Official SHADES OF GREEN Information

[A1A1]

My understanding is even if you book to stay at a Disney owned hotel thru SOG you can not use Magical express or get the dining plan... you must book thhru Disney.... that being said I have a a couple of suggestions... I have the DDE card and it saves a ton... I think it is worth it.. we are annual pass holders so we get it at a pretty good rae and it has more than paid for itself and then some... as far getting to GF from air port... I used the coupon on Mousesavers and was able to book Sun ray limo service for $82 round trip... that is with a grocery stop... we asked for a large van because we are 4 adults (two older teenagers) each with suitcases, carry on bags and 2 sets of golf clubs..... the folks at Sun ray have been great to work with...

You are so kind to have responded to my questions. Thank you!

I got an unbelievable price with Priceline's name your own price option on a rental car. I got the car --mid size--for seven days for $90!!!! It is at Hertz, so I will feel okay about the car quality. I usually like to drive myself, so I am glad to have a car for about the same as I would have had to pay for a limo/bus/taxi.

I am strongly considering the DDE card, but since it is just dd and myself, I'm not sure I will use it enough to make it worthwhile.

Thanks for your help!

 

[iheartdisney]

One of the many perks I'm really excited about. I've never actually stayed there but the Poly is my favorite resort to just visit and hang out at (followed by the Grand Floridian, Fort Wilderness and AKL). Maybe one day I'll be able to get an overflow rate at the Poly, of course it will be years down the road before I can afford it (many many years since I just bought a new car!).

You never know! Last week I got an overflow rate to Coronado, went to check in there, and they were overbooked, so sent me up to the Yacht Club!

 

[bigAWL]

You never know! Last week I got an overflow rate to Coronado, went to check in there, and they were overbooked, so sent me up to the Yacht Club!

That's pretty cool. And they didn't increase your rate? How was the Yacht Club? It looks exactly like the Newport Bay Club in Disnayland Resort Paris where I stayed last summer.

 

[Inda]

ANother question...

Could someone tell me, does SOG sell trading pins?

TIA
D~

I think I saw a few lanyards in my peripheral vision in the gift shop when I was there so one could assume they might sell pins there. Course, you know what they say about ASSuming anything . The lanyards I saw seemed to have military service related things on them so maybe they have one for each branch of service. If I collected pins I'd think it would be a cool lanyard to have.

I'm just chock full of reliable intel, no?

 

[mom2jcc]

You never know! Last week I got an overflow rate to Coronado, went to check in there, and they were overbooked, so sent me up to the Yacht Club!

How cool was that?!!!!!!!!
I must say sounds like you got sprinkled with a little pixie dust
Please let us know what you thought about the Yacht Club.

 

[JB2K]

I think I saw a few lanyards in my peripheral vision in the gift shop when I was there so one could assume they might sell pins there. The lanyards I saw seemed to have military service related things on them so maybe they have one for each branch of service.

I just returned from SoG last week -- here's the rundown:

1. The AAFES store does sell lanyards unique to each branch of service (Not 100% sure on pins -- those can normally be purchased at your home base's BX/PX).

2. They sell Disney lanyards - much of like you would buy from any gift shop around Florida (i.e., not unique to WDW, itself).

3. Same thing for Disney character pins.

Hope this helps...

 

[airplane]

You never know! Last week I got an overflow rate to Coronado, went to check in there, and they were overbooked, so sent me up to the Yacht Club!

That is AWESOME.
I thought I was lucky on my last trip b/c we got to try CS on the overflow rate. I love the SOG but it's always fun to try something new.


Has anyone ever gone to check in at the SOG only to find out they are overbooked and "forced" to stay at another WDW resort?

 

[iheartdisney]

How cool was that?!!!!!!!!
I must say sounds like you got sprinkled with a little pixie dust
Please let us know what you thought about the Yacht Club.

The Yacht Club was amazing, totally wonderful! It was awesome to take to boat over to Epcot, and to have so many CMs on hand. You couldn't turn a corner without running into someone asking if you needed anything.
After always staying at the All Stars it was a change. (I don't usually plan my trip far enough in advance to get into SOG) The best way to describe it is the differnece between going to Disney World and going on vacation. And Stormalong bay was amazing. We had a heck of a time getting my kids out of the "beach" to go home. I LOVED that the entire Beach area of the pool was only 2 feet deep, so I could actully relax at the pool instead of worrying about everyone.

That said, I did feel very out of place there. I was definately underdressed for the resort, and not experienced in the word of who to tip andn how much, so I hope no one was offended! The 2 days we were there was not enough time to check out all the resort had to offer. I would LOVE to go back there again someday, but I got curious and reseached the rack rate for the room at holiday time...and just about passed out! That 2 night stay would have been equal to my DH's two week take home pay!

But I am grateful for the experience. It was a beautiful trip We've never had a "magical" experince like that before.

Oh- and the roms were ALOT smaller than the SOG rooms...for five times the price!

