Hi all! We are going to be staying at AoA for 10 days in late August and I’m starting to worry about logistics of that length of stay with five people.
First, groceries. I’m working on a list to order from Garden Grocer. I was thinking I’d try to get enough food for the whole time since we will be spending a decent amount of time relaxing at the resort, hopefully, so I’d like some healthy snacks in the room, and we are also planning to have breakfast in the room most days. How big are the fridges? We all eat a lot of yogurt and we require three different types of milk for cereal. I don’t think we will have enough space for everything I want to get. Is there a grocery store fairly close? We won’t have a car, but one of us could Uber it to a store for a few things mid-trip to reload on perishables.
Second, laundry. I’m sure we’ll need to do at least one load while there. Do the laundry rooms have detergent for sale? If so, do you know what kinds? We can only handle free and clear.
Thanks!
Hi @JulieS4
I’ll help you as much as I can.
Since you have 5 people I’m assuming that you’re in a suite. The suites have a pretty good sized fridge -somewhere around 4.1 to 4.4 cubic feet. Some yogurt and 3 1/2 gallons of milk would fit fine along with room for more. I think there are two shelves in the fridge and one might be adjustable. There’s a drawer at the bottom that could hold some fruit and vegetables. I think the door has a can holder and I know there’s also a space in the door that could hold a 1/2 gallon of milk or two. There is freezer compartment inside of the fridge but it is very small. I don’t think that it is high enough to hold a pint of ice cream.
The closest grocery store would be the Publix in Celebration which is on the other side of I-4 and maybe a 10 minute car ride away.
We’ve haven’t done laundry at AoA but my wife has done laundry at the Wilderness Lodge. She bought detergent at the gift shop but there was also detergent vending machine, priced quite a bit cheaper then the gift shop BTW, when she got to the laundry room. I would think that all resorts have a similar setup. If you have a specific detergent requirement then I would suggest packing some pods or a small container in your checked luggage or ordering it from Garden Grocer.
The AoA is my family’s favorite value resort. The resort theming is great, the suites are a good size, we love having 2 bathrooms and the food court has some unique and pretty tasty choices. I hope that your family enjoys it as much as mine does.
I have one tip for you. Pop and AoA are across from one another. They are connected by a bridge over hourglass lake and a jogging path that goes around the lake. It is an 8 minute walk between the lobbies of the resorts using the bridge. Both resorts have separate bus transportation. In the past I’ve taken a Pop bus and walked to AoA when an AoA bus wasn’t immediately available to me at a park.
Enjoy your trip!
Is renting a car for a day an option? You can get cars super cheap in FL and Alamo even have a location in the WDW resort. I always rent a car for the whole time when visiting these days but last time I visited just for one day I was able to get a car from the Alamo in WDW for under $25, if you have someone with a licence within your party it might be well worth it, parking in the hotel resort is free and with one trip to a local Walmart or grocery store you could be set. Would be cheaper than an Uber there and back and you have the option of running errands for upto 24 hours.