Disney's Art of Animation Resort in Orlando is one of the newest resorts at the Park, and may be the most popular at the moment. The Art of Animation Resort opened at Walt Disney World in 2012. It has been a popular "value" resort since then. The big draw? It has separate themed areas including Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King and The Little Mermaid.
Recently, I visited the Cars area of the Resort. The outside is amazing. I truly felt like I had stepped right into the movie!
The outside is a reproduction of the Cozy Cone Motel.
Several cars are life-sized; a kid's dream come true!
The main lobby at Art of Animation.
Animation sketches from Disney and Pixar films line the walls of the lobby. The sketches start out simple (early stages/black and white) as shown below.
As you walk the wall, designs become colorful and begin to look more like the final version of the movie.
The other fun item in the Resort lobby is a chandelier made up of storyboards. Did you know some of them are signed by famous folks, including Pat Carroll the voice of Ursula?
(Check out this Disney Parks video for more about the chandelier.)
Besides the setting, Disney's Art of Animation is popular for other reasons.
- Recently, it became a dog friendly resort.
- The resort offers family suites which have become popular in recent years.
- Sketch lessons are available daily in the lobby.
- Take the plunge in the Largest Resort Pool (Finding Nemo) in Walt Disney World Resort.
- Once complete, the Disney Skyliner will be connected to the resort.
