Honest opinion on Aoa?

ctcdisneymama

Active Member
Original Poster
We decided that in early 2020 we will be taking our daughter (she will be 2) to Disney. Normally we stay at POR or POFQ but was thinking about changing it up for this trip. For anyone that has stayed at AoA, particularly the Little Mermaid area, how is it? I love the theme and I'm sure it will be a hit with a young child, but how are the amenities and location?
 

ToTBellHop

Well-Known Member
We decided that in early 2020 we will be taking our daughter (she will be 2) to Disney. Normally we stay at POR or POFQ but was thinking about changing it up for this trip. For anyone that has stayed at AoA, particularly the Little Mermaid area, how is it? I love the theme and I'm sure it will be a hit with a young child, but how are the amenities and location?
Amenities will be a step down from Port Orleans (smaller beds, smaller room, more basic pool). Certainly when compared with French Quarter, you will notice the walk to Little Mermaid is pretty far, especially with a stroller, and while Riverside is huge, at least you have local bus stops.

I personally don't actually see a reason to pay the AoA mark-up given what you get. The rooms at Pop Century were redone recently, have larger beds for the grown-ups, and I prefer the food court. It is completely ridiculous that AoA costs a good $50 more/night than the All-Stars, too.

By 2020, you'll have the Skyliner to get to Epcot and DHS (and no buses). It's up to you to decide whether that is a plus or a minus.
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
We decided that in early 2020 we will be taking our daughter (she will be 2) to Disney. Normally we stay at POR or POFQ but was thinking about changing it up for this trip. For anyone that has stayed at AoA, particularly the Little Mermaid area, how is it? I love the theme and I'm sure it will be a hit with a young child, but how are the amenities and location?
I think changing it up is never a bad thing, but having stayed at the places you have before as well as aoa here are my thoughts.
AOA is really bright and big. Your daughter will probably be able to grasp its theme easier than that southern bayou theme at POR that said. It's very crowded. The big blue pool is neat but it's so crowded its not relaxing at all especially with a small one. There is not much shade at the resort either. I would go with POR or French Quarter with a slight edge to FQ. You have a smaller resort that is easier with a child, there and it's a little more whimsical in my opinion than Riverside being that it has the lifesize dancing alligators and the dragon slide. As for rooms though you could go all out with a princess room at POR that might be a similar price to AOA
 

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
The rooms are really small, IMO claustrophobic-small for a party bigger than say 2, and look like they're specifically for children as opposed to a family...though I'm aware some families find it charming and whimsical
The food court is cacophonous and inefficient, even when we arrived at an off-peak time to get lunch (close to 2pm) it took far too long for us all to get our food. The noise level was so ridiculous that, the next morning, I braved the walk to get our breakfast "to go" and bring it back to the room while my wife and daughters got ready for the day.
The pools, especially "Big Blue," are pretty cool, despite a lack of water slides.
My kids enjoyed our hike around the ground to see the statues, and the pool, but they have expressed no desire to go back. If I got an incredibly good deal on a suite, and if I had my own car so I could drive to the other resorts, eat at their restaurants and avoid AoA's food court, maybe.
 

ctcdisneymama

Active Member
Original Poster
Thank you all for the advice. I considered it for the theme but now hearing your honest opinions I may just stick to my tried and true since we have always had such wonderful experiences there.

Thank you!
 

Amos1784

Well-Known Member
If you have found something you love I would recommend staying with that. We are huge fans of Old Key West and then if we stay Value Pop is our go to. We have stayed many other places and always wish we would have just stuck with those two because they feel "home" to us.

AOA I think is only worth it if you are looking for a "reasonable" suite. Little Mermaid rooms are far from everything and have not been refurbished in quite some time. POR and POFQ have much more of a resort feel to me that I think you would miss out on at AOA.
 

Thecorsi4

Active Member
We love AOA. I will say that we have never stayed in the little mermaid rooms. Always been in what they call a junior suit.
 

blobula

Member
We just returned from a trip in which we stayed at AoA for two nights in the Little Mermaid section and then moved over to POFQ for 5 nights. In hindsight I would stay at POFQ the entire time. Yes, the kids loved the theming, but it's not like we were there a lot or walking around the resort constantly. They just loved the pool no matter if it was AoA or POFQ.

The little mermaid rooms are a long way from the food court! I think a refillable mug area in the little mermaid section would be awesome.

POFQ was the perfect resort and definitely a step up.
 

ctcdisneymama

Active Member
Original Poster
My idea was taking our daughter, who will be 2, for her first time and staying at AoA strictly for the themeing. We love the FQ resorts though so I wasn't sure if making the switch would even be worth it. We'd be back and forth at the resort, I imagine, so the pool and food court are big factors.
 

BASS

Well-Known Member
I'll echo what's been said above.

The theming is better for a two year old. It's very bright, colorful and whimsical.

That said, having stayed at both options, IMO, Port Orleans is highly preferred. I found Art of Animation absurdly busy. There was a constant commotion at the hotel. I prefer at least some semblance of a vacation [while on vacation!]; the resort feels as hectic as the park itself. At Port Orleans, the resort tends to be much quieter, which provides a nice contrast from the parks. I also found the bus situation at Art of Animation less desirable than Port Orleans.
 

ctcdisneymama

Active Member
Original Poster
I'll echo what's been said above.

