I thought nothing could top the excitement of staying in a suite at Art of Animation last week. Being able to add a night in the brand new Little Mermaid standard rooms made it even better! These rooms opened to the public just 3 days prior to us checking in. Could I have been the first guest in this particular room? Who knows.. but I’m going to pretend I was because it will make me feel special. So let’s just go with it.

The Little Mermaid buildings hold standard rooms as opposed to the suites in the Cars, Finding Nemo and Lion King buildings. It is the furthest away from the main building, but don’t let that prevent you from staying there. The walk is not very long to the dining, lobby and transportation (a few minutes)and  the scenery is amazing! While strolling through the Lion King area, I asked many families for their feedback on staying a full week in the furthest buildings away. They all agreed that they hadn’t really noticed the walk and that the kids loved walking through “the jungle”.  An interesting tidbit regarding the walkways for all of the sections of the resort: They aren’t JUST walkways. Even the ground is detailed.  If you look down while walking through the Little Mermaid section you will notice that there are “crystals” embedded in the ground. This is likely to remind guests of the jewels and treasures that Ariel collected in her secret hideout. It looks really cool when the sun shines down…

Prince Eric greets guests at the entrance of the Little Mermaid area. This is a perfect photo op for the wannabe princesses (like me!).  You’ll also have a hard time resisting photos of a gigantic dinglehopper and a snarfblat (Those who love this movie like I do will know what those are.). Enormous statues of Ursula, King Triton and Ariel mark the different buildings in this area.

The Little Mermaid buildings do have a pool. It’s not as big as the Big Blue Pool but it’s still a good size and will definitely make you feel like you are under the sea and in the movie. The fence is locked and you must use your room key to enter. Guests are encouraged to bring their towels from their rooms.

After we checked out the pool we made our way to our room. We stayed in King Triton’s building on the 3rd floor. We had a vending machine and ice machine conveniently located outside of our room. I have to say that I was so impressed with the bright colors and the detail in the room. The table had music sheets embedded in it with the lyrics to “Under the Sea”. So cool! And I would pay lots of money for that shower curtain to be in my bathroom. Again, the detail is just amazing.  I also noticed that the rooms do adjoin, which is great for families traveling together.

I would definitely recommend staying here on your next vacation. You can stay in a standard room at standard room price but still take advantage of the rest of the resort amenities. This is a fantastic resort to stay in with your family. Contact me for more info and I can help you make it happen!

Erin Santamaria – ErinS@travelwiththemagic.com 877-377-0505

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