Disney's ART OF ANIMATION RESORT Information & Questions

[ZoZo]

(Second question: can a gift card or credit card with a low limit be linked to a 5 year olds band?)

FYI, it's my understanding that magic bands are only a way to charge to your room - you're not actually linking a credit card or gift card to the actual band itself. It simply has an RFID chip in it, a way to charge to your room just like the old "keys to the world" cards did/do. That's why people staying offsite at non-WDW hotels can buy a magic band to access their FPs, but can't use them to charge with - they don't have a WDW resort room to charge to.

Can anyone else verify this?

 

[WEDWDW]

So to get to Hoop De Doo.. I would take a bus to MK from AoA?

Yes,that is th best route:

Bus from AoA to MK;then boat from MK to The Fort.

 

[disneymomof1]

I've got to say we are a little over two weeks until we check into our very first stay at AoA--little mermaid section and I am very hesitant about AoA. We have been to WDW dozens of times, but have never stayed value, usually WL, AKL or POFQ. I am worried about noise level especially. My husband will be attending a convention for a few of our days so he needs to sleep well at night to be on his game for the convention. Has anyone ever heard of any school groups--senior trips, cheerleaders at the AoA Little Mermaid section. I have called Disney reservations to see if we could upgrade to POFQ (no rooms) and the only rooms at AKL are DVC villas and they don't fit the budget. Please make me feel better about our choice !!!

 

[Shanan]

Staying for first time at AoA family suite Sept 2016. Will be 5 adults (3 ladies in living area and married BIL & Sis in bedroom). I was thinking of shipping twin air mattress to resort for me to sleep on I have read some of the replies and looked at floor plan but don't know if there was space for a twin blowup mattress Is it possible to fit a twin air mattress in the living room area?

 

[bluezy]

Staying for first time at AoA family suite Sept 2016. Will be 5 adults (3 ladies in living area and married BIL & Sis in bedroom). I was thinking of shipping twin air mattress to resort for me to sleep on I have read some of the replies and looked at floor plan but don't know if there was space for a twin blowup mattress Is it possible to fit a twin air mattress in the living room area?

Yes, there's definitely space for one (or two). We usually put it right in front of the kitchenette/next to the sofa bed for sleeping. It partially blocks the kitchenette/refrigerator, but we don't usually need access to those things once everyone is going to bed. During the day we stand the mattress upright between the kitchenette and the sofa so that it's out of the way.

 

[Shanan]

Yes, there's definitely space for one (or two). We usually put it right in front of the kitchenette/next to the sofa bed for sleeping. It partially blocks the kitchenette/refrigerator, but we don't usually need access to those things once everyone is going to bed. During the day we stand the mattress upright between the kitchenette and the sofa so that it's out of the way.

Thank you so very much! Will definitely have one shipped to use

 

[Tara1988]

FYI, it's my understanding that magic bands are only a way to charge to your room - you're not actually linking a credit card or gift card to the actual band itself. It simply has an RFID chip in it, a way to charge to your room just like the old "keys to the world" cards did/do. That's why people staying offsite at non-WDW hotels can buy a magic band to access their FPs, but can't use them to charge with - they don't have a WDW resort room to charge to.

Can anyone else verify this?

I've heard of 2 adults in the same room having their own cards linked to their bands. I'm mostly just not sure if they allow children to have charging privileges at all

 

[bluezy]

I've heard of 2 adults in the same room having their own cards linked to their bands. I'm mostly just not sure if they allow children to have charging privileges at all

I'm not sure if there is a minimum age for a child to have charging privileges but I know I was able to allow my 10-yo to have charging privileges last year. That being said, she didn't know she had charging privileges. I did it just in case we switched magic bands so she could use a FP on mine. I wanted to be able to purchase a snack or drink or something in a gift shop while waiting for her to ride the attraction. If you give a child charging privileges, they will need to know the PIN code to make any charges -- so I always assign charging privileges to all of our magic bands, I just don't tell the kids the PIN code until/unless they need to use it.

