Crushed - SOG or CSR

[wildzootv]

I am so second guessing myself. We're book in late NOV for the Shades of Green. Never stayed there. Heard about their bigger rooms. But hate that there is no transportation to and from the airport and we'd have to walk to another hotel (poly) to get to the parks & no resort ID card to charge stuff to (so we know our total spending).


Looked up CSR and for $150 LESS we could stay there - but NO MEAL plan is included with it.

With the SOG we would pay the extra and have breakfast & dinner paid for (there at the facilities on premisses). I know we'd probably only eat breakfast there and maybe a dinner out of the 6 nights we're there. And that is cheaper than probably a meal plan for all four of us.

So why am I beating myself up over this. I guess I'm scared of missing out or making the wrong decision. Forgive me - I have to talk it out to sort it in my head!!


SOG Pro's
bigger room
meal plan included
PX on site
transportation to and from parks(but need to walk to Poly)

SOG Neg's
no transportation to the airport & back - must pay $100 for it
transportation to the parks takes longer
resort ID card like at other disney resorts


CSR's Pros
Cheaper room rate (but because it doesnt have a meal plan)
Disney Express transportation
No need to do transfers to get to the parks
resort ID card

CSR's Neg
smaller room, less amenties (no dining table), less attractive room
no meal plan included

 

[NHTikiBeckie]

Why can't you get the meal plan at CSR? I have it during my trip.

 

[wildzootv]

I havent figured the meal plan out - like what our options are and how much. Ugh. I have no idea why I'm the vacation planner. lol..... DH should do this.

 

[Amy&Dan]

It almost looks like the pros and cons are equal in theory and financially! I know nothing about SOG but I can tell you that CSR is wonderful. It has some of the best bus transportation on property and is centrally located which is really nice. Their are some nice dining options there, three really, Pepper Market (food court), Maya Grill (ts, we had a very nice meal there) and Siesta's at the main pool which is the bar but also has some food items (sandwiche, burger, hotdog type thing). So it has a lot to offer. The cheaper rate and free airport transportation might go along ways towards meals, not sure.

Our room at CSR did have a small table with two chairs. And while the room is smaller, how much time will you spend in it? Also, not sure about SOG's pool, but CSR's is incredible. CSR rooms do have double beds, not sure how tall you and your dh are, but that can be a deal breaker for some.

You probably cannot make a wrong choice. If all else fails, flip a coin! Either way, once you decide, just stick with it and stop second guessing. I do that too and I hate it when I do! You'll be at WDW so it will all be fine. Good luck!

And if you haven't already, check out Buzz's site on CSR, its always around this board and easy to find!

 

[wildzootv]

thank you!!! I so apprecaite all the info. And omg I totally didnt think about the bed size - DH is 6'0 and yeah, his feet would way stick out. His toes stick out of kings.

 

[traviesojmt]

We have stayed at SOG and we loved it. The rooms are huge. Actually, we stayed at SOG and Animal Kingdom during the same trip and the rooms at SOG were much bigger. While we did use the monorail at the Poly sometimes, we also used the buses without any problems. It was actually nice that the buses came at scheduled times. You knew what time the buses were coming and what time to be at the bus stop.
I really can't speak to the meal plan. We didn't buy that plan because we prefer to eat at the parks or other resorts.
We are planning on staying at SOG on our trip next summer. Remember, when Disney owned SOG is was considered a deluxe resort. We really liked staying there. I hope that you do too.

 

[wildzootv]

thank you so much!!

 

[Maine-iac]

There is bus transportation from SOG to TTC, AK, MGM, DTD, BB and TL. You do not have to walk to Poly, that is just a personal preference for some people.

 

[Sleepy]

I will comment on the SOG "meal plan". You are not saving any money unless you are participating in OEF. What you pay for the "Gold Leaf package" is just a combination of full price room and full price of the buffet meals. My opinion is the food at the buffets are adequate, but not what you would want to eat for your entire stay. The meals are only offered during certain hours, so you would have to plan on eating dinner at the hotel before they disassemble for the night. Really cuts the park time short.

There are buses that run to TTC. We have never had a problem with them being on time, but I know some people have. You can catch a lift to the end of the SOG drieway by way of "Shady Shuttle". It is a golf cart. Last summer, we just gave a tip. THere was no fee. From there, you walk a few minutes to Poly monorail. I can say transportation distance is quick from SOG regardless of what route you take (TTC or POLY). SOG buses are also never sardine style full from our experiences and we always go late July or August.

