Disney’s Art of Animation Resort Review
Art of Animation Resort is a Walt Disney World Value Resort with family suites themed to Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Cars. This hotel review features room photos, pool & restaurant info, pros & cons, and whether AoA is worth the money.
In the sense that it mostly consists of family suites, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (AoA) is a bit of an anomaly as compared to the other Value Resorts. For the most part, the other Value Resorts are all small standard rooms that cater to parties on a budget who still want on-site perks. Those also exist at Art of Animation, but they’re not the focus. (All standard rooms at AoA are themed to The Little Mermaid, which we review separately here.)
Art of Animation’s family suites push the envelope a bit with the ‘Value Resort’ designation. For one thing, they cost significantly more than other Value Resorts, with AoA family suites routinely costing between double and triple the price of All Star standard rooms. For another thing, the style of accommodations is materially different than other budget hotels at Walt Disney World. We’ll cover this in detail later in the review, and offer comparisons to some other comparable hotels.
In terms of its theme and style, Art of Animation is pretty much exactly as described above. The main lobby has a strong animation motif, with details that suggest various stages of the animation process. Outside of the main lobby, the artistic process is mostly glossed over. There are some sketches of characters on the sides of the buildings, but other than that, each individual section is more about recreating environments from their respective films than about taking a peak behind the curtain at the underlying process.
Design-wise, this was a good decision. Kids are the target audience here, and they probably care more about the animated film itself than taking a look behind the scenes. While the execution of some of these environments, particularly the Cars area, is well-done, it’s worth noting that these are still the “big box” Value Resorts you might be used to at Walt Disney World. Most of the ‘theming’ is window-dressing consisting of oversized characters and objects, and vivid colors on these large, big box hotel buildings.
Because of this, Art of Animation is one of those love it or hate it things. Art of Animation is like the Crocs of Disney resorts. The people who love Art of Animation love it because it just makes them happy. To them, it’s fun, whimsical, and reminds them of the magic of Disney animation.
To the people who dislike Art of Animation, it’s tacky, loud, and abandons traditional means of nuanced Disney theming in favor of something that gets by on clunky looks and characters. Sort of the same idea with Crocs, and any of the above adjectives could be used to describe the footwear.
While I’m not quite as sold on Crocs, I love Art of Animation. The difference to me between Art of Animation and Crocs (I really can’t believe I’m keeping up this ostensibly absurd comparison) is that Art of Animation visually does work on a certain level, whereas Crocs are universally hideous. Kids are almost guaranteed to love it, which is a big reason why Art of Animation ranks highly on our list of the Best & Worst Value Resorts at Walt Disney World.
No, Art of Animation doesn’t hit the same high notes thematically as Wilderness Lodge, the Port Orleans Resorts, or BoardWalk Inn, but it does have redeeming qualities and brings something worthwhile to the table. It is not the pinnacle of themed design nor is it something that academics or even fans of themed design will someday devote thoughtful analysis and critique. The short and simple of it for me is that it is a fun resort thematically. That’s it, and in this case that’s enough.
With that said, let’s take a look at the rooms. Some people will view these as fun…and others will see them as obnoxious. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves and you can be the judge.
First up: Cars. Excuse the fisheye lens here, but I wanted to give you an idea of the layout of the family suite. The door to the left (just barely in the frame) is a full bathroom. Moving around the room, you see the living room, then the main bedroom with its attached bedroom, and on the right is the kitchen table, which converts to a pull-down queen bed.
In total, the room is about 565 square feet, which is just over twice the size of a standard room. The space is used incredibly well in these rooms, so it truly feels like a suite.
A closer look at the main living area. As you can see, it’s heavy on the Cars theming. Great for kids and those who are kids at heart, possibly not ideal for honeymooners.
Note that the carpet has been removed in all of the AoA family suites since these photos were taken. We’ll have a fresh review of the new-look Cars family suites soon, so stay tuned for that.
Same idea in the bathroom.
