Disney Art of Animation Resort...any good?

[GherkinTheMerkin]

We're thinking of booking a 2 week trip to Florida for next year, probably the last two weeks of August. Has anyone been to the Art of Animation resort? Would you recommend it?

We've got 3 boys who will be 9, 8 and 6 by the time we go. What are the not to be missed trips/attractions? Should we get the disney meal package?

So many questions I should be asking! I have noticed a few threads which i'm working my way through.

my best advice with 3 kids is to go for a villa. in terms of cost, it will be cheaper plus everyone gets a bedroom, plenty of space and a swimming pool. have a look at the dibb thread and buy the books WDW with kids and beyond WDW with kids. these are a great starting point. personally I wouldn't stay in a resort. I loved the freedom of our own villa. early mornings round the parks, back late afternoon, laze in the pool then out in the evening to one of the shows, fireworks or downtown Disney. take a look at HP world on the other parks and check out ride heights. the ages of your kids mean that they might be too small for some rides so best avoid areas rather than disappointment. not a fan of the water parks but we loved everything else.

Hi there, we stayed at the AoA last year for 2 weeks and absolutely loved it. It was our first trip to Florida and really appreciated being on site, the Disney transport was excellent. We didn't hire a car so when we went offsite we just got taxis. We stayed in a Lion King suite with my 12 yo ds and 10yo dd. They don't like being on top of each other so this worked really well as they each had their own area and we had our own room with e suite. We didn't have a dining plan but would recommend you get one if you can as the food on site is generally quite expensive. The food court had variety but was a very basic dining experience which was fine for us as we only ever used it to grab a quick bite to eat, if we wanted a nicer meal we booked a proper restaurant in a park or at Downtown Disney.

We did all the Disney Parks including water parks and Seaworld Discovery Cove. We hope to go back and do Universal and Disney again soon.
Hope that helps

Thanks mummymeister and Morley that's helpful information and advice

Hi, sorry to hijack OP but Morley, do you mind me asking how much it cost? We are looking to do this next year - thanks!