Activities at Art of Animation?

Walt Disney World Accommodations
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For our 2015 trip, we (DW, DD7 and I) stayed at WL. We scheduled a full non-park day off, but blew it by getting into a monorail resort tour and a trip to DTD.

For 2016, we’re going to try again to schedule a day off, and we’re really going to try to truly just stay at the resort. The only thing is, is that we’re staying at AoA this time. Now, there was plenty of stuff to do at WL, and I regret that we didn’t take advantage of that. I am a bit worried that there is not nearly as much to do at AoA, and that we’ll get bored. Aside from the pool, what kind of stuff is there to do at AoA, or do you think that a full off day is ill advised there?

My question has increased urgency, as we got a PIN code emailed to us today. If we’re going to change resorts based on the above cited considerations, like POR FQ or back to WL, now is the time.

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Sorry that I do not know all the activities at AoA. But I can tell you that they have a drawing class several times a day in the lobby. We were there in September and my kids went to one at 11 am and another at 5pm. Of course, they miss the drawing classes at HS, so this was a great treat!

I recall a movie running as well, but we were not there long enough to check it out.

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September as in just this past month? I had heard that the drawing classes had been discontinued, but if you just did this, then that info must be incorrect, or it was re-instituted. That is good news, because DD7 loves to draw!

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The drawing classes were no longer at Hollywood Studios. But they still had an artist coming in to do classes when we were there on September 5th and 6th. Actually, he was sick on September the 6th and they just showed a video of an earlier class. But my kids loved the video class as well!

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I made a listing of all of the resorts’ Recreation Calendars that should show you what AoA has going on daily.

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That is completely fanstastic, mALYficent! Thanks, I’ll have to bookmark this thread.

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  1. The pools. Super awesome. Pool hopping easy and fun. (We liked Cars pool best.)
  2. Turtle playground.
  3. Nemo Splashpad
  4. Walking around and visiting the different themed areas: Cars is amazing (worth an hour a day for my boys 4/6). LM, LK also terrific.
  5. Animation hall has regular activities: Animation Academy, afternoon Flash Mob. We saw Jack Skellington there doing meets/greets in the lobby one day.
  6. Best arcade we’ve seen of all the resorts we’ve stayed at.
  7. There’s stuff going on beside the Big Blue Pool most of the day - some of it wet, some dry (trivia, etc).
  8. Evening movies beside the pool.

Honestly, between pool, food, arcade, playground, wandering around, resting, repeat, we found our AoA time jam-packed.

Here’s the October schedule: http://characterlocator.com/images/map.php?map=Art%20of%20Animation%20Resort%20Recreation%20Activity%20Guide-1.jpg

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I agree 100% with @mossymom. There is a lot going on and can easily fill a day. Especially if the idea is to rest and take it a bit easy. My kids would spend hours in the arcade if I let them. There is also ping pong that my son loves. I am no good at relaxation days, though. I can handle it for a few hours, but then I want to go off and do stuff. If I were you, I’d plan that to be a DTD in the late afternoon/early evening, then back for the movie.

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