These rooms are themed from top to bottom. Great plus if you have kids, very busy in a general design sense.
A look at the outside of the Cars wing. We both agree that the Cars wing is the best in terms of exterior theming. It’s like Cars Land except with skimpier theming, no restaurants, and no attractions. That’s not meant to be a dig–for a value hotel area it’s really cool. Sarah and I disagree in terms of interiors.
I prefer Lion King, whereas she prefers Cars. She actually returned to the Cars wing on girls’ trip with her sister, who also liked the hotel. The less scrutinizing, casual young-person Disney guest perspective on the hotel from her was that it was a really fun and cute hotel.
Layout in The Lion King suites is exactly the same.
This table is just inside the door. Here’s how it looks as a table, and how it looks as a bed…
The perfect arrangement if you’ve ever wanted four of your closest friends to sit in chairs around your bed and watch you sleep!
The Lion King rooms are just as over the top as the Cars ones, but I feel like there are fewer clashing pieces of decor, although the color scheme itself does clash more. Pick your poison, I suppose.
What I prefer is that it pretty much is “jungle stuff,” even if that presents a wide array of colors. I just think it’s more harmonious for whatever reason. Then again, maybe I’m just biased towards The Lion King.
Restroom adjacent to the main bathroom–note that it’s a walk-in shower as opposed to a bathtub with shower.
Standalone bathroom with a tub. All of these rooms are consistent in terms of layout, so the Finding Nemo rooms are just like these, except with Nemo stuff. After looking at rooms online, we weren’t wowed by those rooms, but if there’s a Finding Nemo fan in your party, you should look at those rooms. Also, they are the closest ones to the main lobby.
On the exterior, we agree that The Lion King is the weakest. There’s a lot of dead space, and none of it is illuminated at night. Don’t let the photo above fool you–that is a really long exposure and looks better than it would look at night when viewed with the naked eye.
Now let’s take a look at everything else at the resort outside of the rooms, because Disney’s Art of Animation has some excellent amenities!
Landscape of Flavors, the food court, is one of the most inspired food courts at any Walt Disney World hotel, and is superior to any other Value Resort. Additional amenities include a play area, arcade, free a jogging trail, WiFi, and movies under the stars.
The best amenity of all is the Disney Skyliner gondola station, which Art of Animation shares with Pop Century Resort. This connects these sister Value Resorts to Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Epcot via Caribbean Beach. Access to two parks and several hotels (including the character dining at Riviera Resort) without getting on a bus is huge.
Since going into operation, we have used the Skyliner many, many times, and are huge fans. From our perspective, the value the Skyliner adds to Art of Animation cannot be overstated. It’s great to be able to utilize non-bus transportation for getting around Walt Disney World. Read our Skyliner Gondola Review: Walt Disney World’s Most Magical Flight on Earth for more info and commentary.
Even when you do need to use buses, the good news is that Art of Animation does not share bus transportation service with any other Walt Disney World hotel.
This means that, along with Pop Century, it has the best bus transportation in all of Walt Disney World. Sort of odd that two Value Resorts would share this crown, but whatever, I guess.
Another thing to take into consideration when booking a room at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is the walk. The Finding Nemo suites are closest to the main (Finding Nemo-themed) pool, with The Lion King and Cars wings being about the same distance away, maybe a 5-7 minute walk from the lobby. The Little Mermaid standard rooms are a bit of a hike, maybe 8-12 minutes from the lobby depending upon how quickly you walk.
The Little Mermaid rooms are also disadvantaged in that they do not have internal halls, whereas the suites do have internal halls between the rooms. To this extent, the suites are less like the other Value Resorts and the standard rooms are more like the other Value Resorts.
Above is the main, fittingly named “Big Blue” pool.
The Big Blue Pool is the only Value Resort pool to not allow pool-hopping (likely to keep the riff raff from Pop Century out! ;)) and is pretty cool. Disney really hypes up the underwater music, which is a cool touch. I actually prefer the Cars pool, which is quieter and has a neat look with the Cozy Cones nearby.
