if you wanted to walk back over the bridge. The shop at AOA was great with a large selection of merchandise. The food court was sectioned off nicely so you don't feel like you are eating in a school cafeteria.
Any other questions just ask.

Melmood pretty much answered your questions. We had a split stay at AOA/Pop last September & we thought that POP's busing was much more efficient. Their stops were usually right next to each other so, if you end up waiting too long for AOA's bus you can just jump over to POP's & stroll right back through the resort to AOA. Also, at the Nemo pool during the day they have activities for the kids. We played Bingo while we were sitting around the pool.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

The walk is very long if you go around on the sidewalk. If you cut through the pool area through the Lion King play area and then through the lobby, if really cuts the walk a lot. The reason it's so far the other way is there is an long island area by the bus stop which you have to walk around to get to the sidewalk on the other side. They really need a cut-through there.
The rooms are tiny as are the beds, but they are really cute. They have a nice size safe. It's much, much bigger than at PORS and other mods. It did get hot in the room at night. I would get up and lower the temp, but it was probably the act of moving around in the room that turned it back on. The rooms are noisy; very noisy, i.e. crying babies, toilets flushing and people coming in very late. As to the toilet, your son will like it because it's really short. It's not so short it will be too short for an adult, unless you are very tall. It's great for the younger ones to be able to use the toilet without lots of assistance.
We are staying in the Cars Suites in April, and I will be bringing my earplugs. We have also requested a fourth floor room, at least we won't hear the noise above us, only beside and behind.
We had to have a separate bedroom this trip as my daughter's boyfriend is going with us, and the price was the best we could get, so we're going back. We would prefer PORS because of the things above.
We do love the theming and a child will be in heaven here. Even the little playground by the Nemo pool is themed. The cars replicas are the cutest things ever. Don't miss going over there. The food court has some healthy, but mostly typical resort foods.

 

[NEL]

The little mermaid rooms are the furthest way like you said, however the theming is awesome. The food court does have many healthy options, but they also have the burgers and pizza and pasta options. I'm not sure about the kids breakfast but I do know that the regular size Mickey waffles are regular not wheat waffles. If you like the food court at pop they are right across the bridge you could even take the bus from the parks to pop and eat then walk back across the bridge to your room. I noticed the first few days we were at AOA when we returned to our room the AC was set at 75,we like to keep it at 70. My guess was the maids turn it up I didn't think about it being automatic because after we kept turning it down it stayed at 70 for the rest of our week. They do offer some activities for the kids in the afternoon around the main pool. They also offered nightly movies outside in the lion king section, they would move pool chairs out to sit on,you should get a schedule when you check in that lists the movies and the times the pool games start.

Although the long walk to the mermaid rooms was a bummer for us I loved the theming, the bus stops have shade cover, you don't share buses with any other resort and you could take the pop bus if you wanted to walk back over the bridge. The shop at AOA was great with a large selection of merchandise. The food court was sectioned off nicely so you don't feel like you are eating in a school cafeteria.
Any other questions just ask.

Thanks for all the information. For this trip I am interested more in the resort activities than usual. Since it is spring break the parks are going to be packed and therefore we will probably just be in the parks early morning or in teh evenings and spend the rest of the day at the resort. There was very little difference between AOA and Pop or teh Allstars so I decided to try this once since its new. But just wanted to know as much info anf tips as possible.

 

[NEL]

I think if your 5 year old isn't not going to allow a "wheat" mickey waffle to fly, you should spank him. Otherwise, I think you'll have a blast.

Well I am not going to punish him for something I would not like either. Honestly when I order wafles, I am not looking for a healthy option, especially while I am on vacation.Regardless I dont want to turn this into a waffle thread, lol.