Official SHADES OF GREEN Information

[tcolling]

You might want to check out this thread: http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2057838 I don't have personal experience with the military ticket offer, but it sounds like all tickets have to be activated at the same time. Each ticket holder has to show id and it's a one per person offer. If that's the case, you couldn't buy extra tickets to use at a later date.

Thank you. I hadn't seen this thread before. Having all members of the party present with ID's to activate at the same time seems to be a requirement to prevent folks from using back to back tickets. The memo that I had posted didn't clearly explain this rule.

Since the Stars and Stripes tickets are $312 for 10 days and $298 for five days, it looks like this "benefit" is only saving $14 for someone planning a longer trip.

 

[suevee]

Ok, I know all of this is posted somewhere and I have been reading and skipping around, but I'm too excited at the moment.

My best friend is going to be at WDW in July staying at AKL. I just booked us at Pop using the military code they have right now and got us 4 nights for $364.50, but I realized we could stay at SOG for about $540. Not too much difference in price. We have previously stayed at POR and ASMu and will be staying at CBR in September.

I know you can't get the DDP while staying at SOG and we would be ok with that, plus it looks like SOG has some nice inexpensive places to eat and I love the fact they have Starbucks over that other nasty stuff.

I've gotten confused over the busing though. Do the buses take you to all of the parks, or just TTC? I noticed a lot of people walking to the Poly, is this the best way to get to parks or just MK?

We will have our car there and normally enjoy riding the buses to the resorts, but would it be recommended to use our car?

Are you able to use EMH at the parks if you stay at SOG?

I am sure this has all been posted before, but I didn't see it. I appreciate anyones help.

The buses have a schedule they stick to. They do go to all the parks. However if you get stuck you can always take a WDW bus to TTC and catch the SoG bus there. We do use our car to get to Epcot and DHS. But we would do that even when we stay on property. And you can us EMH at SoG.

 

[KatRob]

The buses have a schedule they stick to. They do go to all the parks. However if you get stuck you can always take a WDW bus to TTC and catch the SoG bus there. We do use our car to get to Epcot and DHS. But we would do that even when we stay on property. And you can us EMH at SoG.

Beg to differ, the SOG buses go to TTC, DHS, and AK. You have to take the monorail to Epcot and Magic Kingdom.

 

[jmskinner]

Thanks for all the info. I knew I would find some help. Still trying to decide, it is only about $150 in difference. I think at this point I am wanting DH to make a decision, so I don't have to.

We stayed at the Marriott Village one time and the bus schedule was basically a few buses in the morning when the parks first opened and then a few in the evening when the parks closed. Is this how the bus schedule for SOG works?

Are there pictures somewhere? I saw the ones on the first post and looked through the resort picture thread, but didn't see anything.

 

[JB2K]

We stayed at the Marriott Village one time and the bus schedule was basically a few buses in the morning when the parks first opened and then a few in the evening when the parks closed. Is this how the bus schedule for SOG works?

Not at all -- SoG has continuous bus service to AK, DHS, Waterparks and DTD throughout the day/evening.

 

[KatRob]

Are there pictures somewhere? I saw the ones on the first post and looked through the resort picture thread, but didn't see anything.

Go back to pages 134 and 135 for some recent shots of SOG. Believe these were from Nov/Dec 08.
If you go back through the whole thread, you will find all types of pictures.

 

[iheartdisney]

Thanks for all the info. I knew I would find some help. Still trying to decide, it is only about $150 in difference. I think at this point I am wanting DH to make a decision, so I don't have to.

We stayed at the Marriott Village one time and the bus schedule was basically a few buses in the morning when the parks first opened and then a few in the evening when the parks closed. Is this how the bus schedule for SOG works?

Are there pictures somewhere? I saw the ones on the first post and looked through the resort picture thread, but didn't see anything.

Here is a video review I did in April. Please excuse my apperance, I had a fever our last 2 days. But there a great view of Wishes from our balcony.
shades review
I would pick SOG over Pop anyday! (never stayed at pop, only all stars). The rooms are Huge compared to the Value Resort rooms.
I love the way SOG does their transportation over WDW. All of the WDW busses will be there when they get there, with no rhyme or reason. In Sept when we stayed at All Star Movies, one family said they had been waiting almost an hour for a bus to Epcot, and the bus to HS was the third bus to HS that morning. She just got on the HS bus to take the ferry to epcot!
SOG busses come on a set schedule.

