What You Need to Know About the Cars Suite at Art of Animation at Disney World

On our last Disney Trip, we stayed at the Art of Animation Resort and we LOVED it. We booked a Cars Suite for the 6 of us and we found the room to be perfect for us.

The family suites have two rooms, a kitchenette (with mini-fridge, coffee maker, and microwave), and two bathrooms – perfect for families. Here are all of the room themes:

• The Little Mermaid (standard room)
• Cars (suite)
• The Lion King (suite)
• Finding Nemo (suite)

All of the suite rooms are located closer to the lobby & restaurant (and the Big Blue Pool) area. The hallways and entrances to these rooms are also inside. The Little Mermaid standard rooms are the furthest away and the hallways and room entrances are outside.

P.S. There are 1,120 suite rooms and 864 standard rooms.

The Resort

The Art of Animation Resort is divided into 4 specifically themed areas (themed based on Disney & Pixar movies).

These are the four themed areas:

• Finding Nemo
• Cars
• The Lion King
• Little Mermaid

Resort amenities also include a Jogging Trail around Hourglass Lake, the Pixel Play Arcade, and the Righteous Reef Playground (in the Nemo section). The resort has three swimming pools, one being the largest pool at any Disney World Resort. With these pools, a huge food court, free art lessons, and close access to the Skyliner. Art of Animation is a great place to stay at Disney, especially for families.

The resort has lots of experiences on-site. Look for signs around the resort and lobby area for resort activities such as Movies Under the Stars, Pool Parties, Art Classes, and Sand Art. During Movies Under the Stars, the resort shows popular Disney movies in the grassy area found between The Lion King building and the Finding Nemo building.

Animation Hall

Animation Hall houses the lobby, the arcade, the Ink & Paint Gift Shop, and the Landscape of Flavors Restaurant.

The Lobby

Usually, the hotel’s lobby is the most boring part of the hotel…but not at Art of Animation. It is bright, colorful, and full of Disney characters and drawings. I loved seeing the giant reproductions of the Disney artists’ original sketches on the wall in the lobby.

Ink & Paint Gift Shop

We love looking for Disney treasures at the Ink & Paint Gift Shop. It is located right between the lobby and Landscape of Flavors. It has many of the usual Disney souvenirs – shirts, hats, and Minnie Ears. But, we always find something new here!

My suggestion is…If you find something you like at Ink & Paint Gift Shop and you want it…get it. You might not find it anywhere else and it might sell out at Ink & Paint before your trip is over. We found this out when my daughter wanted an Aristocats Loungefly backpack. She fell in love with it on the first day but worried she might want to spend her souvenir money on something else in the parks. Every day, on the way back from the park, she noticed that the number of purses dwindled and so she bought one. She received many compliments and comments that those bags were hard to find!

Landscape of Flavors

The Landscape of Flavors is a quick-service restaurant at Art of Animation. It is located toward the front of the resort (right next to the gift shop). This restaurant is considered one of the best (if not THE BEST) quick-service restaurants at the value resorts.  It’s actually the largest food court of all the Disney World hotels. They are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. 

We actually loved ordering meals through the mobile APP/My Disney Experience. By the time we made our orders and walked to the restaurant, our food was ready for us. Mobile ordering is such a time saver at the parks and at the resorts!

What You’ll Find at Landscape of Flavors:

• Breakfast (including plant-based options)
• Dinner Specials (ex. fish, meatballs, Asian cuisine, quesadilla platter)
• Pizza
• Pasta
• Burgers
• Chicken
• Salads (For example Ceasar Salad & Power Salad)
• Sandwiches (Grilled Chicken & Pulled Pork for example)
• Plant-based Entrees (like “burgers”, sautees, and soups)
• Sides (soups, fries, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, & breadsticks)
• Kid’s Meals
• Gluten-Free Snacks
• Bakery Treats (cookies, brownies, muffins, croissants)
• Snacks (fruit, yogurt, popcorn, Rice Krispy characters, etc)
• Specialty Coffees
• Beer & Alcoholic Beverages (including wine & cocktails)

See all of the Landscape of Flavors Menu Items HERE.