As far as I know, while it is possible to attach a specific credit card to a specific magic band, I don't think it's possible to assign a gift card to a certain person/magic band. A gift card can be used to pay down the balance on a room charge or it can be used for the actual purchases, but I haven't heard/read of anyone being able to assign one to a specific magic band or apply it towards specific line-item room charges. Some CM's seem to be willing/able to apply gift cards to the room charge even when there is no balance to be paid down (so, giving the room charge a "negative balance"), but that varies by CM and seems to be the exception rather than the rule. It doesn't hurt to ask at check-in, but be prepared with a back-up plan. FWIW, the room charge print-out will list each individual charge and who made the charge so if you're simply trying to keep track of charges by person, you can just ask for a printout of the room charges and add them up by person.

 

[CarolAnnB]

Does anyone know if there are disposable coffee cups with lids in the suites, so you can take your coffee to go? And does the coffee from the coffee maker taste pretty much like the stuff in the food court? If you found the in-room pods to be bad, did you buy any that you thought were better? Trying to avoid buying more refillable mugs.

 

[Scott2552]

I'm not sure if there is a minimum age for a child to have charging privileges but I know I was able to allow my 10-yo to have charging privileges last year. That being said, she didn't know she had charging privileges. I did it just in case we switched magic bands so she could use a FP on mine. I wanted to be able to purchase a snack or drink or something in a gift shop while waiting for her to ride the attraction. If you give a child charging privileges, they will need to know the PIN code to make any charges -- so I always assign charging privileges to all of our magic bands, I just don't tell the kids the PIN code until/unless they need to use it.

As far as I know, while it is possible to attach a specific credit card to a specific magic band, I don't think it's possible to assign a gift card to a certain person/magic band. A gift card can be used to pay down the balance on a room charge or it can be used for the actual purchases, but I haven't heard/read of anyone being able to assign one to a specific magic band or apply it towards specific line-item room charges. Some CM's seem to be willing/able to apply gift cards to the room charge even when there is no balance to be paid down (so, giving the room charge a "negative balance"), but that varies by CM and seems to be the exception rather than the rule. It doesn't hurt to ask at check-in, but be prepared with a back-up plan. FWIW, the room charge print-out will list each individual charge and who made the charge so if you're simply trying to keep track of charges by person, you can just ask for a printout of the room charges and add them up by person.

I talked to someone from Disney last week and they told me I could load my son's gift cards directly to his band.

 

[masylimed]

Does anyone know if there are disposable coffee cups with lids in the suites, so you can take your coffee to go? And does the coffee from the coffee maker taste pretty much like the stuff in the food court? If you found the in-room pods to be bad, did you buy any that you thought were better? Trying to avoid buying more refillable mugs.

We always bring one previous mug with us strictly for hot beverages. We buy a new one to activate the chip-thing and use it for sodas but I don't like to mix my coffee and soda mugs. I wash them, but it still has a coffee taste to me. Since I am buying a new one, I don't feel guilty for bringing an old one.

 

[masylimed]

AoA family suite bed question - is the table bed the same size as the sofa bed? We are going there next week with 5 adults staying in one. Right now, my sister and her husband have the bedroom and my adult nephew and his girlfriend have the couch. I've heard that the bed is uncomfortable and was wondering if I should take the couch since I'm one person and give them the table bed if it's the same size.

 

[VeronicaZS]

Yes and yes.

Thank you!

 

[bluezy]

I talked to someone from Disney last week and they told me I could load my son's gift cards directly to his band.

Phone CM's are notorious for giving bad/incorrect information. My guess is that's the case here. Perhaps something has changed recently, but I don't think so. Nothing is loaded "on the band" -- the magic band simply has a code number that links back to your reservation. It would be great if Disney would allow people to load gift cards on to a specific family member's account (as opposed to just being a credit towards the room balance), but I'm not holding my breath. I'm sure if they have recently started allowing this, we'll start to hear numerous reports from people as it would solve a problem for many families. It would so nice to be able to put $XX on each account and not have to worry about the kids spending more than they're supposed to...just say, "You have $XX to spend on snacks and souvenirs for the next 7 days. Choose wisely." and not have to worry about it (until they come back 3 days later and say they're out of money )

AoA family suite bed question - is the table bed the same size as the sofa bed? We are going there next week with 5 adults staying in one. Right now, my sister and her husband have the bedroom and my adult nephew and his girlfriend have the couch. I've heard that the bed is uncomfortable and was wondering if I should take the couch since I'm one person and give them the table bed if it's the same size.

