February 2021
This was my first time staying at Disney's Art of Animation Resort and I absolutely loved it! My boyfriend, Ryan, and I went from a Wednesday morning to a Friday afternoon. We flew out from Philadelphia International Airport at 8:45 AM. It was an extremely early morning for us since we had to wake up at 5:30 AM in order to get to the airport by 7:00 AM. We flew with American Airlines and we were able to check our luggage and go through security in a timely manner. Our flight was fine, there was little to no turbulence, however, our flight was crowded. I was expecting better COVID-19 safety protocols with distancing but every seat was filled. Ryan and I made sure that we did everything we could to be safe such as wearing two masks at the airport and frequently using hand sanitizer. Our flight made excellent time, about two hours, and we were able to navigate our way through Orlando International Airport with ease. We grabbed our luggage and headed over to the Magical Express Terminal. We waited for about 15 minutes until we were able to load onto our bus and head to our resort. There were bathrooms located in the Magical Express Terminal as well as one on the bus. The ride was about 30 minutes long and when we arrived we were greeted by cheering Cast Members.
Our designated check in time was for 3:00 PM and since we arrived early our room was not quite ready yet. We checked our luggage in at the Luggage Assistance at the front of our resort and then we decided to check out the giftshop. By the time we were done in the giftshop, our room was ready! It was great that we were able to go to our room before our designated check in time. After we found our room, I made a call to the Luggage Assistance and they brought our bags up to room within 15 minutes. From that, Ryan and I got ready to explore our hotel.
We had a lot of fun exploring all of the Disney themed architecture. The Art of Animation Resort is made up of four Disney/Pixar movies - Cars, Finding Nemo, The Lion King, and The Little Mermaid. We stayed in The Little Mermaid section. My favorite section to walk through was The Lion King! It is one of my favorite movies! Overall, I had a lot of fun posing with all of the characters across all of the different sections. Please enjoy the many silly pictures below!
The Art of Animation Resort has the largest resort pool within all of the Walt Disney World Resorts. This pool is called The Big Blue Pool and it was closed due to refurbishments during our stay. The resort also has two other pools, The Cozy Cone Pool and The Flippin' Fins Pool. During our stay we did not visit either of the opened pools because we did not feel comfortable with COVID. However, many other people were using the pools but I personally did not like the idea of it.
Ryan and I were also able to eat at the resort restaurant, Landscape of Flavors. We went twice to the restaurant and we had a pleasant experience both times. The first time we went we both ordered Chicken Tenders and Fries for $10.49 each. The second time we went we both ordered Chicken Parmesan Pasta for $11.99 each. We ordered our food through the mobile app and we only had to wait a few minutes to receive it. The Cast Members were extremely kind and helpful! I felt safe eating in the dining room as the tables were all appropriately distanced and I felt like it was a well cleaned atmosphere. Ryan and I also went to our resort's bar called The Drop Off Pool Bar. Ryan ordered a drink called Big Blue Ocean (Svedka Vodka, Bacardi Superior Rum, Bols Blue Curaçao and Minute Maid Lemonade with a souvenir multicolored Glow Cube) for $15.00. I ordered a drink called Poolside Iced Tea (Absolut Vodka, Bacardi Superior Rum, Beefeater Gin, Corazón Blanco Tequila, Cointreau and Sweet-and-Sour topped with Coca-Cola) for $15.00. The bartender was very nice and we enjoyed our drinks.
One of my favorite things about going on a Disney Vacation is the ease of transportation. Disney makes your vacation transportation hassle free. For us, our trip started with the Magical Express that brought us to our resort and then from the resort we took the bus and the Skyliner to get to our desired locations. My favorite modes of transportation are the Magical Express and Skyliner. I am sad that Disney will be ending the Magical Express but I expect that they will be replacing it with something better! The Skyliner was a convenient way for Ryan and I to resort hop and travel to and from the Boardwalk and Epcot.
Overall, Ryan and I were very pleased with our stay at Art of Animation Resort and the services that Disney provides. We had wonderful experiences with every Cast Member that we interacted with and we felt safe the whole time. I would defiantly stay at The Art of Animation Resort during another future visit.
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