144 responses

  1. Stacey
    September 12, 2018

    Thank you for your review! I read this before booking our trip this past April and wanted to leave a comment. We stayed in LM building 8, poolside. Considering this trip was to have my daughter wake up in Disney on her 6th birthday, it was all mermaid, all weekend, so she was especially excited to be staying in Ariel’s hotel. While the room was small (2adults, a teen boy and little girl) and the beds we’re definitely not the most comfortable we’ve ever slept in, our overall experience was great and we’d stay again! We opted out of mousekeeping & received a $20 gift card instead. The walk wasn’t bad, little had a blast walking through The Pridelands on our way. The best part of the entire room, besides BEING UNDER THE SEA (!) was that we could see MK fireworks from the balcony, right outside our door! Little was too tired to last, so she was thrilled to still see them. Thanks again for a great review, we took your recommendation and enjoyed ourselves immensely!!

    Reply

    • Dave
      September 13, 2018

      Stacey, thanks so much for sharing your experience!

      Reply

  2. Natasha
    February 7, 2018

    Hi Dave,
    Love your site, lots of great info! I’m torn between requesting a lake view and landscape view for our little mermaid room! I will request a room closer to Transportation and which second request do you suggest? I was hoping for a good pool view but not guaranteed!

    Reply

    • Dave
      February 8, 2018

      Hi Natasha and thanks! I am a big fan of lake views, as they are both lovelier and typically less noisy than pool views.

      Reply

  3. Payal Patel
    November 19, 2017

    Dave,
    We are booked at LM for Jan. We have a 4y/o and a 18mo who will need a crib. We have never slept in the same room. Do you think space wise, LM should be okay? Also, my little one needs warm milk before bedtime and first thing when awake- no microwave in LM might be an issue, right?

    Reply

    • Dave
      November 20, 2017

      Payal, it will be tight but do-able. There are microwaves in the food court, so you could walk there to warm the bottle–or just run hot water over it in the sink.

      Reply

  4. Haylie
    April 24, 2017

    Hiya ! My boyfriend and I are planning a trip together in March. I’ve grown up going to DisneyWorld at least once every year/year and a half with my family, so I know that this is a pretty busy time of the year. This will also be my first solo vacation without any other adults ( I’ll be 20 in August ) which is why im trying to plan ahead as much as possible, to save money, time, and confusion. Being in a family of 6, we’ve never stayed on property because it would just be too expensive, and the only time I’ve stayed on property was a few years ago on a school trip. This being said, I feel a bit overwhelmed at all of the things I need to know , have prepared and the best way to save money. So right now, I have two questions. 1. When doing online check in, is there any way to request that you have 1 king bed instead of the two full beds ? I’ve seen that you can request this , I’m just not sure if you can do this during online check in or if I’d have to call in.
    2. Because it’s only late April right now, it is still too early to be allowed to book our room and tickets ( it only allows us to go to decemeber ). I was wondering if you had any estimate of when I’d be able to book the trip when it’s in march.
    Any info would be great ! Thanks !

    Reply

    • Dave
      April 25, 2017

      Haylie, you can buy tix anytime, and can book your room now. You just can’t book your room online–you have to call. See this.

      You will be able to book everything online after 2018 prices are released, which will likely be in June or July.

      You can’t request a king on online check in.

      Reply

  5. Dave
    February 2, 2017

    Thanks, Sharon! I’ve stayed in 140 different Disney-World owned rooms–the writers of most other sites have stayed in 3-5, hence the difference.

    Any room without a pool view in 9 would work. That said, I’d still go for a lake view in building 7 in a heartbeat, as there aren’t that many more steps to the car…

    Reply

  6. Sharon
    February 2, 2017

    What a fab page! I’m a member of a few Orlando sites but you’re information is so much more detailed, thanks very much.

    Now, on to my question. I was all ready to request a Little Mermaid room in Building 7 with a Lakeview, closer to the Lion King Area as it sounded like our best option.

    But, we’ll be using our car during the stay and you mentioned that Building 9 was better for parking. Can you suggest a room in Building 9 that’s not too noisy?

