Is the big Blue pool a must do for a 6yo and 4yo?

[Disneybiginner]

We have an upcoming cruise trip in July/August. Our flight will land at 5:30 pm the day before cruise, and the return flight will take off at 5:00 the day after cruise. We already booked AKL for our pre cruise stay, we will also have one night after cruise, originally we will stay at relatives place, now the plan has changed, we will need another hotel stay. we would love to stay at a WDW resort again, now I have a question.

I have heard good review about the big blue pool, so, is it a good plan to book one night at AoA before the cruise, and move the AKL reservation to the post cruise day? Since our flight land so late and we will need to leave for cruise the next day, we will not have enough time to enjoy all the AKL can offer on the day before cruise. however, it might leave us enough time to walk around AoA and enjoy the big blue pool if it is a must do for my daughters. Another option, since my daughters are big princesses fan, so should we do the little mermaid room at AoA or the royal room at POR and visit DS instead on the arrival day?

Thank you for your input!

 

[Floppy-Dee33]

I would not personally stay at AOA specifically due to the big blue pool.
If that's the only reason you'd be staying there then choose somewhere else that you'd rather stay based on all amenities.

 

[Princess_Lisa]

Its a decent pool, but nothing extraordinary. I wouldn't stay just for it.

 

[Disneybiginner]

Thanks a lot for your input. I thought since we will only have 2 hours before bed on the arrival day,and maybe 2-3 hours before we leave for the cruise, it might be just enough for the kids enjoy the pool a little bit, walk around and check out the cartoon statues, and maybe doing a drawing class. I don’t think we will make a special trip to AoA in our future WDW trip. So, consider all the activities above should we pull the trigger?

 

[Floppy-Dee33]

Thanks a lot for your input. I thought since we will only have 2 hours before bed on the arrival day,and maybe 2-3 hours before we leave for the cruise, it might be just enough for the kids enjoy the pool a little bit, walk around and check out the cartoon statues, and maybe doing a drawing class. I don’t think we will make a special trip to AoA in our future WDW trip. So, consider all the activities above should we pull the trigger?

Sounds like suddenly its not just about the pool.
If you want to stay then do so.

 

[Nancyg56]

Personally,even given the activities you mention, I would not plan a stay around around just that. If you want to stay at AofA, just book a night,

 

[Keira1387]

I think it’s a great choice for what you are looking for! My 5 year old loves their pool! They also have a splash area there as well, and a playground. Walking around looking at all the theming is always a big hit! They have a great food court as well! I would book the little mermaid room for sure!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

AoA is cute but it’s loud and uncomfortable, IMHO and the pool isn’t great - it’s just a zero entry pool with no slide. It sounds like you only have about 4 or 5 hours to enjoy a resort. There is also no guarantee your flight won’t be delayed or the weather will cooperate. I would opt for a POR royal room. It is comfortable, has two queen beds and all the princess touches. They have a nice pool and other resort activities plus the boat to DS.

 

[Lumpy1106]

^ This
Carribean Beach has a great pool with small slide, splash pad etc. that your kids will love. AKL and POFQ are also great choices. I love POR pool more, but not for 4-6 yo kids.

 

[bluezy]

We love AoA (though we stay in a suite) and I think it would be a great resort to stay at for one night. The Little Mermaid rooms are really cute! My son and his wife have stayed in those rooms twice already because he's a huge Little Mermaid fan. Granted, the rooms are not huge (standard Value room size); they have 2 double beds as opposed to 2 queen beds that the moderate resorts or Pop Century would have; and the Little Mermaid rooms are a bit of a walk from the bus stops (which won't be an issue since you're not going to a park anyway), but it's *one* night. If this isn't a resort you're interested in staying at for a future visit, I think spending a night here would be perfect. The grounds are really fun to walk around -- lots of photo ops. I always recommend walking over to the Cars section at night...it's really amazing. You could also walk over to Pop Century to take pictures over there. As far as the Big Blue Pool...it's nice. I actually prefer the Little Mermaid pool because it's much less crowded...but kids definitely love the Big Blue Pool.

 

[jbehr12]

We have an upcoming cruise trip in July/August. Our flight will land at 5:30 pm the day before cruise, and the return flight will take off at 5:00 the day after cruise. We already booked AKL for our pre cruise stay, we will also have one night after cruise, originally we will stay at relatives place, now the plan has changed, we will need another hotel stay. we would love to stay at a WDW resort again, now I have a question.

I have heard good review about the big blue pool, so, is it a good plan to book one night at AoA before the cruise, and move the AKL reservation to the post cruise day? Since our flight land so late and we will need to leave for cruise the next day, we will not have enough time to enjoy all the AKL can offer on the day before cruise. however, it might leave us enough time to walk around AoA and enjoy the big blue pool if it is a must do for my daughters. Another option, since my daughters are big princesses fan, so should we do the little mermaid room at AoA or the royal room at POR and visit DS instead on the arrival day?

Thank you for your input!

Let’s call a spade a spade here... it’s just a pool. Nothing special.

 

[buzznina]

To me, there is no WDW resort pool that is a "must do", but yes the AOA theme is very good and you can take up the day with pool and activities. Plus; maybe the skyliner will be open

 

[westie55]

I love AoA and for a 4 and 6 year old, I think the resort has A LOT of appeal. Kids will enjoy any of the Disney resorts, of course, but AoA has lots of their favorite characters and the Cars area in particular is, IMO, amazing. Walking around the resort and seeing the character statues is very entertaining! I love the showers in the LM rooms. The walls are tiled to look like Ariel's cavern. You can't help but sing, "Look at this stuff, isn't it neat..." in there lol!

 

[ceeceegee]

I think it’s a great choice for what you are looking for! My 5 year old loves their pool! They also have a splash area there as well, and a playground. Walking around looking at all the theming is always a big hit! They have a great food court as well! I would book the little mermaid room for sure!

I second this! My 4 and 6 yr old nieces loved the little mermaid room, the pool ("there's music under water Auntie!"), splash area, theming, lots of other kids around to play with, etc. For those ages AoA is perfect and I personally wouldn't want to spend the money on a mod or deluxe for such a short time.