LOVE Art of Animation!!!! We've stayed there a few times and love the different options at the food court area! One time, we booked the cheapest(Little Mermaid) room and the cast member gave us a free upgrade to the Lion King suites(which are much closer to the big blue pool & main building!).
The only thing I hate about this resort is that Little Mermaid are the only standard rooms. I want to stay in a Cars room but I usually go solo and I’m NOT about to pay for a suite by myself
I would say those are the better resorts tbh, especially Wilderness. Although unfortunately Riveria is not that good imo, with the bland theming that is almost insulting to say is inspired by the Riveria. Nothing there evokes Riveria or gives off the feeling of it.
That is fair. You can walk around and take pictures of the resort. You just can't go to the pool. How they would know, I have no idea, but you can't swim there if you're not a guest.
As a childless adult, give me a resort that Disney threw up on. I want the full blown Disney movie experience. I didn’t work at Disney for 3 years to come back and visit for lack luster theme.
As another childfree adult, I vibe with whatever is cheapest because it’s just a bed and a shower to me. BUT if I were to book a hotel to actually spend time in it would be Wilderness Lodge. Looks stunning and relaxing, but I don’t go to Disney to relax. 😂
I absolutely loved the beautiful property with statues of our favorite characters all over, and access to the sky liner. Stayed in a Little Mermaid room this year, the room was cute, and beds were clean and comfortable, but the shower pressure was awful, and the refrigerator wasn’t cold, and had no controls. It’s Florida, you need a cold refrigerator. The food at Landscape of Flavors was pretty good. (Think cafeteria, not restaurant.) And I didn’t find the walk from my room to be unbearable, as it is a safe environment and well lit at night and the views along the paths are photo worthy! Overall, yes, I would stay there again.
Went in June with our two year old and we loved but I would have loved this if it were just my husband and I. Perhaps we are children at heart. I don’t go to Disney to stay at a luxury hotel that looks like every other hotel in the country. I love the theming and pops of color because it feels like Disney to me. We stayed in the little mermaid section and I thought the complaining about the long walk was over dramatic but then again, my husband and I walk a ton regularly.
My favorite thing about staying at AOA and Pop. Let's say it is the end of the day after Magic Kingdom Fireworks. One bus is very full, then walk over to the other bus stop since it is just a walk across the bridge to the other resort.
Thank you for reviewing the AOA, I love how there are sections representing some older films (nostalgic for momma) I'm taking my little ones this December and I'm not sure who will be more excited when we arrive my little ones or me 😆
I want to go back! The immersion of this place is magical. Food is the only con to staying here (breakfast is the best meal and same thing you get at most resorts. Lunch and dinner are okay). We didn't find it noisy but we stayed at the Little Mermaid section which didn't seem as busy like over by the Nemo section so that may be why. The walk isn't as bad as people make it out to be. We timed it 5 minutes to and from the transportation, lobby, and food and that's with us taking our time to look at the statues with an easily distracted 7 year old. The resort was clean, cast members treat you like family, and the biggest perk: The Skyliner! Our priority park was Hollywood Studios so this resort was perfect for us.
I remember staying in the cars area of my 2019 family visit, great place for a slightly lower cost and when I was there the sky liner wasn’t open but now it’s another transportation option
I love AOA. I've stayed there a couple times. Last time, I had a Mermaid room booked, but they gave us a free upgrade to a super close Nemo suite. Awesome for our girl's trip! And it smells really good in the main building.
i was a transportation cast member when this resort opened! it was one of my favorite stations to work because i always got exponentially more pin traders here than anywhere else.
Hi there! We’ll be going with my little nieces (their first Disney trip) in June and they’re interested in pin trading. Do you know - does one just ask a cast member who is wearing pins whether they’d like to trade or are there designated stations to do this?
@@MoniqueARuiz since the shutdowns there have been designated stations with boards full of pins, and no cast members wear trading lanyards anymore. it might go back to the old system by june but i would say probably not. the boards are usually in or just outside the major gift shops of each park.
We spent a week here last summer in the Cars suites. It was nice, the kids really enjoyed it. As far as it being a VALUE resort, AJ hits it on the head. Great for atmosphere, ok for food, good for transportation. The room's theming was great but the cleanliness and upkeep were very lacking from our last trip. For the price I was paying, I really didn't want to see trash in hallways, no Mousekeeping, and little to no magic from the staff.