Doesn't CSR have multiple stops within the resort? It has been many years since visiting, but I seem to remember having several stops while looking for pressed coins. Maybe I am thinking of somewhere else. Also, is it really faster going from there to the parks vs SOG to the parks? The TTC is only a few minutes from SOG. MK is a few minutes from TTC by monorail. True, you would have to take monorail from TTC to get to Epcot, but we enjoy the ride. The WDW buses frequently go from TTC to get you to AK and MGM. We have never waited longer than a few minutes. I guess since I have never had the experience of another WDW hotel, transportation is not really an issue.

While there is no room charging like WDW hotels, we always just take out a daily limit from the ATM. It keeps us on budget and the ATM receipt tells us how much is left in the acct.

 

[Buzz2001]

CSR is a mod with deluxe amenities. It has full menu room service, a spa, salon, fitness center and more. It has the best food court and a great sit down restaurant. I'm 6'2" and don't have an issue with the beds.

CSR has quick rides to all the parks because it is centrally located. 5 mins to AK, Epcot and MGM and 10 mins to MK. It's not shared with any resort either,

Check out my CSR website below for pics and info.

 

[8caliace]

We have stayed at both SOG and CSR, and I don't necessarily think you can wrong with either. After all, you are in Disneyworld either way. Personally, I would always opt for SOG if given the choice. I love SOG's location and it is even more beautiful since the renovation. CSR is beautiful as well, but we thought it was too spread out. Maybe we just got stuck in a bad location from everything. My family and I like to do the walk to the Poly for the monorail. I am not a huge fan of riding any of the buses to anywhere. The room size is a huge plus. However, we are not big fans of the food at SOG, with the exception of Evergreen's and the express cafe near the bus-stop. With that being said, we were not overly impressed at CSR as well. My DW absolutely loves the fact that there is a Starbuck's at SOG. Tough call...

 

[wildzootv]

Thanks guys!!! All the information and reading the personal experiences are very helpful.


Buzz - Loved the unoffical report - so cool, pictures are brighter than others on other sites.

 

[Buttercup Roberts]

I've stayed both places.

The rub for us is the size of the bed. SOG has queen size beds. The Disney Moderates all have two double beds in the rooms, unless you pay extra (often substantially extra, like $30-65 a night because there are rarely discounts available for those rooms) for a King bed room.

I agree with the above poster who said SOG's meal plan is a bad idea. The breakfast buffet is good, but it's really cheap anyways, but their dinner buffets have gotten consitently poor reviews for years, and why would you want to prepay for meals you aren't sure you'll even eat? I wouldn't want to be tied down to having to go back to the hotel for dinner every night.

The SOG busses are almost as convenient as Disney's own, and we didn't mind walking to the Polynesian to go to the Magic Kingdom. It's a hike, but it's a pretty one! We enjoyed being close to the Poly to go eat at Kona, watch fireworks from their beach our fist night, and shop in the Poly gift shop.

Now having said all that, out of your two choices, from things you've said, I'm picking up a vibe that makes me recommend you choose Caribbean Beach Resort.

We'd pick SOG over CBR, but we travel very differently from you. We go several times a year, have Annual Passes, always have our own rental car, and eat a lot of meals off site.

I think for first time vacationers or people who don't come that often, doing it Disney's way, all the way, is not a bad idea. It certainly simplifies things.

Go ahead and try the meal plan, some people think it's too much food and don't like planning their trip around dining reservations, others swear by it.

If sleeping in a double bed is no problem, get a standard room. If you can't stomach the idea, spring for a King room. If you really want to stay in a nice location in CBR, ask for a King Preferred/Water View room.

Check out some of the major web based travel agencies that specialize in Disney, if you'd like some free help booking a package like that.

 

[Mrsjvb]

I agree, the SoG meal deal is not worth it. the breakfast buffet is bare bones and not impressive at all. You'd pay the same amount of money at Denney's for the same quality. Heard nothing but mediocre to negative reviews of the dinner buffet while we were there 2 weeks ago.

