Official SHADES OF GREEN Information

[KatRob]

I had a question about Shades of Green...Is it worth it with having to get a airport transfer & paying for meals out of pocket?! I know the room & tickets are cheap but we are going in June for our honeymoon and only have a budget of 1500.00 for the whole trip!

I would say yes but I am biased. We love SOG and don't think of staying anywhere else. But on to your question:

When you say for the whole trip, exactly what do you mean?
How many nights?
What is the paygrade?
What type of tickets do you need?
Are you expecting a meal plan?
What level of resort are you looking for...Value, Moderate, Deluxe?
Does that include airfare?

SOG has different packages that include some meals and the rooms can't be beat.

If you are paying out of pocket for meals, SOG is a great value. Evergreens is a lifesaver and the Garden Grill has buffets for breakfast and dinner.

 

[TinkAsh2001]

We were wanting to do an all inclusive thing because we dont want to have to pay OOP for all our meals. We will be staying 5 nights or 4 nights. I can get roundtrip airfare for about 200 per person.
If we dont stay at SOG we will be at POP cause I love it there.

 

[Sleepy]

WHat is your total cost for the all inclusive at POP?
I assume your airfare ($400) comes out of that $1500, leaving you $1,100 to cover WDW?

Remember, by going that route, you will also have to pay an automatic 18% out of pocket for all restaurant tips. Consider the cost of a drink here and there. I would not think the all inclusive actually means that everytime you are thirsty in the parks, you will get it free of charge. You need to plan for those sort of out of pocket expenses.

Staying at SOG for 5 nights would cost you $93 (no tax) a night, or $465 total. Take another $100 for roundtrip transportion from airport. That leaves you $535 for food, tips, etc. I am sure you would not want to eat every meal at SOG, but those WDW restaurants are pretty expensive to pay out of pocket for even just 2 people.

I would throw the POP all inclusive quote this way so others can give you more assistance.

 

[KatRob]

I'm with Sleepy, once airfare comes out you aren't left with a huge amount.

Mears transportation (Shuttle, not sedan) would run in the neighborhood of $70 roundtrip for both. That's $33 per person roundtrip (looked it up for next June).

Shades will not have tax on anything (room, food, tickets) that would be charged at Pop. You can also custom fit your tickets to your needs. If you don't need water parks why pay for them? There is even a Stars and Stripes ticket that has basically a park hopping feature and includes water parks that is tailored to your stay.

The buffets and Evergreens are extremely reasonable.

If you need a fridge at Pop you will be paying for it, Shades it is included.

All the rooms are interior and none are a long walk for transportation. Oh, yeah, the rooms are huge compared to Pop, or any other Disney property.

Unless you have been quoted an incredible price for Pop, SOG would be the better choice.

 

[Minnie Lor]

I had a question about Shades of Green...Is it worth it with having to get a airport transfer & paying for meals out of pocket?! I know the room & tickets are cheap but we are going in June for our honeymoon and only have a budget of 1500.00 for the whole trip!

You've gotten some good advice but I think you're best bet would be to contact Dreams Unlimited Travel (they're the sponser of the DIS) I think they could help you figure out realistically all of your expenses. (there is no charge or obligation to use Dreams)

I love Shades but when I went on a budget trip of one person I chose Pop. But Shades cost us $119 (at that time) a night where I was going in value season and got Pop for $66 a night and that included tax.

There's alot to figure out and a lot of number crunching going on. I'd go with Dreams to have them help. Airline prices are really up and will just keep getting higher. So that's something to consider as well.

 

[Sleepy]

I'm with Sleepy, once airfare comes out you aren't left with a huge amount.

Mears transportation (Shuttle, not sedan) would run in the neighborhood of $70 roundtrip for both. That's $33 per person roundtrip (looked it up for next June).

Shades will not have tax on anything (room, food, tickets) that would be charged at Pop. You can also custom fit your tickets to your needs. If you don't need water parks why pay for them? There is even a Stars and Stripes ticket that has basically a park hopping feature and includes water parks that is tailored to your stay.
.

YIKES! Aside from the cost of food, I had totally forgotten about the cost of tickets.

Start with a budget of $1500.
Airline = $400
ground = $100 (with gas prices, I would go with this)
Hotel = $465 (5 nights, but dropping a day saves $93)
Tickets = $416 (4 days no hopper/no water parks, but dropping a day saves $18. Remember between now and June, price will go up.)

