Photos and Thoughts on The Little Mermaid Rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation
The Little Mermaid rooms at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort have seen a few updates over the years. Below, we discuss our latest stay in the rooms. We’ll share photos of the room and its amenities. A video room tour is available at the end of this article.
If you’re considering staying in The Little Mermaid section of Art of Animation, you probably fall into one of two categories: someone looking for budget-friendly accommodations (and the resort looks fun), or you’re a huge fan of The Little Mermaid.
While we prefer nice hotels, there have been times when our budget has restricted us to cheaper ones. The Little Mermaid section of Art of Animation is a cheaper hotel, and that’s okay. Art of Animation is classified as one of Disney’s value resorts. Other categories include moderate resorts and deluxe resorts. However, it’s important to note the resort’s other sections are comprised of family suites. Those sections are themed to Finding Nemo, The Lion King, and Cars.
How Far Away Are The Little Mermaid Rooms?
The Little Mermaid section of Art of Animation sits on the far side of the resort. If you research this section of the resort, you’ll discover complaints about the rooms’ distance from the lobby and other resort areas. One can expect to do a good deal of walking at the Walt Disney World Resort, so it is understandable that walking from the bus stop to the room at the end of a long day might feel like it takes forever.
So, during this stay, I recorded a few distances. Here are the results:
- It’s 0.28 miles from Animation Hall (the resort lobby) to the statue of Ariel at the back of The Little Mermaid section of the resort.
- It’s 0.33 miles from the back of building 8 (furthest away) at Art of Animation to the Disney Skyliner station.
During this visit, we attended Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. We returned to the room after midnight on the night of the first party. It had been a long evening, but several buses were waiting at the bus stop to carry us back to the resort quickly.
When we got back, everyone was exhausted. In all honesty, it did feel like a decent walk back to the room. However, it wasn’t terrible. It would have been a miserable walk if it had been raining, though, since the distance is nearly entirely outdoors.
Our room was number 8636 in building eight on the second floor. We were as far away as you can get from anything else at the resort. Ultimately, I found the area private and fairly quiet.
The Little Mermaid section is made up of standard rooms that are approximately 277 square feet. Each room comes with one king bed or two queen-size beds. Initially, these rooms had two double beds. But during the last remodel, queen beds replaced them.
Most Disney Resorts have platform beds nowadays. This feature allows guests to store their luggage underneath the bed, leaving more space in the room. Our headboards looked like seashells with mermaid tails on each side.
Since our last stay at Art of Animation, solid surface floors have been added to these rooms. However, the flooring remains blue to reflect the room’s Under the Sea look and feel.
We’ll start with the main portion of the guest room.
A mirror features shell lighting and is framed with tropical fish. A small table with chairs sits directly underneath the mirror.
The table has sheet music printed on it with lyrics from the movie.
A dresser sits in the center of the room with several storage drawers.
A Cuisinart individual coffee maker with various accompaniments was available.
An ice bucket and a few disposable cups sat on the opposite side of the dresser. Ice machines are available on each floor near the elevators.
Additionally, the room had plenty of outlets and USB ports.
A cabinet opened to reveal a mini fridge. These in-room fridges are usually referred to as beverage coolers. They have a disclaimer stating they are not intended to keep items below a certain temperature.
I had brought a few items to store in the fridge, and everything froze within a few hours. So there are no guarantees of whether you’ll get one that works well, works too well, or doesn’t cool at all.
Artwork featuring Sebastian and Flounder hangs between the bed area.
We had the new “Hey Disney” device in our room, but I couldn’t get it to work. That’s probably due to user error.
A curtain provides privacy between the bedroom and bath areas. This feature allows guests to have more space to change or get ready.
This octopus with multiple hooks was appreciated. It’s always good to have an extra place to hang items.
Artwork featuring Prince Eric and Max hangs on the far wall.
Our bathroom had a separate vanity area, an open closet, and a few other amenities. Since this is a Disney value resort, rooms in this section only have one sink.
