Disney Worlds newest value resort the Art of Animation opened in fall 2012. The resort is sectioned into 4 areas each based on a Disney/Pixar movie. The 3 sections that center around the main building feature Cars, Finding Nemo and the Lion King. All the rooms in these areas are family suites that sleep up to 6 plus an infant up to 2 years old. The last section is Little mermaid themed and sleep up to 4 guest plus an infant under 2. Rooms start as low as $152 per night during the value season. Busier times of the year and weekends increase your cost.
The little Mermaid section is the farthest from the main building. This is where you will find the front desk, dining area, gift shop and just outside are the buses to get to the parks. Our room was in building 8 which was about a 6 minute walk from our room to the bus stop . We did purchase the dining plan which came with refillable mugs but did not use them as much as previous trips since it was a longer walk.
This resort is located next door to Disney’s Pop Century resort and are connected by a bridge over hourglass lake. One thing we enjoy about this resort is that it does not share a bus with any other resorts. Some of the other resorts will share buses between the parks which makes for longer wait times. The down side to staying at this and the other value resorts is when leaving the park at close there is often a bit of a wait for a bus back to the resort. Since its not to long of a walk between Pop Century and Art of Animation we have taken the bus for the other resort back and walked to save time waiting for the bus to come.
The little mermaid rooms come with either 1 king bed or 2 double beds. There is a dresser with built-in mini fridge, flat screen TV and a small table with 2 chairs.They provide and iron and ironing board, hair dryer and small safe built into the wall. The sink is separate from the toilet and tub and a curtain closes off the bathroom sink area from the beds. There is not a lot of room but we are rarely in our room so it works fine for us even with the portable crib. Since this is still a value resort the walls are on the thin side but the only noise we heard was the doors closing or kids at the pool during the day. The doors do exit to the outside while the family suit rooms exit to an indoor corridor. 
The themeing throughout the resort is amazing. If you or your kids are Little mermaid fans this will be the perfect pick for you. In the room there are nautical touches throughout like an octopus for the coat rack and the table has a picture of sheet music for Under the sea. In the bathroom shower the tile forms a mural that looks like you have stumbled into Ariels treasure cove. The pearl in the clam shell headboard on the bed doubles as your light. Just some of Disney’s little touches that immerse you into the story.
Outside you will find a giant statue of Ursula, Ariel or king Triton in front of each building. The Little Mermaid section has its own pool and the laundry room is located in the building next to the pool. The pool here is great for older kids but the Nemo pool is better for all ages. The Little Mermaid pool only goes as shallow as 3ft but its quieter and less crowded here.
Its a bit of a walk to the Nemo pool but there is a splash area and zero entry pool, there is also a bar here and a soda fountain to refill your mugs if you purchased them. They also have games and activities at the Nemo pool through out the day, when you check in you should get a guide to all the resorts activities during your stay including outdoor movies shown be
tween the Lion King and Finding Nemo sections.
Our family really enjoyed staying at the Art of Animation. The only downside to these rooms are the distance to everything. I found it was not as noisy as the Pop Century rooms can be. Even though the rooms are small at the value resort we find it’s fine for our family. I would recommend the Art of Animation resort however the Little Mermaid rooms may not be the best choice. Make sure you are giving yourself extra time to get from your room to the bus stop and if you have babies and toddlers a stroller is a must.