The Art of Animation resort sits opposite Pop Century, and
you may recall that this resort was originally supposed to part two of Pop
Century (the Legendary Years, in other words the first half of the century).
The buildings were constructed partway, but then progress stalled and the whole
thing kind of rotted for a while. When it was revived, it was with a new
concept in mind: family suites (larger rooms that can sleep more people), and
an explicitly Disney theme. There are four main sections of rooms, each themed
after a Disney movie: Little Mermaid, Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Cars.
Let’s not mince words: THIS is my idea of a Disney hotel. In
fact, it’s what I imagine everyone thinks of when they hear the words “Disney
World hotel.” It’s a hotel, clearly, and you are surrounded by Disney magic…
meaning actual characters, scenes, and theming that you recognize from the
movies and parks.
In a way, the older Disney World hotels are really only half
measures. What is so “Disney” about an oversized yo-yo, or giant foozball
figures? It’s a step up at the moderates and deluxe hotels, but you’re still
not all the way there to “Disney” yet. Is a very well themed hotel that looks
like it’s from New Orleans
necessarily Disney? Of course not. There are great hotels in New
Orleans that are also, amazingly, themed to New Orleans . Ditto with Polynesian style
hotels—real ones exist out there somewhere.
The baby steps they took recently with princess redesigned
rooms at Port Orleans Riverside were good ideas, and met accordingly with
approval. It’s a simple enough formula that I’ve been saying for years: people
come to Disney World to be surrounded by the Disney magic 24 hours a day. Yes,
that means character overload—but it’s what people want. Well, some people,
anyway. There will be no shortage of people still wanting a highly themed hotel
that is character-free.
But it would be a mistake to think people will shy away from
this new hotel. Personally, I think they will FLOCK there once word gets out.
It’s a Value hotel by category, but it’s more expensive. Think of it as a
Value-Plus category; its own thing.
Summer weekday rates are $345 per suite (which sleeps six).
Why a suite? Because larger families don’t have to book two rooms now. That
kind of pricing is high, and if there’s anything that will prevent 100%
occupancy, this is it.
The Little Mermaid section will be the only section that has
regular rooms (each sleeps four) rather than suites, and they are priced much
lower (at $139/night for the same summer weekdays). Of course, this section
isn’t open yet. Here’s the schedule:
5/31/12 – Finding Nemo
6/18/12 – Cars
8/10/12 – Lion King
9/15/12 – Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid buildings look like Pop Century
buildings, with exterior hallways and railings. The other buildings were not yet constructed when this was to be the Legendary Years of Pop
Century, and they were constructed newly with interior hallways and only windows on the outside. The
designers have gone to town with art, drawings, and concept sketches on the
outsides of the buildings. It looks fantastic! [Note: this paragraph has been updated since its original publication]
The "inside" view of each building is painted in full color and usually provides a skyline or landscape view of the props in the central courtyards. The theming is first-rate!
The pool area is similarly spectacularly themed. The zero-entry pool is the largest pool in WDW, and it has underwater speakers playing songs from the Finding Nemo musical. Amazing!
The central building houses the check in lobby, with colored
panels to represent the work of artists. On the opposite wall are concept art
sketches of the four movies which are featured in this resort (four of the
highest earning Disney movies, of course), and a wall near the shop and food
court also shows scenes from those movies.
The shop is themed to an
artist’s workshop, with paint canisters adorning every wall.
The food court, Landscape of Flavors, is my new favorite
food court. There is good selection (pizza, sandwiches, burgers, pasta, entrée
dishes like tandoori chicken or Portuguese sausage), the prices are reasonable
($8 or $9 for most items), and they take Tables in Wonderland (the 20% discount
card for food and drink). The dining areas are also themed to the same four
movies, and the give off a modern, relaxed vibe. Since Disney music is playing
overhead (often just Radio Disney type remakes of familiar songs from the
movies), it really gets you in the Disney mood. Bravo all around.
They use real china and silverware!
Here are the menus:
My review in a nutshell: bravo all
around. It’s a solid concept and flawless execution. Yes, the prices are steep for the suites,
but if they save larger families from reserving two rooms, the prices are
closer to being justified. My central point remains that THIS is what
first-time visitors must imagine when they are told that Disney hotels let them
“experience the Disney magic all day and all night.” It’s Disneyfied to the
max… and that’s precisely the point. Well done.
(look for another Hidden Mickey in the Little Mermaid dining area of the food court, up in the overhead lamp)
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Kevin Yee is the author of numerous independent Disney books, including the popular Walt Disney World Earbook series and Walt Disney World Hidden History.