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!
We stayed at AOA Nemo-themed room in May 2013. My11 and 7 y/o granddaughters loved it. Our 7 y/o could not get enough of the main pool. One nice thing about the main pool was its size – you didn’t feel crowded when swimming. Transportation for this resort was very good. If you want to please your kids, this resort is a good choice – they love the bigger-than-life colorful character themes. As for myself and my daughter-in-law, We sort of felt it was like going to sleep and waking in a cartoon. Our biggest disappointment and reason we probably won’t return to AOA, however, was the food. It was really, really below average. It was like a big cafeteria designed to serve mass quantity over quality. More often than not, there were tables with food left on them and food and drinks on spilled on the floor. Even the kids noticed the food and area was disappointing. If you stay here, my advice is plan to eat at other places with better food quality and less “mass-feeding” type atmosphere.
do on site resorts have bars for adults?
JUST GOT BACK FROM STAYING AT AOA,08/20/14 WE HAD A BLAST,6 OF US STAYED NO ONE UNDER AGE 15 AND WE ALL HAD A GREAT TIME,FOOD OFFERINGS AT LANDSCAPE WERE GREAT AND THE POOL WAS GREAT AS WELL,TRANSPORTATION TO PARKS WERE FAST AND BUSES EVERY 15-20 MINS,CLOSE TO ALL 4 PARKS AND DOWNTOWN DISNEY,VERY CLEAN AND STAFF WERE AMAZING,STAYED AT BEACH CLUB LAST YEAR AND MADE A GREAT CHOICE BUY STAYING HERE THIS YEAR,THUMBS UP TO AOA,BRINGS OUT THE KID IN ANYBODY…
Tom, your review of Pop & Art are spot on. Over the past several years, we’ve stay at both the Pop & Art several times each. Here’s some insights we can add. The layout of the two are nearly mirror images across a small lake, linked by a short bridge. Originally planned as two sister resorts Art was supposed to cover the decades from 1900-1940. Outdoor themes of both resorts are over the top, larger than life. DArt’s indoor themes are practically in your face. Yes, DArt is a more expensive option, a newer hotel and themed with some of Disney’s more popular movies. The murphy bed/table is a unique and cleaver convenient, but it’s right next to the room’s entry door. It can get nosy at times. And I’m typically tripping over the poor occupant to get out for an early morning jog and sunrise pics. We’ve found the suites are a bargain over getting two adjoining rooms (sleeps 4) at DPC. Both food courts have a lot of variety, plenty of options for the whole family and are only a short walk away from each other (similar options). During busy times, the dining area can quickly turn into a zoo. We typically going to WDW during the Christmas holidays. Lots of lines, for food, cashier, drinks, condiments. Picture guest balancing trays loaded with meals, cups, bottles, desserts, looking for tables or waiting to fill up on drinks. Oh, it and can get quite messy fast (cast members eventually catch up). Also, it’s a value resort; think families, big families, lots of kids of all sizes and ages. The park buses are quite good. Centralized, it can be quite a short hike to get too and from the terminal, if your room is at ether end of the resort, but it’s never more than a 10-20 minute wait to any Park or Downtown Disney. Also consider the practicality of using the either resort’s bus to get back from any park as an option that doubles the number of bus options at the end of a long day. The pools are huge and there are open air movie nights. Pop & Art are deservedly on the top of the Value Resort list. (…sorry if this comment is too long, like I said, we’ve stayed at both quite a bit.)
Wow!!!!! So great and wonderful post. The rooms are really very nice. Awesome post. Keep sharing.
The only issue we had with staying at AOA was the lack of a lobby with seating, especially when we had to wait for Magical Express on our last day.
We just stayed at AOA for the first back in early March. We (I) chose the Nemo family suites. We had heard that they were too bright and colorful, but we all loved it. It was between the Cars rooms and the Nemo rooms, but if we stayed there again, we’d probably give the Cars rooms a chance. And maybe if we stayed a third time, we’d even give the Lion King suites a try.
We loved how close we were to everything, it made our laundry/pool night so easy. The Naan bread was something even the boys enjoyed too.
