It’s time for another Tuesday’s Tip from a Dream Makers Travel Agency vacation planner! This week Christine Maritz is discussing a good hotel choice for a toddler’s first trip.
Christine travels to Disney World often. She’s also done multiple runDisney events. She’s run the Wine & Dine, multiple races during Marathon Weekend, and even completed the Coast to Coast Challenge with the Dumbo Double Dare.
Without further ado, here is Christine’s tip for this week!
Why Disney’s Art of Animation is the BEST Resort for First Time Toddlers and Young Children!
When our nephew was born the first thing we wanted to do was bring him to Disney World! We have been going together child free for 10 years, and then one magical day our brother and sister-in-law said they were ready to go!! They wanted to take advantage of the fact that children are FREE until they are 3!!! We were so excited!
At first we a booked Saratoga Springs one bedroom villa. We thought this was a good place to stay, so we would have enough room to all stay together and to be close to Disney Springs. We decided to spend two days in the parks, with one day at Magic Kingdom and one day at Animal Kingdom. However, we did not get a hopper pass, because I thought we would see how it went with a single park each day.
As our trip got closer we knew that he was obsessed with the Lion King. Every day he was working on his ROAR! He loved his friends to Timon and Pumbaa, so I decided that we should switch our resort reservation to Disney’s Art of Animation. This was the best decision!!!
I was able to get a Lion King Suite and I knew that this would be exciting for him and us, because we had never stayed at the Art of Animation. Although it is a Value Resort, it’s priced slightly higher than a regular value resort and comparable to a Moderate Resort in price.
The resort offers two types of rooms. They have both family suites and standard rooms. Standard rooms can only be booked in The Little Mermaid section of the resort. The other three sections are Finding Nemo, Cars and the Lion King. All family suites can sleep up to six adults and have two full bathrooms. The Little Mermaid section is typical to a Value Resort in that the doors from your room open up directly to the outside. However, the family suite sections have hallways like the deluxe resorts which is nice. We had a family suite and fit 4 adults and a toddler comfortably.
Our nephew arrived at the resort a few hours before we did, so his parents were able to explore with him. They went to the splash pad in the Finding Nemo section and got to see The Big Blue Pool. This pool is the largest pool on Disney property.
He was also excited to see all of his favorite friends in the Lion King section. Timon, Pumbaa, Simba, Rafiki, Mufasa, the hyenas, and Zazu. He was so excited and he thought that this was all that Disney had to offer and he was completely happy with that!
Photo Credit: Christine Maritz
We were able to explore the resort together the next day. The Little Mermaid section was adorable. It had its own pool and larger than life characters. He is obsessed with The Little Mermaid as well and got very shy when he saw Ariel and King Triton standing four floors tall in front of him. Everywhere you turn there’s a great photo opportunity for your children and family. This section also has a smaller, quieter pool for your enjoyment.
Photo Credit: Christine Maritz
Overall Opinion
In my opinion, the best themed section at the resort is the Cars section. I feel like it was the most immersive and I got the most excited being there as an adult. The look on the children’s faces as they saw their favorites, like Mator, Cruz, and Lightning McQueen, all lit up at night was exciting to see. I think if I ever stay this resort again I would choose to say in the Cars section. They also have a smaller pool in this section!
Photo Credit: Christine Maritz
Overall, we loved this resort! It was the perfect place for little first timers. It is only going to get better as well! Walt Disney World is currently working on a Gondola system that will connect this resort to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios! We can’t wait to go back to check this out!!
Thanks Christine! Art of Animation is such a cute resort and as you can see from Christine’s pictures, there are lots of fun things to see. If you are resort hopping then I would recommend stopping by to see this resort. Maybe you’ll end up staying there for the next trip!
I love all things Disney, but my main love is for Disney World and I'm always planning for the next trip. Before becoming a Disney blogger, I was a radio DJ, so I guess I'm just continuing in the communication industry, just in a different form.
I love talking Disney and I could talk about Disney all day. That's why I started blogging and created the Facebook group. The Disney community is full of friendly, helpful, and happy people...and I love being a part of it! If there is any Disney subject you would like to see covered just let me know! Need help planning your Disney vacation. Feel free to contact myself or Melissa at Never Stop Dreaming Travel Co. We love helping people plan their trips! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to check out our Countdown to Disney app! Feel free to email me with suggestions of things you would like to see in the app :-)
