Official SHADES OF GREEN Information

[Mrsjvb]

There's an article on Shades Of Green in today's NY Times that answers many of the questions posted here.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/travel/escapes/16armed.html

according to that article, apparently only Officers stay at SoG... and they only pay $89/night

I guess they don't consider New Sanno to be on Par with the other AFRC either..



ah well, it's still a great deal, even if I NEVER see any Gators on my walks...

 

[hildarumpole]

I get what you're saying to a certain extent, and believe me, I wasn't planning on provoking the gators to any extent! I have two little babies and am not interested in any near-misses with alligators.

But it seems to me like I often hear of gator attacks in Florida, and I am under the strong impression that not all of those attacks were on foolish people bothering alligators. KWIM? Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like at least some small percentage of these gator attacks are on unsuspecting people who were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's not going to change my trip any, except that I'm really thinking twice about walking from SoG to the Poly with my group. Yes, we did it several times last trip and didn't think too much about it. I know gazillions of people do it every year. But . . . if I'm right, isn't it just a matter of time until something really unfortunate happens? Or am I totally mistaken?



Again, just thinking out loud here.

A couple years ago, my local library had a guest speaker who spoke on this very subject. He's a vet who runs a wild animal rescue and research center at the area university. He even brought in a 4 ft. alligator that had been rescued in a lake near the university. Apparently someone had it as a pet, got tired of it, and dumped it. This is in Wisconsin, so luckily it was found before winter. The vet spoke about alligator attacks. He said the various cases of attacks in Florida were people who were being just plain stupid. They went swimming or dunked their feet in a canal or other fresh waterway. He said alligators don't like the taste of humans and won't go hunting for them. When someone enters the water, the alligator doesn't necessarily know the difference between a human and some other animal and may take a bite. They won't eat the human, but the bite can do enough damage to kill. He also told us that alligators need water to be able to eat, so if you're on dry land, they aren't going to try and make a meal out of you. If someone is idiotic enough to take their child to the water's edge so they can pet an alligator, they might be in danger. If you stay on the path at SOG, you'll be fine. The path is close, but not so close to the water that it's a risk.

 

[hildarumpole]

GREAT NYT article. Thanks for the link.

It did state that it's available to all ranks and that rates start at $89. Maybe you got the impression that it's officers only, because that's who was interviewed. A military public affairs officer probably picked who the reporter was allowed to interview. I found it interesting that Disney exercises some oversight. In spite of what some may think, SOG really isn't like some other generic off-site resort.

 

[KatRob]

That was really a good article. But right near the very end they made a classic mistake:

The 586 rooms start at $89 in the low season, with prices depending on rank. Suites are $250 and $275. No tax is added.

The best thing about SOG is that we don't deal with "seasons" but some folks don't get that fact straight.

 

[gibsontrio]

DH swears the gator we saw was at least 5ft, maybe disney missed that guy!! He was pretty far from the pond though ,I'd hate to be the golfer to run into him!

 

[KatRob]

We have also seen some good size gators in the golf course areas. Don't know how they could miss some of them.

It does seem like I've seen them everytime we have been there.

 

[Bondfan531]

SOG is definitely not for just officers only. My sister was in the Air Force and was Chief when we went in May 2004. Don't know how much she paid per night for two rooms (7 of us total), but I do know she said she got a good deal. We had a great room on the 3rd floor overlooking the main Mickey shaped pool, close to the stairwell and Evergreens (where we ate almost every night!). Loved it there. Only way I can go back there now is if my sister ever goes back since she is retired military or my inlaws (FIL is retired military also) but I don't see either of those happening (I like vacationing with my dh and dd alone--we can work on OUR schedule that way instead of coordinating with the whole family )

 

[KatRob]

Okay, my DH has just come up with the reason that the gators don't cause problems at SOG: They are military gators! Therefore, they are much more disciplined than the normal gator and know how to act and what is expected of them.

 

[Mrsjvb]

@ Rob of KatRob fame

I was just remarking that only Officers were interviewed, which seems to promote an elitist feel; that only Officers can afford to go/choose to go. and I say this as an O3 spouse. What, they couldn't find an E4 who had just gotten back from the sandbox?!


I find that hard to believe.

 

[MrJT]

I guess they don't consider New Sanno to be on Par with the other AFRC either..

Isn't the New Sanno run by the Navy and not the Army? I seem to recall the exchange not being run by AAFES, but by the Naval Exchange.

 

[Mrsjvb]

you know I think you are right about that.. and the cottages at Bellows are AF run, right?

that would explain stuff....

 

[Maine-iac]

I'm getting really homesick now. But keep the pictures coming.

I know, me too. I wanna be there NOW.

 

[Maine-iac]

Gator in the pond walking towards Poly. Somewhere have a picture of another one in a little pond (not the coy pond, lol) behind the hotel.

When in April were you there? We were there 17-25. We saw this gator too. This was our room view

This is the second time that we have been on the first floor with a patio and we decided that we prefer it over having a balcony.


here are our visitors

 

[Maine-iac]

OMG, people are stupid.

Yes they are and my family has 2 of those stupid people. Way back in 1997 we stayed at SoG for the first time. BIL, my two SILs and I went to WalMart and left DH and other BIL in charge of the kids. When we got back they told us that an employee told them where they could find a gator so they took the kids to see it. Well that was OK you know they are safe just looking at it from a distance.

Advance to 6 months later when we finally see the video that BIL took of the gator. Let's just say that when us mothers saw the video the **** hit the fan.

A cousin (who we brought with us. He was 15) was throwing hay into the water to attract the gators attention. The men were egging him on. The gator started swimming closer. *Note that during this whole video we could hear our children screaming in the background and the men telling them to stay back* BIL went down to the waters edge to get a better view. At one point he asks where is the gator and DH says look down and a little to your right. At that point BIL decided Ok that is enough and backed off as the kids were running away screaming. End of video.

We were not happy and let the guys have it. Now we can laugh at the situation since it has been so long. But DH and BIL now know just how dangerous it was.
BTW I do not think we ever showed the video to the cousin's mom.

 

[Msslaydbug]

It'd would've hit the fan in this house too

 

[KatRob]

OMG Sounds like the little guys had more sense than the "adults" and BIL was very lucky.

 

[MrJT]

you know I think you are right about that.. and the cottages at Bellows are AF run, right?

that would explain stuff....

Bellows is actually an Air Force Station. I've been there a few times. Never in the cabins though. Camped outside. I love the area, but I hate the jellyfish!

 

[ntsammy5]

We stayed in the cabins at Bellows 5 years ago and they were great. Right on the beach. Not luxurious mind you, but very nice. We must have been lucky. We never saw any jelly fish!

 

[Mom2apirate&princess]

We stayed in the cabins at Bellows 2 summers ago. There was talk at the time of the Air Force giving that to the Marines, but I haven't heard anymore about it.

We liked the cabins, we loved the area and it was like we had our own private beach. I did get stung by a manawar, a cousin to the jelly fish. But it wasn't too bad.

 

[tkme4ard]

we're staying at SOG next jan and i have a few questions

what mode of transportation too and from airport is good? We'll have 2 adults, 3 big kids and 1 toddler car seat. We want round trip, prefer not to do a rental car.

Does the onsite AAFES have bottled water cases or can we have some shipped in? how does one go about sending in an order?

how far of a walk is it to the monorail/boat or do we have to bus in to MK?