As much as we loved everything, it definitely was not a bargain vs. two rooms at Pop. For this trip we would have saved a decent amount of money, but I just wanted to get a stay at AOA/Nemo out of my system. Needless to say, we will probably end up staying at Pop more often that not.
Thanks for the review…perfect timing as we (I) are ready to go back!
I
Stayed at Little Mermaid in 2012 with adult daughter and Lion King family suite (5 adults) in 2013. Bright colors, clashing patterns and outdoor lighting of AOA never changed our opinion of the resort. Our primary focus when going to WDW is just that – GOING TO WDW! So long as we have enough beds for our traveling party, clean towels and air conditioning to get a good night’s sleep, that’s makes us happy. As far as walking distances to Food Court, you’re going to be walking double-digit miles in the parks! It’s just a ‘warm-up’ to Food Court for the distance you’ll do in a day.
I appreciate this review! We just booked a Cars Suite for our family of 4 for our first WDW trip this November. Yes, I know we could have had nearly a 5 star hotel for the same price, but we can stay at those anywhere in the world. Our thoughts were our son will only appreciate theming like this for such a little time period in his life it was worth the price tag. Also, the Cars suite seems like a nice compromise since we’re used to more then a basic hotel room but want theming to please the kids. Plus, I get excited every time my almost 3 year old tells a stranger he’s going to stay at Mater’s house in Disney World.
I am starting to worry about our stay in a little mermaid room,after reading the negative reviews. This will be our first trip to Disney (we have been to Euro Disney) Please has anyone go a nice review
I wouldn’t worry too much, unless you really don’t like to walk. Even then, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal.
The rooms are just small. They are cute, but I hated how small they were. We are a family of five that squeezed in the room. I wouldn’t do that again.
I stayed in the Little Mermaid room with three adults total and we had a blast in the room. I like the theme and was looking for more of a Disney feel even in the resort. The walk is a bit long, but very doable even when I had bruised feet by the last day of our trip. My dad with bad knees still did the stairs up to the 3rd floor to our room almost every day. Try and request a room close to transportation and it help as well.
Great review.
But I don’t care what you (or my wife) say,
I’m keeping my Crocs!!!!
Someday, maybe you will be viewed as a fashion-pioneer with your Crocs! 😉
Our family of 3 loves the Art of Animation Resort! We have stayed twice in the Little Mermaid rooms and are looking forward to another stay in August. Our daughter (7) loves the theming of the rooms. The whole resort is fun and whimisical. Although the walk to the Big Blue Pool takes about 10 minutes we found it enjoyable to walk throug the Lion King section at night, listening to the music and enjoying the larger than life characters. The outside of the Cars section is so well done it’s like you are still in one of the theme parks. We really love the Big Blue Pool too. Since it is so large it does not feel crowded, the Nemo theming at the pool really envelops you and although some might say it is “over the top” we go to Disney to escape our every day lives….so Disney’s version of “over the top” is fine by us! We have stayed at the Contemporary Resort, Carribean Beach Resort (many times), Port Orleans Riverside, Coronado Springs Resort and All Star Movies. We feel that the cost per night of the Little Mermaid rooms is very reasonable when we take into consideration the great theming and the amount of time we spend in the room versus the amount of time spent in the parks.
I love all of the sections at night besides Lion King. I just feel that the lighting there is lackluster. Agree that Cars is the best, and I’d give second best at night to Finding Nemo.
