Official SHADES OF GREEN Information

[Sleepy]

We have only been in the old section of the hotel and have gotten a handicapped room 50% of the time. I agree with calling the hotel and having ADA added to your reservation. Let them know there is a mobility issue and you need something by the garage.

You have to go through the lobby to get to the shuttle area, so maybe ask for something close to the lobby in the new section w/ADA. Really depends on what you feel is best.

The handicapped rooms means your bathroom will be very large. The tub/shower/single sink will be in that one room and there will be no double sink outside the bathroom.

 

[TyTyandMickey]

What a beautuful hotel. I like it very much.

 

[DMGeurts]

Welcome home DMGeurts! Glad you had a good trip. Shouldn't Seabee be back by now?

Thanks.... Yes, I think that Seabea should be home... I did keep my open for her while I was at SoG, but never did see her.

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Gosh, I just have to say... We are already planning another trip - this last one was so great....

Secondly, don't hesitate on the photopass - it is awesome. We had 285 photos taken in the parks, and already I've made them into 750, and I still have more to edit! That is more photos than we took on our last trip, and not only that, each and every photo is a picture of a person in our family either meeting a character or standing by a landmark... great photos. Well worth the $100 price tag, and if you tell the photographers that you alredy purchased the CD, they make a great effort to take more photos and put extras in them. We also found that if you were especially nice to them (character and handlers too) they were especially nice to you. The one photographer in front of the castle, we told her that we intended for her photos of us to be our holiday photo this year, and she said "no pressure?" and then took about 20 shots of us... it was really neat~

D~

 

[KatRob]

Gosh, I just have to say... We are already planning another trip - this last one was so great....
The one photographer in front of the castle, we told her that we intended for her photos of us to be our holiday photo this year, and she said "no pressure?" and then took about 20 shots of us... it was really neat~

D~

Years ago before they had Photopass, we had a very early breakfast at the castle. We passed on the photo because "park" pictures were not in our budget. When I started to take a shot of my DD and DH I was interruped by the photographer (I swear he looked and sounded just like Gary Marshall) who said, get over there and let me do it. We got a great pic (still the screensaver on one computer) and a sweet memory.

 

[mom2jcc]

Wow, that is alot of photos!! We didn't have much luck seeing the photographers last trip and only got about 8 pics total So, there must be alot more of them now. Do you have any tips for us? I was hoping to get our Christmas photo there, too. I never thought about actually telling the photographer that this will be IT hopefully...thanks for that great tip.

 

[DMGeurts]

Wow, that is alot of photos!! We didn't have much luck seeing the photographers last trip and only got about 8 pics total So, there must be alot more of them now. Do you have any tips for us? I was hoping to get our Christmas photo there, too. I never thought about actually telling the photographer that this will be IT hopefully...thanks for that great tip.

Well, every time we saw a photographer, we got our photo taken - if there were several in an area, we would try to get a couple of different photographers. We almost made a game out of it - my theory was that I paid so much for htis, I am going to get my $$ worth... kwim? Also, we did a lot of character autographs... every character (except two - rafiki and Terk) had a photopass photographer with them, so we made sure that they got a few photos as well. We also took advantage of the ones that were out for MNSSHP, they did some pretty neat stuff.

My advise, if you see a photographer, stop for 3 minutes, get your photo done, and go about the rest of your day. We never went off of our path to have our photo taken, but we did make sure that the ones we did cross paths with took our picture.

D~

 

[ougrad86]

Yeh!! Made reservations for the 1st week of November 2009 four ourselves and our friends! Now we can relax and start planning our trip! Can't wait to get back to SOG and WDW!

 

[DMGeurts]

Yeh!! Made reservations for the 1st week of November 2009 four ourselves and our friends! Now we can relax and start planning our trip! Can't wait to get back to SOG and WDW!

Congrats.... We are dying to go the last week of October (2009) again... We love going during Halloween!

D~

 

[seabee]

I was expecting thick breaded rings or the beer battered kind where the crust falls off. It just wasn't to my taste. They were thick cut onion, dipped in a thick batter and fried. Mine turned out really greasy and I thought the batter locked in extra grease.