5 day total is $1381 out of a budget of $1,500 and that does not count food. You would almost have to eat sandwiches in the room to maintain that sort of budget for 5 nights . Even dropping one day off the hotel stay and one day off the park tickets doesn't leave much to play with. Maybe going the value all inclusive offers a better deal for your budget. I just don't see it very doable going the OOP SOG route.

 

[TinkAsh2001]

Yea that was kinda what I was thinking also!

 

[Minnie Lor]

Anyone been to Evergreen's lately? Do they still have the frosted plastic cups that you can take with you? My small collection is dwindling and I need some new ones.

 

[KatRob]

They did the last time we were there. That's one thing I hope they never change. Love my glasses!

 

[ntsammy5]

Anyone been to Evergreen's lately? Do they still have the frosted plastic cups that you can take with you? My small collection is dwindling and I need some new ones.

I't amazing howmany people do that!

 

[Minnie Lor]

They did the last time we were there. That's one thing I hope they never change. Love my glasses!

That's what we usually drink out of at home. It looks a little better than fast food souvinier cups and they hold up well.

I't amazing howmany people do that!

We figure that they would pitch them anyways so.....

 

[KatRob]

That's what we usually drink out of at home. It looks a little better than fast food souvinier cups and they hold up well.

We figure that they would pitch them anyways so.....

One of the servers said to take them, and only put them in the top of the dishwasher. Seems like I didn't take any the last time I was there. The ones I have are in great shape (only one is losing the logo).

 

[mom2jcc]

Didn't even know about this!

Thanks for the tip.

 

[Minnie Lor]

I'm craving something frozen and fruity with a little kick in one of those cups RIGHT NOW. Hey ~ it's 5 o'clock somewhere.

 

[Ariel on Land]

Anyone going during this promotion and using it? I made our ressies w/out it thinking we wouldn't be able to take advantage of it fully due to scheduling. (GG doesn't open for breakfast till 0700, etc...) but I was doing some number crunching, and I think it still might be better. And I was wondering, could we "use" the package just 2 nights out of 4? I'll probably call back and ask for more info, but I was wondering if anyone else has looked into and has any tips.

 

[mom2jcc]

Anyone going during this promotion and using it? I made our ressies w/out it thinking we wouldn't be able to take advantage of it fully due to scheduling. (GG doesn't open for breakfast till 0700, etc...) but I was doing some number crunching, and I think it still might be better. And I was wondering, could we "use" the package just 2 nights out of 4? I'll probably call back and ask for more info, but I was wondering if anyone else has looked into and has any tips.

I don't know anything about the package, but just wanted to say hi. I noticed you also have twins. Also, welcome to the Dis!!

 

[Ariel on Land]

mom2jcc- HI! I actually just read your trip report last week, and I was thinking the castle couldn't have gone to a more deserving person! An AF wife AND a mom of twins!!! This trip is actually my reward/getaway for being a SAHM of twins w/out any family support nearby!!! Thanks for the welcome too! I've been amazed at how nice and knowledgeable everyone here is!!!

 

[mom2jcc]

mom2jcc- HI! I actually just read your trip report last week, and I was thinking the castle couldn't have gone to a more deserving person! An AF wife AND a mom of twins!!! This trip is actually my reward/getaway for being a SAHM of twins w/out any family support nearby!!! Thanks for the welcome too! I've been amazed at how nice and knowledgeable everyone here is!!!

I couldn't think of a better reward! Who is keeping the kids for you? I have learned that getaways can be very refreshing for full time SAHMoms. It was hard to leave, but I was fine once on our little trip. I am trying to talk hubby into a Disney getaway for next year

 

[Pluto_fan]

I'm glad to hear that it seems that we won't be charged for parking at the parks! Thanks to everyone who has posted updates on that.

The back-and-forth changes in benefits tends to stress out the compulsive planner in me, though. I'm still a little worried about Extra Magic Hours. What if they decided to take them away again next January? By the time that would be announced, we'd be too late to cancel our late-January stay at SOG and switch to a "full benefit" Disney resort. I know EMH isn't everything, but with the short January hours they do make a difference and we like to take advantage of them. I guess I'm just looking for a little reassurance that we'll still have that benefit in 2009. Anyone have a warm fuzzy for me? Thanks!

 

[CheshireCat]

Does SOG participate in the Dining Pan? I am going to be staying at the Key West Riverside in December, but wondering about the inexpensive price of SOG....maybe thinking if SOG was also participating in the dining plan that I could try to change my reservations. We are a military family.