We booked one night in the little mermaid rooms for the beginning of our disney moon in dec 2013 as it was considerably less expensive then adding a night to our boardwalk reservations. I was pleasantly surprised that before even checking in the nicest cast member I have ever worked with came up to us (wearing our ears of course!) and immediately upgraded us to a nemo suite…we were floored what a way to start our honeymoon. Though upon arriving in the room I was a little shocked. The room was not very clean with visible spiderwebs throughout and it was really beat up it looked like someone took a hammer to pretty much the whole living room area, there broken or peeling things throughout the room. I didn’t think it fair to call mouse keeping as I knew the rack rate of that pictular suite and we were only staying one night, I certainly didn’t want to seem ungrateful because that was the furthest thing from what we felt but I could not believe that mouse keeping let those things slip through the cracks and would even allow someone to check into that room. That being said we loved the food court and the grounds it was lovely and the staff was amazing! I think it is fair to mention though that the beds in the nemo suite are among one of the worse beds I have ever slept in, not just at wdw but in general! I will certainly give it another try on the amenities and staff alone though 😉
Never stayed at a value resort until we had kids. Several years ago we stayed at All Star Movies. It was okay. For our next trip, we wanted to stay at Art of Animation. We were disappointed to find out that the only standard rooms were in the Mermaid section. My boys did not want to stay in a “girl room”. We agreed that the suites were way to pricey for a family of 4. So we are staying at All Star Sports. 🙁 Guess you gotta do what you gotta do for your kids. 🙂
Honestly, We were worried too (having a boy as our only child) but the rooms arent Girly at all. The big picture in our room was of Eric and the dog steering the ship. Little man loves it there and we are having a hard time NOT going there for 4th time in a row….
Your photos were very helpful indeed! After seeing these rooms I can definitively say that I would NEVER want to stay in the Art of Animation, (or really, any of the “Value” resorts)
They look overtly obnoxious and give me a feeling of stress (Which is the last thing I’d want after a long day at the parks in the hot sun with my kids)
My husband and I like a relaxing environment when we return to our hotel for a rest so this does not look like the place for us. Thank you for helping us check a site off our list! 🙂
Re: A suite vs. 2 rooms. I have heard from friends that it’s not possible to confirm ajacent or connecting rooms ahead of time at any WDW resort. Indeed, a friend who stayed at the Polynesian called the resort weekly two months prior to their arrival to try to make sure their 2 rooms were at least close. Upon check-in, they were a 10 min walk away (they were able to move closer 4 days later). I don’t know if this is the same at every resort, but that possibility makes me more inclined to get a suite over 2 rooms.
Thanks for the review. I don’t have the need for a suite so we won’t be staying there but I’ve been curious about the rooms. Disney did some really cool work on this hotel! I love the use of space and theming. While I’ll always love a quiet deluxe like wilderness lodge, this looks so fun for families to enjoy.
We stayed in the Little Mermaid section in May. While I loved the resort, I hated the walk back to our room from the buses/Landscape of Flavors/ Big Blue Pool. We were in the furthest building, on the back side of the building (just my luck). We were closer to Pop than we were to the front of AOA. it was very frustrating to try to hustle our four-year old along each night when he was exhausted. By the end of our stay we just started driving to the park so we didn’t have to hike to/from the bus stop. I thought the reviews that complained about the walk were exaggerating, but no, they weren’t. At Disney, the poorer you are the more you walk. :). Oh well. We will be back, but only when we are able to cough up the dough to stay in one of the suites.
Thanks for the review. Though I’m with Sarah on this one and disagree that the Lion King rooms are less clashing . The Lion King rooms are hard to look at IMO… all the mismatched patterns that don’t even look Lion Kingish to me… just looks like they pulled a bunch of patterns from a super budget motel in Southwest Florida…
Dang, no one agrees with me on the Lion King rooms. Guess it *is* my bias for that movie!
I don’t think I could sleep in that Lion King room. The colors clash and would pierce my closed eyelids all night long. awful.
My primary beef with AoA is a small one. If you’re going to name a resort “Art of Animation” maybe you should feature animated films which are universally acclaimed for their art (Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi maybe?). Of the four films featured, only Lion King really fits the bill. The other three are pretty weak by comparison. Yes, I know the target is little kids. Yes, I know the movies I listed are “old” and would not appeal to many kids. Great! So name the resort something else.
Man, everyone hates those Lion King rooms!
I get your beef and agree with you, but they’re marketing these squarely at kids…there’s no way we were getting a Fantasia wing.
It would be more accurate as Disney’s Animation Resort, but I think the current name rolls off the tongue a little better.