Official SHADES OF GREEN Information

[LisaB]

We were at Shades in April. I don't know if this was mentioned before but Shades has no control over the buses Disney dictates when and where that are and leave. We had a bad experience with the bus service while there. Another tip make copies of the back of your passes to make it easier if you lose them. We lost our passes and guest services said basically there was nothing they could do about it we had 8 days left on our stars and stripes. A great CM at Magic Kingdom named Anna from Louisiana helped us and was able to issue new passes for us. We used tiffany which was great 90 with a coupon

 

[bigAWL]

My friend who lives in the area is planning to come visit us while in WDW. Does anyone know how easy or hard it is for a visitor to get access to the hotel without a military ID, or any other WDW ID?

 

[ntsammy5]

A couple of years ago my sister came to visit. The guard called our room and gave her access. Ask at the guard shack. They can tell you what to do.

 

[OFFTONEVERLAND1]

Camaraderie is one of the major reasons cited on these boards when people are asked why they love SOG. People are friendly, everyone talks to everyone and as I've seen in previous posts and experienced personally, the children tend to be better behaved, maybe because the parents are more disciplined and are trying to make sure their fellow service families have a nice vacation. Everyone has something in common and it's such a nice, stress free, friendly environment. The cost is a great benefit, but there are others. I never feel the least bit concerned about safety which I can't say about commercial hotels all the time. It's just those intangibles that make it so much nicer. These reasons are why you cant' just compare it by cost. It's a great value on it's own and these other assets make it even more valuable.

I totally agree with you. WE have stayed there several times and love it. I also wanted to add that the few times we stayed there I have never seen women are children standing on the bus. If the busses were crowed and standing was necessary it was the men and teenage boys giving up their seats and standing which does not always happen on other Disney Resort busses. Has anybody used the R&R package? If so how it work and are does dates flexible since sometimes R&R does not always work out on exact dates you plan for?

 

[airplane]

My friend who lives in the area is planning to come visit us while in WDW. Does anyone know how easy or hard it is for a visitor to get access to the hotel without a military ID, or any other WDW ID?

My FIL came to visit us one day last week and he stayed the night. We told the front desk to add him to our ressie for the night. He had to problem getting thru the gate. He just told the guard our room number.

 

[Magic Mom]

AWW...I'm so glad you had such a nice time. We love SOG as well.

it is an AMAZING place!!! I am just totally blown away how wonderful the shades of green is. Everything from service and friendliness to amenities , everything was perfect. I knew they had some great things there before going but getting there and finding the woman by the mickey pool who does massages was AWESOME (she's great by the way!!!!) We found the coy fish pond by the boats on our last day and the kids LOVED feeding them , they laughed so hard!! The game room on the second floor was great. I got an awesome room on the first floor (older room) but you wouldnt know it was older because it was great , got the connecting room i requested, and the crib was perfect for my 2 yr old, especially in the older room. Never had a problem with the bus, we just kinda played it by ear whether we felt like walking to the poly or taking the bus. We seemed to walk in the morning and take the bus at night. I had a big chunky stroller and heavy sleeping children on the bus and there was always a gentleman to give me a seat. The SECURITY!! omg they are always present and I felt so safe!! The food was awesome in all restaurants (except I didnt go to mangino's) The rooms were always sparkling when we got back . When we checked in we had a duck and a lizard sitting on our porch and we even spotted a gator walking on the green on our way to the poly!! I LOVE the shades of green. I would go there even if I wasnt going to disney. I feel so lucky that I can stay there, so nice and peaceful coming back after a busy day. I dont think i'd stay anywhere else!!!

 

[meriann]

Just breezing by to say in 30 days I will be on my way to SOG and DISNEY!

 

[Minnie Lor]

I knew they had some great things there before going but getting there and finding the woman by the mickey pool who does massages was AWESOME (she's great by the way!!!!)

Huh? What have I been missing out on? Tell me, tell me.

 

[KatRob]

Just breezing by to say in 30 days I will be on my way to SOG and DISNEY!

Oh, rub it in will you? I have 7 months, 1 week and 1 day until I get back home to SOG.

I did forget to mention that although we pay to park, we do get the fridge free now instead of paying for that. Sort of evens it out.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Just breezing by to say in 30 days I will be on my way to SOG and DISNEY!

MERIANN! I haven't seen you in awhile - your trip is so close!!!! I'll check out your trippie.

 

[Magic Mom]

DD seems to remember that the last time we visited SOG, there was a girl doing braids by the pool. Is she still there (LOL was she ever there?) and how much does she charge?

 

[momof296&02]

I am soo excited b/c we are able tostay at SoG in September! My father has his dd214 & I was told by SoG that we can stay in Jan & Sept. www.shadesofgreenvets.com. He recv'd an honorable discharge very quickly(something pretty bad happened), in fact i'm not sure if he actually served or anything. Alas they are telling me we can stay! $119 per night sounds good to me. All the reports sound wonderful. I can't wait

 

[meriann]

Huh? What have I been missing out on? Tell me, tell me.