My biggest issue with Art of Animation is the pricing of the suites. These suites range from about $400/night to about $650/night. (The range of regular prices is $474 to $570.) That varies significantly based on dates, with winter and early fall off-season costing the least, and holidays costing the most. Typically, two standard value resort rooms combined will cost you less than a single family suite.
Now, this isn’t an apples to apples comparison as there are certainly benefits to the single family suite as opposed to two adjacent single rooms, but that still gives me pause, and makes me question just how much of a value these suites truly are.
Interestingly, though, if Walt Disney World were to re-classify Disney’s Art of Animation Resort in a higher (or its own) tier, I think it would pass for something higher. If you actually like the theme at Art of Animation, it might pass muster as a Deluxe-caliber resort. I still don’t view them as rooms that are worth over $450/night, but if you can score a discounted rate at one, I do think ~$350/night for a party of 6 is reasonable. Everyone’s opinion of value-for-money differs, though.
Transportation, pool, and other amenities are all top-notch, and really the only significant amenity missing as compared to the Deluxes is a nice table service restaurant and a good location in relation to a theme park, and these two things aren’t even something all Deluxes have. We aren’t suggesting that you should compared Art of Animation to a Deluxe when determining whether you should book it (we do not think it’s Deluxe-caliber), just pointing out that the argument could be made.
In terms of theme, price, and category, Art of Animation compares interestingly to Cabana Bay Beach Resort over at Universal Orlando Resort. For those unfamiliar with it, Cabana Bay is very similar in nature, offering both value single rooms and value family suites. Its look is one of a 1950s retro, with a lot of midcentury modern and Googie architecture, and styling drawn from beach and car culture. It’s the kind of style that has become popular in recent years thanks to stores like IKEA and shows like Mad Men.
Cabana Bay has a lower price and a theme that is more adult. What it lacks is the Disney theming and on-site advantages of a Walt Disney World hotel. To many people, this will be an absolute deal-breaker. Our Florida visits focus primarily on Walt Disney World, so staying on-site in a Disney-owned hotel is a must. Your mileage may vary on that, depending upon your priorities in Orlando. I think both hotels have their place, and each will be the ‘clear-cut’ winner for some guests depending upon their vacation plans, design preferences, and budget.
The Art of Animation family suites price-point makes them something we don’t strongly recommend unless you want to be on-site at Walt Disney World, need to sleep 6 people, and the layout of a family suite is desired. In fairness to the Art of Animation suites, maybe viewing them solely in terms of capacity and thus comparing them to two standard rooms at a Value Resort is missing the point.
One bedroom villas might be the more apt comparison, and these compare fairly to those, price-wise. The living area in the suites is totally different than simply doubling a standard room, after all, and the suites are actually larger than two standard rooms combined, even if the total capacity of the suite is only 6, versus 8 between two standard rooms.
Overall, this review was a very long-winded way of saying the Family Suites at Art of Animation and the hotel as a whole are really cool, but also not for everyone’s personal tastes and party size. While we both really enjoy Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, we also have concerns about it and how it compares to similarly-situated options.
Hopefully, our playing of devil’s advocate and presentation all of the pros and cons of Art of Animation was helpful to your decision…and didn’t complicate it further. Ultimately, we like Art of Animation and will definitely return here. We will probably stick with The Little Mermaid standard rooms in the future, but if we had a party of 6 and we wanted more of a “resort” type room for our Walt Disney World trip, we wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again–especially in the Cars wing.
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Your Thoughts
Do you think Disney’s Art of Animation Resort is for you? Have you stayed here? Do you want to stay here? Agree or disagree with our resort review? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
My family stayed at Art of Animation in the Cars area, and Wilderness Lodge for a split stay a few months ago. We wanted to try them both!
We LOVED having the space of a suite with our family of 5. The kitchenette was also so handy.
