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It’s finally here: this Thursday the first phase of the Walt Disney World Art of Animation Resort opens. That means that starting in two days you can only stay in rooms in the “Finding Nemo” wing. But have no fear: by the fall the themed rooms for all of the movies will be open. The “Cars” family suites will be unveiled on June 18, August 10 sees the opening of suites from “The Lion King,” and on September 15 “The Little Mermaid” standard rooms will open for business. You can book reservations for all of these rooms right now.
The Art of Animation Resort is Disney World’s latest hotel, centered on the theme of animation. The resort is divided into four wings, each designed to look like they’re taken from the frames of one of the four above movies. Everything at the resort, from the rooms to the courtyards to the hallways, draws inspiration from one of those films.
For the past few months the official Disney Parks blog has released a series of videos previewing the resort. Now that it’s about to open it’s a good time for me to go over the information that was found in the videos.
All of the amenities provided around the resort are certainly interesting, but when I’m looking at booking a hotel the most important factor for me, after cost, is the state of the room. One of the goals that the Imagineers had for the resort, after fully incorporating the animation theme, was to provide rooms in which an extended family could stay comfortably.
Enter the family suites. The family suites are designed for up to six people. They include one master bedroom, three other sleeping areas, and two full bathrooms. The other sleeping areas make a creative and efficient use of space; the family living area includes a sofa bed, but the most innovative is the dining table. Partially hinged to the wall on one side, the dining table can be transformed in seconds to a double bed. I know, I didn’t believe it either, but the official Parks blog provided footage of the transformation.
Each of the rooms is of course decorated based on the themed movie for that particular wing. I always thought the idea was really cool, but now that I’ve seen a combination of concept art and actual photos/videos from rooms, I’m less enamored. They’re not awful and they certainly fit the theme, but they still look like hotel rooms. That means bright, garish colors, loud patterns, and strange art on the walls.
Hotel room decorations never change, but Disney World is sure doing its best to innovate the rest of the hotel. Hallways in the Art of Animation resort are adorned with concept art from “The Little Mermaid,” “Cars,” “Finding Nemo,” and “The Lion King.” Each of the wings will have their own courtyards meant to encapsulate the entire movie.
The “Finding Nemo” courtyard, for instance, contains giant statues of characters like Nemo and Squirt. It has the largest pool found in Disney World outside of the water park. Even its flora fits the theme; landscapers chose plants that looked like they could be found on the bottom of the ocean.
If I ever went to Disney World I’d probably end up in a non-Disney hotel somewhere in Orlando. If I’m planning my dream Disney vacation, however, I’m staying at the Little Mermaid wing at the Art of Animation resort.
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*(This image by Darren Wittko is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
