Shades of Green

[mrs06chris]

How is Shades of Green? Can you tell me your likes and dislikes? Thanks!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Like any other resort, some people love it, some don't. We stayed there once and are in the "it was OK, but didn't love it" camp.

Likes:
-rooms were large
-being able to walk to the Poly and take the monorail to MK

Dislikes:
-we didn't care for the bus transportation there; we had a couple of bad experiences with it
-our room was very threadbare and worn (although I understand it's been refurbed since)
-the room and atmosphere was unexceptional; the room could have been in any resort in any location - very blah, for our tastes

It just didn't feel very "Disney" to us. We do not plan to return.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

Of course, looking at your signature, you are limited in your Disney resort options unless you want to spend more. We're the typical family of 4 and fit anywhere, LOL, so we can be picky about where we want to stay. Shades would be an affordable option for a family of your size.

 

[bellemeeko1]

Of course, looking at your signature, you are limited in your Disney resort options unless you want to spend more. We're the typical family of 4 and fit anywhere, LOL, so we can be picky about where we want to stay. Shades would be an affordable option for a family of your size.

LOVE SOG its been our home away from home since it openend in 94

rooms are some of the largest on property
busing is great they are ON time....and take you to all 4 parks and to DTD
2 large heated pools a kiddie pool and a hot tub
Internet Cafe
Old Fashioned Ice Cream Shoppe
2 restaurants inside: Garden Gallery and Manginos...there is a sports bar called Evergreens that leaves much to be wanted......
Express Cafe that has breakfast foods and drinks
Starbucks Kiosk
2 gift shops one being AAFES
beautiful grounds
the bathrooms are large and most have dble sinks which are in a sep room from the tub/shower/toilet
rooms can hold up to 6 adults....yes we have done this....there are 2 queen beds, one fold down couch and they will bring up a cot at no extra cost
large safe better than the hole in the wall we had when we stayed at CBR one time
its more like a hotel than the values and moderates which are like motels too me.....all the indoor hallways
private balconys or patios for everyone
walk over to the Poly and hop on the monorail and its a nice little walk we like to take it once in a while
you pay by rank

you pay NO TAX on ANYTHING bought at Shades!!!







I wish they had a food court like Disney resorts do but Im not there to eat much anyway

They dont have use of Magical Express but they do have a car service they recommend which we have used quite a bit and found no issues with them

They arent included in the Dining Plan (but have their own) and a lot feel they are missing out if they cant have the DDP

we have spent a lot of time there.....we just thouroughly enjoy it we went through the whole renovation with them and what a transformation! Im very fussy where I stay so I wouldnt keep going back yr after yr if I felt I could have better....Disney themselves rank it with the delux resorts......its amazing to see in person......

 

[angryduck71]

Keep looking at the website under "specials" too -- I got a room for $65/night for our stay. And, I'm on the GS scale, so we usually pay the highest price for rooms!

 

[nurtz]

We just returned from our stay at SOG on Saturday...spent 7 nights, 3 poolside rooms, 12 people...4 adults, 8 teenagers.
Likes:
Large rooms
Newly refurbished
Clean
Refrigerator
Poolside rooms were great for us..walk right out patio to pool
Bathroom had seperate shower/toilet area and double sink was large enough for 3 teenage girls to get ready at same time
AAFES store...our friends had no trouble purchasing items there even though not military...just had to be resort guest
Could get chairs at pool every time we went
Hot tub
Location..walk to Poly and monorail
Peaceful and quiet
Pretty grounds...lots of wildlife around
Kids enjoyed the game rooms and Raytheon room(video games and computers to check email)
Buses run on schedule
Large safe that can actually hold several items
The price of the room is the same no matter what night of the week or time of the year you stay.

Dislikes:
Location of bus stops at the parks
Schedule of bus transportation to DHS and Animal Kingdom (once an hour)...we rarely used the SOG bus to return. Usually used TTC bus and got SOG bus from there or used Poly bus and walked back. Don't mind the walk at all.
Food not the greatest but we only ate a few times and thought the pizza at Manginos was pretty good... a little greasy

Of course the most common complaint besides the bus transportation on these boards seems to be "it's not Disney enough". That doesn't bother us...we go to Disney World frequently so the fact that a military resort is not "Disney" is no big deal. If we want the Disney experience 24/7 we will stay at a Disney resort (and have stayed at many). For some trips the cost for size of the room wins out over the "Disney" theming. This was one of those trips. The family and teens we traveled with were happy with our accomodations which is all that mattered and we didn't have to pay almost triple the price for our rooms which we would have for the Poly or GF with AP discount. Another complaint some make is that they can't get the dining plan at SOG. Again, this means nothing to us as we don't use the dining plans. I have an AP and use a TIW card for my discount.