 

[KatRob]

I did a similar thing with the buses. If I missed a bus for HS, I would go to TTC and get on the bus for HS, and once I got there I would catch the ferry and go to Epcot or the Boardwalk. I had ordered a cake from the bakery and I took 4 buses and 2 boats to pick it up and get back to SOG.

Funniest thing was, I would get to the TTC and the HS bus would be right there in front of us and when I got to HS the ferry was right there. I had to wait about 10 for the ferry back from Boardwalk, but when I walked up I got right on the bus going back to the TTC and once again, the SOG bus was right there when we pulled up. The whole thing was like the buses were waiting for me when I needed them. And the same drivers on all the buses!!

 

[bigAWL]

Here's a photo of one of the buses.

SoG buses are newish, clean and very timely

And here's the latest scan of a newsletter we have, including the bus schedule.

[Edit: I'm not 100% sure on this, as I've never used the Extra Magic Hours at any park, but I believe that the bus for any park with morning EMH first departs one hour earlier than the regular schedule. Can anyone else verify that?]

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=24207987&postcount=604

 

[Sleepy]

Tragically, your photo left off important details regarding beer and wine...

 

[Sleepy]

Has anyone seen this thread on the Rumors and News board? http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2054407

It talks about the resorts altering the smoking rules. The OP writes the following......

"Just spoke w/ my cousin whom has been a Disney employee since the mid-eighties. He works currently as a guest relations manager at one of the parks.
I spoke to him at length about the smoking ban at the hotels. Indeed, he confirmed that discussions have been on-going about relaxing the complete ban on smoking in the rooms and balconies of rooms. The preliminary idea would be to have a majority of the kid friendly resorts remain non-smoking (Pop, All-star,AKL etc) however the more business and upscale hotels would quietly start offering smoking rooms again. Hotels with the annex's would be most preferred he said like GF, CRB, CR (Garden Wing). The discussions have been primarily on the concept that an annex could be a smoking annex. The Swan could also be apart of this due to the convention activities and heavy European/Asian tourism that comes through.
He also confirmed that some of the guests he talked to that have severe disabilities which requested smoking rooms have been shifted to SOG based upon availability so they may use the balconies to smoke.

I wouldn't be surprised seeing that the occupancy rate is low! If I hear anything else from him, I'll let you know."

If this is even remotely true, I have no words to describe how I feel. Smoking has absolutely nothing to do with ADA and to think there are people who have served in wars and still don't qualify for SOG (unless it is Jan and Sept). What do you guys think? Could this be true? If so, how do you feel about it?

 

[LibertySq100]

Just to clarify for sleepy:
I created that thread you reference, and I just wanted to make it clear according to my relative a "bump" due to severe disabilities to SOG because of that specific issue is very rare, however has happened to his knowledge. I outlined one issue he had knowledge of an regarding an issue with an autistic child and single parent in the thread.
Most people are bumped to DTD hotels if a disability prevents them from safely accessing a DSA.
I did also confirm the SOG policy of allowing smoking on balconies and patios of guest rooms is still intact. So sorry for going off-topic but there's a nugget of up-to-date information for SOG.

 

[JB2K]

If this is even remotely true, I have no words to describe how I feel. Smoking has absolutely nothing to do with ADA and to think there are people who have served in wars and still don't qualify for SOG (unless it is Jan and Sept). What do you guys think? Could this be true? If so, how do you feel about it?

If it's a "numbers" thing (meaning that Disney O&O's could get more revenue from smokers who might stay elsewhere), they might jump into it.

As for SoG, I wouldn't worry about them relaxing the smoking ban as since they are a DoD facility, they have no plans on loosening-up on the smokers...

 

[jmskinner]

Thanks for the help everyone and the video is great. I'll have to show the DH when he gets home from work. Do you recommend the pool view rooms or just a standard. Only $10 difference. At POR we have always gone standard.

Also, is the Sunrise package a good deal. DH loves breakfast, I don't. My son needs to eat something so he can take his medicine, but basically only eats cereal (picky eater he is).

 

[airplane]

I just got the news that SOG was uable to book my dates of Jan 22- 27 so they offered me an overflow rate at POR. I was offered the same rate as SOG but I have to pay tax on the room ($130ish instead of $117). I am very excited b/c I always wanted to try that resort. I just stayed at SOG in May so I guess it's not the end of the world

 

[Sleepy]

Thanks for the help everyone and the video is great. I'll have to show the DH when he gets home from work. Do you recommend the pool view rooms or just a standard. Only $10 difference. At POR we have always gone standard.