Here are the measurements I took when we were there last summer:

Sofa bed: 77" x 53" x 6"
Table bed: 75" x 54" x 8"

So they're pretty close to the same size but the table bed has a thicker mattress. I think both beds are comfortable, but because the table bed has the thicker mattress, to me it feels more like a regular bed than the sofa bed. The other difference is that the table bed is higher off the floor than the sofa bed, so I find that one a little easier to get in and out of. I've never actually slept on either of these beds at night, but I've lounged around/napped on each of them a few times during our stays.

 

[myminnieme]

I've got to say we are a little over two weeks until we check into our very first stay at AoA--little mermaid section and I am very hesitant about AoA. We have been to WDW dozens of times, but have never stayed value, usually WL, AKL or POFQ. I am worried about noise level especially. My husband will be attending a convention for a few of our days so he needs to sleep well at night to be on his game for the convention. Has anyone ever heard of any school groups--senior trips, cheerleaders at the AoA Little Mermaid section. I have called Disney reservations to see if we could upgrade to POFQ (no rooms) and the only rooms at AKL are DVC villas and they don't fit the budget. Please make me feel better about our choice !!!

If you are worried about noise, just request an upper room facing the lake. Nobody above you to make noise. The mermaid pool is a quiet pool anyway tho. Not nearly as loud as the memo section, and even tho, I don't know if I would call it loud. You will probably find the mermaid section to feel kind of peaceful if you let it. The resort is wonderful. I've never stayed moderate or deluxe but I don't have any complaints about our stays at a of a.

 

[Mheato]

We just got back from Easter week leaving for home on Friday 4/1. We stayed in building number 4 finding in the Finding Nemo suites by the big blue pool. We were on the 4th floor but the back side. We didn't hear a peep all week when we were in our room. The resort seemed to be pretty busy but I couldn't tell you for sure if we even had neighbors or not.

 

[DanInMN]

Here now. Room is quiet enough for sleeping. Garish room decor is not as bad in person. Food court okay, nothing special. Pool is supposedly largest at WDW, but doesn't seem like it. Overall it really is a value resort at deluxe pricing. Although it fit our need to sleep 6 this time, if I were to do it again we would definitely stay offsite.

 

[bluezy]

Here now. Room is quiet enough for sleeping. Garish room decor is not as bad in person. Food court okay, nothing special. Pool is supposedly largest at WDW, but doesn't seem like it. Overall it really is a value resort at deluxe pricing. Although it fit our need to sleep 6 this time, if I were to do it again we would definitely stay offsite.

I was thinking about you this afternoon and wondering how your trip was going. I hope you're all having a good time.

Even though we love AoA, I agree with your points: We've always found the rooms to be quiet (of course we've always been on the top floor so that might help); the over-the-top room decor is much more subdued when you see it in person (I was really worried about that the first time we stayed there); I also can't believe it's the largest pool on property -- it's big, but I never felt like it was significantly bigger than some others we've seen so I wonder just how much bigger is it than the second and third biggest pools on property. And I also fee like it's a Value resort at Deluxe prices. We stay there because we're usually traveling with 3 or 4 "kids" (tween, teens, and an adult) and for us it's the best "bang for the buck" as far as space. I will say that every time we've stayed there we could have stayed in a standard room at a Deluxe resort for less money -- and I considered doing that on the last trip when we only had 3 "kids" with us, but I wasn't ready to give up that second bathroom. Maybe next time. The only thing that I'm not in agreement on is staying off property -- we definitely like being in the bubble. But I totally understand that offsite is a great option for many families. My husband and I will probably venture offsite when he retires and we spend a month or two in the area.

 

[DanInMN]

I was thinking about you this afternoon and wondering how your trip was going. I hope you're all having a good time.

Trip going okay One kid is cranky most of the time, but with a few moments of smiles. The other is doing pretty well. The teen friends we brought are having a great time.

 

[markmcalear]

Do any of the AOA Suites have connecting doors to the Suite next door?

My kids would love to stay here but sadly there are 7 of us in total so we would need 2 Suites