    Reply

  7. MC
    November 10, 2016

    Hi Dave, this page is so helpful! I just did my online check-in, 60 days in advance today- My first time going to Disney so too excited to wait. I want to request your suggestion of the Lake view in building 7 of Little Mermaid as near to the Lion King as possible but when is the best time to call to make this request? Do I call now after I did my online check-in or is that too far in advance? Is is better to call sooner to my arrival date? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Dave
      November 12, 2016

      MC it can’t hurt to call now, but also call again 3-4 days before check in.

      Reply

  8. Anonymous
    September 5, 2016

    Animal kingdom at night in November

    Reply

  9. Cindy
    July 2, 2016

    How far in advance can you request building 7 on the online check in? Can you call in this request if we have already booked our stay in october?

    Reply

    • Dave
      July 3, 2016

      You can call them now Cindy. See this.

      Reply

  10. Rose
    February 29, 2016

    Great review and pictures! I booked my AoA reservation through Jet Blue and I am really looking forward to it. When I booked, there was an option for a room with a king bed, instead of two doubles, but I cannot find any pictures or floor plans. Would you happen to know if a single king bed is an option? Thank you!

    Reply

    • Dave
      March 1, 2016

      Rose, the king bed rooms are also the accessible rooms. You can call in and request one, but they commonly all go to guests with mobility issues.

      Reply

  11. lil
    October 27, 2015

    Are the accesible for wheelchairs rooms closer to the food court or buses or is it all pretty much same? Thank you for your wonderful site.

    Reply

    • Dave
      October 28, 2015

      Jil, I’m not 100% sure, but I believe you’ll find the disability rooms in all buildings, near and far.

      Reply

  12. Nancy
    October 12, 2015

    This is just a tip for coffee addicts: you’re not only farthest away from Landscape of Flavors in a Mermaid room, but there is no in-room coffee maker on the list of amenities. So, either bring your own coffee maker or expect to trek over to LoF in the morning (or whenever your withdrawal symptoms begin to appear).

    Reply

    • Dave
      October 13, 2015

      🙂 Nancy

      Reply

  13. Summer Frasier
    July 1, 2015

    We will be driving our own car to Disney. We are staying in AoA Little Mermaid area. Our plan is to drive our car to whichever park we are going to (since parking is free). MK we will take the monorail in from the main parking area. We have small kids (1&3) and will be using a stroller (bad for buses, but good in our trunk space of our car). My question is this: (1) Do you think my plan for parking is good? (2) If we are driving our own car, do you think staying in building 8 would be the closest to the parking lot (I don’t know where the elevators are in relation to the building). (Lake view side of building 8 maybe?). Or which building would you go with for our situation. Thanks! I tried to find a comment about my issue, but couldn’t find one.

    Reply

    • Dave
      July 2, 2015

      Hi Summer, you’ll see million of strollers on the buses, and the buses are a much faster way to get to MK than driving and the monorail. Driving to the other parks is faster than the bus,but at those ages there’s little of interest for them at the other parks.

      The elevator bank is in the center of the building where the three wings come together.

      For the buses, 7 or 9 are the better choices. For driving, 9 is the better choice.

      Reply

  14. Jane
    June 10, 2015

    Hi Dave, I’m having a dilemma of deciding whether to keep our AOA little mermaid rooms or switch to a different resort once they announce the military Salute (assuming of course that there is a renewal of the discount). I booked these rooms knowing that little mermaid rooms would probably be excluded from the discount, but my friend and I really like AOA and want to stay there. Getting a family suite for my family wouldn’t save much money, but switching to another value (our 1st choice is All Star Movies) would potentially save a huge amount should they discount it 30% like last time (we are Thanksgiving week–we got the discount for some but not all nights last time b/c of blackout dates). I guess the question is, do you see there being any chance that mermaid rooms would be discounted? I’m guessing not, since it seems that they are excluded from every discount I see. Also, we stayed at Sports last time, and Movies seems really similar. To me, the best way we could get a really different experience for not that much more money would be to be at AOA. Or, is there another resort we should consider? We want kid appeal. Thanks for any advice!

    Reply

    • Dave
      June 11, 2015

      Jane, I think the Little Mermaid rooms will still be excluded if it is renewed. Movies is a great choice–for most, it is more fun than Sports.

      Reply

  15. fosterfamily
    June 4, 2015

    we are booking our Disney vacation for Oct 2016. I think the boys (6,9) will enjoy the AOA cars suite …but We can get into the Caribbean beach resort cheaper . With that said my husband wants to stay at the contemporary because the monrail is right there and the kids can see fireworks every night (but that is $2000 more for the week)

    I am still leaning more towards AOA cars suite because this is all about the kids (right haha) .

