Official SHADES OF GREEN Information

[blondinkaya]

We're heading down on the 10th and spending a couple of nights (attending the first MVMCP). We've never been to SOG; in fact, our first trip to the World was this past May and we stayed at Pop on the dining plan (and loved it). I figured I'd "try out" SOG and see how we like it.

Is there anything special that the new section offers? Is it more desirable than the old section? If so, what makes it so? We won't be swimming and are driving our car.

Also, has anyone noticed much hallway noise?

TIA!

[KatRob]

Simply put, the new section is newer. Everything in the older section appears to be the same as before the remodel, meaning furniture and bed spreads. The older section has a small wall that divides the table and sofa area from the "sleeping" part of the room. But basically you are getting good rooms no matter which section you are in. They are very similar, but one side doesn't have something better than the other in my experience.

Okay, if you are planning on spending a great deal of time in Evergreen, the old section is really closer. Even in the new section, I found it pretty quick to run down the back stairs and go down the back drive to Evergreen.

As for hallway noise you will notice that it is much more quiet than any Disney resort. That is because people who use SOG just simply seem to be respectful of each other. Most families do not let their children run up and down the halls yelling and carrying on. There is even a sign leading into the older section that reminds guests to be quiet, other guests may be sleeping.

That said, I know someone who talked about how loud it was during the summer. We don't go that time of year so I can't speak for it year round.

[Minnie Lor]

I found it to be a very quiet resort. I never heard anyone in the next room or in our hallway and supposed the resort was fully booked when we there a week ago.

[dnroach]

Does anyone know where the ADA rooms are located? My mother has reserved one and requested that our rooms all be grouped together, so I'm wondering where we'll be.

Thanks!

[blondinkaya]

Thanks for the responses. I'm looking forward to going!

[DMGeurts]

I was so sad to leave... SOG was really a great resort. Our family and our friends checked in on Sat. Oct 25. We were in rooms 235 and 236, they were connecting rooms (though we didn't request them) with a pool view (we requested the magnolia view, and got the millpond - which in the end worked out better for us)... The walk at the end of the day was long (really, really long), but we did eat at Evergreens for 4 or 5 meals, so that was very convenient, and a super easy walk to the pool for the kids.

Evergreens, we found to be very comical, since they give you your food in baskets, your drinks in clear plastic cups, and your silverware is wrapped in a cloth napkin - quite the contridiction. The food was good, we did try the pizza, and our family determined that it wasn't very good - we cannot stand canned mushrooms on our pizza - but we love fresh - Evergreens serves canned. Food was very reasonable, we would each order a sandwich (4 of us), split a foot-o-rings and family fries and we'd each get a soda beverage, and our meals came to about $35 including tip... which is a huge savings in Disney.

Our room was great, the houskeeping staff was very good about cleaning, however, I don't think that our sheets were changed the entire stay - but our beds were made every day. The only reason I noticed that our sheets weren't changed, was one of our first days there I noticed some black fuzz balls on our sheets (possibly from my sweatshirt), and they were there every day when we pulled back the sheets. I had no reason to complain, as I only change my sheets once a week at home anyways. I understand that they are trying to save $. Housekeeping was also very good about cleaning around our stuff, and giving out extra towels, pillows and blankets.

Our view off of our balcony was really nice, we could see the pools and the scenery. DH and I would sit on the balcony every morning and drink our coffee (1 grande mocha and one large cappuccino from the starbucks stand was $6 day - and very good - we opted for that over the coffee we brought). We really weren't bothered by any noise from the pool, the glass patio doors are huge and heavy, they do block most of the noise. We did hear our neighbors in our connecting room - but we sponsored them, so had they not been our friends, we all probably would have been more respectful of eachothers need for quiet. We loved how the bathroom sinks were seperate from the tub/toilet... that really was the best feature of the room! I would shower every morning and while I was getting my hair/makeup done, dh could shower and we'd all be ready at the same time - it was a huge time saver to have the bathroom seperated.