I stayed in the Little Mermaid rooms on my visit to Disney. I'd heard so much about how far away those rooms are from everything, and honestly, I was super unimpressed by the so-called long distance. It's walkable in five minutes. However, I'd also heard that the big blue pool was super amazing, and my experience was that it was, indeed, big but unbelievably full of people and so shallow that you can't really swim in it, and the promised underwater music wasn't functioning. I'd stay there again in a heartbeat, especially because of the Skyliner access.
No kidding that to get to the Little Mermaid rooms is a long walk. We were dog-tired after walking around the parks all day only to face another long walk once we got to our hotel. The long walk doesn't go away when going to the buses because they stop at the front of the hotel too. While we had a good trip, that long unpleasant walk is always brought up when reminiscing.
Advice from first hand experience if you are staying at Art of Animation or Pop Century and you have to take the bus back to your Resort at the end of the day go ahead and hop on your sister Resorts bus if there's no room left on your own or a long wait...it's a little bit of a walk to get to your sister Resort but it's definitely walkable when I was staying at Pop Century last year I was able to jump on The Art of Animation bus because I was using a ECV/mobility scooter and the Pop Century bus didn't have any more spots for mobility scooters but the Art of Animation bus did. They don't check to see what resort you are staying at and The Skyliners smack-dab in the middle of those two Resorts anyway so just walk from the bus stop to the Skyliner & you will be able to see the backside of your Resort from there so navigating it isn't that difficult either
I DID that when staying at All Star Sports!!! If MUSIC or Movies showed up 1st, I just took that and walked. Wasn't that bad by myself cause I loved the EXERCISE. Getting stroller in n out was a task, but that's Ok
So great this video was made ! After watching tons of videos on all the resorts I had chose aoa for our vacation in October . And I’m still so happy with my choice if not more Excited 😆
Have a trip planned for next year. This is the Resort I wanted to stay at, but it priced higher than some Moderate resorts and The Contemporary. We are staying at Caribbean Beach instead since it was easier on my wallet and an "Upgrade" from Value to Moderate.
@@bridgetclement2968 those were the prices for this year, in a couple weeks from now. I haven't checked the prices they put up for next year. I would almost guarantee if you Needed a bottom floor for your Mother, they would find one for y'all. Disney is really good at accommodating needs like that.
My biggest complaint about the Art of Animation is the flooring. After a day or two walking 10+ miles at the park, I want to come back to the room, take my shoes off and walk on a soft surface. You do not get that at AOA. The floors are all hard concrete or whatever. No carpets or rugs. Hard ground…everywhere. Last time we went, my wife and I decided to stay off property and it was so much more enjoyable. Also, the Little Mermaid rooms have paper thin walls so you hear everything.
We stayed at AoA last Aug/Sep and absolutely loved it. It was just my husband and me, and I wanted to drown in Disney during my first adult Disney trip lol. The cast members were fantastic, the Skyliner is amazing and was the reason we chose AoA over others. The lack of food options did get a little old by the end of our stay (for me, my husband could have eaten the chicken strips every night lol) but we were also there for over a week. Plus it was a good excuse to go visit Disney Springs at night! AoA was everything we had wanted for our trip and did not disappoint. We're staying at Coronado Springs next Feb so I'm excited to compare the difference!
If you are dealing with any kind of mobility scooter, wheelchair, or large strollers, do not stay in The Little Mermaid. The room as are small and you might trip over the bed as soon as you open the door, never mind any accoutrement you might have hanging about in said room. If you’re nor not dealing with any of this, they are wonderfully themed and, quite nice. Keep on mind you will be the furthest from the Skyliner and the main pool If none of this s important to you, go for it.
My wife and I just stayed at the AOA Nemo Suites last month. We loved it. The suite was more like a condo than a hotel room. The proximity (from our building anyhow) to the Skyliner was delightful. The food court was certainly acceptable in our opinion. We were not sure we would like it but were pleasantly surprised.
We are currently planning our first big family Disney trip (at least a week long) next year with our kids who will be 7 and 3. This is one of the resorts we will be staying at. I'm excited! Planning on doing a split stay here then to either AKL or Wilderness Lodge. Haven't decided yet. Best part, our kids don't know yet.
AoA was the 1st WDW resort we ever stayed in & has been the one we continue to stay in when we're in a tight budget. The addition of the skyliner definitely has helped even tho it's not always reliable since weather & breakdowns sometimes affect its use. However we do love the spacious rooms & the theming throughout the resort.
