The NEW NEW Official Shades of Green Information (YouTube Video Info in 1st Post)

[WDW 3]

Booked this morning!!!! Arrive the 29th of October.

[stm61]

We were there the week after Labor Day. The rooms were clean, no complaints about housekeeping at all. The only issues I had, and we usually stay at Poly with 40% off code, were with the food and the buses.

Every post I've seen agrees that the food is pretty bad. We passed on the buffets, the only food we ate there were sandwiches from the grab and go place and pizza from Evergreens. (I think it was Evergreen, my sons got it for us) The sandwiches were just that, 2 pieces of bread with meat or whatever in between. For $7+ I thought it would be a sub, but nope, just a plain old sandwich Breakfast sandwiches were $5. Can't complain about the pizza, it was better then Domino's, which is our only choice at home.

The buses drove me nuts. We mostly walked from Poly. It seemed like we were always missing a bus back to the hotel from a park. We spent more time sitting at TTC then we did actually riding buses. We saw the same people sitting on the same benches every day, we joked about who owned which benches. We did ok getting to the parks, it was the getting back that we just couldn't manage. Maybe we're just bus challenged or something Some of the buses were in pretty bad shape. Not dirty or anything like that, but there were screws missing from the metal shields in front of the seats by the back doors, loose railings, a/c leaks, etc. The buses ran on time, but not very frequently. I think it was once an hour from AK and HS, so we just took the shuttle to TTC and either waited for the SOG bus there or walked to Poly and then SOG. My youngest is 7 and used to keeping up with teen brothers so he was fine, but a family with younger kids could have a problem with cranky kids not wanting to walk.

We didn't wait in line for tickets at SOG, just walked right up to the counter. The only time I've ever waited in a line there was last June. It was late afternoon at the end of June and the line was over an hour wait. What made it so slow was nobody knew what they wanted! Almost every person in the line asked the poor guy behind the counter to go over every option, for every park in Orlando! I don't know how he kept his cool. The worse part was everyone had heard the poor guy repeat the same thing over and over again for all the people in front of them, but still made him do it all over again for them. Lucky me got stuck behind a young mother with one kid asleep in a stroller and a 4 year old girl who was doing everything except standing next to her mother, including swinging on the ropes, repeatedly annoying the baby so he'd start screaming, and throwing things out of the diaper bag. Mom was mostly ignoring her daughter, and the dirty looks everyone was giving her, while trying not to spill her beer. She got to the counter, had the poor guy go over every option again, then called her husband, who was in the room, and her sister, who didn't answer. She finally decided what to buy and then her sister called back and she had to discuss every option all over again with her! My sons and my brother-in-law were taking bets on the kid getting hurt before somebody in line got tired of mom's flying beer and staged their own intervention. That was the only time I've ever seen a line at the ticket counter at SOG.

[basilb]

We are staying at SOG the week before Christmas. This will be our 4th stay, although we haven't been there for about 6 years. We are all so excited to go back!!

We just changed our reservation to get the pricing of the Deck the Palms special....saves us about $180 for a 6 night stay. As I have been researching all of the specials, codes, dining, etc....at other resorts, the prices at SOG cannot be beat. There is no package that has even come close.

I haven't set up our transportation from the airport yet, or our shuttle to Universal while we're there, but things are coming together.

Any advice from others who have been there more recently??

[Nomad70]

Originally Posted by buffettgirl

oh that's funny - we were never asked for an ID not even once (end of August).

They weren't asking for ID's or anything, but on two occasions I heard the bus driver ask some who were boarding if they are SOG guests and then telling them the bus was only for SOG guests and then announced it to the other riders. Every evening bus they did announce it was the SOG bus for SOG guests only. But, I have to agree with them, the buses should only be for guests of SOG. It's very easy to either drive there on your own or take a bus/monorail to Poly and walk over.

[lilsk8nmac]

Originally Posted by basilb

We are staying at SOG the week before Christmas. This will be our 4th stay, although we haven't been there for about 6 years. We are all so excited to go back!!

We just changed our reservation to get the pricing of the Deck the Palms special....saves us about $180 for a 6 night stay. As I have been researching all of the specials, codes, dining, etc....at other resorts, the prices at SOG cannot be beat. There is no package that has even come close.

I haven't set up our transportation from the airport yet, or our shuttle to Universal while we're there, but things are coming together.

Any advice from others who have been there more recently??

As far as transportation to/from the airport we were just there at the end of Aug and for the first time needed transportation. We used FL tours and loved them. We will use them again in a heartbeat.

[DMGeurts]

Hi everyone...

I used to be quite active in the first SoG thread...

It seems that the girls and I are taking another trip in Oct 2013, and SoG is a very viable option for us.

I've read the entire thread (phew!)... No huge questions...

Just curious... any drawings or anything released about the pool refurbs... Would love to see artist concepts (or anything for that matter) of what the Mickey pool is going to look like.

I don't think I have any ticket questions - as of now, no military tickets extend into our time frame. Even if they did - I am not sure if they would work for us.

It seems the food is still sucky... Like so many others - I wish SoG would fix that problem... It's the main reason I've stayed away.

But with the specials they are offering for early bird bookings (hopefully they will offer some for October) - SoG has everyone beat.

And we do LOVE the resort iteself... Can't wait to go back if the stars align for us.

D~

[ColoradoDis]

We're going to be first timers at SOG in May. Just wondering if any one has tried out the spa services?

