This post was originally published on January 5, 2022 and was most recently updated on March 5, 2024.
A leafy courtyard, complete with Timon and Pumba crossing a giant log. A neon sign for the Cozy Cone Motel. A pool decked out with giant jellyfish and a swooping stingray. Disney's Art of Animation Resort is like stepping into a Disney or Pixar animated movie—obviously, it's a great base for your Walt Disney World vacation if you're a kid.
However, on our visits to Disney World in 2020 and 2024, Mike and I discovered that the Art of Animation is an excellent resort for grownups, too. Here's why.
1. The theming is fun for all ages.
I'm going to assume that if you're at Disney World, you have some affinity for Disney movies (even Mike, noted Disney curmudgeon, likes The Lion King). The Art of Animation Resort has buildings and pools with theming based on The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Cars—expect buildings decorated with giant black-and-white animation cells and larger-than-life statues of animated characters like Ariel and Simba.
The Finding Nemo-themed Big Blue Pool is geared towards kids, but the colorful reef-inspired decor made it a fun hangout for these two thirty-somethings. It's worth spending some time in the hotel lobby, which features floor-to-ceiling artwork. The animation theme even carries over to the cafeteria offerings, with desserts like mermaid tail cupcakes and Finding Nemo miniature cheesecakes.
In my opinion, the highlight of the resort is the Cars area, which is the most immersive—there's a "Welcome to Radiator Springs" billboard at the entrance and the various buildings feature facades from the movie, like the Wheel Well Motel and Luigi's Casa Della Tires. All of the characters are represented with life-sized statues (the blue-eyed Doc Hudson/Paul Newman car made me smile every time I walked by). The pool area is inspired by the Cozy Cone Motel, complete with a neon sign and cone-shaped pool cabanas.
When I'm at Disney World, I want to immerse myself in Disney magic—the Art of Animation is the perfect place to stay to do just that.
2. It's connected to the Skyliner—Disney World's best transportation option.
The main benefit of staying on-property at Disney World is the mass transit system, which connects the resorts to the theme parks and Disney Springs (a shopping and entertainment area). Depending on your resort, you have access to buses, a monorail, boats, and the Skyliner, a gondola with enclosed cabins.
Hands-down, the Skyliner is Disney's most efficient transportation option—it runs continuously, so you rarely have to wait to board, and you don't have to deal with traffic. Many of the cabins are decorated with characters from Disney movies or park attractions, and spotting the various themes was a constant source of entertainment for me.
Only a handful of resorts are connected to the Skyliner: Art of Animation, Pop Century, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera. From those resorts, you can use the Skyliner to get to Hollywood Studios and Epcot. Usually, it took us about 10-15 minutes to get to Hollywood Studios and about 20 minutes to get to Epcot—considering that Disney buses run about every 20 minutes, this was a huge time savings. (Mike whenever we had to ride a bus: "They really need to put a Skyliner here!")
3. The rooms are budget-friendly (for Disney).
Disney World is staggeringly expensive, and the on-property resorts are no exception. They're grouped into three categories: value resorts feature simple rooms that run about $225 per night; moderate resorts have larger, more upscale rooms for about $275-$350 per night; and deluxe resorts cost $400-$800 per night, featuring large rooms on elaborately-themed grounds. The Art of Animation is a classified as a value resort, with standard Little Mermaid rooms that cost about $265 per night.
Personally, I don't see the appeal of spending more than that on my Disney accommodations. My main motivation for staying on property is to cut down on my transit time to the parks and take advantage of the free transportation options, which are available at all of the resorts. Disney has high standards for all of their properties, value resorts included, so the rooms at the Art of Animation are sparkling clean, the service is excellent, and ongoing refurbishment efforts mean that everything always looks brand-new.
4. The rooms are thoughtfully designed.
At the Art of Animation, "value" doesn't mean uncomfortable or bland—I was thoroughly impressed by our standard Little Mermaid room's fun decor and clever design touches. There's Little Mermaid art on the walls, clam shell-shaped headboards and chairs, and in the bathroom, wallpaper depicting Ariel's treasure trove of human objects. Even the floors are themed, with an ocean-blue laminate in the main room and a beach-like tile in the bathroom.
Although the room was relatively small, there was ample storage, including a coat rack on the wall, a large bureau with drawers and mini fridge, and a closet area with hangers and shelving. There's a split bathroom with a sink outside of the toilet and shower room, which made it much easier to get ready in the morning. The curtain across the sink area is also helpful if one of you is an early riser and the other prefers to sleep in a little bit.
5. The family suites work well for couples, too.
In one of the best breaks of our travel lives, in 2020 Mike and I got a free upgrade to a Cars family suite, which typically ring up at $500 (double the cost of the Little Mermaid standard room we paid for). As a dedicated Cars fan, I loved the retro-inspired decor. However, we both appreciated the extra space—two full bathrooms made getting ready in the morning even easier than at home, and there was a comfortable couch with a coffee table. Most importantly, the two-room layout meant that I could sleep on the double-size table bed (it pulled out from the wall, Murphy bed-style) when I was dealing with insomnia and needed to listen to a podcast to fall back asleep.
Art of Animation family suites come with a hefty price tag, but if you have the money, they might fit your needs better than an equivalently-priced room at a deluxe hotel.
Further reading: Best themed Disney World dining on a budget
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