I was thinking the same thing. I would SOOO love to have a pool side massage! If they are doing it while I am there I will let you all know. Hubby has to take his lap top and do work a few days while we are there So I may snatch it for a min and let you know how the trip is going.

Oh, rub it in will you? I have 7 months, 1 week and 1 day until I get back home to SOG.

I did forget to mention that although we pay to park, we do get the fridge free now instead of paying for that. Sort of evens it out.

not trying to rub it in, well maybe just a little but I am just so excited. This has been a pretty rocky year so far and we all really "need" this trip!

MERIANN! I haven't seen you in awhile - your trip is so close!!!! I'll check out your trippie.

I have been neglecting my trippe but I am trying to do better. I promise a WONDERFUL TR once I am back with TONS of pictures. I already pre-ordered the photo pass cd for $99! I am hoping my SIL will split the cost with me too but if she dosen't then I will just be greedy! LOL

 

[mom2jcc]

Hi, everyone
Well, I have to say I am disappointed with the no longer free parking at the parks. AK and HS are the two parks we like to drive to since we have toddler twins and two strollers. We enjoy walking to the Poly for MK and Epcot. I hope this decision is reversed by our trip in December. When I think about possibly changing to the POR resort (we have to sleep 5 in our case), then we lose that wonderful monorail option that we love so much. We lose the room space and the ever so quietness of the SOG. We like the way we can just walk over to O'Hana and Kona. I can't see us changing our reservation, but I AM sad.

 

[vettegirl]

We just returned from 6 days at the SOG and what a great place for the $111 a night we paid. It was always very quiet and the walk to the Poly was a breeze. The only disappointment was the buffet, they ran out of Prime Rib while we were eating, but the food was good. I can't wait to return, they even gave us a 30% coupon to return in August or September if we would like.

 

[gibsontrio]

I was thinking the same thing. I would SOOO love to have a pool side massage!

She is amazing!! She said she is fairly new to shades of green , she usually travels to the other resorts like the poly so she's fairly new to shades. She hasnt gotten any of her publicity up so not to many people know about her unless you go to the mickey pool at see her. I got a 10 min massage for 10 dollars and she massaged my back for at least 15 min. Even asked me what area I'd like her to work on and she got all the knots out of my back. She offers everything from 10 massage and foot massages , to in room couples massages! My mom got a foot massage and said it was the best she's ever recieved!
Here is my room view picture

OH and did you know they can dress your kids up in costumes and take their pictures (or yours) by the mickey!? I'm not sure of the cost but I know you can get a photo done for $5

 

[Disneyfriend]

Gibsontrio, I really love the picture you posted of the view from your room! It's gorgeous!

Can you give me details on where your room was? It was obviously on the ground floor - in the original section, right? How far of a walk was it from the lobby area? And did you have to take the elevator down from the lobby area to get to your floor?

I think you posted that you had a crib in your room, right? How did that work out? Did you like the room divider wall? I ask because we'll have two cribs (in two rooms) during our upcoming stay, and I'm trying to decide between renting full-size cribs from A Baby's Best Friend and just using the SoG cribs.

So glad you had an amazing trip, and a fantastic stay at SoG! Any other input or advice you could give would be most appreciated.

Disneyfriend

ps - One more thing - did your room have a double sink or a single? And was the sink in a separate room from the toilet area? Thanks again!

 

[Msslaydbug]

I would also like to hear more about your room. The view is wonderful. Can someone remind me what the difference is between the rooms in the old and new section ?

 

[gibsontrio]

hey dis friends!
My room was room 190 and 191 ( connecting rooms) VERY short walk from the lobby. From the lobby we would walk past the aafes to the doors that say shhh (entering the hallway) then we either took the elevator down or the outside stairs down (much quicker that way). and there was our room . at the end of our hallway was doors that went right to the "rectangle pool". Yes we did have an older room with the little wall which was PERFECT for the crib. The crib was a metal frame crib on wheels, but it fit my 2 yr old and she slept perfectly in it ( she hates packand plays) the toilet area has a little serparater wall from the sink but there was only one sink not two. here's another shot of the room looking from the other side.

not much to the picture..lol except my mom, i'm standing next to the crib where the table and chairs are.
Any other ?? ask away, I was so delighted with them I'm writing them a letter thanking them.. wish I could say the same about disney..lol. my mil fell in MK and broke her arm and elbow! (she had surgery and is doing ok)

 

[Minnie Lor]

Oh your poor MIL. What a memory to take home. Love your pictures. The view looks great. I recognize those flowers from Shades. I guess that means I'm getting to be a regular.

We'll be back to Shades in Oct. and I can't wait. It's so peaceful.