The theming is better for a two year old. It's very bright, colorful and whimsical.

That said, having stayed at both options, IMO, Port Orleans is highly preferred. I found Art of Animation absurdly busy. There was a constant commotion at the hotel. I prefer at least some semblance of a vacation [while on vacation!]; the resort feels as hectic as the park itself. At Port Orleans, the resort tends to be much quieter, which provides a nice contrast from the parks. I also found the bus situation at Art of Animation less desirable than Port Orleans.

Thanks so much! Definitely helping me look past the decor. Much appreciated!
 

Smiley/OCD

Well-Known Member
My two cents...Our family of 4 (54/50/20/18) LOVE AoA...we've been there 4 times and will be returning in 2020. I know the resort isn't for everybody, BUT having outgrown a single room at POP, AoA is now our favorite resort on property. We get a suite, it sleeps 4 comfortably, and we love the fact that you, as a guest, are immersed in all things Disney your whole vacation.

I understand that AoA and "over the top" theming are not for everyone, but we love the hustle and bustle of the resort, the enjoyment on kids faces and parents as well. I WOULD agree and suggest, that if you decide on staying at AoA, try to avoid the LM rooms and opt for one of the other locations (LK, Nemo or Cars) as they are much closer to the QS food and the bus pick up. The pool is great, the food is good and we've never had an issue with bus service. Whatever you decide, have a MAGICAL trip to the World!
 

wdwfan22

Well-Known Member
Art of Animation is a step down from Port Orleans so I wouldn't recommend it. It's a value resort and offers the same tacky décor as the other value resorts.
 
As an elementary school teacher who absolutely loves The Little Mermaid movie, I found AoA to be really cute and visually appealing when we stayed there back in 2014. The theming is really great and I was glad that we stayed there for a change. That being said- the rest of my family did not share my love for this resort. Lol! The food court was extremely busy and very, very far away from the mermaid section. The main pool although very nice to look at (as was mentioned above) was too busy to actually relax at. And after hearing about the hype over the underwater music that plays I purposely went under water to listen only to hear no music and come up covered with water that appeared to me to be very “sweaty & suntan lotion filled” lol! :depressed: (Which probably had a lot to do with the fact that it was June, crazy hot, and the pool was totally slammed with people.) But the clencher for my family to not ever stay there again was the extremely far walk from each of the park gates to the AoA bus stop and then the additional lengthy walk from the AoA bus drop off to our room. A Disney vacation already includes a great deal of walking. At the end of a long day, nothing was worse then walking to the very last bus stop to go “home.” Hope that this was a help. I don’t often comment on the boards though I do LOVE reading them. Lol! No matter what though- you’re going to Disney and going to have a great time no matter where you stay!
 
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Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
I found AoA to be possibly the most annoying theme park resort in Orlando. The aesthetic is garish, the cacophony of knee high screaming snot monsters is deafening, and they beat you stupid with "the brand".

It is everything that people who ABSOLUTELY refuse to go to WDW think it will be like.
 
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REG Glenn

Member
Remember Pop Century and AoA connect with a bridge, which is soon to have the gondola in the middle of the bridge. Sounds pretty cool. However, being that both of these resorts are huge, I can only imagine how long the lines for this skyway will be. May be best to avoid this resort, and stay with what you know. I love Riverside.
 

LUVofDIS

Well-Known Member
I understand that AoA and "over the top" theming are not for everyone, but we love the hustle and bustle of the resort, the enjoyment on kids faces and parents as well. I WOULD agree and suggest, that if you decide on staying at AoA, try to avoid the LM rooms and opt for one of the other locations (LK, Nemo or Cars) as they are much closer to the QS food and the bus pick up. The pool is great, the food is good and we've never had an issue with bus service. Whatever you decide, have a MAGICAL trip to the World!

Of the values, I like AoA the best, even with the refurbished rooms at Pop and Movies. We have only stayed in the LM rooms, there is only two of us so it makes sense. I did not find the walk to be bad or long, but my wife did complain on more than one occasion. Of course I am always trying to break a step record, therefore longer walks work for me. The food here is very good, especially compared to the other values. I did many different dishes and though they were not five star they were fresh and tasty.

The only real problem I have with this resort and the other values are the buses. We normally stay at a deluxe and the single biggest reason we will keep going back to those is because of transportation. Though this is not a deal breaker for us. The value bus system has been terrible for us, mostly at the end of the night trying to get back. Though in September I may have discovered a cure, we started to close the park and stay about an hour after closing, where we normally leave right at close. The only time we had an issue was HS, we were the only people in the Pop line but AoA needed two buses. The bus driver ended up having us get on the second AoA bus and took us to Pop. We still had to stand. All in all we like AoA and will probably go back, we normally do Disney at least twice a year.

By the way, the reason I started to stay after close was to get pictures with little to no people around.
 

Club Cooloholic

Well-Known Member
I found AoA to be possibly the most annoying theme park resort in Orlando. The aesthetic is garish, the cacophony of knee high screaming snot monsters is deafening, and they beat you stupid with "the brand".

It is everything that people who ABSOLUTELY refuse to go to WDW think it will be like.
Lol. Why would you ever want to stay there if you hate being around little kids? It is a resort aimed at families with young kids. You do realize there was a time YOU were one of those monsters.
 

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