Also, is the Sunrise package a good deal. DH loves breakfast, I don't. My son needs to eat something so he can take his medicine, but basically only eats cereal (picky eater he is).

1) Pool view will get you a room in the old section of the hotel that will be on the bottom floor facing one of the pools. This is a convenience factor since if you use the pool alot, it is just a walk through your sliding glass door to access it. Personally, i find the extra $10 a night worth it. We always request Mill Pond pool since it is right there at Evergreens and we go there often throughout our stay.

2) Sunrise package does not sound like a good deal for you all. You don't like breakfast and neither is your son a fan of it. You would be paying full price for the breakfast buffet for all of you each day of your stay. Might I make a few suggestions. In the Express Cafe, there are breakfast sandwiches and cereal, etc. Post 2156 has a snapshot of the menu board. From there, ceral and milk is cheaper than paying for a breakfast buffet even at the child's price.

Also, there is cereal and milk available in the AAFES. For your husband, there is always room service. We were very impressed with the choices, serving sizes, quality, and service overall the last time we stayed and ordered. It would be a way for your husband to still enjoy his breakfast while you all get what you want too.

 

[btcrane]

I've booked two rooms for our family of 2 parents, 3 kids for August. While connecting would be awesome, if they're just beside each other, or in the immediate vicinity, I'll be happy. Do I make the request now, or closer to August? And is it better to fax the request or phone it in?

TIA!

 

[bigAWL]

I just got the news that SOG was uable to book my dates of Jan 22- 27 so they offered me an overflow rate at POR. I was offered the same rate as SOG but I have to pay tax on the room ($130ish instead of $117). I am very excited b/c I always wanted to try that resort. I just stayed at SOG in May so I guess it's not the end of the world

I've always wondered how this exactly works. Did they offer you only one choice of resort? Could you ask for a rate at a value or deluxe resort or ask for a different moderate?

 

[jmskinner]

I just got the news that SOG was uable to book my dates of Jan 22- 27 so they offered me an overflow rate at POR. I was offered the same rate as SOG but I have to pay tax on the room ($130ish instead of $117). I am very excited b/c I always wanted to try that resort. I just stayed at SOG in May so I guess it's not the end of the world

We have stayed at POR twice and really loved it. But we have decided we would like to try all of the hotels once, so guess we won't go back to it for awhile. We never minded the long walks most complain about. The grounds are just that beautiful to us.

1) Pool view will get you a room in the old section of the hotel that will be on the bottom floor facing one of the pools. This is a convenience factor since if you use the pool alot, it is just a walk through your sliding glass door to access it. Personally, i find the extra $10 a night worth it. We always request Mill Pond pool since it is right there at Evergreens and we go there often throughout our stay.

2) Sunrise package does not sound like a good deal for you all. You don't like breakfast and neither is your son a fan of it. You would be paying full price for the breakfast buffet for all of you each day of your stay. Might I make a few suggestions. In the Express Cafe, there are breakfast sandwiches and cereal, etc. Post 2156 has a snapshot of the menu board. From there, ceral and milk is cheaper than paying for a breakfast buffet even at the child's price.

Also, there is cereal and milk available in the AAFES. For your husband, there is always room service. We were very impressed with the choices, serving sizes, quality, and service overall the last time we stayed and ordered. It would be a way for your husband to still enjoy his breakfast while you all get what you want too.

Thank you for all the info. I'm going to make a reservation this afternoon. Think I will go standard since we probably will not use the pool that much and will skip the sunrise package also. DH is a little upset about the DDP not offered there, but I think we will get the discount card and use it. The DS hardly ever eats anyways and with him being 10 now, we have to pay for adult meals.

 

[btcrane]

I've always wondered how this exactly works. Did they offer you only one choice of resort? Could you ask for a rate at a value or deluxe resort or ask for a different moderate?

SoG was booked last Christmas and they gave us a choice between deluxe, moderate, and value. Of course, the price was different depending on which you chose. I chose moderate and they gave me POR, which we loved. But, maybe because it was Christmas, I spent significantly more than I would have if I'd been able to stay at SoG--it was discounted off the rack rate, but not by much.