Disney's Art of Animation Resort (Part II)

[mom2cgj]

So we have six. 50, 48, 25, 18, 16, 15. We can get a Family room here Lion king or Cars. i just have a few questions sorry if they have been answered but these threads can be overwhelming to a newbie.
1. I have read it is a very long walk to buses and to food court? Which is a better choice?
2. I am concerned about kids sleeping on table bed and couch bed. My 16 yr old is 6' tall, and my other two boys are about 5'10". The are fit boys but weight between 160 and 175. Our DD is only 5'2" but now that i type that I guess I would be sleeping with her so that would mean my huband who is about as tall as the boys but weighs more like 220. OK...sorry...to get to my question....can boys/men this size sleep on table bed/couch TOGETHER? Uncomfortable sleep will mean cranky people by the end of the week and my DH has a bad back.
3. Is there a frig in the room? Coffee pot? Microwave?
Thanks so much in advance for your answers/help.

I can't really answer your second question, as we had kids sleeping on those beds, but hopefully someone else can answer that.

As for the walk, most of the complaints you are reading come from people who are staying in the Little Mermaid section. For Lion King and Cars, the walk isn't too bad. The farthest room would be in the far Cars building, which would be about 5 minutes. You can request a room close to Animation Hall, although that's not guaranteed. We had a Lion King room in building 6, about halfway between the center and the end closest to Animation Hall. The walk was not bad at all.

The suites do have a small frig, coffee pot, and microwave.

 

[BYC]

1)We stayed in a Nemo suite, and the walk was easy. But, I have heard others say that the walk is not bad from Cars and Loin King.
2) I don't think their weight will be a problem, but big boys like that may have trouble in a double bed together. My boys are way over 6', and around 250. No way would they share a double bed. The bed in the bedroom is a queen, and the fold out couch is a typical double size fold out. Pretty comfortable, too. The table bed is a double size, and is very comfortable. We used the cushions from the couch on the floor as a bed, and there were no complaints.
3. Is there a frig in the room? Coffee pot? Microwave? Yes, yes, yes.

 

[jlbmomof5]

do I need to bring coffee and coffee filters or are they supplied? 4 cup pot or full sized pot? would an blow up bed fit somewhere? We have free baggage on SWA so I think that could be an option. I know we'd probably have to take the air out each morning as to not be in the way of hotel cleaning staff. Has anyone else ever done this before?

 

[bluezy]

do I need to bring coffee and coffee filters or are they supplied? 4 cup pot or full sized pot? would an blow up bed fit somewhere? We have free baggage on SWA so I think that could be an option. I know we'd probably have to take the air out each morning as to not be in the way of hotel cleaning staff. Has anyone else ever done this before?

The coffee makers are the Cuisinart ones that make one cup at a time (similar to a Keurig). They use the "pod" filters with the coffee in them. There are a few coffee and tea pods in the room and mousekeeping will restock them daily.

There is definitely room for 2 or 3 single-sized blow-up mattresses in the room. We took 2 of them with us in June but only ended up using one (8yo DD decided she preferred to use the seat cushions from the sofa bed as her bed). We used the standard height air mattress and just moved it out of the way every morning. We would stand it on end and store it between the kitchenette and the couch. If you call mousekeeping, they will bring you extra sheets, blankest and pillows for your air mattress.

 

[roxiehartseeyore]

We are staying in a Lion King suite in March..how "loud" are the colors in the room really? I've seen the pictures but it seems to vary depending on the camera I guess. I had wanted a Nemo room for it's more soothing colors but took what I could get! My husband has some sensory issues with over bright colors but is willing to be a big boy about it. I've called a few times hoping to find an open Nemo room but no luck so far. Is it possible to inquire at check in or are they considered totally diffrent room types that would just be too much of a hassle to deal with in?

That aside, I'm super excited for this trip and to stay at this property!

 

[mom2cgj]

We are staying in a Lion King suite in March..how "loud" are the colors in the room really? I've seen the pictures but it seems to vary depending on the camera I guess. I had wanted a Nemo room for it's more soothing colors but took what I could get! My husband has some sensory issues with over bright colors but is willing to be a big boy about it. I've called a few times hoping to find an open Nemo room but no luck so far. Is it possible to inquire at check in or are they considered totally diffrent room types that would just be too much of a hassle to deal with in?

