My son C and I took off for 5-days in Disney World in October.
Going against my husband's hotel/mile loving self, I wanted to stay on-property, meaning no points for us. However, we did use Hotels.com and used the 5-night stay to help us advance toward the "stay 10 nights get one free" deal that they offer. I secured what I felt was a good rate for their newest resort, the Art of Animation Resort. I found a nightly rate of $99 per night which I was comfortable with.
The Art of Animation Resort is considered a value resort with the cheapest area being The Little Mermaid section. Truth be told, this area is quite a hike from the main building where the food hall is. We were in building 8 and it took us approximately 10 minutes to walk to the dining hall. The buses were in the same area so you can plan on a good hike. For us, it wasn't an issue as we were saving money, staying in a beautiful, magical resort, and being able to use the easy Disney bus service was simply worth it for me.
The resort itself is perfectly themed for young kids...and young at heart parents! It is divided into 4 themed areas, Lion King, Finding Nemo, Cars, and Little Mermaid. The first three areas are all family suites, providing 2 beds and more living space, at double or triple the cost of the Little Mermaid value "hotel rooms". The Cars area is one of the best picture taking areas in the resort. You will find every character and the backgrounds that Disney has created are perfect. There is a small, typically underpopulated pool over there with Cozy Cones surrounding it.
The Finding Nemo pool is the main attraction. The pool is huge and provided us lots of fun during our stay. We really appreciated the life vests for young kids that could be borrowed.
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| Lion King "Walk Through" Area |
The Lion King area had the least fun atmosphere as there really wasn't much to do in it's interior. It is basically a connection area from the Nemo area to Little Mermaid.
The Little Mermaid pool area was well-themed, with Ursula, Ariel, and King Triton towering over the area at the entrance of each building. The room was perfectly clean and had my little man thrilled upon entering it. Let's face it, we were not going to be in our room much anyways, so I wasn't in need of a fancy suite. But it was really fun to allow my little boy to be completely surrounded in the Disney theme from every angle. It wasn't the best points deal or hotel program for our family, but for my heart and head, seeing the smile on my son's face made it worth it for sure.
The room had a large Queen bed, precious table with sea shell chairs, a dresser with small fridge, simple sink area, with a separate bath and toilet. Every inch of the room continued the Little Mermaid "Under the Sea" theme. It was very "unisex"...not to worry for the boys.
It was very cool :)
We took advantage of Disney's Magical Express bus transfer to and from the airport. It was easy and worked great for us. The luggage transfer took forever and our bags did not arrive in our room until well past midnight even though we arrived at 7pm. I think next time, I would go ahead and simply hand carry my own bags. The basic bus transfers to and from the park were great. We did run into a few evenings where the lines for our buses were insanely long, however they were pretty good about getting multiple buses over to our location. A quick tip, if the line is short from the park to the Pop Century Resort, take it! It is just across a small bridge from the Art of Animation! Wish I had thought of this earlier in our stay!
We had 4-Day Park Hopper passes for our stay. We managed to hit all 4 parks in one day easily. It was 2 weeks before Halloween when we were there and the crowds were thicker than I expected, but manageable. We did get in for a soft opening of the new Fantasy Land, gaining access to Gaston's Pub, and the new Little Mermaid ride. We really enjoyed the parks and had a blast.
We bought tickets to the Crystal Palance Character Lunch with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. It was something that I would likely pass on in the future. The buffet food was lackluster and we had to wait forever to see all of the characters. However, our server was great about making sure we got photos with all of the characters before we left. Note to parents thinking about it, save your money and stand in line for the characters your kids HAVE to see.
We also had tickets to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on a Thursday evening. They run this event several times before Halloween in both WDW and Disneyland. The tickets were under $70 and were completely worth it.....So worth it that when the "real" Halloween day rolled around, my son had little to no interest in going Trick-or-Treating! Disney allows access to the park at 4pm for those with tickets to the event. We decided to make that a pool morning for us, and then took off to the park in our costume!
From the amazingly special Halloween parades, to the decor, to the candy stations throughout the park, it could not have been a better experience. I can only hope to do this again with my little boy and future daughter when she is old enough. We left the park with a huge bag of great candy and memories that I will cherish forever.
I can honestly say that the 5-days I spent with my little boy in WDW were some of the best days of my life. He will only be 5 for a short time and to see this fantasy world through his eyes and by his side was immeasurable. I think I too became a little girl for a short time, enjoying the same sights and sounds that my family shared with me as I grew up. Our world is full of too much tragedy, too much immediate media, and things that must be done right away. Our trip was an escape into a cartoon world that although not "real", was a beautiful movie to escape into. Don't let your child's lives pass without taking some time to do this.
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