Art of Animation - My Review About This Page:

[Stitch316]

Please understand, I am not a pro resort reviewer. I am a 44 yr computer programming manager from upstate NY. Also, writing was my absolute worse subject in school so please be kind.

I recently took my family of four for a six night stay at the Art of Animation. My wife and I took our 17 yr old daughter and our 13 yr old son. Over the years we have stayed twice at the Boardwalk courtesy of my in-law's DVC membership, All-Star Music and Animal Kingdom lodge. We have also did a 4 day Disney Dream cruise. As a child, I always envied those kids that got to go to Disney, so I had to let my kids have what my parents would have done if they could have afforded to do it. Below is what I would call more of a resort report than a trip report.


I did a good deal of reading on the internet before my stay at the new Art of Animation resort. Everything I read did not prepare me for the truly awe-inspiring sights I had in store for me. One word that sums it up for me is "Details". Over and over that single word kept popping into my mind. Disney really nailed the details. It applied to the food, the room,the grounds and the staff. There were so many little details that helped make it special.



Main Building:
As I walked off the Magic Express bus, I saw cast members outside helping a few kids draw on easels under the overhang as I entered the main reception area. Most Disney fanatics have probably seen the very cool concept sketches in this hall and I can tell you they are as incredible as they seem. One huge difference was that a cast member awaits you at the place where you would have traditionally waited as the next in line. That cast member walks you to their station to check you in. It is just a nice touch probably because it is different. Overall, I think I like the chandelier at the end of the hall and at the opening of the Ink and Paint shop the best. It displayed alot of the black and white sketches to make each look illuminated.


Nemo Building Common areas:
After check-in, I left the hall and on to my room. To get there I passed by one of the most beautiful pools and outside grounds I have every seen. But, more on that later. There are two Finding Nemo buildings. They are referred to as "Mr. Ray" and "Crush". Each of those two huge characters sits outside the middle of their buildings respectively with a huge pool in-between them. If you enter at the middle of the building, to use the elevator, you are treated to a jaw dropping painting on the wall opposite the elevator. That art work changes on each floor for a total of eight. On the wall that faces the pool there are three pieces of art work but it only varies by building and not by floor. The other thing you notice is that the carpet reminds you of the EAC and the hallway lamp covers are seashells. You can find hidden Mickeys among the bubbles.


My room:
There are a lot of pictures\videos out on the internet so I won't really rehash all of features but I will try to point out those "details". Below the TV is a media port. I posted a picture in the photo area. The fridge is a nice size but did put out alot of heat. I was able to put my 100oz Camelback as well as a 100oz jug of water at the same time plus eight or more 16oz bottles of water. Under the microwave there is a light and paper towel roll which are both handy to have over the sink. I also liked that there was both a garbage can and a recycling can in the room. I hope that is now a standard in the other resorts too. The overhead light in the "living room" is a fixture that looks like Marlin and Coral's eggs. The floor lamp looks like a sea anemomee. The kid's bathroom is small but had a really cool shower curtain, which you can buy for about $100 in the Ink and Paint shop if it is ever in stock again. All they had was the Lion King one which also looked nice. Another "detail" was that the light fixture over the sink was rustic looking and said "escape" on it. In the main bedroom there is a bed spread could be used to sleep outside in the arctic. The room was stocked with 7 or 8 pillows. The dressers and night stands were painted with Nemo and friends. The attached bathroom is very nice but I wish they themed it more like the kid's bathroom but lacked enough places to hang up wet stuff. My 17 yr old loved the Murphy bed with the built in dimmable reading lights. She said it was comfortable but all our mattresses were nicely firm. My bad back liked the main bedroom mattress. My pool side room, room 4709 in the "Mr. Ray building" was only really noisy during movie time. That same room in "Crush" might have been really noisy during movie time since that was the side the movie was on. It looked like some of the nonpool side rooms of the "Crush" building might be able to see the Epcot fireworks. I could just see the tops of them over the that building.


The Pool:
It is a beautiful site. It was 5ft deep at the center and you really can hear characters in-between some songs which are also played underwater. They were not on in-between all songs. It also had what I assumed to be a handicap access chair that is used to lower people into the pool who can't walk. Maybe that is required by the ADA, I am not sure. But,I also noted that the pool side ping pong balls were 25 cents and did not seem to have a "Mickey" on it. I thought I read they were free and had a "Mickey" but I guess they disappeared too quickly. The gates around the pool were not locked but may have been locked after lifeguards went off duty. I didn't check. The lifeguards left about 10ish each night, but there were still people in the pool "swimming at their own risk". The splash area and play areas were really nice and it looked like the little kids were having fun. There were pool cleaners up each morning cleaning the pool,the decks and drying off the chairs. There was a drink area on the side of the poolside bar area for people to get soft drinks/ice tea in there mugs instead of having to go inside to refill. Availability of Minute Maid frozen pink or yellow lemonade was available at the bar.


