Disney's Art of Animation Resort Review (Part 2)

After witnessing the creativity behind the lobby and rest of the main area of Disney's Art of Animation Resort, I was very eager to see the rest of the hotel. Walking out of the lobby to get to the rooms, guests are greeted with the most amazing sight (at least in my opinion): the Finding Nemo pool and themed rooms! I was so excited to see this part of the hotel, and to have it be my first sight was breathtaking. Inside the pool area is a large anemone with Nemo and Marlin popping out of it. Around them is Pearl, Sheldon, Tad and even Sammy Plankton! The pool rules, printed on the infamous diver’s mask (P. Shermon 42 Wallaby Way Sydney found on the the back) and The Drop Off (a quick service pool bar) easily bring the story of Finding Nemo into the area. The details are magnificent, but instead of taking the time to explore my sister and I veer left and head toward our room.

The next movie land we enter is The Lion King. Entering this area guests are surrounded by lush green plants and Rafikki stands by awaiting to greet people. Music from the movie fills the air, and as my sister and I walk on through we pass Mufasa, the Elephant Grave Yard and of course, Simba, Timone and Pumba. I’ll get into more detail about this area later, but for now, just know you are fully immersed into whatever movie you choose to room with, which makes this hotel unique and very fun to walk through.

Past The Lion King area we get to The Little Mermaid, which is where my sister and I have our room. There’s a bit of an open pathway between the two movie areas, but even from afar one can see the detail that has gone into bringing The Little Mermaid to life. Colorful fish decorate the hotel exterior walls and a large replica of Ariel can be seen in the far back. As guests walk onto the property the walkway is lined with large treasures one can find in Ariel’s Grotto, such as a chests of gold, and yes, even a dinglehopper. At the end of the walkway is a life-size statue of Prince Eric, and it is just as handsome in person as it is in the movie.

My own plans were to explore the layout early the next day, so my sister and I head to our room instead of heading further back to check out the pool. The room entrances are all found along the outside of the building, so instead of entering a hallway to get to our room we simply climb up two brief flights of stairs to get to our room, which has an excellent view of The Little Mermaid area. We open the door, flip on the lights and are once again immersed into the movie.

The first detail I notice is the portrait of Prince Eric and Max standing on the beach, his castle sitting in the background. To the left of the picture is a curtain, depicting the ocean fish singing and dancing to “Under the Sea.” The beds have simple white sheets on them, though upon further inspection I notice a small bubble pattern on them. The headboards are green shells with lights representing pearls. Flounder and Sebastian float happily between the beds. Across from the beds is a small, round table that has the sheet music to “Under the Sea” printed onto the top, and two plastic red chairs with scalloped shell tops sit next to the table. A mirror, decorated with shells and colorful fish hangs above the table. The television is found on top of a set of drawers, designed to look like greenish-black wood, almost like the color of a sunken ship. Next to the television is a door leading into the room next to us, and a cheerful looking octopus is anchored upon the door to act as a coat hanger.

Pulling back the curtain with the singing fish I am greeted with a sink, another mirror decorated with shells, and a small area to store my luggage. To my right is the bathroom, and as I turn on the lights I am greeted with Ariel’s smiling face, as she graces the shower curtain. Pulling back the curtain I am surprised to find I have entered her hidden grotto, as the shower walls are lined with her treasures, and it truly does feel like you are swimming in her grotto as you shower. The detail to the wall is fantastic, showing off all of her collection, but my eye instantly catches a round necklace that has a bit more color to it. Moving in closer, I find a Hidden Mickey (!), as Mickey’s picture can be found within the locket I am starting at. It is this small, hidden detail that brings a smile to my face because Disney’s talent to hide Mickey around the parks and hotel is something I am always blown away with.

After taking in the entire room, I can’t help but feel a bit disappointed. Yes, the detail is spectacular, but there are a few downsides to the room. First of all, it is very tiny. I only needed to take five or six steps, at most, to get from one end of the room to the other. Second, even with all of the added detail to the room it still seemed to be lacking something. The walls were bland and the shell chairs I mentioned earlier were plastic, but the type of plastic school chairs are made out of (not the highest of quality). The curtain blocking off the sink/bathroom area was cute, but also seemed like something the designers had thrown in as an attempt to make the room seem like it had some private space. Yes, I know Disney's Art of Animation Resort is one of the lower end hotels, but perhaps because I was so amazed at the detail that went into the outside of the rooms I was expecting the same “Wow” factor when being in the room.