    Does the AOA have its own bus line ? Any idea how long in between you have to wait for the bus ? ( I did read it takes about 10 min from bus rt to hotel )
    Any dinner place your highly recommend with children ?

    Thanks for your help
    *this is our first time going to Disney *

    Reply

    • Dave
      June 5, 2015

      Hi Foster family. AofA and CB each have their own bus lines. I always figure 20 minutes for the trip. My dining thought are here.

      Reply

  16. Maria
    June 3, 2015

    Hi Dave,
    Great site! I know that this is really far ahead of time but we are planning a huge family vacation that includes 2 grandparents, 6 parents and 4 kids for March or April 2017. We need to plan this far ahead to give some the chance to get their money together.
    Do you have any recommendations regarding whether March or April would be better? I heard that March means less people, but a chance that some attractions would be shut down for repairs/maintenance. I also don’t want to take the chance that the LM rooms would be booked. I don’t really have it in my budget to get a suite for 3 adults and 1 child. I have stayed at ASMovies in the Mighty Ducks section and it was just fine.
    Another question I have is if there are senior citizen discounts. My parents want a room to themselves and are each over 65. No mobility issues for either. They are extremely active and love walking.
    Thank you so much for all of your extremely helpful information.

    Reply

    • Dave
      June 5, 2015

      Hi Maria and thanks!!

      First I would start ignoring whoever told you that “March means less people, but a chance that some attractions would be shut down for repairs/maintenance,” as neither point is true. While rides can be closed for refurb anytime, the ride closure season ends by President’s Day, in February, and March after the first week is very crowded.

      2017 has a later Easter, so I’m not seeing many good weeks in March or April. The best will be the weeks beginning February 26, (possibly) April 1, and April 22.

      There are no senior citizen discounts…

      Reply

  17. Jenn
    June 2, 2015

    We’re staying in The Little Mermaid standard rooms when we go to Disney next week. Do I really have to walk all the way to Food Court for morning coffee???

    Reply

    • Dave
      June 2, 2015

      Jenn: yup…

      Reply

  18. Anonymous
    March 10, 2015

    Thanks for the info Dave! I did look into upgrading the room to a suite with the travel agent and for 1 week it would have cost approx $2500 and that is not worth it at all! We orginally looked into a moderate resort but the prices were around $7500 also way out of the budget for us. I wanted to have everything booked for us before we left as I did not want to miss anything but maybe booking everything on my own would have been the way to go.

    Reply

    • Dave
      March 10, 2015

      Ouch…I bet you’ll still have a great trip!!

      Reply

  19. Amanda
    March 10, 2015

    Hi,

    My family and I are going to Disney for the first time in a couple weeks. 2 adults and 2 kids (3 and 4). We booked the little mermaid room, but i am very worried as the size seems very small for 4 people. I looked into upgrading the room to cars or a family suite and it was going to be almost another $2500. Any advice for the little mermaid rooms and has anyone asked for an upgrade to a suite and gotten one? as i mentioned this is our first trip and it is also my daughters birthday just before we go .

    Thank-you,

    Amanda

    Reply

    • Dave
      March 10, 2015

      Well, Amanda, the standard two full bed rooms at the value resorts like Little Mermaid are the smallest 4 person rooms I’ve ever stayed in, excluding some ancient center-city hotels.

      Upgrades happen, but I wouldn’t count on it. The least costly way to get more room is to change to a moderate resort. At the end of March they are about $60/night more expensive than your Little Mermaid room. Not nearly as cute, though!!

      However you are going at one of the most crowded times of the year, so availability may be an issue…

      Reply

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My response to questions and comments will be on the same page as the original comment, likely within 24-36 hours . . . I reserve the right to edit and delete comments as I choose . . . All rights reserved. Copyright 2008-2024 . . . Unless otherwise noted, all photos are by me--even the ones in focus--except for half a dozen from my niecelets . . . This site is entirely unofficial and not authorized by any organizations written about in it . . . All references to Disney and other copyrighted characters, trademarks, marks, etc., are made solely for editorial purposes. The author makes no commercial claim to their use . . . Nobody's perfect, so follow any advice here at your own risk.

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