Having looked at the rooms, they all seem very tacky and all over the place. I can’t imagine staying in something like that personally lol, but it must be great for the children
We're looking to take our little ones in September of 2024, They will be 10, 7 and 5 and we are saving up to stay here. We watch all the DFB videos and my daughter likes to sit in my husband lap while they watch and shes so excited to go back to Disney World (We went last June when my husband grandmother passed away and we took her ashes back to Florida) It was a stressful trip and really hot so the kids didnt have a good time, so we watch these videos and save up and hope to take them back so they can have a great experience! Thank you for your videos DFB!
We parked our stroller at The Grand Floridian for Character Breakfast and came after to find our zippered compartment attachment stolen along with the contents. If we are required to park our stroller in an almost hidden garden area, they really should have someone to monitor. Everyone loves WDW, even thieves. 😞
We are a huge Cars fans. We loved the Cars suite. It was so nice having two bathrooms since we have two teenage kids. The sky liner was awesome too. One of my kids rode the skyliner around while I packed on our last day. It’s so fun and peaceful.
We stayed at AoA last month and it was nice. It was me, my husband and our 3 kids. The youngest is 3 and he loved taking pics with all the Cars characters. And seeing thier headlights lit up at night was really cool.
We stayed at a good neighbour hotel for our honeymoon in 2017, and during a chill out day of walking round the resorts, we decided when we had kids we were staying at AoA. They are only 3 and 1 at the moment, but can't wait to take them. One thing I about bus transportation. Is it possible to get a skyliner to hollywood studios and bus to magic kingdom within a timely manner to avoid bus queue?
I will never not be mad they scrapped the other decades lol also they really need to change the word "value" considering they arent even less than $150 a night typically. (Ha! Remember when the all stars and pop used to be like $98 a night?)
I feel as though the theming really could’ve worked. I remember once AJ said on this channel (can’t quite remember which video) that how would rooms themed to The Great Depression work… like if the Great Depression was the only thing going on in that decade 🤦♂️. And then what about the 10’s, 20’s, and 40’s?
Staying at the Lion King suites in September, 3 adults and 1 child. Looking forward to staying at AoA for the last time before we start our DVC journey.
How was it with 3 adults and a child? We’re going in June and it will be 3 adults and two small kiddos. I’m just hoping we don’t trip all over each other, even in the family suite
My family and I are thinking bout a Disney vacation for next year and we usually stay at the movies hotels but thinking doing the pop century one this time. Can you please do a video if possible for the pop century hotel please 😊. Thank you
She already did one. I would post the link but RU-vid sometimes blocks comments with links. Just search “Reviewing every hotel Pop Century DFB” and you should find it it was posted two weeks ago.
I stayed at The Art of Animation with my boyfriend and overall we loved it. He's a graphic designer, I'm the daughter of a graphic designer-basically we really love and appreciate art so seeing the drawings on the walls of the lobby was honestly a huge selling point for us. Plus we feel if you're going to Disney BE in Disney. The over-the-top theming just added to the charm. The skyliner was my absolute favorite and I feel like even transport to Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom were very quick rides (as opposed to when we were in All Star Sports and felt far away from everything). The only downside was how far we felt we were from the lobby and skyliner. We were in the only non-family suites so the Ariel Rooms. And they were a good 15 minute walk away from essentially everything. We didn't go down to the food court much (we had food in-room) but doing so would probably have been a hassle. Walking back after a LONG day was pretty taxing. However, we were right by the parking lot and getting a ride to Universal or any Uber Eats was easy because we were right there (and it actually had a specified location in Uber to tell them to meet us in the back). Oh, and they play the same 13 songs in the lobby. We asked because you'll recognize it after waiting for a bus for 10 days straight. Overall I would 100% stay again. The value was amazing and the skyliner can't be beat for a value resort but I may try staying a bit closer to the lobby. Admittedly, I did request a quiet room so maybe that was why we were so far away. And it was actually really quiet considering we were over the pool. You couldn't hear it at all from our room (probably the 4th floor).
Hi! We have a family of 5 and a family of 4 planning a trip to WDW. Do you have a recommendation on a hotel to use? We would like to be on resort as we are hoping that the dining plan returns
We are staying at Art of animation beginning September, and was checking transport. On the genie app it say 45min to Magic Kingdom, but in the video you talk about 20min. We were wondering because we have a 2 and 4 kid and wanted to come back in afternoon for a nap. Difference between a 20min and 45min ride each way is huge. Thanks
It's 20 minutes. You may have to wait for a bus in the afternoon, but I found the busses run more often here and you rarely have much of a wait (they don't share busses with other resorts).
