Resort Review: Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
Is Art of Animation “Worth the cost?”
by Lauren Bruce
Vacation time is precious. AND, if you’re choosing to spend that time at Disney… EXPENSIVE. Last fall (October 2017) our family had the chance to experience a full week at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. When reflecting on this resort for a review, the question arose, “Is it worth the cost?”
Since AOA is primarily composed of family suites in three different resort areas, the prices per night are much closer to a Moderate or even Deluxe than its current Value ranking would suggest. With nightly rates inching toward $400 per night, it’s hard to see the value in this Value resort on the surface. But for most families, “worth the cost” can’t be boiled down to one amenity or even price, but the overall experience. Considering the grounds, the pool, the food options, the shopping, and the room; read on to decide if you think our experience at Art of Animation was “worth the cost.”
I will divulge that we had a very difficult time deciding on a resort when we booked our stay at AOA. Our traveling party was +1 on this trip (Grandpa was tagging along) which meant we had 3 adults and 2 kids- NOT an easy formula for hotel stay. Should we cram into 1 room? Should we book 2 separate rooms? What about a villa OR… family suite?
One of the biggest selling points of the family suites at Art of Animation is that they offer 2 full bathrooms. TWO. I can’t emphasize enough how that helped keep my stress in check during the morning rush of getting ready for the parks or when exhaustion sets in at the end of the night and you just want to quickly get ready for bed. In addition to the bathrooms, the AOA family suite has 3 sleeping areas that comfortably fit our party of 5 (and the master bedroom gave a little more privacy when needed). Technically they sleep 6 adults, but I would caution that might be a little too cozy.
Our suite was in the Cars area. We found the theming both of the grounds and our room to be fantastic. Walking around at arrival, our boys were excited to see so many favorite characters and the stroll back to our rooms at night was lovely. It’s so… Disney! Of the different areas of this resort (Little Mermaid-not family suites, Finding Nemo, Lion King, and Cars, the Cars was our hands-down favorite.
On social media and other Disney-related planning tools, the Big Blue Pool is highly praised. We carved out a little pool time throughout the week and enjoyed it, but nothing left us aching to return. You pretty much know everything about that area just by name: the pool is very Blue and well… Big. Our kids are huge lovers of water slides (NOT available at any of the Value resorts) and missed that amenity at Art of Animation. We didn’t use the splash zone (it’s adorable) but if you have toddlers, it might be a big draw.
In addition to swim time, we were able to eat at the on-site food court, Landscape of Flavors, and found it to be stellar. We ate lunch, a few breakfasts, and snacks here throughout the week and enjoyed everything we tried. My standout of the week was the Caprese Sandwich. The mozzarella was very fresh and served on good quality bread with hosue-made chips. In order to get to your delicious food options at Landscape of Flavors from the main lobby, you need to walk through the merchandise store: Ink & Paint Shop. Earlier I noted that we found the pool to be “meh” but not so with the shop! We were impressed with the selection at the Ink & Paint shop and found some resort specific merchandise.
Overall, our week was wonderful and for our 5-person crew, the resort pick was perfect. Was it worth the cost? We think so. The option of the family suites combined with everything else we liked about the resort took the sting out of the price tag and we consider it money well spent.
I know there is so much to ponder before booking YOUR perfect resort and I hope a glimpse into our stay at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort helps in your magical Disney planning!
Lauren
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(all articles and opinions in the articles are that of the author and may not reflect the opinion of WDW Kingdom)
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