Regardless of the disappointment of the room, I believe the rest of the hotel is well worth exploring, which is exactly what I did the first morning there. I woke up before my sister and took the time to roam the grounds, taking way too many pictures of the characters and decorations. Starting in The Little Mermaid area one can find a giant statue of King Triton, Ursula, and of course, Ariel with Flounder and a bunch of other fish swimming around her. The pool is a tad small, and even though I didn’t get a chance to go swimming I’ve been told if you go under the water you can hear music playing! The outside of the buildings are decorated with brightly colored fish and bubbles, helping you feel as if you’re under the sea yourself.

Heading back toward the main area, the next movie you enter into is The Lion King. Coming from the direction of The Little Mermaid, Zazu is perched on a rock to inspect guests as they walk by. Scar is up next, perched on top of another rock, peering down at guests as they walk through the Elephant Graveyard, which is infiltrated by the hyenas. At night the red lighting adds a spooky aura to this area, and I love the fact that guests can climb through the ribs of the elephant and pose on its tusks. Moving on to a more lighthearted area, one finds Simba, Timone and Pumba dancing along a large tree log, which is placed above an entrance to one of the buildings (this scene taken directly from “Hakuna Matata”). Past the trio of friends one sees Mufasa watching over everyone, rightfully placed at the top of Pride Rock. Raffiki is found at the end to wish farewell to guests leaving and welcome those coming back from a day at the parks.

Exiting The Lion King one is suddenly immersed from land into the sea, surrounded by Pixar’s world of Finding Nemo. The infamous seagulls are sitting on top of large poles at each end of the area, and if you listen closely enough you may just hear them screech “Mine!” The pool, which I described earlier, is the largest one on property, and brings to life all of the excitement of exploring the ocean with your favorite characters. Turtles swimming through the EAC line the building, and if you follow the EAC along the left path you’ll come across Crush and Dory, floating on by with ease. Across from these friends, on the other side of the pool, you’ll see Mr. Ray swooping down to check out all of his students who happen to be enjoying themselves in the pool. Behind the pool is a bit of coral reef designed for children to climb, slide down and hang out with little Squirt (though he isn’t too little). Walking around to the other side of the building you’ll notice pieces of paper lining the walls with sketches of Nemo! (Each of the buildings have this on the outer side of them with sketches of the main character).

Moving on to the last section of Disney's Art of Animation Resort, guests are instantly transported to Radiator Springs, and all of your favorite Cars characters are parked around the lot, waiting for you to pose and take pictures with them. Large billboards highlight the sights around Radiator Springs, and even the sidewalk has white stripes painted down the middle to imitate the road. The pool, or rather, what surrounds the pool is the first thing to catch visitors’ eyes. Large, orange cones circle around the pool and it soon becomes evident these cones act as cabanas guests can lounge around in. Of course, the Cozy Cone Motel sign and check in desk is right there as well! Walking around the pool, the building walls printed with the desert rocky landscape, one runs into Mater and his Tow Mater company, Filmore and his Organic Fuel stand, and Lightning McQueen parked outside the Wheel Well Motel with Sally. I will admit, Cars isn’t on my list of Top Pixar Movies, but I really enjoyed seeing all of the characters and detail that went into creating this area of the hotel.

Disney's Art of Animation Resort is a fun hotel to visit, especially because one can go around and take pictures with so many characters it is almost like being at the parks. Each area of the hotel is uniquely crafted to immerse the guests into a beloved Disney movie. The lobby is colorful, full of wonderful art to look at and smells amazing! The atmosphere is truly Disney, but personally, I don’t think I would go back to Disney's Art of Animation Resort. The room was tiny, there was a mix up in our luggage getting delivered to our rooms (that’s an entirely different story) and there is no monorail. Would I recommend this to other guests? Yes, especially if you want to feel like you’re in Disney without paying a crazy amount for a room. Yet, for me, I think I’ll try out another hotel next time, if only to check out another of Disney’s wonderful hotels and see what else they have to offer.

Magical Thoughts: What are you thoughts on this Disney resort? Have you stayed before? Would you like to visit? Please post and share your comments below!