Disney's Art of Animation Review (Part 1)

Staying on Disney property, in my opinion, is one of the highlights of visiting Walt Disney World. The resorts and hotels flawlessly blend comfort, excellent customer service, easy access to transportation and of course, Disney Magic into your Walt Disney World vacation. For my Sister Trip in April (2018) my sister and I stayed at a new hotel (at least, for us anyway): Disney's Art of Animation Resort.

Now, I will admit, when I visit Disney World I usually stay at one of the three main resorts (The Contemporary, The Polynesian, The Grand Floridian), with only one family trip having us stay at The Fort Wilderness Resort and Campgrounds. Therefore, when I think of Disney, my mind automatically goes to monorail rides to Magic Kingdom and Epcot, along with a view of Cinderella's Castle every time I walk out of my room. (Yes, I know, this makes me sound incredibly spoiled, but I have no problem admitting to that.) Staying at Disney's Art of Animation Resort would sadly forgo my daily monorail trips, but due to the last minute planning of this trip, it was the only hotel available at the time, and honestly, I had no problem with it because part of it is Finding Nemo themed, and I LOVE Finding Nemo!

The day we arrived at Disney World, I was pleasantly surprised with the location of Disney's Art of Animation Resort. When taking the Magical Express, I usually have to expect a 40-50 minute ride to get to the resort I’m staying at, but Disney's Art of Animation Resort is the first hotel one passes once they enter the Walt Disney World property, cutting the bus ride short by ten minutes or more. Getting to the hotel right away was very exciting, because it meant my sister and I could hop on the bus sooner and head to the parks.

Pulling into Disney's Art of Animation Resort property, you are greeted with a large sign with the hotel name, along with oversized sheets of paper with sketches of the following Disney characters: Ariel, Simba, Nemo and Lightning McQueen. These characters represent each of the different parts of the hotel that are based off of the character’s film. Seeing a giant Nemo instantly brought a smile to my face, and as we exited the Magical Express the Finding Nemo theme was reinforced by a set of the famous seagulls sitting alongside the entrance. Upon closer inspection, I noticed these seagulls have foam rings around their neck, which guests can take off and toss around the seagulls' necks to pass the time away as they wait for their transportation.

Now, as eager as I was to explore the hotel, my sister and I are all about visiting the parks, and we had a packed schedule, so the minute we hopped off the Magical Express we ran over to the bus stops and waited patiently for the bus to pick us up and take us to Magic Kingdom. (No need to worry about our luggage, as we had previously checked our bags and the Magical Express was taking care of it for us. Yay, Disney Magic!) After a full day at the parks, we made it to both Magic Kingdom and MGM (Hollywood Studios), we finally made it back to Disney's Art of Animation Resort around 10:00pm.

Exiting off the Disney Transportation bus, guests are dropped off near a door that leads to the Animation Hallway, but wanting the full experience, my sister and I headed to the main doorway instead to enter the hotel and get our first true glimpse of Disney's Art of Animation Resort.

Entering Disney's Art of Animation Resort the theme of animation is crystal clear, and wow, is it overwhelming (but in a very good way)! The first detail you notice is the myriad of character sketches that line the right wall and continue through the lobby. These are enlarged sketches of characters from the four main Disney movies found at this hotel, but what makes these pictures unique are how different the characters look! Not only do these pictures represent how we know the characters today, but they also include rough drafts of what the characters looked like at the beginning, middle and end of the movie’s development. It’s pretty crazy to see just how different some of the characters started out looking!

Across from the wall of sketches, located behind the check-in desks, is a bright, beautiful spectrum of the rainbow. The wall lights up the entire lobby, allowing guests to see just how many colors can be chosen to bring their favorite characters to life. As you take your first few steps into the lobby, taking in all of the art and color, you can’t help but notice a strong, sweet aroma wafting through the air. My sister and I could not pinpoint what this smell is suppose to be (my closest guest being strawberry cheesecake), but Disney does everything for a reason, so I assume to scent must have been something animation related, but I forgot to ask someone who worked there what the scent was suppose to be. Regardless, it smells absolutely amazing and fills the entire lobby.

Getting to the end of the lobby, guests enter the Animation Hallway where they are greeted with more colorful depictions of their favorite movies. These colorful movie scenes are taken straight from the storyboards of Disney, and guests get the chance to see how their favorite scenes were originally depicted and put together. Continuing with the animation theme, if guests look up, they will find floating pictures of character sketches, similar to the ones on the lobby wall, but they are intertwined with lights. Upon closer inspection, one can notice some of the sketches have been autographed by their voice actors, yet again, adding to the Disney Magic of the hotel.

Besides storyboard pictures, Animation Hallway is also home to the Ink & Paint Shop (gift shop) and an arcade to keep guests entertained. The gift shop is lined with large paint jars and paint brushes and leads into the hotel’s cafe, The Artist’s Palette, a great quick service spot that offers a wide variety of food choices. If you look close enough, you’ll notice the seating area for The Artist’s Palette is separated into four different areas, again, based off of the four movies found within the hotel.

So far, my first impression of Disney's Art of Animation Resort is a good one. I love how the theme is craftily built into the main building, and I love getting a glimpse of the animator’s drawings of so many famous characters. I was amazed upon entering the hotel, but entering to the pool and room area is a whole new experience I was blown away with!

Disney's Art of Animation Resort Review Part 2: Coming Soon

Magical Thought: Have you stayed at Disney's Art of Animation Resort? What was your first impression of it? Please comment and share your thoughts below!