Official SHADES OF GREEN Information

[Bay Hill]

>>About that time I pointed out that some of us would starve to death without Evergreens. I suggested they just move Evergreens to the Eagles location (so food and drink) and he suggested transferring me to guest services!!<<

Everyone needs a nightcap now and then.

 

[Sleepy]

Just got off with reservations and he was like, "where did you hear about Evergreens?" Apparently a lot of people have asked similar questions. He said that "business was down" at Evergreens and I'm thinking what could he be talking about? I was there last month and they had pretty good business from what I could tell. Not packed, standing outside to get in, but tables pretty much filled up.

About that time I pointed out that some of us would starve to death without Evergreens. I suggested they just move Evergreens to the Eagles location (so food and drink) and he suggested transferring me to guest services!! He was too funny. I did ask how that would affect room-service and the take out and he was really ready for me to hang up.

Business is down at Evergreens? Seriously, this is January. Everything, including total room occupancy is down.

For all that is decent in the world, do they realize only having "Evergreens" open in the afternoon is not going to cut it? We need some late night option....you know, after 10pm. I live in a country where dinner doesn't start until 10pm. I also see more coolers of beer by the pool in the future.

They must have really had a high request and a long waiting line for massages to completely boot out a poolside food/drink joint. I say do away with the tennis court and build the massage people a shack .

 

[btcrane]

>>
Hope they put a bar with Hi-Def TV's in the Italian eatery.

TOTALLY agree. My first stay at SoG is August so never experienced Evergreens but I can tell you that DH and I would LOVE some downtime in the evenings at a bar with fellow military and (hopefully) some hi-def sports. Bummer.

 

[Sleepy]

If Mangino's has limoncello, we all could crowd in there for evening festivities. After several shots of that, you probably would not care if Evergreens/Eagles Nest was open or not .

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

I just got off the phone with SOG and was told that the Evergreens/Spa situation is not set in stone.

After listening to them and doing a little reading between the lines.....here are my impresssions:
Manginos is not doing all that well
During their most recent customer survey, there was a strong trend of guests requesting spa services
They still intend on offering affordable, casual food with flexible hours. The "new" location might wind up being some sort of section/extension of Manginos
This helps them accomplish 2 things at once....satisfy a perceived customer demand, and increase sales at the Mangino's location

One more thought-- I was told that the Palm section is scheduled for a substantial renovation starting in about August.

 

[Minnie Lor]

I asked this question somewhere else and got no response. It occurred to me tonight that no one would know better about refillable mugs and SOG than the SOG thread-masters!

We're planning to walk to the Poly to ride the monorail to and from MK. We also drink a ton of pop. Are we allowed to buy mugs at the Poly to use as we come and go from their resort on our way to other destinations?

I don't want to break the rules. I'm not even trying to "bend" them, or game the system. I'd just like to know if anyone who is *in* a given resort can use a mug from that resort, only while *in* said resort, or if the person must be a registered guest at that given resort.

Make sense? Thanks in advance for any insight.

If you want to buy one ~ go for it. No one cares whether you're staying there or not just whether you buy a new mug vs. bringing one from last year. I stay at Shades but have also stayed at Pop.

I loved having the mug at Pop but even though we're at the Poly quite a bit when staying at Shades ~ I don't think the mug would be a benefit. When I was at Pop I refilled 3-4 times a day. I'd be lucky to fill it once a day at Poly when staying at Shades. Also the food court at the Poly isn't real convenient especially just for soda.

How are you getting to Shades?
If you are driving to Orlando ~ stop at the store to buy juice, soda, and water.
If you're flying and renting a card ~ see above
If you're flying and taking a limo ~ most have a 30 min. stop at the store ~ see above.
Shades has a fridge to keep it all cold.

 

[Mrsjvb]

If Mangino's has limoncello, we all could crowd in there for evening festivities. After several shots of that, you probably would not care if Evergreens/Eagles Nest was open or not .

Now THAT I can agree with.....

all I want is a place to sit and conversate to be able to tell tall tales of wild derring do....

while spa services are a nice option.. I can get that across the street at GF( and in fact did just that last time I was there).

Like others have said, I want the late night option to sit and have a drink to wind down..

 

[peytonsmomie]

How are you getting to Shades?
If you are driving to Orlando ~ stop at the store to buy juice, soda, and water.
If you're flying and renting a card ~ see above
If you're flying and taking a limo ~ most have a 30 min. stop at the store ~ see above.
Shades has a fridge to keep it all cold.

Thanks for the responses y'all. We're renting a minivan to drive down there, then turning it in, and renting again for the drive home. Although if it's cheaper to keep it the whole week we'll do that. Stopping on the way in is probably going to be a requirement, especially if this Evergreens situation isn't satisfactorily resolved by the beginning of April. We're the type to eat a large lunch and then small snacky dinners, so I was banking on being able to grab food at Evergreens after we returned to SOG every night, after having late lunches around 2-4 in the afternoon.

I suppose it'll also help to stop since we're a die-hard Pepsi family (my husband will die without his diet code red soda) and since WDW is a Coke vendor, we'll need to stock up a decent stash.

I'm so glad we'll be staying at SOG. It's my kid's (and husband's) first time at Disney, and I think the quality atmosphere at SOG is really gonna enhance our trip. Woohoo, I can hardly contain the excitement!