That aside, I'm super excited for this trip and to stay at this property!

I didn't think the colors were too loud. I did take pictures, and my FIL commented on how bright the room was. Both my DH and I said that it wasn't as bright as the pictures made it look. Also, I believe the comforters are gone in the master, replaced by white sheeting and a runner, which will certainly tone down the colors in there.

You could always ask at check in if they have an open Nemo room, but they may not. They are all family suites, so unless you got a discount on your suite that is available in the Nemo section, it shouldn't be too big of a hassle if they do have one available.

 

[jeanylaser]

I love AOA Cars and I can't wait to stay for Arya's first Birthday in Disney!

 

[bluezy]

We are staying in a Lion King suite in March..how "loud" are the colors in the room really? I've seen the pictures but it seems to vary depending on the camera I guess. I had wanted a Nemo room for it's more soothing colors but took what I could get! My husband has some sensory issues with over bright colors but is willing to be a big boy about it. I've called a few times hoping to find an open Nemo room but no luck so far. Is it possible to inquire at check in or are they considered totally diffrent room types that would just be too much of a hassle to deal with in?

That aside, I'm super excited for this trip and to stay at this property!

I agree with the PP -- I didn't find the colors/decor to be too loud. I was worried about that before we got there but I forgot all about it as soon as I opened the door to the room.

It never hurts to ask about a different room at check-in. We were originally booked in a Nemo suite but since there were no discounted rooms available once discounts came out, we switched to a Cars suite to get the discount. I thought my kids would be happy with that decision, but 3 out of 4 said they preferred Lion King over Cars -- but Nemo was still the top choice. When we checked in, I told the CM that my kids weren't happy with my choice of Cars. He immediately said he'd look to see if there was anything available in Nemo or Lion King. Nothing in Nemo but there was an excellent room location available in Lion King and to top it off, the room was clean and ready when we checked in at 1:00. Our assigned room in Cars wasn't available yet *and* was quite a hike to Landscape of Flavors and the bus stops (they are both located at the Lion King end of the main building). Our Lion King room was a 2 minute walk to those things so everything worked out great.

 

[momofmikey]

I see that there are stairs on the outside of the buildings. If you're staying in one of the suites, can you exit or enter from the sides or do you need to go through the center of the building?

 

[bluezy]

I see that there are stairs on the outside of the buildings. If you're staying in one of the suites, can you exit or enter from the sides or do you need to go through the center of the building?

You can enter and exit from any of the doors -- side or center. If you want to use an elevator, those are in the center of the building (basically in the middle of the long side if you're looking at the layout map of the resort), but you can walk down any hall to get to them or you can enter at the main entrance of the building which is right by the elevators. You will need to use your magic band to enter any of the side doors by the stairs, but we found the main entrance doors to always be unlocked (at least between 7:00 a.m. and midnight)

 

[mom2cgj]

I see that there are stairs on the outside of the buildings. If you're staying in one of the suites, can you exit or enter from the sides or do you need to go through the center of the building?

We used the stairs on the end of our LK building exclusively after the first day. They were quite a bit closer to Animation Hall, and to our room. Plus, we didn't have to walk through the people watching the movie if we came back during that time!

 

[RMColosimo]

I have a family of 5, 3 daughters and my wife and I. We are considering staying in the family suite in December here.

Any thoughts on this being a good place for a family, or should we look at other resorts?

I know with 5 of us, there are really only certain places we can stay, the Music one is the other resort that our travel agent person suggested.

 

[mom2cgj]

I have a family of 5, 3 daughters and my wife and I. We are considering staying in the family suite in December here.

Any thoughts on this being a good place for a family, or should we look at other resorts?

I know with 5 of us, there are really only certain places we can stay, the Music one is the other resort that our travel agent person suggested.

This is a great place for families! My family is also 5, and we ran into the limited choices of resorts issue as well when we were planning. We ended up in a LK suite at AoA, and are so happy we did! We will be returning next year to a Cars suite.

