I have never stayed there so I can't answer your questions, sorry about that.  However, we did tour the hotel back in Oct and it looked awesome.  DS18mos practically started running when he saw lightning McQueen.  If you don't get a lot of answers here, I would try Trip Advisor or disboards.com.  Again, sorry I couldn't answer your questions, just wanted to say I hope you have a magical vacation.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2957090

DS will be 5 and we are debating between a hotel suite that is themed for DS or Bay Lake Towers, which has the monorail. Just not sure it is worth the extra 1200 solely to avoid driving or buses. Plus DS would probably love the theme. IDK.

Well we stayed offsite and driving wasn't an issue at all.  We simply got on the highway and I swear within two minutes we were driving under the " Welcome to Walt Disney World" sign. 

I hear good and bad about the buses.  Some people love not having to drive while staying on property and others hate having to wait for a bus only to have to stand the whole time because there aren't any seats left.  We personally liked having our car.  Yeah it sucked having to pay for parking, but again, we didn't have to worry about not getting a seat with tired little ones. 

Does he like Cars ?  Yeah the Cars section was really cool.  Even the cabanas in the pool area were from the Cozy Cone hotel. 

The good thing is that I am pretty sure that Art of Animation doesn't have to share shuttle buses with another hotel, so that really helps.  Oh and the food court has some good and interesting choices. 

Oh and when you go to Epcot try to have your son sign up for Agent P's secret mission.  My nephew 4.5 did it and had a blast.  Couldn't stop talking about it.  He also loved Jedi Training Academy At HS.

The convenience at monorail hotels is awesome- but remember that the lines are still long and you have to fold a stroller up anyway at busy times like park closing.  Also, the monorails do not run the whole length of Extra Magic Hours anymore, so some of that might sway the value you see in it!  Would you be going to the park and staying there the whole day or maybe returning to the hotel for a break in the middle of the day?  If youre going to take a break, being close to the MK might be really helpful... otherwise, i might just go for the bus transportation. 

 

Art of Animation is awesome, the theme is incredible and tied in everywhere.  Shuttle time is not bad for Epcot. 

KellyPixie:

The convenience at monorail hotels is awesome- but remember that the lines are still long and you have to fold a stroller up anyway at busy times like park closing.  Also, the monorails do not run the whole length of Extra Magic Hours anymore, so some of that might sway the value you see in it!  Would you be going to the park and staying there the whole day or maybe returning to the hotel for a break in the middle of the day?  If youre going to take a break, being close to the MK might be really helpful... otherwise, i might just go for the bus transportation. 

 

Art of Animation is awesome, the theme is incredible and tied in everywhere.  Shuttle time is not bad for Epcot. 

LOL, I haven't used a stroller in about 3 years. But, yes we do want to have the option to rest or take a break during the day, not sure if DS will need that or not. If we stay at Art of Animation we may tack on a 6th day due to the price difference. DH is the one against driving, he travels for work and likes vacation to be direction free. However as a kid I stayed at Fort Wilderness and I remember taking our car and the ferry once. Here is what I am thinking:

Day 1: Checkin @ 3, explore hotel, DT disney, eat at T-Rex 

Day 2: MK, lunch in suite, Epcot

Day 3: AK, MK in the evening (parade and fireworks)

Day 4: MK, Chef Mickeys for brunch, HS

Day 5 check out (could do park in morning if we need to)

 

It sounds like youre going to be at the Magic Kingdom a lot, plus hopping back to the Contemporary for Chef Mickeys so it might be worth it to go for Bay Lake.  When are you going?  When Disney puts out a room discount, the discount is a lot more on the deluxe resorts than it is on the values so the price difference becomes much smaller.  

About the 5th day- its only $12 per person to add that day so it might be worth it even just for a few hours before you leave.   

KellyPixie:

It sounds like youre going to be at the Magic Kingdom a lot, plus hopping back to the Contemporary for Chef Mickeys so it might be worth it to go for Bay Lake.  When are you going?  When Disney puts out a room discount, the discount is a lot more on the deluxe resorts than it is on the values so the price difference becomes much smaller.  

About the 5th day- its only $12 per person to add that day so it might be worth it even just for a few hours before you leave.   

I think we are going to stay at Bay Lake. Art sounds like there are still many customer service issues to work out.  

 

We stayed at AoA 3 weeks ago and loved it! We had a nemo suite that my girls adored. The theming everywhere is amazing. 

As for transportation, the busses weren't bad for us - and I had a double stroller (Phil and teds) to fold up every time we got on. It took about 6 minutes to get to HS, 12 minutes to AK and 15 to MK. We also came back to the hotel everyday for a 3 hour rest so the baby and DD2 could nap and we never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus.

That being said, we are going back in January 2014 for a short 4 night trip and we are staying at the Contemporary. Like a pp mentioned, the discounts are larger on the Deluxe resorts and we're going during value season, so for an extra $300 or so we are going for a monorail resort since this trip we will prob only be going to MK.

the only negative I found staying at AoA was the food court was so slow! I love the selection, fresh ingredients, healthy food, etc. but it takes so long to get the food because everything is made to order (with the exception of pizzas).

I know we will be disappointed in the size of our room @ the Contemporary because ours suite was huge with 2 full bathrooms, which was great for 5 people, but our Jan trip isn't going to be the blow out vacation like the one we just went on, so I'm willing to compromise on space.

if you still have questions about AoA let me know!  

We stayed at AOA Dec 14-18th and loved it. We had a Lion King suite. It was myself, husband and our 2.5 year old son. He was so excited to go see Pumba and Scar every morning. We brought all our own food so it was great having the kitchen area in the room. it was lso great having twobathrooms, onewith a tub for him. We spent one day in Hollywood studios, one at animal kingdom and three at MK. It was awesome. We had dinner at Chef Mickeys the Monday we were there and we just drove there, your parking pass allows you to park for free. Then we took the monorail to MK to watch fireworks. It was perfect! We didn't drive anywhere, just took the buses. Never had to wait more than 10 minutes. Not a long drive either. Have fun! 

We stayed at the AoA in early December and loved it. We had a room in the Little Mermaid section with a nice view of the pool and the lake. The decor in the room and the grounds was great and the restaurant selection was really good as well. We will definitely stay there again.