We got back last week from our stay at SOG. We had a great room in the new section, on the first floor. We sat out on our patio and watched a deer run around, bunnies hopping everywhere, an alligator in the pond-who would also be out sunning in the morning, and even 2 armedillos. It was easy to get to the pool, we just went out the sliding door and crossed the walkway. It was actually quicker to get to the lobby that way too. We would just use the elevator near the buffet.

The rings use to be really good beer battered, but this year they were a disappointment for me too. Also, you use to be able to order a foot and take it out to the pool area on the stick with all the yummy sauces at the base. Not anymore, I got a few onion rings in a styrofoam container with no sauce. When I asked about it they gave me honey mustard in a packet. No yummy sauces. I have always liked Evergreens, but I really wasn't impressed this time, they were REALLY slow, and the food wasn't as great as I remembered. But that's ok, we still had a wonderful time. The kids LOVED feeding the HUGE koi. They were new since our last trip. Hope all of you going down for the holidays have a great time. SOG is beautiful that time of year. Heck, all of Disney is! Man, I want to go back!

 

[ntsammy5]

We sat out on our patio and watched a deer run around, bunnies hopping everywhere, an alligator in the pond-who would also be out sunning in the morning, and even 2 armedillos.!

Those animatronic animals are GREAT!


Glad you had a great time. We're going tomorrow, but staying through AFVC.

 

[mom2jcc]

Thanks for the review!! Going in 5 weeks....seems so far away still, but so much to do between now and then

 

[mom2jcc]

Those animatronic animals are GREAT!


Glad you had a great time. We're going tomorrow, but staying through AFVC.

Oh, would like a report on that when you return
Never used AFVC, but might in the future for even more space.

 

[4nana]

Thx for the informative updates DMGeurts, TBDave and seebee.

They are much appreciated and sounds like everyone had a great time! Really looking forward to your photos. As we have a grand gathering of 17, have purchased 2 PP photo settings at the Poly, right before our Spirit of Aloha dinner show, so glad to hear your PP was a positive experience DMGeurts.

Can't believe after 18 mos of planning everything is falling in to place and our count down only a couple weeks away!!! We will be celebrating 5 BD's, so have some nice ADR's and surprises in store also. I'm so excited for the opportunity to make some magical memories with our family, see Disney through our sweet grands eyes and have turkey with Mickey!?!?!

 

[Maine-iac]

We got back last week from our stay at SOG. We had a great room in the new section, on the first floor. We sat out on our patio and watched a deer run around, bunnies hopping everywhere, an alligator in the pond-who would also be out sunning in the morning, and even 2 armedillos. It was easy to get to the pool, we just went out the sliding door and crossed the walkway. It was actually quicker to get to the lobby that way too. We would just use the elevator near the buffet.

The rings use to be really good beer battered, but this year they were a disappointment for me too. Also, you use to be able to order a foot and take it out to the pool area on the stick with all the yummy sauces at the base. Not anymore, I got a few onion rings in a styrofoam container with no sauce. When I asked about it they gave me honey mustard in a packet. No yummy sauces. I have always liked Evergreens, but I really wasn't impressed this time, they were REALLY slow, and the food wasn't as great as I remembered. But that's ok, we still had a wonderful time. The kids LOVED feeding the HUGE koi. They were new since our last trip. Hope all of you going down for the holidays have a great time. SOG is beautiful that time of year. Heck, all of Disney is! Man, I want to go back!

I really enjoyed the turkey club from Evergreens. You are right the rings are not what they used to be. They used to feed quite a few people.
Sorry you had to come home. We probably lost a lot of leaves while you were gone.
The one thing I love about going during April vacation is that the trees usually have leaves or buds on them when we get home. It makes it not so hard to come home knowing summer is right around the corner.

 

[LuvinBelle]

Hello everyone! I'm beginning to freak out! We have 7 days and I'm not ready yet!!

We haven't set our itinerary, checked for reservations, etc. --- I just don't know what to do! I'm in post-graduate school & have to defend my thesis on Wednesday. With that and homeschooling, I've been extremely busy! I haven't had time to post or read all of the pages since my last post.

So I'll probably have a lot of questions in this next week as we try to prepare.

#1. What do you use to carry all of your stuff around the parks? I don't want to lug a backpack or purse (if you saw how much I pack you'd understand!) This is very embarrassing, but does anyone carry a...a... fanny-pack? The thought is horrible, but I don't see any other option... We will have wallets, keys, camera, etc. It's me, DH, & DD - 9 yrs.

