Honest opinion on Aoa?

[Disneyhead'71]

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.

I only stayed there once. I won't stay there again. Yes, AoA is aimed at families with kids, but the size of AoA means there are a LOT of kids.

And yes, I do realize that at one point in time, I was a kid. It was the early 60s, and kids acted different back then. When I stayed at The Poly at Christmas 1971, I was 8 and it had to wear slacks and a polo during the day, and a blazer for dinner. When my kids were young (late 90s/early 00s), we didn't allow them to run amok like screaming banshees in public places except at the pool area where playing is to be expected. They didn't do it in the food court. There is a time and place for everything. Including reining the kids in a bit.

 

[Paper straw fan]

I like AoA. Granted we do the same switch at times (Pop Century or Port Orleans) but I enjoy the sights and sounds, and young kids seem to really be enamored with everything there. My 2 cents, if you think the kid is going to like it, and you aren’t spending tons of time in the room, consider it at least

 

[The Empress Lilly]

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.

Finding myself in desperate need of a Mermaid fix last trip, I ate at the AoA Food Court then strolled around a bit. Just indulging my inner WDW nerd. The FC has some really neat décor, one area is Mermaid themed. But a bit abstracted, much might be lost on a two year old.

I didn't stay there, I was just injecting some Mermaid into my system. If you don't mind getting around from resort to resort you could have your cake and eat it too this way.

AoA's Mermaid pool is a zoo. Loud and crowded.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I only stayed there once. I won't stay there again. Yes, AoA is aimed at families with kids, but the size of AoA means there are a LOT of kids.

AoA's Mermaid pool is a zoo. Loud and crowded.

We stayed once and the Mermaid pool was actually pretty quiet, but the lifeguards at the time were terrible. First one said my daughter could not have an inflatable pool toy(it was nothing big about the size of a beach ball) then he said she could. Then 10 minutes a different one said it was ok. Then he changed his mind after five mins and yelled at her to take it out. Lets put it this way, she was around 5 at the time and she refused to swim in that pool again she was so upset.

 

[Benjamin Linus]

I found the Mermaid rooms to be fine- they are really not that small. The beds were however a problem for me as they are both narrower and shorter than the beds at PO. The pool at AoA is pretty large and the grounds are all pretty fun. The food court and amenities are great and the experience for the buses (although back in 2015) were better actually better than what we experienced at POFQ. Overall I would definitely go again- depends if you can get a deal with free disney dining included as that would definitely swing me more towards the moderates.

 

[ctcdisneymama]

We plan on having multiple "rest" days throughout our trip where we hang out by the pool, so that's a huge factor. After reading all of your comments, it sounds like the AoA pool gets super crowded.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

We plan on having multiple "rest" days throughout our trip where we hang out by the pool, so that's a huge factor. After reading all of your comments, it sounds like the AoA pool gets super crowded.

Of course it gets crowded...it's a "VALUE" resort, geared to children and children at heart...it also depends on the time you go...we usually go in either March'April or October/November, so we really don't have an overcrowding issue.

 

[TARDIS]

We love AOA and the little mermaid rooms and we are a kid less couple. I didn’t think the pool was anymore crowded than POR was. *Though the quiet pools are,probably just because there are less of them. The walk is about 7mins so really no diff than a far room at POR (unless you never go to the food quart etc and just need a buss). For children especially it’s a great resort IMO. Biggest thing that bugs me is that the price isn’t much less a night than POR or POFQ and there isn’t a coffee maker in room.

I will say we enjoy changing things up and trying new resorts but about every other year I end up back at AOA, I love the very Disney! feeling you get there.

 

[tomast]

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!

I went to Pop century this year and booked a preferred room, it was really close to the lobby and recently redone. I think you have the same experience than in the AoA and its a bit cheaper.

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

There is more shade at POR around the pool, if that is a consideration. When my kiddo was younger, she loved the arcade at AoA and they have drawing classes too that are fun. There might be a scavenger hunt now too. We stayed in Nemo the week resort opens and in Mermaid a few months later at Christmas. I didn’t find the walk to the room bad, but I wasn’t carrying a little kid or stroller either.

 

[ctcdisneymama]

We actually don't mind walking. When we stay at POR we stay in the bayou all the way by the West Depot so it's quite a hike to the food court. But the resort is so beautiful we love walking through it on the way to the food court.

Was looking for info on how the food court is, room amenities, and buses are. If we stay at POR we always request rooms near the West Depot for the convenience of being the first stop.