Anonymous wrote:Being there under a week, I would not try to move for sorts. You're not really going to be spending tons of time at the resort anyways, and art of animation is nice and plus it's on the skyliner so you can get around easily.

+1

Art of animation is not far from everything. It is on the sky liner and that takes you to Epcot and Hollywood studios. That being said, we stayed at the dolphin for less than art of animation and liked it more because it has a nicer pool and way better food. It’s also walking distance to the board walk, Epcot and you can take ferry to Hollywood.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Art of Animation is far from everything, and has no good meal options. I was not pleased at all when we stayed there. If you could swing it, I’d try something like Wilderness lodge where you at least have the boat to Magic Kingdom and the bus rides aren’t so long to other parks.

OP here. We choose Art Animation because it's one of the cheaper ones and it seems nice. Wilderness costs $826 per night vs Art Animation $335 per night. The difference is huge after taxes and multiplying the daily rate by 6. Unfortunately, we have a beer budget here.

NP. Art of Animation is perfectly fine. Plus you're on the Skyliner so you can easily go to different hotels if you want to just see something different or eat at Riviera or Caribbean. The extra space is so great, especially if you'll be there for 6 days, and you'll have the small fridge and microwave. I highly recommend getting groceries delivered from Garden Grocers so you have snacks and breakfast food in the room. We go to Disney about once a year. If it's a short trip, I'll stay in a regular hotel room (Polynesian, Contemporary), but anything over 2 nights I choose the extra space of AoA.

OP said she is only paying $335/night, so I'm guessing she is staying in a Little Mermaid room, not one of the family suites.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were just at Disney and moved and it really wasn't a big deal. They move your stuff for you (you have to pack the bags, obviously).

I second the recommendation if you can swing it, to spend a little more on a Deluxe hotel to get the early entry/after-hours benefits. This was hugely beneficial for us for Magic Kingdom in particular. If you go for that, the location of the Contemporary can't be beat.

Polynesian is nice as well since you are both on the monorail and can walk to epcot.

No, you can not walk to Epcot from the Polynesian. The monorail basically has two tracks; 1 goes to the Magic Kingdom, the 3 resorts near Magic Kingdom (Contemporary, Grand Floridan, and Polynesian) and the Ticket and Transportation center (giant parking lot.) The second track goes from the Ticket and Transportation center to Epcot. Polynesian resort is within walking distance of the ticket and transportation center, so you can walk to both monorail tracks. The other monorail resorts (Contemporary and Grand Floridian) you have to take one monorail to the ticket and transportation center, and then change monorails.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were just at Disney and moved and it really wasn't a big deal. They move your stuff for you (you have to pack the bags, obviously).

I second the recommendation if you can swing it, to spend a little more on a Deluxe hotel to get the early entry/after-hours benefits. This was hugely beneficial for us for Magic Kingdom in particular. If you go for that, the location of the Contemporary can't be beat.

Polynesian is nice as well since you are both on the monorail and can walk to epcot.

Is it $500/night nicer?

I just booked Swan for our first Disney trip. Polynesian looks so cool but I can't justify the expense!

Definitely not!

If you want to stay at the deluxe resorts at WDW check out renting DVC points. You'll save a bunch of money.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were just at Disney and moved and it really wasn't a big deal. They move your stuff for you (you have to pack the bags, obviously).

I second the recommendation if you can swing it, to spend a little more on a Deluxe hotel to get the early entry/after-hours benefits. This was hugely beneficial for us for Magic Kingdom in particular. If you go for that, the location of the Contemporary can't be beat.

Polynesian is nice as well since you are both on the monorail and can walk to epcot.

Is it $500/night nicer?

I just booked Swan for our first Disney trip. Polynesian looks so cool but I can't justify the expense!

We did a split stay during the pandemic (Boardwalk/Contemporary), partly to make it possible to avoid buses most days. The bell services took care of our luggage and it was fairly smooth going. We did lose a little time ensuring that we were all set in the new hotel. That said, AOA will be fine; the Skyliner is a game changer. If you want some nicer meals, go to another resort, get ADRs at the parks, or visit Disney Springs.

I wouldn’t definitely not move. I hate unpacking and repacking twice. But that’s just me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone! Sounds we should stay put at Disney. What about one night stay at Universal Studios? We just plan to do one day at Universal Studios - my request because I am a big Harry Potter fan. Should we stay put at Disney even if we are going to Universal Studios?

I would. The three on-site hotels for Universal are great, relatively inexpensive (compared to Disney) and they come with early entry and skip the line passes.

1 night for 4 people (2 adults, 2 kids) with park 2 park tickets is $3k for the lowest "Premier", which gets you the skip the line passes.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone! Sounds we should stay put at Disney. What about one night stay at Universal Studios? We just plan to do one day at Universal Studios - my request because I am a big Harry Potter fan. Should we stay put at Disney even if we are going to Universal Studios?

I would. The three on-site hotels for Universal are great, relatively inexpensive (compared to Disney) and they come with early entry and skip the line passes.

We stayed at both AoA and the Polynesian on separate trips. I definitely did not think the Polynesian was worth the premium $$$. AoA is great. Cafeteria is perfect place to grab a quick breakfast. It is easy to get to the different resorts either via uber or those gondolas. Or you can use the free buses, but I think the uber is worth it (esp if you are saving money staying someplace cheaper).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Art of Animation is far from everything, and has no good meal options. I was not pleased at all when we stayed there. If you could swing it, I’d try something like Wilderness lodge where you at least have the boat to Magic Kingdom and the bus rides aren’t so long to other parks.

OP here. We choose Art Animation because it's one of the cheaper ones and it seems nice. Wilderness costs $826 per night vs Art Animation $335 per night. The difference is huge after taxes and multiplying the daily rate by 6. Unfortunately, we have a beer budget here.

NP. Art of Animation is perfectly fine. Plus you're on the Skyliner so you can easily go to different hotels if you want to just see something different or eat at Riviera or Caribbean. The extra space is so great, especially if you'll be there for 6 days, and you'll have the small fridge and microwave. I highly recommend getting groceries delivered from Garden Grocers so you have snacks and breakfast food in the room. We go to Disney about once a year. If it's a short trip, I'll stay in a regular hotel room (Polynesian, Contemporary), but anything over 2 nights I choose the extra space of AoA.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone! Sounds we should stay put at Disney. What about one night stay at Universal Studios? We just plan to do one day at Universal Studios - my request because I am a big Harry Potter fan. Should we stay put at Disney even if we are going to Universal Studios?

Just do universal on a different trip. There is a LOT to do at Disney. Don't treat this like the only time you'll ever go to Florida. Your kids will barely remember the trip at 7 and 5 anyway. If this is a once in a lifetime kind of thing, I'd wait until they are older.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Art of Animation is far from everything, and has no good meal options. I was not pleased at all when we stayed there. If you could swing it, I’d try something like Wilderness lodge where you at least have the boat to Magic Kingdom and the bus rides aren’t so long to other parks.

OP here. We choose Art Animation because it's one of the cheaper ones and it seems nice. Wilderness costs $826 per night vs Art Animation $335 per night. The difference is huge after taxes and multiplying the daily rate by 6. Unfortunately, we have a beer budget here.

You'll be fine and your kids are good ages for Art of Animation! The skyline is fantastic and way more convenient and efficient than the boats from the more expensive resorts.
The food is theme part fast food - it's not great but it will keep you from starving. I'm also don't imagine you'll be eating at the resort much anyway.

It may be worth staying in a universal hotel for one night *ONLY IF* you stay at one that has the express unlimited benefit. Otherwise, just stay where you are and uber over for the day.