We paid $85 RT for a town car to pick us up and drop us off, he met us at the luggage carousel and we could have had a 30 minute side trip to pick up some groceries if we wanted. He was there RIGHT on time at 0600 for our return trip.

In fact we ate at Evergreen's for all of our non breakfast meals, and the little cafe by the bust stop every day save one.

I laways look at bottom line pricing. i compared our 7 days at SoG two weeks ago with the same exact time friam next year at any of the delux resorts on sire. for half the price, we can stay at SoG. not even DH and I can eat $2500 worth of food, so the Dining Plan is a non entity.

My only problem with DDP is that if you are not on it and you end up going during the Free DDP, make your reservations anyway, because you will NOT be getting walk in service , especially at the better restaurants. We missed out on a lot of TS that we wanted to try because the Free DDP had spoken for all the slots.

 

[winniethepoohsmom]

If it's going to cost you $100 for transportation to and from the airport you may want to look into the cost of a car rental. We were able to get a 6 day rental for $105 for a Chevy Impala on our last trip. Mousesavers lists many discounts and I checked the day before we left and the price had dropped $30. You could always cancel it if you decide you don't need it. Linda

 

[hildarumpole]

I don't think the Disney airport transportation is all that great, aside from the fact that it's "free." We used Sunray town car service. The driver carried our bags from the airport luggage carousel and loaded them into the car for us, then unloaded them and handed them off to the SOG Bellboys. It cost $80 roundtrip, plus we got a stop at a grocery store on our way to SOG. We wound up gaining that $80 back in savings on drinks and snacks we didn't have to buy in the parks or AAFES. The SOG bus transportation doesn't take longer to get to the parks. If anything, it's quicker, as long as you observe the schedule. SOG buses only serve SOG guests. The Poly buses stop at Grand Floridian on their way to the parks. Most other Disney resort buses serve multiple resorts. Being near a monorail resort without paying monorail resort prices made getting to MK and EPCOT quick and easy. AK, MGM, Downtown Disney and the waterparks don't require a transfer from an SOG bus. They are all direct.

As far as the room key concern, that wasn't an issue for us. The shops and food service places all accept credit cards and cash. We found it helpful to maintain our budget by giving the kids Disney dollars each day for their spending money in the parks. They knew once they ran out of money, they weren't getting anymore. Even with a room key charge, it's easy to make one more purchase you probably don't need.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[VacationKicks]

We've also stayed at both, we did not like the pool at SoG. It was just a pool no theming or slide. We had a room near the pool at SoG, which you would think was good but it was a long walk to the lobby for buses or to the car park for our car. If you do decide to rent a car be advised that parking at SoG is $5 per day. Another problem for us was the stores closed at 9pm. Only once were we back to the room by 9pm.

On the plus side, the rooms were huge! Plenty of room and a balcony. But we don't spend much time in the room so I don't know if we would stay at SoG again.

 

[wildzootv]

Ya'll are killing me with mentioning the pools - I'm jealous. It will be late Nov when we go so I imagine we wont be doing much swiming. hee hee.


Thank you guys - so much information, so much great stuff to think about. I did think about it more and yeah the deal breaker is the bed size. Thinking about DH walking all day and then having his ankles and feet hang off at night just didnt sit well. No clue how our tall friend 6'2 did it! Maybe it's the way my DH sleeps.

He said "I did it in Iraq for over a year, whats a few days at Disneyworld" Bless his heart - but that makes me not want to do it to him even more.

So unless I can land a Deluxe for a fabo deal - we're gonna give the SOG a shot.


Thanks for the transport tips too!!!! Great to know.


So appreciate it guys. I hate being wishy washy and I know DH left it up to me so I'd be happy.

 

[ajsmommy1129]

When you call Disney to check prices, are you mentioning that your DH is active duty military? They *might* offer a discount at a WDW Deluxe that is comparable to SOG prices. Or, call the SOG line that is on their website, and they may be able to get you a discount at at Deluxe. But you didn't hear that from me....
Also, we swam almost every day when we were there last November, and a few nights, as well.

 

[bab31]

I've stayed both places.

The rub for us is the size of the bed. SOG has queen size beds. The Disney Moderates all have two double beds in the rooms, unless you pay extra (often substantially extra, like $30-65 a night because there are rarely discounts available for those rooms) for a King bed room.

it is only $10 a night ( at least last Jan when we were there)