Just got back from our first stay and we loved it. We were in Aruba 54, facing the parking lot but with some greenery between the two. It was a great location for the Aruba bus stop/pool/laundry. It was only about a minute or two walk to the freestyle machine in building 55. We didn't like the walk to the food court/main pool, but it wasn't horrible (I didn't time it but would say it took me about 8-10 minutes), but we didn't need to use that often anyway. We did find on our last day or two that you could shortcut through the Aruba pool, and through the little playground to save some steps and a little time. I'd rather have the location for the things we used more often that I mentioned previously so our location ended up pretty perfect for us. Some thoughts:
Room ready text: I put that I'd be there at 11 (figured it'd be noon but hoped it would help it be ready sooner), and got the text at 1045).
Parking: our first time driving, and it was nice. We could take our stuff we weren't using back to the car, and had some snacks/water at our disposal. We had two cars, and somehow didn't get charged for either to park. Maybe because we didn't go in/out? Not sure.
Buses: this was one of my major concerns with a huge resort, but we didn't have any issues. Two mornings we did have a little long wait, but we got on. There was only one time I didn't see everyone get on. That was Friday for MK EMH. The bus took about 25 minutes from when we got there, and there were probably 10 people that didn't get on. We did have to stand most mornings, but afternoons we didn't. Having a separate bus for Jamaica/Aruba works well. It's a long wait after a long day to get off at Aruba, but it's nice leaving the resort right after getting on.
Pull down bed: I've seen questions about it, and adults can use it. I'm 6'2 near 300 pounds and I slept on it all week, and I slept perfectly. It wasn't planned that way, but thats just how it worked out. What I did was there is a little space between the pull down part and the cabinet beside it that houses the fridge. I just shoved a pillow in there (it rested on the bench part that was still visible), and put another pillow on top of that, so my head was pretty much against the cabinet. My feet did hang off a bit, but I could stretch out and I just hit the cabinet on the other side for support. But I sleep on my side mostly, so I curl my legs up a little most the time.
Pre-order food: this isn't just for the resort, but this was great. it really was a huge timesaver. Most times we used it there were long lines to get food. We put our order in, and as we were walking to the place we tapped we are here. By the time we got there, our food was ready. It was really a great feature, and can't believe more people don't use it.
Pools: they say the pools are heated the same, but the Aruba pool was definitely colder than the main pool. We didn't swim much this trip, but did enjoy the quiet of the Aruba pool. There was just too many people in the main pool when we did have time to swim the most (although it was last Saturday and it was 82). I honestly can't remember what time the main pool closed (but thinking it was 8, maybe 9). The hours posted for the Aruba pool on the inside said 11, but it was unlocked all the time. It was too cold to swim at night, but if it was nicer I would've stayed in there after time in the parks.
Noise from nearby construction: there were some fences up around the resort but didn't hear any working. One day during the week it was nice and while others were swimming I went down to the beach of Aruba to relax. I could hear some pounding from the new DVC resort, but it wasn't anything crazy.
Gondola: I think this will be nice for transportation, but also think it'll be odd. I was thinking while I was sitting on the beach that it'll be odd having hundreds of people above you if you sit there for a while. Not that there aren't people around all the time, but it's literally right above you. Same with swimming in the pool, or sitting around it. I'm sure it won't matter to most, but seems like its just right in the middle of where you'd want to relax.
Smoking areas: not sure if this has in impact for most, but there were no smoking areas on the map they gave me (they are listed in the app). When I got my room ready text I looked at the map and didn't see any mention of smoking areas on it. So at one point when we were in the food court I went to the front desk for a map. They gave it to me, and had no smoking areas. I asked, and she said you can smoke anywhere there is a bench and a garbage can. It felt odd because there were no marked garbage cans for smoking anywhere. I ended up asking another worker at one point later, and she said the same thing. I mostly smoked in the parking lot as it was close and I was away from people. Although the first in the morning and last at night happened on the bench with garbage can beside it (listed on the app as a smoking area) 20 feet from our room. I know a lot of people hate us smokers, but some of us are considerate. I really tried to be where I was supposed to, but had no idea where that was (at the resort, the parks were well marked).
We really enjoyed the resort, and wouldn't hesitate to go back.
for the detailed report especially about the pull down bed. It was the one thing I've been worrying about. I was worried it would be only for little kids but sounds like my daughter should be just fine sleeping there. She will be 12 when we go and will probably be around 5 foot tall then so she should be fine.