Landscape of Flavors:
This was by far the best food I had ever had at a Disney Resort. I ate the Design your own Pasta, Mongolian Mahi Mahi, a Design your own dinner Salad, a Chicken burger with fries, Mango (only dairy free choice) and Chocolate sorbets. My wife had a meatball sandwich, Challah french toast, Create your own omelet, and a surf and surf burger-- crab burger with fried shrimp. All of the create your own meals could also be shared. The portion were very generous. My son who has a dairy allergy had pizza with soy cheese every night because it tasted so good. He also had every morning a dairy free/gluten free waffle. Mickey big ones or mini nemo and dory/cars. If you have an allergy, as with other Disney areas you ask to talk to a chef. The chefs came to know what my son wanted at each meal. They did not have Silk chocolate soy milk but just a different brand which ws fine with him. Everything was so great and of course the cast members were nice, helpful and pleasant. This was actually the best hotel food I ever had not just at Disney so during all my many stays at Marriot hotels. We brought 2 mugs from last year and bought two new ones and they were identical. However, I saw people using mugs that were clearly themed from a particular resort and no cast member said a word to them. The one thing that stood out was the art work. Some of it was just absolutely stunning.


The Cars buildings and grounds:
This area had a few really neat details. It does have a somewhat small pool but almost no one was in it because they were all in the Nemo pool. This pool has construction cone shaped cabanas and a pool house that looks like a Motel office. That pool house has bathrooms, vending and laundry. In the front window there were fake post cards just like a real old fashion roadside Motel might have. The gates to the pool were even topped with spark plugs. There are actually three Cars buildings. One has Mator in front of it. One has Luigi and the last has Lightening McQueen and Sally in front. These buildings also had different art work on each floor. The lights in the hallways of these buildings are upside down construction cones. Overall the grounds in the Cars area was very cool looking when it was lit up at night.


Transportation:
From the airport to the hotel we took the Magical Express. The bus was shared with the Caribbean Beach Resort and not the Pop Century, which I thought was odd but maybe they want you to see a resort that you couldn't walk to so you would want to stay there next time. But, we never shared a park transportation bus with any other resort.




Ink and Paint Shop:
I wish they had a shirt with Nemo and friends or The Lion King with the Art of Animation name on it. All they had was that Little Mermaid shirt or a plain shirt and I thought they should have one of each of the four movies. Also, those nice paint brush pens are no where to be found. They sold out very quickly.


Overall:
Before this trip my favorite resort was Animal Kingdom Lodge because I loved enjoying the savannah view while eating dinner on the balcony. Now it's a tough call. Each has it's own unique benefits. But, my next stay would probably be booked here because of the price, the food, I really love eating, and my desire to see The Lion King area. My daughter grew up with Little Mermaid, The Lion King and my son and her both love Nemo. All of the themes are great. I can't wait til someone else has the opportunity to go to the new places and post pictures for us to see when they open them.

[bsblady01]

thanks for the review we can't wait to stay at aoa in october

[chezp]

Thanks for the review - it sounds like a great addition to the Disney resorts.

[JanetCatherineB]

THANK YOU..

we leve in 27 days.
Staying a Cars Suite.

[buzzspal2]

Thanks for sharing.

[ariel14]

Thanks for sharing!

[CountryTink]

We are planning on staying at Art of Animation on our next trip. Thanks for the great info. Now I am even more excited about staying there.

[mcc0313]

Thanks for the review, sounds like you had a great time.

[kyliesmom1115]

Hurry up October. This has me even more excited.

[Colexis Mom]

Thanks for the review!

[jimmymac]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like a great place to stay

[lazanya]

Thanks for the review! Glad you had a great time!

[Roxie2006]

You really did a great review on AOA. Now when I am ready for our next stay (which will be AOA) I will not hesitate about making reservation there.

[Cam22]

for the review! I had been wondering about this new resort!

[travismom]

Thanks for the review!! I think I found where I'll stay on my next trip to WDW!!