 

[bigAWL]

Are the overflow rates reasonable? For a moderate like CSR (even though you didn't stay there), was it more than the regular rate at SOG?

 

[mom2jcc]

The Yacht Club was amazing, totally wonderful! It was awesome to take to boat over to Epcot, and to have so many CMs on hand. You couldn't turn a corner without running into someone asking if you needed anything.
After always staying at the All Stars it was a change. (I don't usually plan my trip far enough in advance to get into SOG) The best way to describe it is the differnece between going to Disney World and going on vacation. And Stormalong bay was amazing. We had a heck of a time getting my kids out of the "beach" to go home. I LOVED that the entire Beach area of the pool was only 2 feet deep, so I could actully relax at the pool instead of worrying about everyone.

That said, I did feel very out of place there. I was definately underdressed for the resort, and not experienced in the word of who to tip andn how much, so I hope no one was offended! The 2 days we were there was not enough time to check out all the resort had to offer. I would LOVE to go back there again someday, but I got curious and reseached the rack rate for the room at holiday time...and just about passed out! That 2 night stay would have been equal to my DH's two week take home pay!

But I am grateful for the experience. It was a beautiful trip We've never had a "magical" experince like that before.

Oh- and the roms were ALOT smaller than the SOG rooms...for five times the price!

Thank you for sharing. I, too, would stress about appropriate tips, etc. The pool sounds great for families. It is nice to know that SOG rooms are much larger. That is something that we enjoy especially having 3 kids That resort has always been my DH's "dream" resort, but the price tag always makes us come back to reality So grateful for the SOG...it has become "home away from home" for us

 

[mom2jcc]

Are the overflow rates reasonable? For a moderate like CSR (even though you didn't stay there), was it more than the regular rate at SOG?

Someone correct me on this if I'm wrong:

We checked into this for a quick trip a few years ago and it seemed like the overflow rates were about 40% less from the resorts regularly priced rooms. We ended up staying at POR (which we loved) because the deluxe resorts were still out of our price range.

 

[iheartdisney]

Are the overflow rates reasonable? For a moderate like CSR (even though you didn't stay there), was it more than the regular rate at SOG?

The rate I had for CSR was $199 a night, while the rack rate was $265 I believe since it was "holiday season"

 

[Inda]

I called SOG to check on bedrail availability (they provide them yippee ) and got the skinny on the packed lunch from the Express Cafe.

sacked lunch includes:
1 sandwich, bag of chips, choice of apple or banana, and a "juice pack". I assume this means juice box. I don't know if water or soda can be substituted for this.

Price: $6-7 plus $2.50 per lunch for them to pack it up for you.

Choices of sandwiches: ham and cheese, italian, liverwurst, roast beef, roasted chicken breast, pb and j (only costs $3.50 I believe). They may have more types of sandwiches but these were the ones listed to me.

They provide lettuce, tomato, mustard, mayo, etc.

It's better to order the night before but they can pack them in the morning though the wait might be longer.

 

[gibsontrio]

that is GREAT!! beats standing in line for burgers and fries!! Do you need to request the bed rails ahead of time??

 

[JB2K]

Choices of sandwiches: ham and cheese, italian, liverwurst, roast beef, roasted chicken breast, pb and j (only costs $3.50 I believe). They may have more types of sandwiches but these were the ones listed to me.

It should be noted that all the sandwiches (except for the PB&J) are on ciabatta bread (the Express Cafe bakes it fresh, every morning) -- they were really good, and it definitely beats standing in line for a burger!

 

[bigAWL]

After a little bit of lobbying (just had to find the right person), a link to this thread has been added to the "WDW Resort FAQ and Information Threads" sticky at the top of the Disney Resorts forum. So If it ever drops very far off the top page, you can always find it on the sticky.

 

[iheartdisney]

After a little bit of lobbying (just had to find the right person), a link to this thread has been added to the "WDW Resort FAQ and Information Threads" sticky at the top of the Disney Resorts forum. So If it ever drops very far off the top page, you can always find it on the sticky.

Whoo hoo! About time!
Thanks!

 

[hildarumpole]

Good thinking! Thanks for taking care of it.

 

[4nana]

After a little bit of lobbying (just had to find the right person), a link to this thread has been added to the "WDW Resort FAQ and Information Threads" sticky at the top of the Disney Resorts forum. So If it ever drops very far off the top page, you can always find it on the sticky.

Good job big AWL! Thx bunches!!



Our cool personalized park maps came today!!

Much nicer than I expected, as it included a map of each park with all our interests marked.

Less than 8 mos out now and counting!


FYI: You can ck them out and order free through this link.

https://secure.disney.go.com/wdw/myVacation/customizedMaps/index?id=CustomizedMapsFlashPage

 

[SaintTaris]

Leaving for SOG next Sunday; I cannot wait.


Now I need help mapping out our park visiting strategy. Any Takers?