Art of Animation was our first on property stay, Summer of 2018. We have not been back to Disneyworld since then, but I would stay there again in a heartbeat! The food court, pool, and atmosphere were awesome. Our one regret was not taking a resort day to enjoy more of it.
Two things we swore to after the trip. 1) Never, ever driving again. 2)Staying on property. Never driving again because being tired the first couple of days is just not pleasant and dreading the drive home on the last day sucks the fun out. Staying on property because we felt so much more relaxed. We could go back and crash for a couple of hours in the room and then hit the park refreshed for the rest of the day.
Still in discussion is dining plan. Half the clan says yes, pro don't have to budget after it is booked. Other half says no, just budget for it and not worry about not using it to full potential. Much research to be done on this one.
We are planning our next trip and AoA is a bit out of our budget so we are staying across the way at Pop so we get a new experience while still being able to wander over take advantage visiting AoA again.