#2. What kind of shoes do you wear around the parks? Sandals? Tennis shoes? Heaven-forbid, Crocs?


I'm sure there's more to ask, but that's all my neurotic brain can think of at the moment My mind will be clear Wednesday night but I fear it will be too late!

Thanks!

Nikki -- pray for me please!

 

[angelmav]

Tennis shoes always work best for me, or really good sandals, but unless its a new pair of tennis' you dont want to be breaking in a new pair of shoes at disney!

on the plus side, your going before the holiday rush hits and it gets to be a madhouse, you need to make a few ADR's if your going to want any sit down meals though. I would just pick which parks you think youll want to go to in what order, then call and see whats available. Of course you can always eat at SOG without a reservation.

What are you planning on carrying around? Usually a fanny pack or extra pocket in the camera case works for us, if you buy anything in the park you can have it sent back to SOG, no need to carry it with you.

 

[Poohbeck]

#1. What do you use to carry all of your stuff around the parks? I don't want to lug a backpack or purse (if you saw how much I pack you'd understand!) This is very embarrassing, but does anyone carry a...a... fanny-pack? The thought is horrible, but I don't see any other option... We will have wallets, keys, camera, etc. It's me, DH, & DD - 9 yrs.

#2. What kind of shoes do you wear around the parks? Sandals? Tennis shoes? Heaven-forbid, Crocs?

Looks like we will be there at the same time.

I used to carry the very embarassing fannypack, but, for this trip I just purchased a Vera Bradly Mini Hipster. I have been using it the past few days for quick trips to the store and to soccer games and I LOVE IT! It will work out perfect for our trip.

http://www.verabradley.com/Site/Store/ProductDetail.aspx?Sku=10334&

As for shoes, I always wear sneakers. They don't always look stylish, but they are comfortable. I remember on our honeymoon I tried wearing stylish shoes to Epcot, well, I paid for that for a few days. I had blisters galore! So much for fashion.

I'll see you there.

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

I use tennies or comfy sandals but I have seen a lot of crocs in the parks

I used to carry the dreaded fanny pack too. Now, I carry a very small disney hobo purse that fits right over my shoulder and only hangs down an inch or so past my bra strap. It fits my phone, small camera, lipstick, cash, cards etc. It is perfect and easy to stow on rides

 

[ougrad86]

Hello everyone! I'm beginning to freak out! We have 7 days and I'm not ready yet!!

We haven't set our itinerary, checked for reservations, etc. --- I just don't know what to do! I'm in post-graduate school & have to defend my thesis on Wednesday. With that and homeschooling, I've been extremely busy! I haven't had time to post or read all of the pages since my last post.

So I'll probably have a lot of questions in this next week as we try to prepare.

#1. What do you use to carry all of your stuff around the parks? I don't want to lug a backpack or purse (if you saw how much I pack you'd understand!) This is very embarrassing, but does anyone carry a...a... fanny-pack? The thought is horrible, but I don't see any other option... We will have wallets, keys, camera, etc. It's me, DH, & DD - 9 yrs.

#2. What kind of shoes do you wear around the parks? Sandals? Tennis shoes? Heaven-forbid, Crocs?


I'm sure there's more to ask, but that's all my neurotic brain can think of at the moment My mind will be clear Wednesday night but I fear it will be too late!

Thanks!

Nikki -- pray for me please!

Good luck on Wednesday. Defending your thesis is nerve-racking. I just kept on telling myself that I had worked on it for so long I knew the subject inside out.

All three of us use the dreaded fanny pack, so each of us can carry what we need. Sure, not the most fashionable accessory, but alot of other people wore them - no one noticed us, nor we them. We are going with friends next time, maybe I should look for something a little more "chic".
We all wore sneakers. They were broken-in, but I had not worn mine for that amount of walking. The quilted bottom gave me a huge blister on the bottom of my foot. So next time I go, I will get smooth soled shoes about 6 months before I leave. I wear sneakers to work everyday now, instead of dress shoes, so I will have a chance to make sure they work all day, every day without problems!

Good luck and enjoy your trip! It'll be good to relax and goof off for awhile!