The space made for a better night’s sleep. My two bigger kids shared the table bed and it was quite comfortable, much more than the pull-out couch since there wasn’t a bend in the bed.
From the online pictures, we all agreed on Cars because the in-room themeing wasn’t so over-the-top like we perceived Lion King or Nemo.
My kids (3, 5 and baby) really enjoyed the splash area and the big pool.
We also walked across the bridge to Pop to check it out. Nice that we could do that.
But we all liked WL even more.
We quite likely will stay at AoA in the future, especially once the baby turns 3 and we’ll need a room for 5.
Ya know, after thinking about it some more I think it might be a one-and-done for us. It is pretty expensive, and while we had a coupon code plus additional discount it was slightly more than our WL stay! I think like a commenter above suggested, it would probably be worth our while to price out renting DVC points.
I didn’t much care for the AoA food court 🙁
My wife and I visited Disney World in January then Disneyland just a week ago. While in Disney World, we did a lot of resort exploring and were blown away by the theming of the Cars area at Art of Animation; so much so that we were disappointed when we visited Cars Land in California Adventure! While the mountains around Radiator Springs Racers are definitely amazing all on their own, the main strip of Cars Land at California adventure felt a little uninspired. It’s hard to explain, but the Cars area at Art of Animation just has a great feeling to it; the winding road, the slack power lines, the plants, the cars parked everywhere. It was just amazing. For our next trip, we are considering staying at Pop Century and wandering over here every now and then.
Yeah…I definitely don’t agree with that. The winding strip in Art of Animation doesn’t match the film, whereas the main drag in Cars Land is *exactly* like the film. Beyond that, all of the things you mentioned Art of Animation as having, Cars Land has. In addition to that, the quality and craftsmanship is soooo much nicer in Cars Land.
To each his own, but I think Cars Land is an incredible land. This isn’t to criticize Art of Animation’s Cars–as a Value Resort area, it’s great, but it’s not on par with the best addition to any US park in the last decade plus. In my opinion, at least.
Great review!
I’m not crazy about the theming (my personal taste is more subtle) but the tile in the Lion King shower, though. Holy buckets that’s cool!!
We stayed at AOA and we LOVED it as much as our 4 kids ages 17,12,12,9 loved it! We had the cars room and thought it was great, kids loved the cars pool and the lifeguards, they still talk about the lifeguards! Once we got a better understanding of the dinning plan and how to use the food court the kids liked it much better than the POP food court. Access to everything there was easy and the front desk employees were always every helpful. I can’t wait to stay there again. The bus access was awesome.
I had done my research and loved the sounds of AoA for our September 2012 trip. Unfortunately, it was definitely out of our budget. Always staying at Pop, we decided to upgrade to POR. A little pixie dust fell on us as we were checking in. Being Labor day weekend POR was completely booked and our adjoining rooms with GMA and GPA were now on opposite sides even with paying for preferred. Finally, with no options the manager said the could give us great rooms if we would except a step down. Quickly followed by to our brand new resort!! So we ended up at AoA in the Cars section. We loved it!! The initial disappointment my 3 tween daughters and family felt fell away when we entered the resort. For our trip this year in November there was a unanimous AoA vote at our planning meeting! Even from the Grumpy (Daddy). We feel by far the space and theming are worth it! The food court is also great for food allergies!
Thanks for the review! I considered AoA for our 2015 trip because of the theming. I just did the math for a family of 5. I can rent DVC points and stay at Bay Lake Tower in a one bedroom villa for less– and be right by the Magic Kingdom.
This was helpful! We are interested in staying here and the distance between the rooms and lobby is good to know. Thanks!
Thank you for this review! Staying in Oct for our first trip from Australia. Have requested Nemo for the position but maybe I should change my mind and book the Lion King. Either way I am super excited
The Lion King rooms are a little farther away from the lobby, but the only rooms that are a considerable distance are the Little Mermaid ones. I’d go for whichever theme you like most!
