Hi all. Starting to plan my celebratory trip for next summer. Hoping to be celebrating both DS’s graduation from high school and my completion of dissertation/PhD. We’ll throw DD’s transition to HS in there as well. So, there will be 4 of us and we’ve stayed at every moderate. Love the mods… theming, price, pools, food courts. Thought about a splurge deluxe but the price makes me a little sticker shocked and renting DVC points really doesn’t seem to work for us (1. I can’t commit to a date this far out and 2. I don’t want to make DS18 and DD14 share a pull out couch!)
Starting thinking about AOA suites. Questions:
I know the theming is bold but it still seems fun for teenagers. Anyone have experience with that?
I know that initial they were excluded from discounts but has that changed. I am hoping for the summer discount that runs most summers - realizing I won’t know for some time.
Thanks. I am so… I don’t know what…about this trip, I’ve already changed my mind. I think the kids would enjoy going back to one of the mods and maybe if a good enough deal comes, I can upgrade to deluxe if it works. Really should just write the dissertation and not even think about this. Just need the carrot to keep me motivated
The bus is fine. The only ride that seemed long was to/from MK. Especially from MK.
I think preferences on the theming have more to do with personality than age. My in-laws stay there. I stayed there with my husband. It just depends whether in-your-face characters are your thing or not. I’d love to stay in a Cars suite.
We stayed in Lion King in Jan with our DD19. She loved it!! She slept on the pull down bed and was very comfy. We were able to get a 15% RO discount on the room. (I think the LM rooms are usually excluded). We we absolutely would stay there again!
We stayed at AoA 2 years ago, and will be there again in 60 days. We LOVE it! The theming is fantastic…truly Disney immersive. My kids thought it was so amazing, they decided they wanted to skip our planned day drip to Universal to spend the day swimming and playing at the resort instead. The adults in our group loved it as well. The suites worked well for us with the 2 full bathrooms, kitchenette, and our separate bedroom. MIL slept on the sofa bed and said it was comfortable as far as sofa beds go. The kids slept on the bed that converts into the table and thought it the coolest thing ever. The food court had a nice selection of good food, and the pools are fun. We mostly swam in the Nemo section because that’s where the kid activities were, but if you’re looking for a quieter pool, the Cars section looked like a good option. We were there in October and the Cars pool was nearly empty the two times we visited it, even though temps were in the mid 80’s.
As for discounts, they do offer them on the suites, but you have to be quick on the draw, because the discounted suites go fast. And they’re usually only 15%. I have seen the suites offered with the 15% Orbitz discounts. (I think the Little Mermaid standard rooms are usually exempt from the discounts.) 2 years ago, we reserved our rooms 10 months in advance, and called Disney as soon as the free dining discount came out and they were able to add the discount. My friend was able to get a room only discount for her suite in the same way. This year, we missed the release of the fall room only discount by 2 days, and the discounted suites were all gone by the time we called. (And when I checked back on Orbitz, they were gone there too!) So the moral of the story is that the discounts are possible, but you have to watch closely.
(And when I checked back on Orbitz, they were gone there too!) So the moral of the story is that the discounts are possible, but you have to watch closely.