All star resort vs art of animation

[Whitaker24]

What are the differences in the rooms ect? I've heard bus wait times are shorter but can't confirm. Are room sizes the same?

 

[dansdad]

The rooms at AoA are slightly larger.

All Star standard rooms = 260 sq. feet
AoA standard rooms = 277 sq. feet
All Star Music Family Suites = 520 sq. feet
AoA Family Suites = 565 sq. feet

 

[I Love Pluto]

The price at Art of Animation is also larger.

 

[WEDWDW]

For the buses,"sometimes" the 3 All-Star Resorts(Sports,Music,Movies) share.

AoA has "dedicated" buses-no sharing.

 

[MrsDuck]

For the buses,"sometimes" the 3 All-Star Resorts(Sports,Music,Movies) share.

AoA has "dedicated" buses-no sharing.

This is correct! Depending on the time of year, the All Stars share (which is painful).

 

[dawnhaze]

Assuming you mean the standard rooms at AoA and not the suites, they are slightly bigger than the rooms at the All-Stars but not significantly so. The rooms are more heavily themed inside at AoA as well, which is a nice touch. The main pool at AoA is fantastic too. The sloped entry and underwater music are a lot of fun.

AoA's bus waiting area is a bit nicer because the queues at the stops are covered. The bus wait times are going to differ at any resort from day to day; there is no way to predict this whatsoever.

The bus-sharing at the All-Stars is about as much of an issue as the walk to the standard rooms at AoA in that some people on the boards swear it's the worst thing ever and others shrug it off as no big deal. I'm in the "no big deal" camp on both items so I sort of feel like they cancel each other out.

Personally, I really like most things about AoA, but I wouldn't stay there again because it's a bit pricier than the other values and the standard rooms are still excluded from most discounts. When/if that ever changes, I might go back. Until then I'm an All-Stars gal. (I don't care for Pop, worst service experience I've ever had on property.)

 

[JennyDrake]

Just my 2 cents:

The All Stars are very similar to each other except w/ different theming. I like them all!

I've stayed at each value multiple times (except AoA where once was enough). ASMusic is my favorite for theming and it seems a bit more quiet than the others.

Bus service at WDW can be ANYTHING at ANY TIME for ANY resort. I think the bus sharing at All Stars is WAY overstated. I stay at the AS at least 2-3 times per year and I would guess that we share buses 25% of the time or less. Even when we do, I see no difference in that and a moderate with multiple stops within the resort.

The pools are all basically the same--one main pool and 1 "quiet" pools. None have slides or deep ends.

As to AoA I was there in October 2012. The theming is INCREDIBLE. You really MUST visit if for no other reason. But my overall review was not positive.

This resort is big and it is a hike to the food court and bus stops. I just completed a half marathon, so I *don't* mind walking, but this was a hike.

There seemed to be more "room noise" at this resort than AS--and I am a heavy sleeper. Very aware of babies crying in rooms and doors opening and closing all around. We were on the second floor. In the future, I will ask for a top floor room.

Bus service was good to/from parks. We did not go to DTD. All the CMs were super nice.

The REAL negative is the food court. It has a terrible layout and it is just BEDLAM. The queuing lines are not nearly as long as they need to be. Service was sluggish and I can't tell you why. It seemed a bit understaffed, but not terribly so. It took 10-15 minutes (one time 20 min) to get through the lines and get food, then stand in line again to pay. By the time you are seated, the food is tepid. Then you have to get silverware, drinks, find a table, etc. The noise level is HORRENDOUS even at non-peak times. And the traffic flow design (WHAT traffic flow design??) is very poor. There is no real flow pattern.

Seating is ample, which is nice. You get real plates and silverware which is good news/bad news. I found that I bristled at having to so bus my own table. You have to try to get the trash and remnants into a trash receptacle with a too small door that is spring loaded to close. Then you sort of recycling and the dishes in one bin and flatware in another. It reminded me WAY too much of bussing tables in a restaurant.

Food quality was OK but not remarkably better than AS, which is what I had hoped for... The food "looks" better than it tastes. Naan bread is VERY good and I really enjoyed the build your own fruit bowls and yogurt/granola bowls for breakfast.

Mousekeeping was fine.

In case you are wondering, I am NOT a deluxe snob. I have only stayed deluxe 4 out of 30+ visits. The vast majority of my visits by far are at the values.

 

[bookgirl]

I've done AoA LM rooms and two of the AS (sports and Music X2). I'm the first to admit I'm not fond of the overly large icon themeing and having done 2-5 days at a value I'm thinking about 3 days there is my max comfort level, so not my favorite level of stay.

That being said:

I don't want to stay at AoA again.

Bus waits at AoA were long and crowded. Bus waits at AS were short and while sometimes the buses were full they were never sardine can crowded nor did I have to wait very often for a second bus (and that was rare and the second bus came up after 5-10 min). I've had 3 stays at AS and I've shared buses less then 10 times, maybe 2 or 3 times per stay. (and one of those is almost always the DTD bus)

AoA is HUGE with more rooms than the AS, they have one bus stop so incredibly long lines to get on at peak times.

(and AoA and POP did share buses last year, not often but they did occasionally).

I was not thrilled with the AoA food court (I'm pretty basic as far as food) but I did find enough variety at the AS. I bus my own table no matter where I eat at CS so that doesn't bother me. Real silverware/plates was kind of reminiscent of grade school. Food was slow even if the food court was not busy.

I did not mind the walk from LM but it is longer than some are comfortable with. You'd have to be at the very back of one of the AS resorts to walk that long but for the same price as a LM room (and sometimes cheaper) you can get an AS preferred room.

I just found AoA to be super crowded (and I stayed at sports with competition teams), very loud and not worth the extra money.

Oh yeah the LM rooms cost more than the AS rooms.

Plus Ursula creeped me out, I took the stairs on the end and avoided the elevator.