We stayed at AOA in a Nemo room overlooking the pool. LOVED IT!! My daughter loved the pic of Nemo sleeping when you pull down the murphy bed. So cute! Great set up – lots of storage – 2 baths is awesome for getting ready in the am – never had to wait for buses. If you’re a Nemo fan you’ll love the Nemo suite!
On my trip in May 2014, we stayed at the both the Art of Animation Resort and the new Cabana Bay Resort at Universal. Both were very very nice, and I had few complaints about either. We had a standard room at AoA (Little Mermaid) and a family suite at Cabana Bay, and paid the same price – $130 per night. On that alone, Cabana Bay was far superior. Plus, we enjoyed the theming and quality of the room at Cabana Bay – bigger room, kitchen, 3 separate spaces in the bathrooms, living room, etc. We stayed in both because of the perks each resort offers for their theme parks – early entry/extended hours for resort guests. I’m sure I’ll stay at both again.
That’s a great price for Cabana Bay! I think a split stay like this there and at Art of Animation would be a good idea.
Hi Steven,
I’m planning a trip with my boys next year and planning to do the same, a few days at AoA and then onto Cabana Bay Resort. I was wondering how you got to the second one, by taxi? Is a pickup from AoA easy to organise? How much should I expect to pay? I ask as I’m coming from overseas and having experienced taxis in Miami, know that it’s better to know prices before getting in!!
Thanks,
Lynne
I loved your review. We stayed at AoA Finding Nemo Suites last August and loved it. We were a party if 5, 3 adults and 2children, one of whom was in a pack-and-play. We had more than enough room that my husband and I had some privacy from the kids and his mother. The themes were great, so much that my 2 year old turned into a Dory every time we walked in and out and he would shout out all the characters as if it was the first time seeing them.. We didn’t get a chance to walk over to the Lion King or Little Mermaid section, but the cars section outside was definitely the best.
We stayed at the Art of Animation last year on our first family trip with our daughters 2 and 5 at the time. We had booked the Little Mermaid – girl’s choice, however, when we checked in we had been upgraded to a Cars suite! While this was the biggest disappointment to our 5 year old – CARS IS A BOY HOTEL! After my husband talked her down and explained the value of an upgrade – she loved it. The walk back to the room only felt long at the end of the night when we would be carrying two exhausted kids. The night we stayed at the MK until closing the line for the bus was extremely long, so we got on a Pop Century bus and walked across the bridge. We returned this year and stayed at the Port Orleans – we really missed the extra space of the suite – especially having 2 bathrooms that was huge for all of us getting ready and saving time. Staying at the BOY HOTEL was great! The only real negative is the price.
You got an upgrade for free??
My kids were in absolute awe of this hotel when we stayed here. While the cars area was the best, I also loved the lion king area. I think a few high points that aren’t available at any other value or moderate resort you missed are: the sprinkler pad and the zero entry pool. As a mom with very young kids, this alone was worth the price. At the other value resorts there is a tiny ‘kid pool’ that a million little ones share (frantically). Having 3 little ones in the other pools there is incredibly stressful and not worth it. At AOA my kids can frollic in the sprinkler pad with zero risk of drowning, and even in the zero entry pool my kids can walk in to about thigh deep, and as long as they don’t go past me into deeper water, everyones having fun. Of course I’m still right there making sure they’re safe, but they get the ‘freedom’ they need. Unless you count the stairs that suddenly drop off into your child’s death, the other value resorts lose big points on this.
Ok, we are booked into a suite for the first week Of December at AoA. After seeing your pics of the shower, I have a consern about the hygiene of a pull around/ plastic shower curtain. We once stayed at Port of Orleans and when we went to put our baby in the tub, the entire bottom part of the shower curtain was molded (maybe not enough to require a change in one persons opinion, but surely in mine). I called housekeeping and vented my concerns and 2 days later the curtain was finally changed. I also found the last couple of times we have visited, the overall cleanliness of the facilities were slacking. I think when you pay those kinds of rates, you expect it to be clean enough to put your baby in the tub. Did you find they were pretty clean? Have you ever had an experience with a low standard of cleanliness when it comes to any Disney room? Maybe with them being so new, you’d expect them to be. I may sound picky but we now have our second baby and will be using the tub again and things like that gross me out!