The Cars Suite Room

The Layout

When you first enter the Cars Suite, you find yourself in the dining room. The dining room table actually converts to a double-size Murphey bed that sleeps up to two people.

From the dining room, you can enter a restroom, the living/kitchenette room, or the bedroom.

The Living Room with Kitchenette

The living room has a couch that converts to a full-sized sleeper. All of the other suites at Art of Animation have two drum/barrel-shaped footrests that double as extra seating. The Cars Suite, however, is the only family suite that has a coffee table (with a map of Radiator Springs).

This room also has a television, a dresser, and a mini closet where you can hang clothes.

The Kitchenette

In addition to the couch, tv, closet, and sitting area, this room houses a small kitchenette. This kitchenette has a coffee pot, a small microwave, and a mini-fridge.

We brought our favorite soda (Fresca’s & Ginger Ale) to put in the fridge. Disney has a partnership with Coca-Cola so there are no Pepsi or other drink products sold on Disney property. So… if you want Mountain Dews or Juice or Tea, you might want to bring it with you to put in the fridge.

We brought food and snacks to our room. The fridge can hold yogurt, small milk, string cheese… etc… if you want to have breakfast in your room.

The Bedroom

TV, Dresser, Safe, mini closet (for hanging clothes), ironing board

Connected to the bedroom is a second bathroom, with a sink, toilet, and walk-in shower.

The Bathrooms

One bathroom is connected to the dining room area. There is a separate washroom/sink area and a separate room with a toilet, bathtub, and shower. This bathroom is good for anyone who wants to take a bath. I also like that one person could use the toilet or shower with the door shut and another person could use the sink and mirror to get ready.

The second bathroom is connected to the bedroom. This one is also carwash-themed with a sink, toilet, and walk-in shower. This shower is HUGE so it’s perfect for the tall people in your family!

Sleeping Arrangements

The Cars Suite (as well as all of the family suites at Art of Animation) sleeps 6 people very comfortably. If you are traveling with a baby (under 3 years old), you can get a crib and the suite actually sleeps 7. Cribs are available on request.

The suite offers 3 beds:

• Queen-Sized Bed in the main bedroom
• Double-Sized Murphy Bed in Dining Room
• Double-Sized Sleeper Sofa in Living Room Area

We found the sleeper sofa in the living room area to be bigger than the Murphey bed in the dining room area.

Here are some other amenities you’ll find in your suite:

• Two separate bathrooms
• A master bedroom
• A pull-out couch that converts to a double size sleeper sofa
• A work/dining table that includes an Inovabed that can sleep 1 or 2. The table is 3′ x 4′, and the double bed opens to 4.5′ by 6′.
• Queen-size bed in the master
• Mini-kitchen with microwave, coffee maker, sink, and small refrigerator
• Two flat-screen TVs
• In-room wall safe
• Complimentary WiFi
• Hairdryer
• Iron and ironing board

Wheelchair-accessible rooms are also available. You can make this request when booking your Disney vacation.

Room Service and “Mousekeeping”

On our trip, our room was cleaned and inspected before our check-in. After that, our room was lightly cleaned every other day. The garbage was removed and we were given clean towels. Of course, we could call down to the lobby and ask for anything we needed (and we did!). The resort was very accommodating and was happy to provide anything we needed. We only needed an extra blanket and we had one brought to us shortly after we asked.

We ended up leaving a tip a.k.a. Mousekeeping for our room cleaners on the days of our cleaning, including our last day.

Swimming Pools

Once you step outside the lobby, you will see the Big Blue Pool. The design of this pool was inspired by Disney & Pixar’s movie Finding Nemo. It is the largest resort pool in Walt Disney World Resort. The Big Blue Pool actually has underwater speakers for music to play that you can hear while underwater. In the cooler months, the pool is heated. You don’t have to worry about bringing towels from home or your hotel rooms because towels are provided at the Big Blue Pool. And, there are lifeguards on duty.