[WDW 3]

I think I'm ready to go (aside from packing)

Reservations made:
Hotel
Airline
Car company
Tony's Town Square for Halloween night
'Ohana for our special date night

and
Keys to the Kingdom Tour
Got our MNSSHP tickets in the mail Friday

All this in 9 days (except dining) and we leave in 13 days!
In anticipation of dh making up his mind I made the dining ressies earlier.
'Ohana 180 days in advance every Friday for about 6 weeks. Canceled the ones we can't use.

It's kinda exciting to see it all come together but sheesh I could use some advance notice. Same thing last year

[Mousemommy1]

Hello SOG Peeps!!!

I have never stayed at SOG before but am considering it for next years food and wine.

I was wondering....if it is just myself and my friend going, would that be ok? My DH is the eligible military member and I have my valid defendant card that gets me onto military bases. Am I allowed to stay there if he is not going??

[household6]

I finally get to plan a Disney trip again! We are planning to visit May 27 - June 4, and will be staying at Shades of Green for the second time. By that time, it will be about 2 1/2 years since our last trip. We last visited in Dec. '10, and then DH deployed, and then we PCSed, and then with the new job and schools, we couldn't get everyone's schedule straight. Now it appears the stars are alligning, and we can actually start planning.

On our first family trip in May '10, we stayed at POR with the 40 percent discount and thought we got a great deal. Our Dec. '10 trip was planned on short notice when we found out DH was deploying, and it seemed just about everything at the Disney resorts was booked, so we stayed at SoG. What a blessing! The size of the rooms puts the Dis resorts to shame! And the location! I would need some kind of outrageous deal from Disney to ever lure me away from SoG, especially with two little ones. Maybe if we were traveling without kids, but for now, the extra space is a necessity!

I've read all 54 pages, and I think I'm about caught up on all the latest SoG news for now, but I do have one question. I've read through all the posts and I'm trying to figure out which area to request. If I can recall correctly, we passed though the little bridge area by the coffee shop and went down that hallway. From looking at the map, I think he were in something like room 267. It was just across the hall and a couple of doors down from the laundry room. We loved this spot! It was extremely quiet, and I loved that I could just pop in and out to check on the laundry I did mid-visit and not have to haul it up and down floors or down long corridors. From what I have read on here, my understanding is that this is the old section. But I know we had the separate sink area and toilet/tub area in the bathroom, which I read are only available in the new section. I'm so confused! Is this the old or new section? I think we really would like something in this area again.

Thanks for the help! I'm looking forward to hearing all of your advice and all about your trips!

[bellemeeko1]

Originally Posted by Mousemommy1

Hello SOG Peeps!!!

I have never stayed at SOG before but am considering it for next years food and wine.

I was wondering....if it is just myself and my friend going, would that be ok? My DH is the eligible military member and I have my valid defendant card that gets me onto military bases. Am I allowed to stay there if he is not going??

Yep as long as you have your ID you are good to go!!

You are going to love it there!!! It's been our home away from home since 1994....

[Mousemommy1]

Originally Posted by bellemeeko1

Yep as long as you have your ID you are good to go!!

You are going to love it there!!! It's been our home away from home since 1994....

Yay! Thanks for the information! We do Disney annually and always stay onsite for about 10-11 days, so DH said that the only way I can go back again next year (we are going in April) is to check out SOG....

I'm going to do some research!

[buffettgirl]

Originally Posted by household6

I finally get to plan a Disney trip again! We are planning to visit May 27 - June 4, and will be staying at Shades of Green for the second time. By that time, it will be about 2 1/2 years since our last trip. We last visited in Dec. '10, and then DH deployed, and then we PCSed, and then with the new job and schools, we couldn't get everyone's schedule straight. Now it appears the stars are alligning, and we can actually start planning.

On our first family trip in May '10, we stayed at POR with the 40 percent discount and thought we got a great deal. Our Dec. '10 trip was planned on short notice when we found out DH was deploying, and it seemed just about everything at the Disney resorts was booked, so we stayed at SoG. What a blessing! The size of the rooms puts the Dis resorts to shame! And the location! I would need some kind of outrageous deal from Disney to ever lure me away from SoG, especially with two little ones. Maybe if we were traveling without kids, but for now, the extra space is a necessity!

I've read all 54 pages, and I think I'm about caught up on all the latest SoG news for now, but I do have one question. I've read through all the posts and I'm trying to figure out which area to request. If I can recall correctly, we passed though the little bridge area by the coffee shop and went down that hallway. From looking at the map, I think he were in something like room 267. It was just across the hall and a couple of doors down from the laundry room. We loved this spot! It was extremely quiet, and I loved that I could just pop in and out to check on the laundry I did mid-visit and not have to haul it up and down floors or down long corridors. From what I have read on here, my understanding is that this is the old section. But I know we had the separate sink area and toilet/tub area in the bathroom, which I read are only available in the new section. I'm so confused! Is this the old or new section? I think we really would like something in this area again.

Thanks for the help! I'm looking forward to hearing all of your advice and all about your trips!

That would be the old section but I think many of the rooms there have been updated so that's why you might have had a better bathroom.

[WDW 3]

We haven't been since they changed the monorail schedule.

The monorails run 1 hour after "regular" park hours. What does that mean?

[PrincessSuzanne]

Originally Posted by WDW 3

We haven't been since they changed the monorail schedule.

The monorails run 1 hour after "regular" park hours. What does that mean?

What that means is that if MK closes at 9pm, the monorail only runs until 10pm, then you have to take another form of transportation back to the resort. They also won't run during extra magic hours.