Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

so i'm not a disney newbie... went every other year growing up, and my cousin works there now so i've been a couple times in the past few years.
BUT we're taking DS (4) down the first week of september- and i can't decide where to stay! LOL right now we're booked at Carribean Beach resort ( never stayed there before, but the pool looks great for DS!!) BUT we're also all BIG fans of the cars movie- so the Cars suites at Art of Animation look awesome, too!!
right now we're booked at a "preferred" room at CBR, to be close to the pool- so the difference in cost from that and the suites is "only" about $300.
i feel like CBR would be a nice, relaxing place to go back to after being at the parks all day.... BUT i know DS will love the Cars theme, and it would be nice to have the extra space (we'll be there for 7 nights). i also know that next time we go down, he might not care as much about the theme/characters- so maybe now is the time to go "all disney, all the time??" HAHA
any help/opinions would be great. Thanks!!

Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

We stayed in a Finding Nemo suite last February with our then 2 year old. Having the extra space was awesome! Hello 2 bathrooms!! DD loved the room and all the Nemo theming. She also loved the big blue pool and splash area. It's a very cute resort. The suites are close to Animation Hall which is where the food court and shops are. I never recommend the Little Mermaid rooms because they are SO far from everything.

Just keep in mind, AoA is still a value resort. There is no sit down restaurant, no room service, limited shopping. Your only choice for food is the food court - although it is huge and there are a lot of choices. When we were there it was taken over by a bunch of Brazilian tour groups which was very annoying. However, they were gone by mid week and it was much more enjoyable.

We travel to Disney a lot and like to stay deluxe. With that being said, we'd definitely stay at AoA again. You can't beat the extra space and the theming. Again, two bathrooms!!

HTH

Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

I heard great things about AoA. I want to stay there next time I go. I say go with the Cars suite!

Re: Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

I LOOOOOOVED Port Orleans Riverside, it was so nice. Such beautiful grounds and everything was always clean and neat.

Our last trip we stayed at Pop Century, it was actually REALLY cute and the kids loved it. You couldn't beat the price, especially since we're NEVER in the room.

We haven't yet stayed at Art of Animation but we walked the grounds the last time we were there (it's right next door to Pop) and the grounds were INCREDIBLE. REALLY cute, bright, happy themes. My DD is begging to stay there the next time we go. Everyone I know who has stayed at AOA has loved it!!

Have a GREAT trip!

Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

We stayed at AOA last year at the end of a trip at the Yacht Club that we extended while down there. AOA was the only thing that was open and the rooms were adorable. The place is HUGE though, took 10 minutes to walk to the main building for food. Staying in the suites isn't that long of a walk though. The thing turned me off, was the HUGE corral line for the buses. We've stayed at many values, but the amount of people waiting for the buses....I had never seen. It was insane. I had a car, so it wasn't necessary to take the bus the 2 nights we were there.

I also did not like the food at the food court. No ice cream, which was weird, only gelato. No Mickey bars, and the offerings for regular food were just different than the other values.

The Cars themed pool was beyond cute, and we hung out in a cozy cone cabana, which my kids got a kick out of. The Nemo pool was HUGE and chaotic, too many people, and you could barely hear the music playing under the water, like they make a big deal about. The poolside activities were fun, and moved inside since it rained,and my kids enjoyed that.

Like another poster said, you are still at a value, which means, double size beds, bare minimum toiletries, thin towels, and 1 ply toilet paper. I personally would stay at CBR (never been), rather than upgrade to the Suite at AOA and have to deal with the insane amount of people there since the resort is enormous. We have stayed at the other values, and thought they were fine.

Re: Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

We stayed in a cars suite last year and it was awesome. We are going back in May. The resort was fabulous and I've stayed at many deluxe and moderates too. The extra space was nice and ds liked having his own room. The kitchenette was perfect for doing breakfast in the room.

They actually do have mickey bars but you have to ask at the gelato station.

Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

thanks everybody!! i think we decided to stay with Caribbean beach, and take him over to visit the Cars section i LOVE the movie and the theme of the hotel and he would flip... BUT i also know from being in Disney a lot that i need a calmer, quieter place to go back to after being in the craziness of the parks all day. i'm worried for myself that i'll get burn out if we're in "all disney, all the time" mode! HAHA AND... with the time of year we're going- it looks like we'll either get free dining OR 30% off a deluxe hotel- so we might even be able to upgrade and stay at Wilderness Lodge! (my dream resort, and only a boat ride away from Magic kingdom!) but we'll definitely make sure we take DS over to AOA to see it again!

Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

We are staying in the Cars Suite this May, super excited to go!

Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

We are staying in the Cars Suite this May, super excited to go!

Re: Disney people :-) need help picking a resort! :-)

I think Arts of Animation is better themed. I want to stay there next. We have stayed at Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge and Grand Floridian as well as Disney Dolphin. All were excellent locations but the theming for Arts of Animation seems like it is the best. The AOA pool looks fabulous for little ones.