SHADES OF GREEN at Walt Disney World Resort Thread

[ecozad]

I hope I am posting this in the correct area. My question may have been answered somewhere in the 135 pages, so please forgive me if repeating, but I find it will be easier this way. It is my understanding that Shades of Green is a resort for Military and their families. My husband joined the Airforce reserves in Aug 2003 and was honorably discharged/separated in Aug. 2011. He never went active duty; never served over seas. Would he be considered eligible for this resort? TIA for any responses!

 

[capegirl]

I hope I am posting this in the correct area. My question may have been answered somewhere in the 135 pages, so please forgive me if repeating, but I find it will be easier this way. It is my understanding that Shades of Green is a resort for Military and their families. My husband joined the Airforce reserves in Aug 2003 and was honorably discharged/separated in Aug. 2011. He never went active duty; never served over seas. Would he be considered eligible for this resort? TIA for any responses!

I am certainly no expert on the subject, but the SOG website does explain eligibility. To the best of my knowledge, you have to be active or retired military, or you must have a sponsor. I believe that there are perhaps two months out of the year when they open SOG to all veterans providing they can present their discharge papers. If I am correct, the months are September and January, but you will need to verify this.
You can call the reservation line for information.

 

[ecozad]

I am certainly no expert on the subject, but the SOG website does explain eligibility. To the best of my knowledge, you have to be active or retired military, or you must have a sponsor. I believe that there are perhaps two months out of the year when they open SOG to all veterans providing they can present their discharge papers. If I am correct, the months are September and January, but you will need to verify this.
You can call the reservation line for information.

Thanks so much. I did look on their website, but it was kind of confusing. I will just give them a call. Thanks again!

 

[capegirl]

We're just back from a lovely stay at SOG. We do not get many SOG reviews on the DIS, so I thought I would share a few highlights. We stayed in the Palm Wing, that was undergoing a rehab when we were last there in 2015. They did a nice job, everything looked great with all the new carpeting in the hallways, and rooms. We had a longer stay, so we were able to relax and really enjoy the resort this time around. Do not miss the ice cream that they sell at the Starbucks location in the lobby. The ice cream is homemade, and fabulous. They also make their own waffle cones. While at this counter I heard many guests asking if they accepted Starbuck's gift cards; they do not. We really enjoyed the 'new' Evergreens. The wings were excellent, as well as the tower of onion rings, we thought the pizza was nothing special, but it was okay.
Really enjoyed the frozen Pina Colada daiquiri...I was referring to this drink as a 'vacation in a glass'. Compared to any of the frozen drinks I ordered at Disney, this was the winner.
We had one dinner at Manginos where the service was wonderful and everyone enjoyed their steaks, salads and pizza. We did the dinner buffet three times; carnival night, make your own cookie night, and Asian night. The salad bar is very good, many selections.
The food was not gormet quality, but offered a wide variety of items to choose from and everything was hot and fresh. They had a chef station where they had stir fry that you could customize, this was very good. They have a good little kids buffet, complete with a chef who helped out with the cookie/candy apple/ ice cream sundae making. This fellow went above and beyond to keep the kids entertained; kudos to him, I think his name is Robert. I have to say that compared with Disney dinner prices, the SOG buffet is a good value for families. We were not interested in the breakfast buffet, so I cannot comment. We did go to the Express Cafe on the lower level by the bus stop, and the breakfast sandwiches were very good, and they also serve fresh squeezed orange juice. I tried a blueberry muffin one morning and it was dry, the muffins upstairs at Starbucks were better, as was the coffee.
Both pools were very nice. We had lunch one day at the little shack on the golf course by the quieter Magnolia pool. They have a small patio, with tables, and ceiling fans, so it was a cute little lunch spot. We enjoyed burgers, and tuna sandwiches. The Mill Pond/Mickey pool was super busy at night. Life guards were very attentive, and kept everything under control. Bell services was great. I had checked out the transportation situation the day before because we had a PPO breakfast at BOG at 8am the following day. I discovered that the monorail at the Poly and was not running until 8:30 that day, and neither was the ferry. They got us a taxi to the Contemporary, and we just walked over to MK. Apparently the monorail is undergoing a rehab, and the hours change daily, so this is something to consider if you need to be somewhere on time. We took the SOG bus to DS, DHS, and AK, with no issues, bus drivers were friendly and helpful. One note about the busses; they now do a 100% ID check, and they also ask for the SOG ID card that you are given at check in.
We had a great trip, and we thouroughly enjoyed our stay at SOG. For Disney property, the value and location can't be beat.