There is a Finding Nemo-themed splash pad next to The Big Blue Pool where kiddos can play among the jellyfish and sea anemones. It’s called the Schoolyard Sprayground. In the Cars area, the Cozy Cone Pool has traffic cone cabanas and pool chairs for lounging. There is also a third pool in the Little Mermaid area of the resort called Flippin’ Fins.

Near the Big Blue Pool is The Drop Off Bar (pictured above). They serve non-alcoholic beverages as well as cold beer and frozen specialty cocktails.

The Arcade

If you find yourself with a rainy afternoon and kiddos climbing the walls, you can take them over to the arcade. My kiddos loved it in there.

Self-service Laundry

You can do your laundry while at Art of Animation. The last time we were there it was $3.00/load to wash and $3.00/load to dry.

Disney Skyliner Access

We love riding the Skyliner gondolas! This has It is so convenient and usually a much quicker wait than the bus. When having a day at the parks, you can take Gondolas to Hollywood Studios and Epcot.  The gondolas drop you close to the entrance (or rear entrance of Epcot) of these parks.

The Skyliner can also take you toward The Boardwalk, Disney’s Beach Club Resort, and Beaches and Cream Soda Shop. There is a little bit of walking involved after exiting the gondola. We had reservations for Beaches and Cream on our arrival day so we just hopped on the Skyliner and headed towards Epcot (which is also the last stop when leaving from Art of Animation). After getting off the gondola, we headed toward Disney’s Beach Club Resort to eat at Beaches and Cream located there.

The Skyliner also stops at Caribbean Beach Resort and the Riviera Resort if you want to visit or tour these resorts.

And the great thing about Disney’s Skyliner Transportation is that there is a Disney Skyliner Transportation Station right by Art of Animation!  So if you are staying at Art of Animation, you should definitely take advantage of this great transportation system.

Skyliner Map

Bus Transportation

Art of Animation has one bus stop. It’s located in front of the Animation Hall. Check the Disney App (or screens located at the bus stop) for arrival times. The buses provide transportation to all 4 Disney theme parks, the 2 Disney water parks, and Disney Springs.

Walk Over to Pop Century

Art of Animation and Pop Century are connected by the Generation Gap Bridge (which is also home to the Skyliner). Pop Century is a bright and colorful resort and it is a fun area to tour. I suggest visiting Pop Century when you start craving something sweet. You can get a Tie-Dye Cheesecake here. The “crust” is Red Velvet Cake and the cheesecake topping is a colorful tie-dye design. You can also get a Dole Whip here if you haven’t tried this treat yet or you craving one outside of the parks (it’s soft serve Dole Whip with Pineapple Juice!)

Cars Suite Resort Area – Daytime

When you step outside your room, you will feel like you are immersed in Radiator Springs. This was my son’s favorite movie when he was little so we really enjoyed this area.

Don’t forget to take lots of pictures! Your kiddos (who am I kidding? Adults too!) will love taking pictures with Mater and Doc and Lightning McQueen.

See the rest of the Art of Animation Resort areas in our resort tour HERE.

Cars Suite Resort Area – Night Time

I highly recommend checking out all the areas of Art of Animation at night. It’s so cool. Here’s what the Cars area looks like at night – this was right outside our hotel room!

Dog-Friendly Resort

The Art of Animation Resort is actually one of four Disney resorts that allow dogs/pets. There is a limit of two dogs per room, restrictions, and fees apply. Pets may also be boarded at the Best Friends Pet Care Kennel across from Port Orleans Riverside.

If you are planning a trip to Disney World and are thinking about staying at the Art of Animation Resort, I hope this helps. We enjoyed our stay here. I think it’s perfect for families with small children because of the atmosphere. But our family trip consisted of 4 adults and 2 teenagers and we loved it too! We want to stay there again next time!

Disney’s Art of Animation Resort // 1850 Animation Way, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, 32830 // (407) 938-7000

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