We just got back from a FANTASTIC trip. I just wanted to give a quick good, bad, and ugly about Shades of Green. We arrive 10/11 and left 10/18.
The GOOD:
The rooms are amazing. We previously stayed at Pop Century, you had to step over the toilet in order to get into the bathroom and close the door. Not so at Shades. The room is huge and we had a balcony (all rooms either have a balcony or patio). Two queen beds and a convertible sofa. There is also a small table with two chairs. The bed was one of the most comfortable I've ever slept on. We didn't hear any noise from the rooms on either side, BUT we could hear noise from the hallway if the guests weren't quiet.
The BAD:
We had the breakfast package included in our room. It was meh at best. Every morning there was fresh fruit, bread products, scrambled eggs, omelets to order and pancakes to order. But nothing was particularly good. Gratuity is not included with the breakfast package.
The UGLY:
Transportation. Do not expect Disney level bus service. We had a PPO breakfast at Animal Kingdom, but buses didn't run to that park until a half hour before park opening. So we had to use the bus to TTC and transfer to an Animal Kingdom bus. If you miss your bus, you need to figure out another way to get where you want to go or wait another hour. If you have an ECV and you aren't first or second in line, you have to wait another hour for the next bus. If you can walk to the Poly easily (we had my mom with us and that was a struggle), then transportation isn't as much of a worry.
We rented a car which was VERY helpful when it came to resort dining reservations and going to Universal. I paid $150ish for the car rental, it would have cost us $70 for the two days of Universal transportation through Shades of Green (3 adults, 1 child). Considering the cost of airport transportation, the car rental worked out as a marginally cheaper option.