Nervous about AoA food court!

[megustamex]

I'm booked for a trip during the height of spring break in March at AoA. I'm dying to try it out but I'm really worried that the bad reviews of the food court craziness are going to ruin the stay.

We usually stay at ASMu or ASMo and love it. One of the things I really like is being able to walk down to the food court and have breakfast among the excited bustle. We also utilize the food court for dinner quite a bit, after an afternoon swim, before heading back out to the parks. I've never had a problem getting my food in a reasonable amount of time and finding a seat, even during spring break or when the hotel is entertaining large school groups. Being able to have quick access to food is part of the relaxation for me as a mom! So - for anyone who has stayed at AoA - was the food court a deal breaker for you?

[BrerGnat]

I didn't find the AoA food court to be any more "crazy" than any of the other values. I think it's slightly larger and has more seating, and the seating area is better laid out.

I had three main issues with the food court. Take it for what it's worth to you:

1. Busing my own table with reusable plates and silverware was downright gross. I do not want to be a busboy on vacation. It's a messy set up and left me feeling icky.

2. Too many "customizable" food options lead to long, slow moving lines and long waits for food. Almost everything is customizable to some extent or another and it becomes a tedious process to get your food.

3. Food options in general were not what I was expecting at a Value resort. Tried too hard to fancy/healthy it up and just ends up with some odd foods, particularly kid's menu options. We elected to not eat dinner there and went elsewhere because nothing looked good to us.

[Dopey's Girl]

I didn't find the AoA food court to be any more "crazy" than any of the other values. I think it's slightly larger and has more seating, and the seating area is better laid out.

I had three main issues with the food court. Take it for what it's worth to you:

1. Busing my own table with reusable plates and silverware was downright gross. I do not want to be a busboy on vacation. It's a messy set up and left me feeling icky.

2. Too many "customizable" food options lead to long, slow moving lines and long waits for food. Almost everything is customizable to some extent or another and it becomes a tedious process to get your food.

3. Food options in general were not what I was expecting at a Value resort. Tried too hard to fancy/healthy it up and just ends up with some odd foods, particularly kid's menu options. We elected to not eat dinner there and went elsewhere because nothing looked good to us.

I totally agree Natalie! My friend and her hubby stayed there for Icot15, so I went to visit for lunch. The table busing was disgusting. I get that it's more eco friendly, but I'm not on vacation to work that hard for a meal.

All the 'options' really mean is that it takes you 15 mins to get through the line to get a simple cheeseburger. And they were trying way too hard to be fancy. It's a food court. While I appreciate diversity, I'm not there for a fine dining experience.

[Roger's #1 Fan]

I spent two weeks in AoA in August. Granted the entire resort was not up and running yet (LK opened right before we left) but I also found it no less hectic than the other values.

I share most of Natalie's sentiments. Breakfast was generally very good as were the choices offered. We never ate lunch there, but dinner left us with few option based on the more "cuisine" styled dishes that my DKs didn't care for. (we ended up ordering Pop pizza in the room)

One thing I will add is that the Pop food court is about a 5 minute walk across the bridge. Their food court is very nice and IMHO offers more general food at more reasonable prices. (example - 3 scoop ice cream sundae at Pop cost as much as a small serving (dixie cup) of gelato at AoA)

[EJS-Houston]

I have to disagree with the consensus here. I did not make any advance dining reservations this time around, and I greatly appreciated the diversity of dining options in the Art of Animation and Pop Century food court...and was greatful that I was able to eat healthily, well, and relatively inexpensively. And I didn't notice it to be any worse than other food courts in terms of business. I think a lot depends on what time you go.

[r4kids]

Hmmmmm I think we may check it out, give it a chance then have back up plans in case it's needed

[Crow]

i stayed at POP last trip and found its food court worse in terms of busyness and cleanliness. i liked the choices at AOA

[goofynmd]

We stayed here the first week of November (not a busy time). I have to say the food court was one of the bigger dissapointments of the resort. I can't imagine how long the waits will be during busy seasons. This was my first time staying at a value property. The biggest frustration is if the kids want something different, you may end up standing in 3 or 4 different lines for all family members to get their food. I sometimes chose my selection based on what my kids wanted so I didn't have to go to a separate station. I would have preferred that the kids options were available at every station and therefore parents can choose what they want, not what is convenient.
We did walk over to Pop one night for dinner. It was practically empty at 6pm. I was shocked at the difference between the two resorts.

