Lobby Tour of Disney's Art of Animation Resort with an Imagineer

Guests will be drawn into some of their favorite stories when of Disney's Art of Animation Resort opens May 31 at the Walt Disney World Resort. The resort will immerse Guests in the storylines of "Finding Nemo," "The Lion King," "Cars" and "The Little Mermaid," putting them in the heart of creating animated magic while making memories that will last a lifetime. Animation Hall, which houses the Front Office, Merchandise and Food & Beverage, features actual sketches and storyboards pulled from the archives. The Ink & Paint Store will add color to the mix with oversized paint cans and brushes. In Landscapes of Flavor, Guests can enjoy pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches, a Mongolian grill and more, all while dining among background art from the featured films. Disney's Art of Animation Resort will be introduced in phases. Guests will join Nemo in his big, blue world in the "Finding Nemo" theme as part of the May grand opening. Mater and Lightning McQueen will invite Guests to the Cozy Cone Motel when the "Cars" theme opens June 18. Starting Aug. 10, Guests can experience true "hakuna matata" when "The Lion King" theme opens. Finally, Guests will discover the world of Ariel and friends in "The Little Mermaid" theme opening Sept. 15. "The last three phases will be opening early," said Kevin Myers, vice president of Walt Disney World Resort Operations. "We are really excited about that because ... that means that we have a lot of permanent jobs here. We're going to be able to actually bring in our Cast Members a little bit earlier than we had originally planned." The resort features a unique blend of family suites and standard rooms at a value resort. The 1,100 family suites, located in in the "Finding Nemo," "Cars" and "The Lion King" themes, sleep up to six Guests with a master bedroom, full-size sleeper sofa and the innovative Inovabed, a table that converts into a sleep space. The suites also feature a kitchenette and two full bathrooms. "The Little Mermaid" theme will offer standard rooms that sleep up to four Guests. "We've got a lot of demand here our resort around family travel [and] multigenerational travel," Kevin added. "These family suites here at Disney's Art of Animation Resort are going to really help us to tap into that and provide that unique product that we don't have at the scale that we need to have here." Each theme will also have customized recreation. The largest resort swimming pool on Walt Disney World property, The Big Blue Pool in the "Finding Nemo" theme, features underwater speakers and a themed aqua playground -- a first in resorts. The pool in "The Little Mermaid" theme will feature the "Under the Sea Orchestra" conducted by Sebastian. "Cars" enthusiasts can cruise on over to the Cozy Cone Pool to cool their engines, and fans of "The Lion King" will have a chance to re-create all of Simba's adventures as they romp around a playground right out of the movie. Watch this video with Gary Hoffmann, Walt Disney Imagineering senior project manager, and Kevin Myers, to learn more about what's coming to Disney's Art of Animation Resort.