I don’t mind the open closet area because it feels more spacious.
Our vanity had plenty of counter space, and a luggage rack was available nearby.
An extra pillow with a blanket and a hairdryer sat on top of the closet rack. Our room featured an iron, an ironing board, and an in-room safe.
A separate water closet featured a tub with a shower combination. The shower curtain shows Ariel with an hourglass.
When you pull back the curtain, you’re greeted with tiles painted to look like Ariel’s secret grotto, where she stores her thingamabobs. As much as I love the animated film, I dislike this area. It’s such a small space, and the dark paint makes it feel more like a dungeon than a place to store treasures.
Toiletries were mounted on the wall inside the shower. We had shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. Unfortunately, we had no individual toiletries other than a bar of soap on the vanity. If this were a deluxe resort, we would have received items like lotion, facial soap, mouthwash, and a vanity kit.
Here is a video tour of the Art of Animation Little Mermaid Rooms.
We have a separate review of staying at Disney’s Art of Animation. But I wanted to touch on a few aspects of the exterior of The Little Mermaid section. When you arrive, you’re greeted by larger-than-life statues of characters.
King Triton, Ursula, and Ariel (with Flounder) overlook various buildings in this section. These kinds of things are charming and so much fun for children.
We visit the resort regularly for a stroll around Hourglass Lake at sunset. Often, we’ll weave through this area to take photos. You can’t help but notice the smiles and excitement of children as they explore while parents and grandparents make memories or reminisce.
While the resort is charming, let’s not forget the reality. A Little Mermaid standard room is in a cheaper section of the hotel. These rooms are in large buildings with four floors, exterior room access, and staircases.
Each building has a pair of elevators in the center.
Here are the ice and vending machines.
Additionally, the Flippin’ Fins Pool area sits in the center of The Little Mermaid area. Art of Animation has three pools: the Flippin’ Fins Pool, the Cozy Cone Pool, and The Big Blue Pool. Guests of the resort are welcome to use any of the pools at their leisure. However, the Big Blue Pool is where you’ll find the Drop Off Pool Bar, splash pad, and a play area for kids. Cabanas are available at the Cars section on a first-come basis.
Final Thoughts
So, while many of the fun elements in The Little Mermaid section offer a special touch of Disney, the area as a whole will still feel cheap to most. How cheap? Our room was approximately $230.00 per night with tax.
If comparing value resorts, we usually prefer the rooms at Disney’s Pop Century Resort, which sits directly next door to Art of Animation. You can always walk over and enjoy the outdoor aspects of The Little Mermaid section at your convenience.
On the positive side, I felt the solid-surface flooring was a tremendous improvement from our last stay. The bedroom area was more cheerful than I remembered, and being on the Skyliner is a tremendous benefit.
However, the shower felt like a dungeon, and the walls were so paper-thin that it reminded me of our stay at All-Star Movies last year. Art of Animation is a dog-friendly resort, and a dog barked most of the afternoon on our arrival day. Thankfully, we didn’t have any noise issues after that. But had there been, we would have requested to move.
Regarding staying at Art of Animation, I wouldn’t hesitate to consider a family suite. However, they are in an entirely different price category. So, if your main objective is staying within a specific budget, you might consider Pop Century for the Skyliner or one of the All-Star Resorts. These resorts have similar rooms with a queen bed and a Murphy bed (queen-size) that converts to a table.
Ultimately, we love Disney’s Art of Animation Resort. But, unfortunately, the Little Mermaid rooms are our least favorite, and that’s coming from someone who uses Ariel as her avatar in the My Disney Experience app.
For more information about the resort, you might like the following:
- Landscape of Flavors at Art of Animation
- Transportation Options at Art of Animation
- The Cars Hotel Area at Art of Animation
- Art of Animation vs. Pop Century
In the Comments
What do you think of the rooms in The Little Mermaid section at Art of Animation? Are they fun, or would you stay elsewhere? Leave us a comment below and let us know!