[JMTStone]

We just stayed there in October for ICOT15. We found the food court busy and confusing the first day and they had some confusing signage. But once we learned the process and ate there breakfast/lunch 3 times.

I found it about the same as ASMovies as far as being busy/clean. Here's a tip: there's a few sections for eating. Don't just look at the exit from the cashiers for seating. We always said, "meet us in the Lion King section" back by the entrance to the shop. There's a drink station back there too.

The selection was more adventurous than All Star as I remember (it *was* 1999). Some things were so fancy, my 11 year turned her nose up at it. I got her kids meals more often than not.

[SurferStitch]

DH and I had breakfast there several times during our last stay (10/27-11/4). We also got a late night snack a couple times.

Breakfast was busy, but we always found plenty of clean, empty tables to sit down at. We loved the selections available, and found that the wait was a little long for a custom omelet, but I was able to get a CUSTOM omelet, with egg whites, shrooms, swiss and anything else I wanted. The slab bacon was delicious, and I loved the breakfast potatoes.

We really have no complaints about the food court at all. We found the food to be better than at Pop, and didn't take any longer to get our food, even during busy breakfast hours.

[etibbetts]

I just stayed at AOA from 11/23-12/2 and while the food court was very busy, I didn't find the wait times any worse that other value resorts or even park CS locations.

The biggest complaint I had, I also had with other values, was waiting in different lines for food. I was lucky that I went with a group of seven so one adult could stay at the table with the kids and the other adults could get into whatever lines were needed. I can see this being a problem with a family of four though.

The cleaning of the trays was gross. The biggest problem is that the trash opening isn't even as big as the tray. It actually sometimes led to lines to use the trash! There were plenty of times though that the CM's told us to leave our trays or took them from us at the trash line. They were excellent.

Overall though, the food was very good and the waits were not bad. I loved the make your own pasta!

[lawgirl]

I have to disagree with the consensus here. I did not make any advance dining reservations this time around, and I greatly appreciated the diversity of dining options in the Art of Animation and Pop Century food court...and was greatful that I was able to eat healthily, well, and relatively inexpensively. And I didn't notice it to be any worse than other food courts in terms of business. I think a lot depends on what time you go.

I have to agree! We ate dinner at AoA, and really appreciated the diverse selection and healthier, more gourmet options. We really liked it. It was not at all what I expected for a value resort. We would go back. We did find a table outside, which helps with the loudness. I had an amazing veggie burger, and my parents both had really good meals as well.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Stayed the second week of November and LOVED AoA! And the food court was one of our favorite things! Liked the variety, and really didn't have trouble getting our food quickly at all. We even planned again to use it as one of our CS after we ate there the first night. I will definitely go back there! In fact, I just tried to see if it was available to use with my pin code on our next trip, but no luck.

[MouseHead]

I am staying at Pop [moving to AoA in the morning] so I thought I would walk over and try out AoA Food Court for dinner....hope my experience tonight is no indication of what I have to look forward to next week --- I ordered the Surf Burger --the shrimp that topped the *fish patty* were cold & like rubber---the burger itself was burned on the underside---undercooked on the other side---was cold & it had ice crystals inside...meaning it was still partially frozen ---No wonder it took only 3.5 mins from the time I placed the order until i received my food --- [that info is on my receipt btw]....I tossed the food after 2 bites & went to the concierge to have my $$$ refunded to my acct.----I am not a food snob by any means but this was unacceptable---I am hoping this is just an isolated situation

[mickeys_princess_mom]

I am staying at Pop [moving to AoA in the morning] so I thought I would walk over and try out AoA Food Court for dinner....hope my experience tonight is no indication of what I have to look forward to next week --- I ordered the Surf Burger --the shrimp that topped the *fish patty* were cold & like rubber---the burger itself was burned on the underside---undercooked on the other side---was cold & it had ice crystals inside...meaning it was still partially frozen ---No wonder it took only 3.5 mins from the time I placed the order until i received my food --- [that info is on my receipt btw]....I tossed the food after 2 bites & went to the concierge to have my $$$ refunded to my acct.----I am not a food snob by any means but this was unacceptable---I am hoping this is just an isolated situation

That's what we ate both times on our visit, with no problems. Hopefully just a stroke of bad luck for you. Sorry to hear that was your experience~!