 

[Poohbeck]

We were at SOG the week before Thanksgiving. Evergreens was EMPTY! We went there for lunch 1 day EMPTY, dinner 1 day EMPTY! We went for pizza pick up one evening EMPTY! I have to say the parks that week were EMPTY too, but we loved Evergreens. After a long day at the park, it was nice to go to a nice inexpensive meal where my kids could watch the game and my husband and I could enjoy a cocktail all while eating real hamburgers.

Manginos was closed the week we were there.

How are they going to serve the pool area? We love fries and drinks by the pool?!?!?!

I should also mention, the week were there in November they were doing spa/massages outside by the pool. EMPTY! I did not see one person get a massage. The highest that week was 68.

 

[buffettgirl]

when I was there last Christmas Week 2006, evergreens was nearly empty, Garden thing was DEAD - I"m talking about 10 tables filled at dinner each night, and not many m ore for breakfast. manginos completely dead.

The food is the one thing that makes SOG suck. I am going to be there 10 days in July and I"m honestly worried. We tend to like to eat at the our hotel for a quick meal in the evening rather than having to deal with a lot of ADRs. But there's just no way I'd touch the food there.

 

[Mrsjvb]

I agree that overall the dining options are sub par.. but the best of them in my humble opinion IS Evergreen's.. I will do the Breakfast buffet in the morning as it is cheap and has all the staples. But no one I know has ever had anything good to say about the dinner buffets. Mangino's..well, I hear good things about it, our driver from the limo service said it has a great reputation for Italian.. but DH and I don't like Italian..except Limonciello...

I'd like to maybe see them lose the dinner buffet but rather use the Evergreen's Menu there for lunch and dinner.. and then re open Eagles.

 

[GJM]

I agree Evergreens probably had the best food - but I really like it being near the pool area, so we could just hang out at the pool and get drinks and food.

When we were there in Sept. nobody was getting a message either.

 

[buffettgirl]

I agree as well. Other than breakfast at Garden, we ate more at evergreens - got a decent burger there twice and a pizza if I'm remembering correctly. We only had one pool day in 2006 and we so enjoyed the beer by the pool.

Guess we'll be dragging our cooler to the pool.

Makes you wonder - I mean, we can't really complain based on the price of the rooms - but SOG really needs to figure out who they are catering too - families with kids? military with no kids? retireds? who??

 

[Minnie Lor]

I suppose it'll also help to stop since we're a die-hard Pepsi family (my husband will die without his diet code red soda) and since WDW is a Coke vendor, we'll need to stock up a decent stash.

I gotta ask ~ where are you getting diet code red? We can't get it around here. The vendor said it was discontinued ??

 

[Sleepy]

The food is the one thing that makes SOG suck. I am going to be there 10 days in July and I"m honestly worried. We tend to like to eat at the our hotel for a quick meal in the evening rather than having to deal with a lot of ADRs. But there's just no way I'd touch the food there.

My opinion is that for the most part, counter service is counter service at WDW. It is all cheap mass produced food. You can get inadequate, cold and gross anywhere....not just SOG. Having eaten at several WDW hotel counter service and read the reviews on the dining board is evidence enough.

 

[buffettgirl]

My opinion is that for the most part, counter service is counter service at WDW. It is all cheap mass produced food. You can get inadequate, cold and gross anywhere....not just SOG. Having eaten at several WDW hotel counter service and read the reviews on the dining board is evidence enough.

I totally agree. But it would be nice if SOG even HAD counter service. They have 2 empty sit down restaurants and 1 soon to be closed bar type restaurant. Counter service would be a step up.

I love everything about SOG. I love it's location. I love the transportation. I love the rooms. I love the atmosphere. I especially love the cost. Food is the only one thing I dislike. So I will always speak favorably about SOG. except when it comes to the food.

 

[peytonsmomie]

I gotta ask ~ where are you getting diet code red? We can't get it around here. The vendor said it was discontinued ??

Here in Nebraska we buy it by the 12 pack from our SuperTarget. We can also get it at No Frills, SuperWalmart, Albertson's and HyVee. Only in the cans though.

Gas stations in Kansas and Missouri, as well as Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania have all been places where we've found it in 20oz bottles.

We were buying out the supply at Target every Tuesday (they were only getting in 4 12 packs a week!) so we asked the GM to stock more, since others might want some too. Now he brings in about 20 cases a week and they sell through them all. Helps that we've got a pepsi plant in town I guess.

 

[btuftee]

it will be interesting to see what the late-night food options are, if Evergreens is closing down - I'll get to find out for myself in a week or so! I'll report back here with my experiences.

I wonder if you can even get a pizza delivered inside WDW...

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Hello btuftee,

Be sure to discuss the situation with lots of employees during your stay and try talking to a manager near the end of your stay. Affordable, flexible, casual, family food is something we need them to maintain. By voicing your concern, you could influence the situation.

...................and then tell'em we don't need no stinkin' spa!

 

[btcrane]

Hello btuftee,

...................and then tell'em we don't need no stinkin' spa!

TOTALLY AGREE! LOVE spas, just not interested in them at Disney...lots of other places to indulge, though, for those so inclined.... Would much prefer a casual atmosphere to share a drink and conversation...