The shades busses were awesome, unless we were going to MK, we used the shades busses. They were very prompt, the drivers were very courteous, the busses were newer than Disney's, and all the other guests were always very nice to talk to. Where on the Disney transportation, everyone seemed to stay to themselves, SoG was just very friendly all around... most likely because we all have something in common. We did walk to the Poly quite a bit, and we used the Shady Shuttle whenever possible (a huge convenience, that I don't think everyone knows about, and we always tipped the drivers, I don't think it was necessary, but they sure seemed thankful). The walk back to our room from the Poly was a little long. We did discover that you *could* call the SoG after the monorail dropped you at the Poly, and request that the Shady Shuttle meet you at the end of the path, we never did do that, but it is an option if you just can't walk another step.

We took a towncar from the airport. We used Tiffany Towncar, Mourro (sp?) was our driver that picked us up from the airport - and he was an absolute delight... funny, courteous, respectful... he had a lot of stories about the area, and he also told us were to stand that the baggage claim to get our bags the fastest... we were out of the airport in 20 minutes. We were slightly disappointed that he wasn't our driver back to the airport, we will be sure to request him on our next trip.

We did buy our park tickets at Shades. Unlike Disney, you can only make changes to your tickets with in 7 days of PURCHASE, not use. So, if you need to add extra days or a park hopper, it has to be done in those 7 days. We did not know that, and we were glad we asked. Also, your receipt is your proof of purchase, and you need the #'s off of your tickets to replace them if lost, so be sure to ask which #'s when you buy... otherwise they won't be able to replace. Oh, and because of Disney's bioscanning, you have to make sure that the same person uses the same ticket every time, or Disney will lock out your tickets... we wrote our first names on the back of each ticket, so as not to confuse them.

We never did see any alligators the entire time we were there - our dds desperately wanted to see one, so we were always on the lookout, but never did see one. There were signs posted everywhere though.

Hands down, SoG was a great resort... setting the financial benefits aside, it was a great resort, and worth so much more than what we paid. we would never stay anywhere else on Disney property... we loved the SoG! I am so sad that we are home, our week at WDW went way too quickly, we opened and closed the parks every single day, and yes we were tired, but not as bad as I thougt we'd be.

We did a few things in the parks that I really didn't think we'd get into. DH was the penny squishing type, he had so much fun hunting down the machines and putting the squished coins in his folders (we did lose his entire coin collection from AK at AK on our first day, and he was so sad - so next time, he has an entire park to collect). Dh also did a little bit of pin trading, he decided to collect Star Wars and Pirate pins, no lanyards, he put his on a hat that he bought down there - and let me tell you, that hat weighs a TON! LOL The girls and I did a lot of pin trading... A LOT - it was so much fun. We also did lots of autographs... we'd stand in line for characters while DH would go squish pennies. We rode all the rides that we wanted to, and took advantage of the fast pass, although it wasn't completely necessary, it did save a little time.

Sorry that this post got so long... I do have some photos of our room and the resort, but I don't have them uploaded yet. If you are even slightly on the fence about SOG, try it, you will never stay at another Disney resort, you just cannot beat the value and convenience of it.

D~

[hildarumpole]

Welcome back! Thanks for sharing your trip report. Glad you had a great time. SoG is the best.

[thompsonsstation2dis]

Dorine -
Thanks so much for all of the info. I had been on the fence regarding staying at SOG or keeping our BWI reservations. I've cancelled the Boardwalk after reading your review! My husband loves that we'll be saving a ton of money

I do have a few questions for you.

1. How was the return trip with Tiffany? Any problems with them picking you up at the designated time? How do you know they are there to pick you up? (sorry if these are dumb questions )
2. Did you ever walk back from the Poly at night? If so, was it bad crossing the street?

Thanks!!

[Poohbeck]

Originally Posted by thompsonsstation2dis

Dorine -
Thanks so much for all of the info. I had been on the fence regarding staying at SOG or keeping our BWI reservations. I've cancelled the Boardwalk after reading your review! My husband loves that we'll be saving a ton of money

I do have a few questions for you.

1. How was the return trip with Tiffany? Any problems with them picking you up at the designated time? How do you know they are there to pick you up? (sorry if these are dumb questions )
2. Did you ever walk back from the Poly at night? If so, was it bad crossing the street?

Thanks!!

