Art of Animation

JasonDeyoung

JasonDeyoung

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Disney Ron said:
You'll be staying in the Little Mermaid section as we did. Nice room and the resort on a whole we absolutely loved. Would stay there again without hesitation. Food court was excellent. Pools were great. We have nothing bad to say about this resort so hopefully you'll have a great time.
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Awesome! Thanks so much, pretty excited
 
MRGEFF

MRGEFF

Well-Known Member
We're taking the grandsons in April for their second visit to WDW. Can't wait to get there after hearing the good comments here about AoA
 
mf1972

mf1972

Well-Known Member
only negative thing I can say is something AOA shared with pop. I guess since they're the most popular value resorts, lines for buses were huge when leaving Epcot or MK at night.
with most guests heading for the buses, one should expect it. thankfully, buses did show up frequently for both resorts. this was last October.
 
Disneyfreak Jen

Disneyfreak Jen

Well-Known Member
Property is very Disney themed, characters statues all over. Food court is good, they have a bit more adult food variety, my fave is the Caprese sandwich. One thing to remember is that since it connects via the bridge at the back of the property (you'll see it on the map) is that if you're in the parks and your AoA bus line is long but POP is short, jump on the POP bus.

You can also walk over to POP to use their food court too, which is great, and you get to experience a different resort. I haven't stayed at AoA, but I've stayed at POP multiple times and enjoyed their food court and occasionally used their bus.
 
disneyfirstLJ

disneyfirstLJ

Well-Known Member
My daughter and I have stayed at AoA in the Little Mermaid section in 2014 and 2015. We will be heading back to WDW in 7 days and staying there again. We just love this resort. You should request to be in building 7 (by the lake) or building 9 (near the Lion King section and near the parking lot). These rooms are closer to the main hub of the resort. A negative for a lot of folks is that the Little Mermaid section is a bit of a walk from the food court and buses. Be prepared for that. It didn't bother us at all but it can be tiring after a long day or a pain for a cup a coffee in the morning. Personally, I liked the early morning walk to get me going for the day. The rooms are standard but they are themed so well. Our rooms have always been well taken care of and comfortable. The food court is great and we find ourselves eating there more then any place else. The buses are quick (every 10-15 minutes) and we never had an issue with transportation. The pools are fun and we actually enjoyed the Cozy Cone pool because it was quiet.

Have a great trip. I think you will love the resort.
 
ratherbeinwdw

ratherbeinwdw

Well-Known Member
We've stayed at AoA so many times now, that I've lost count. We did take a little break, when it was just my daughter and me and stayed at Poly and Beach Club. We can only do that when there's only two or three of us. When we need two bathrooms, we always go to AoA. It's much less expensive than two rooms at a mod or deluxe. I usually put two in the Mermaid rooms and three of us in a suite. If there's only four of us or all female, then we all stay in one suite.
During peak times, you will wait much longer for a bus than you do at other times. Coming back after the parade or fireworks can take a very long time and the bus stop at each park is as far away from the entrance as you can get. So just be prepared and you'll be fine. When we had an early ressie at 'Ohana in December, we took a bus to DHS(which had 7 a.m. early hours) and caught a van to the Poly. The bus wasn't running that early. They sent a van instead. We lucked up and got there about one minute before the van drove up. It was so much faster than the bus, and the driver dropped us right at the door. When we have a ressie at the Poly, GF, or CR, after park opening, we just take the bus straight to MK and walk, boat or monorail.
The food court at AoA has a large variety of food. It was frustrating that they had changed their opening time from 6 a.m. to 7a.m, but still had the old time posted. We like to eat really early and get to a park before the crowds. I asked if the time change was permanent, and the cm said as far as she knew, it was. I hope when we get there in May that it's back to 6 a.m. opening.
Some of the rooms are in terrible need of the carpet being cleaned. We turned down the first room they gave us in December because the carpet smelled like skunk. It was terrible. Our next room was fine. So don't accept a room that has a problem, even if they tell you it's the last room they have--which they did to us. Then, miracle, another room was available. The cm actually said to me, "This really is the last room." At first, he tried to get us to stay in the stinky room for the night, and he would move us the next day. I told him there was no way I could sleep in that smell. He sent a manager up there to check. She came back and told him there was a problem and for him to find a place to move us.
The second room was exactly what I had requested online, and clean with no horrible smell.
 
Disneysea05

Disneysea05

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
We did one night in a Lion King suite before our Disney Cruise. Loved it! The Landscape of Flavors food court was also a very nice surprise. Lots of good stuff to choose from.
 
Ariel4711

Ariel4711

Member
mf1972 said:
only negative thing I can say is something AOA shared with pop. I guess since they're the most popular value resorts, lines for buses were huge when leaving Epcot or MK at night.
with most guests heading for the buses, one should expect it. thankfully, buses did show up frequently for both resorts. this was last October.
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Interesting -- when we were there in December the buses were not shared. We had dedicated buses for AOA, and never had any issues using them.
 

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