For us, it's not the distance to the Little Mermaid rooms that bothers us so much -- it's more the heat (obviously depending on the time of year). When we've been there in hot months, after a long day at the park, that walk back to LM with no shade can be rough. In the cooler months, we haven't minded the walk. We do prefer the theming of AoA, including the pool and food court, so we'd go with AoA, but we'd choose Pop during the hottest times of year.