We used Tiffany in 2000 and 2004 and we had no problems. They were there for us at pickup with no problem. We have them booked for our 2008 trip in 2 weeks too!! They told us what time to be ready at the lobby for our return trip and the towncar was there waiting for us. I hope the service is as good this time. I have read pros and cons recently concerning Tiffany, hopefully they are OK as we haven't had a problem.

We always walk back from the Poly at night. The Poly walkways are lit very well and crossing the street has never been a problem. The Shades walkway from what I remember is well lit too! I am packing some small LED light for this trip (they look like glow sticks) just in case it is darker. We are going to the world later in the season they usual. The little LED's are from Costco!

[Piglet4Ever]

Originally Posted by thompsonsstation2dis

Dorine -
Thanks so much for all of the info. I had been on the fence regarding staying at SOG or keeping our BWI reservations. I've cancelled the Boardwalk after reading your review! My husband loves that we'll be saving a ton of money

I do have a few questions for you.

1. How was the return trip with Tiffany? Any problems with them picking you up at the designated time? How do you know they are there to pick you up? (sorry if these are dumb questions )
2. Did you ever walk back from the Poly at night? If so, was it bad crossing the street?

Thanks!!

Can't comment of the town car Dh and I rent a car. But we love the walk to and from the Poly. The road in between the resorts is only two lanes and there is a island in the middle where you can stop if need be. We have never had a problem other than getting a little wet when the sprinklers are going, haha..

[DMGeurts]

Originally Posted by thompsonsstation2dis

Dorine -
Thanks so much for all of the info. I had been on the fence regarding staying at SOG or keeping our BWI reservations. I've cancelled the Boardwalk after reading your review! My husband loves that we'll be saving a ton of money

I do have a few questions for you.

1. How was the return trip with Tiffany? Any problems with them picking you up at the designated time? How do you know they are there to pick you up? (sorry if these are dumb questions )
2. Did you ever walk back from the Poly at night? If so, was it bad crossing the street?

Thanks!!

1. The return trip with Tiffany was fine, they were about 5 minutes late (which was OK with us), I didn't get our return driver's name, but it was a female. The one thing I did notice, although I've only used Tiffany twice (the first time was 5 year ago and I don't remember the specifics), but Tiffany picked us up in a very, very nice (I think, new) town car, because you pay when they drop you at the hotel... the car they picked us up in wasn't quite as nice inside (outside was fine), but you could tell it was very used. I don't know if this is standard, or it just happened to us that way. Both times, the drivers were very courteous and helpful.

2. yes, we did walk back from the poly quite often... at least 5 times. Most of the time, crossing the street wasn't a problem - most cars will stop for pedestrians in the cross walk. However, there were 2 times that cars just sped right by us, obviously not doing the speed limit - the others behind them did stop to let us cross. Most of the time, the traffic wasn't bad at all, and there were no cars coming, so it was easy to cross.

Hope that helps, if you have any other questions, just let me know... I am just dying to plan another trip - this one was so awesome, all of us just want to go back to badly.

D~

[princessesrule4]

Thanks for your report! Sounds like you had a great time!

[TBDave]

Originally Posted by blondinkaya

Is there anything special that the new section offers? Is it more desirable than the old section? If so, what makes it so? We won't be swimming and are driving our car.

Also, has anyone noticed much hallway noise?

Just got back yesterday from out second stay at the SOG. Both times we've been in the new building, so I can't compare it to the old section.

If you have a car, pick the new section. The parking garage is right off the new building. It's a long, long walk to the old section. If you're young and have unlimited energy, it might not bother you. But it's the main reason we request the new building.

Both stays, our room has been low numbers in the new building. So we were right near the parking garage and elevators, and basically everyone on our floor had to walk past our room. We didn't have any problem with hallway noise.

[TBDave]

Here's scans of the SOG October 2008 Newsletter, Hotel Map, Bus Schedule and PhotoMagic info.







A few months ago I posted scans of the SOG Jan 2008 Newsletter, Hotel Map and Bus Schedule. Here's the link to those scans.

http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=...&postcount=604

[KatRob]

Thanks for that updated info. I swear I have the page and post number of your first scans burned into my memory.