The ins and outs of AOA

[jenluvswdw]

Hello WDW friends!! I am pretty sure my family of 5 and I have decided on AOA for our next trip end of August 2016!! Just wondering if any of you have who have stayed there have any tips or can give me the good, bad and not too ugly of the resort. Thanks in advance!!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'd stay out of the Nemo section. I've only stated in Cars but it was really nice having a "quiet" pool away from the madness of the main one.

Your food court is a good one. Lots of options.

 

[amysue22]

I stayed in the lion king section, we loved it!
We weren't huge fans of the food court and if eating at resort tended to walk over to POP, it's a nice walk over. Not to long and great views of both resorts.

 

[Scott10]

We stayed in the Little Mermaid section and loved it. So many photo ops with our kids! They loved the big blue pool and the music piped in under water! The stroll through the Cars section was so much fun.....it is very well done and puts you in Radiator Springs! Enjoy!!!

 

[LAM378]

I really love AoA. I prefer the Nemo building because it's convenient to Animation Hall; be prepared for some long walks if you're staying in another section. But make it a point to walk all around AoA in the daytime and nighttime...everything is beautifully lit at night.

I like the food at Landscape of Flavors but more often than not it's a zoo. It can take FOREVER to get your food, since everything is freshly prepared (or at least freshly plated), and multiple stations means waiting in line multiple times. Try to eat your meals there at off times. I like the Pop food court better, like Amysue upthread...it's worth the really nice walk over there. Have fun!!

 

[4disneylovers]

We lovedd Nemo. Have read many people say Little Mermaid to far to walk. Friend of ours took the walk from cars to mermaid one morning and said it was horrible.

Music underwater in main pool is awesome. My son loves the make your own pasta. Consider buying a whole pizza. Very cost effective.

I swear our bathroom in nemo was larger than cars. This is by far our favorite resort. Suite is wonderful if you can swing it

 

[Scott10]

I don't know if it is just my family or what.....but, we never thought anything about the walk back to our room in the Little Mermaid section. I think we have just programmed our minds that when at Disney, just keep walking, just keep walking!!!

But make it a point to walk all around AoA in the daytime and nighttime...everything is beautifully lit at night.

Great point about both day and night --- the resort is beautiful during both and photo ops abound!!!

 

[jenluvswdw]

We definitely will need to stay in a suite. We are a family of 5 and there is a big difference in ages. 16-2 yr old.

 

[LAM378]

I don't know if it is just my family or what.....but, we never thought anything about the walk back to our room in the Little Mermaid section. I think we have just programmed our minds that when at Disney, just keep walking, just keep walking!!!

I absolutely LOVE walking around WDW, but I'm the family's "runner"--when somebody needs something from the food court or the front desk or all the way out in the darned car, I'm the one to go get it. I took a million walks from the far end of the Mater building to LoF to fill mugs last May and I was so over that walk by the time we checked out . I wish they'd put refill stations in the wings!

We definitely will need to stay in a sweet. We are a family of 5 and there is a big difference in ages. 16-2 yr old.

If you're on the fence about which suite theme to choose, I'd go with Nemo. We had an awesome location last year in building 5, where it juts out towards Animation Hall. We were right at the end of that hallway and the staircase was just outside our door, making it very easy to pop over to AH or to the Big Blue Pool.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

I stay OUT of AOA. Took the kids over to see the over-sized statues and the pool area when they opened though...very nicely themed, but crazy.

 

[DABIGCHEEZ]

We definitely will need to stay in a sweet. We are a family of 5 and there is a big difference in ages. 16-2 yr old.

How big is that Cupcake?

 

[popcenturylover]

We stayed at AOA in the LM rooms a week after they opened in Sept 12'. While the walk wasn't horrible. It's also not great. ESPECIALLY, for someone who needs about a half pot of coffee just to wake up!!!

 

[SyracuseDisneyFan]

I stayed at AoA in October of 2012. We stayed in The Lion King section. I loved the theme and the food court had some good options.

 

[patch553]

weve stayed in the little mermaid twice, yes it is bit of a walk to the food court but its nice to walk through the lion king section,the quite pool is real nice too. somehow the last time we stayed at AoA we got upgraded to a cars suite which was awesome. we loved the cars section themeing but wouldn't think twice about staying anywhere at AoA its a great resort with great pools,themeing and food hall,enjoy

 

[Disneyfreak Jen]

I haven't stayed there, but I've stayed across the lake at POP and have spent time wandering around to check it out. The theming is great. Food court is nice, I've walked over there to eat a few times. Their menu is a little more expansive. Fresh Mozzarella sandwich is delicious. You can do the same and head over to POP's food court too, kinda like getting 2 resorts in 1. The pool area at AoA is gated, so no one can pool hop from other resorts. For families with young kids it's great, but the theming might be too "kiddish" for adults without children or families with teens.

 

[WannaBWendy]

We have stayed at AoA twice. First time was Nemo, and the second was Lion King. We also stay there because of the size of the rooms and the 2 bathrooms. I brought a 15 year old and two 23 year olds, so that's the ONLY reason we are at AoA. We all enjoy the theme, however. I am not crazy about the food court. The food choices are sometimes odd, and it can get overwhelmingly crowded. So we also sometimes walked over to Pop to grab a bite. But there are plenty of choices in the fridges, such as fruit, and other snacks. The walk from Nemo was great. Didn't mind Lion King too much. Its Disney and we don't think about it. The pool was busy, but it was fine. Again, its Disney and you just have to know that ahead of time. The rooms are great. Lots of room and privacy. The olds can go to bed and the youngs can stay up or run to McDonald's (just down the road) without waking us up! And there's no replacement for the second bath. The fold out and the Murphy bed are actually pretty comfortable. I don't think you will be disappointed.