The suites are a good size for a family. My DH and I took the master, and the kids rotated between the couch bed and the table bed. They couldn't agree on who was sleeping where, so they just took turns. The room gave us plenty of space to spread out, and the second bathroom really sped up the mornings. We didn't make use of the kitchenette, but if you wanted to do a quick breakfast in the room, it would definitely be useful.

The pools at AoA are awesome. The Big Blue has music under the water, and my kids loved that. We didn't use the Little Mermaid pool, but the Cars pool was great theming and really never busy when we were there.

The food court also gives a great variety of choices and was tasty. It does tend to get busy, but we didn't find it horrible at any time.

Also, the buses to the parks are dedicated just to AoA, which was a big plus. We never waited long for a bus either at the resort or at a park, and the longest ride was to MK, about 20 minutes.

I definitely recommend AoA to families! Happy Planning!

 

[sarehm]

Does anyone know if the family suites come with a pack n play or do we still have to request them? Thank you!

 

[mom2cgj]

Does anyone know if the family suites come with a pack n play or do we still have to request them? Thank you!

You would need to request one.

 

[LLM]

My husband and I will be staying in a Cars suite at AOA in August with our five year old son, infant twins and mother in law and father in law. The twins will require pack and plays. I called Disney and the request was put in for two, however the agent explained that it was a request and not a guarantee that we will get two. Has anybody here received two pack and plays before? Is there adequate space in the suite for two? Thanks!

 

[SeleneG]

Ready to arrive at aerly Dec!!!!

 

[cbreg1]

Hi. We will be staying at AofA next week with the free dining offer. Super excited! Last year we stayed at Pop and took a few things with- as recommended on the boards- and was really happy about it. We took a bath mat and the over the door shoe organizer . Does anyone know if the AofA suite bathrooms would require the same things? Thanks for any advice.
Candy

 

[bluezy]

Hi. We will be staying at AofA next week with the free dining offer. Super excited! Last year we stayed at Pop and took a few things with- as recommended on the boards- and was really happy about it. We took a bath mat and the over the door shoe organizer . Does anyone know if the AofA suite bathrooms would require the same things? Thanks for any advice.
Candy

I've stayed at both Pop & AoA Suites 3 times each. I always took the bath mat and shoe organizer to Pop but never really felt the need for them in the suites at AoA. YMMV. There is quite a bit of storage (in my opinion) in the suites. Both bathrooms have a large shelf under the sink. We each have a toiletry bag with our personal items as well as one large toiletry bag with extra things so we just store those on the shelf under the sink and use the items from there. As far as the bath mat (I'm assuming you mean the non-slip kind you put in the tub). I've always showered in the walk-in shower in the master bedroom in the suite which certainly didn't need a bath mat. I just asked my kids if they feel the bathtub in the other bathroom was slippery. They said "no" (and while I don't remember for sure, I probably checked this the first time we stayed in a suite and decided a bath mat was not necessary when we stay there so I took it off the packing list). I'll mention that my youngest child is 11 so if your kids are very young, it might not hurt to take one along just in case.

 

[cbreg1]

I've stayed at both Pop & AoA Suites 3 times each. I always took the bath mat and shoe organizer to Pop but never really felt the need for them in the suites at AoA. YMMV. There is quite a bit of storage (in my opinion) in the suites. Both bathrooms have a large shelf under the sink. We each have a toiletry bag with our personal items as well as one large toiletry bag with extra things so we just store those on the shelf under the sink and use the items from there. As far as the bath mat (I'm assuming you mean the non-slip kind you put in the tub). I've always showered in the walk-in shower in the master bedroom in the suite which certainly didn't need a bath mat. I just asked my kids if they feel the bathtub in the other bathroom was slippery. They said "no" (and while I don't remember for sure, I probably checked this the first time we stayed in a suite and decided a bath mat was not necessary when we stay there so I took it off the packing list). I'll mention that my youngest child is 11 so if your kids are very young, it might not hurt to take one along just in case.

Thank you so much!!