Hi Rose,
I always travel with cleaning supplies (believe it or not) scrub pad, disinfecting wipes etc. I am a housekeeping supervisor at a hospital and I have seen it all when I go on vacation. Be safe and bring yours along and re-clean yourself, that’s what I do! At least that way you KNOW it’s clean.
The quick service food at art of animation I think is a huge plus when staying (healthy and unique menu items with “real” silverware 😉 ).. Though we would rather stay at pop century and walk to eat at the food court there. Food at both pop and art of animation are way better than the all-stars.. Also staying at pop and walking over u can enjoy the scenery of the hotel daily/nightly or on a nice jog around the little lake without shelling out the dough at the pricey rooms.
I’ve stayed at Art of Animation 4 times already….we love it! We’ve only stayed in the cars section – which the theming can’t be beat. We have gotten a discount each time – and we’ve gone with 4 people or more. One nice thing is that they don’t charge a surcharge for any adult over 2, like all the other resorts do, which is quite a savings. Love the food court, & they still have the good pizza! Love the pools – even the cars one, it’s quieter and I love having my own “Cone”! Don’t think I’d ever want to stay in the Mermaid section – just because of the long walk to the main building – but it’s really cute! Bussing is great – just goes to one hotel, and even the Magical Express most of the time stops there 1st or 2nd. Can’t wait to go back!
Yeah, if you get a discount, like the theme and have 4+ people, it really is a great option!
Tom,
In your opinion, would it be a bad idea to just take our own car to the parks if we are staying in the Little Mermaid rooms. I feel conflicted with whether the bus service is good or bad…seen so many opinions. We are frequent disney travelers and have never used our car for park visits but just wondered what your opinion was here?
I gotta say that we think AOA is the worst value resort. It may be great if you are in one of the suites, but the Little Mermaid rooms are a hike from the main building. We found the food court not to have a great selection and terrible service. POP remains our pick for best value resort.
We feel marooned out here in the Little Mermaid rooms. We are waaaaaaay too far away from the main building. We are in building 8. Disney needs to develop more on this end of the resort. We feel like the red-headed step-child of this place. The walk back and forth is ridiculous.
Love your review and pics. We are going in November – me (Gma)
Daughter and husband, and 2 grandsons / staying at AofA Cars Suite
(Grandsons pick) for the first time. (Did Wilderness cabin 3 yrs ago w
6 of us-which we loved) We have reads lot of reviews/comments
On AofA family suites- cost/theming etc / bottom line is – we want to be
Together and we want the boys (grandsons) to L.O.V.E. Even the resort
We stay at. We do not go to WDW very often (some from Mich,& Iowa)
So this is a treat for us and we want it to be special for the boys so are
Willing to pay for it. Plus we got free dining!! It’s the experience
And memories for the boys!!
We enjoyed the Art of Animation especially the theme. The bus service is in my opinion better than the moderate resorts. I was not a fan of the extremely small mermaid rooms. They were very dark and stuffy. The main pool was a disappointment as well. I would recommend staying at the Art of Animation on the first trip and go to Caribbean Beach on your next trip which has an incredible pool. The price difference is worth it.
The showers in the master bath are a nice plus for adults. I believe villas are the only other accommodation that have them. The kitchenette is a plus for many, and the suites have a cool factor for kids. The table bed is one thing I wish I could have experienced as a kid! Landscape of Flavors is awesome, plus the one stop bus service, it has so much to like.
I think I want that tile work from the Lion King suite in my shower at home…
I’ve also only seen pictures of Cabana Cay, but the theme there does nothing for me. The lower price point is nice, but since I’m not in need of a suite it’s unlikely I’ll stay at either place!