I certainly can't say that SOG is my favorite resort at WDW (that would go to the Poly) but it is not a bad place to stay and happens to work for some of our trips quite nicely. We will probably return to WDW in the fall and will more than likely stay at a Disney resort on that trip but will stay at SOG again in the future I am sure.

 

[gibsontrio]

I LOVE shades. I tried to get my DH to try something different and he put his foot down and wouldnt budge. Besides all the wonderful stuff the other people have said you KNOW they people there (other guests) will be courteous and respectful. As for it not being "Disney" enough, there's a mickey statue in the hallway and its across the street from the poly, how much Disney do you really need!

 

[mrs06chris]

Thanks everyone! We have reservations in Sept. and got a 30% discount. We always stay at a Disney resort but can't beat the price at Shades of Green. My husband and I stayed at Dragon Hill when he was stationed in Korea and it was very nice so I'm sure SOG will be lovely as well.

 

[robin19871]

I enjoy the calmness of Shades as opposed to the other hotels on property..The guests are kind and very respectful of one another. On the bus, you will never see someone young sitting while an elderly person is made to stand... I dont really dislike anything however the BEST part is that a 7 night stay will average around $900.00.. I priced out the Polynesian for the same time we are going and the cost was $4400.00.. Thats a $3500.00 difference which will easily get you another trip to WDW.

 

[kirkson]

Agree with most of the things said above. Essentially, at SOG, you are getting a deluxe hotel for Value prices. If you are eligible,. or have family/friends that are eligible, you'd be crazy (imnsho) to stay anywhere else. We have stayed at Deluxe, Mods, and Values, and all things considered, SOG can't be beat.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I knew I would not have the prevailing opinion of Shades, but that's OK. Just wanted to present the other side. My kids are born and raised on Disney and as we drove by Coronado Springs on our way home after leaving Shades, my oldest looked longingly towards it and said, "Can we go back to Coronado next time?"

I'm sure some of our experience was affected by the condition of our room, which I know has been rectified. Our carpet was in terrible shape, the bedspreads were so threadbare they would not even stay on the bed - just slid around, we did *not* have 2 sinks, we didn't even have a separate sink area at all - the bathroom was all together so it made getting ready in the mornings a lot harder for us. My best friend's family was in a connecting room and the carpeting didn't even match from room to room - it just gave the whole room a very cheap feel. We were on the first floor of the old section and looked towards the restaurant, so we didn't even have a private area - it was in full view of others. So, if we'd had a better room in a better location, maybe it would have been a better experience for us. We just left very under-whelmed.

OP, I hope you have a great vacation at Shades of Green.

 

[Pooh2]

We loved SOG!

The rooms are large and clean, the beds are queen sized, the resort was very quiet and peaceful. We had one of the new rooms with no wear or tear. We had a nice balcony to sit out and relax on our breaks from the parks. The decor is similar to the Wilderness Lodge.

The buses were like clockwork (just pick up a schedule when checking in). As someone else stated, you would never see an senior or mom with baby standing while a young person sat on the bus. If your touring schedule causes you to miss the bus from the parks, just hop on a bus to the TTC and pick up the next SOG bus from there.

We tried the breakfast buffet one morning and were disappointed but just walked over the Kona Cafe on our way to the parks after that. The Ice Cream parlor was yummy and inexpensive.

Looking forward to staying here on our next trip!

 

[nurtz]

Yes, the rooms in the old section (Magnolia) wing are much improved. We were in poolside rooms...155, 156, 157...and they were in great shape. New carpet, bedding, etc. The only complaint I have about the room I was in was the sliding door was hard to open and close. We had the separate bathrooms with huge sink area...like I said, 3 teen girls were able to get ready at same time! I emailed SOG a couple of weeks before and requested 2 of our rooms be connecting with the 3rd as close by as possible. I also requested the double sink bathrooms with the separate tub/toilet area. All my requests were met. It was kind of neat that one of our rooms (157) is the the same room we had our very first stay at SOG in 1999-2000 for Millenium celebration. I found these rooms much less "worn" than the rooms we had in 2009 at POR. I hear those are about to be refurbished soon, too.