I had the pleasure of staying at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (AOA)for 10 days in September. This was my first time on the property. We had two rooms booked, one with a family of 5, 4 adults and one child age 5. The second room was my room and had 3 adults and 3 children ages, 4,7 & 15. Before I review the resort I thought it would be good to give you some background on my Disney Resort Resume.
I have been to Disney almost 40 times (5 this year) and have stayed at the Walt Disney Resort for at least half of those trips. In addition, I have stayed deluxe for most if my Disney travels. My very favorite resort on property is Polynesian. The past 5 trips my family and I have gone on we have stayed at Pop Century and I love it there as well. Now that you understand my knowledge and where I stand I think you will better understand my review of Art of Animation.
Art of Animation has been categorized by Disney as a value resort and I have to start off by saying it is anything but a value resort. This resort is truly a category in its own. The theme alone at the resort is enough to put any Disney fan on a natural Disney high! From the moment you enter the building it truly takes your breath away..from the colors to the beautiful Disney sketches that adorn the walls you know you have just walked into a Disney Wonderland.
The lobby has everything you need central in one location and with the exception of The Little Mermaid buildings the rest of the resort is sort of built around the lobby area making it easy to get to. You will find the Arcade, Paint and Ink Shop as well as the food court Landscape of Flavors all in the lobby. In addition, you can also easily access the bus queues from the lobby and gift shop.
Once you check in you will be directed to take the back way out if the building and all I can say is that what you will see is stunning! The Nemo pool is so colorful and vibrant and full of Disney magic…any Disney lover will be in awe of the attention to detail here. Children will be begging to take a dip in the Big Blue Pool!
There are four sections of AOA:
- Nemo-All family Suites
- Cars-All family suites
- Lion King-All family suites
- Little Mermaid-Standard Rooms
We stayed in the Cars section of the resort and again I have nothing but wonderful things to say. Talk about Disney immersion, Disney did not skimp on any details here. Life-size Cars movie icons are scattered about and the Cozy Cone Motel pool is sure to delight all with its fully themed pool and nine cozy cabanas.
Stand Out Features
Some key things that stand out here from other values and even moderates is that Art of Animation has interior hallways into your resort room. This also makes for a quieter resort stay experience. The rooms are amazing and offer a much higher quality in space, and decor.
- Only Disney-themed resort on property
- Largest resort pool on property
- Food court featuring deluxe made to order food choices
- Covered bus queues
- Buses at Art of Animation are exclusive to this resort.
- Under water audio in the Big Blue Pool
- Nightly Movies by the pool
- Hourly family activities by the pool
Distance to Parks
- Magic Kingdom 7 miles
- Epcot 3 miles
- Hollywood Studios 3 miles
- Animal Kingdom 5 miles
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