Art of Animation Questions (first timer in WDW)

[Michelle Angela]

hi! My family of 4 will be in AofA from 11/17-11/20 to celebrate my daughter's 7th bday. We will be staying in Little Mermaid Room (we are on a budget). I read in other reviews that u can request view/or room preference. We will only rely on the magic express and disney buses and I read that it's a long walk from mermaid room to where the bus stop picks up guests. My questions are:

1. What is the best room to request that will be near the bus stop?

2. Do they have a website where I can see the bus schedule in AofA ahead of time?

Thank you!

 

[disnerd]

I may be wrong but since you are staying in the Little Mermaid rooms, it won't matter if you request a specific room. The little mermaid rooms are in their own building which will be in building number 7, 8, or 9. There is a map here:http://www.wdwmagic.com/resorts/dis...2012-disney’s-art-of-animation-resort-map.htm

That will show you where the Little Mermaid rooms are in relation to the bus stops

2. I have not found an online bus schedule but once you check in at the front desk, they can either give you a schedule or tell you how to find out (I forgot what they gave us when I was there in July)

Anyway I hope this helps. Have a wonderful vacation!

 

[Disneydreamer23]

1. Little Mermaid is pretty far but the extra 3 minute walk depending on room wont really matter they are all pretty close together

2. The busses come every 20-30 minutes its not a set schedule you either get really lucky or not. There have been times ( not at AOA) I have gotten to a stop and the bus just left so I have had to wait 30 minutes.
Hope this Helps and Have fun!

 

[Victoria]

The whole Little Mermaid section is far from everything but the buildings themselves are close together so being in one building versus another doesn't make much difference. The last time I stayed there we happened to get the room that is the closest possible room to the rest of the resort (first floor, corner room of the closest Mermaid building) and the walk to that room didn't feel any better than the walk to the room I had the previous trip there.

As for the buses, there is no set schedule for them. They theoretically run every 20 minutes. During the busy morning and evening times the buses seem to come more frequently. During the middle of the day you're likely to wait the actual 20-30 minutes for a bus.

 

[ratherbeinwdw]

hi! My family of 4 will be in AofA from 11/17-11/20 to celebrate my daughter's 7th bday. We will be staying in Little Mermaid Room (we are on a budget). I read in other reviews that u can request view/or room preference. We will only rely on the magic express and disney busses and I read that it's a long walk from mermaid room to where the bus stop picks up guests. My questions are:

1. What is the best room to request that will be near the bus stop?

2. Do they have a website where I can see the bus schedule in AofA ahead of time?

Thank you!

Ask for either building 7 or 9 with a room nearest the Lion King Suites. I wish I could remember the number of our son's room. He stays in Mermaid. We stay in the suites. We did stay in the Mermaid section the day it opened. We were in the very last room at the back of building 8, and I thought I would never make it back to the room after a long, hot day at the parks. There really is a difference having to walk all the way to the back part of building 8 compared to the ends of 7 and 9 nearest Animation Hall or Lion King.
Also, make sure and walk up the middle. If you try to walk around the outside sidewalk, it is much further. The busses come as quickly as every 15 minutes to up to 30+ minutes. The average wait for us was 15 minutes getting to the parks, but coming back at night can take 30 minutes to an hour, if you wait until after the parade or close to closing time.
We love this resort. The food court has lots of healthy options for us. Make sure and get there early in the mornings. It can get really crowded. We liked to run get our food and bring it back to the room to eat. Even when it was very crowded, the waits weren't very bad. Some mornings, there was no line at all. But, we are early birds.

 

[JourneysEnd]

hi! My family of 4 will be in AofA from 11/17-11/20 to celebrate my daughter's 7th bday. We will be staying in Little Mermaid Room (we are on a budget). I read in other reviews that u can request view/or room preference. We will only rely on the magic express and disney buses and I read that it's a long walk from mermaid room to where the bus stop picks up guests. My questions are:

1. What is the best room to request that will be near the bus stop?

2. Do they have a website where I can see the bus schedule in AofA ahead of time?

Thank you!

Here's a map, if that helps. http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/maps/gallery/13nov2013-new-look-2013-resort-hotel-maps/19868.htm

 

[Michelle Angela]

Thank you for all the replies!