 

[DMGeurts]

We're just back from a lovely stay at SOG. We do not get many SOG reviews on the DIS, so I thought I would share a few highlights. We stayed in the Palm Wing, that was undergoing a rehab when we were last there in 2015. They did a nice job, everything looked great with all the new carpeting in the hallways, and rooms. We had a longer stay, so we were able to relax and really enjoy the resort this time around. Do not miss the ice cream that they sell at the Starbucks location in the lobby. The ice cream is homemade, and fabulous. They also make their own waffle cones. While at this counter I heard many guests asking if they accepted Starbuck's gift cards; they do not. We really enjoyed the 'new' Evergreens. The wings were excellent, as well as the tower of onion rings, we thought the pizza was nothing special, but it was okay.
Really enjoyed the frozen Pina Colada daiquiri...I was referring to this drink as a 'vacation in a glass'. Compared to any of the frozen drinks I ordered at Disney, this was the winner.
We had one dinner at Manginos where the service was wonderful and everyone enjoyed their steaks, salads and pizza. We did the dinner buffet three times; carnival night, make your own cookie night, and Asian night. The salad bar is very good, many selections.
The food was not gormet quality, but offered a wide variety of items to choose from and everything was hot and fresh. They had a chef station where they had stir fry that you could customize, this was very good. They have a good little kids buffet, complete with a chef who helped out with the cookie/candy apple/ ice cream sundae making. This fellow went above and beyond to keep the kids entertained; kudos to him, I think his name is Robert. I have to say that compared with Disney dinner prices, the SOG buffet is a good value for families. We were not interested in the breakfast buffet, so I cannot comment. We did go to the Express Cafe on the lower level by the bus stop, and the breakfast sandwiches were very good, and they also serve fresh squeezed orange juice. I tried a blueberry muffin one morning and it was dry, the muffins upstairs at Starbucks were better, as was the coffee.
Both pools were very nice. We had lunch one day at the little shack on the golf course by the quieter Magnolia pool. They have a small patio, with tables, and ceiling fans, so it was a cute little lunch spot. We enjoyed burgers, and tuna sandwiches. The Mill Pond/Mickey pool was super busy at night. Life guards were very attentive, and kept everything under control. Bell services was great. I had checked out the transportation situation the day before because we had a PPO breakfast at BOG at 8am the following day. I discovered that the monorail at the Poly and was not running until 8:30 that day, and neither was the ferry. They got us a taxi to the Contemporary, and we just walked over to MK. Apparently the monorail is undergoing a rehab, and the hours change daily, so this is something to consider if you need to be somewhere on time. We took the SOG bus to DS, DHS, and AK, with no issues, bus drivers were friendly and helpful. One note about the busses; they now do a 100% ID check, and they also ask for the SOG ID card that you are given at check in.
We had a great trip, and we thouroughly enjoyed our stay at SOG. For Disney property, the value and location can't be beat.

Excellent review... thanks so much for telling us about your stay... and the food... I'll be trying that daiquiri.

Looking so forward to going back in October... there is nothing on WDW property that compares to the value, comfort or location of SoG... a true gem!

D~

 

[DMGeurts]

Question... I've never ordered tickets from SoG before... When you order tickets in advance through their ordering form... How long does it take for them to email you your ticket numbers for FPs? They called me to confirm on Wednesday - and it cleared my bank account the same day... I would have thought I would have the email by now?

D~

 

[capegirl]

Question... I've never ordered tickets from SoG before... When you order tickets in advance through their ordering form... How long does it take for them to email you your ticket numbers for FPs? They called me to confirm on Wednesday - and it cleared my bank account the same day... I would have thought I would have the email by now?

D~

Their turn around time is usually pretty quick, but this could vary. I'm thinking you may get the email by Monday. If nothing shows up by then, I would definitely give them a call...leave a message and they will get back to you.

 

[daltonm01]

Going to Disney October 29 - November 2 and I am staying at SOG. This will be my first time ever going to Disney so I am just looking for some help with things like planning, magic bands and SOG in general

 

[capegirl]

Going to Disney October 29 - November 2 and I am staying at SOG. This will be my first time ever going to Disney so I am just looking for some help with things like planning, magic bands and SOG in general

The first thing to do would be to check out park hours and cowd calendars for the time you will be there. Josh over on easywdw
is a very helpful and reliable source; take a look at one of his crowd calendars and use it as a guide. Josh is always spot on with his reccomended park days. Once you have an idea of where you will be on each day, you can make ADRs for Disney restaurants. You can purchase your tickets through SOG... 45 days prior to your stay they will send you an email with instructions. Once they receive payment they will email the ticket numbers, and you will pick up the actual activated tickets when you check in. You may also have the actual tickets mailed to your home, but they do charge to ship. If you have not done so, you will need to create a MDE ( my Disney experience) account so you can link your ticket numbers and make your FP+ reservations at the 30 day mark. Downloading the MDE app to your phone will also be very helpful when you are actually in the parks. When making FP+ reservations, you will need to consider any ADRs in place so there will not be a conflict, this is when you may need to make some tweaks to your schedule. You do not need magic bands when staying at SOG, the actual tickets work just as well. However the MBs are very convenient at the turnstiles, and for FP+ in the parks, and the MBs are pool friendly...IMO it is worth the cost. Basic MBs are not very expensive. Our MBs are two years old and they are still going. You can purchase MBs online from the Disney store prior to your trip, and link them in MDE, or you can purchase them at Disney
Springs, or in the parks when you arrive and they will link the bands for you... very easy.
There is an abundance of information to sort through on these boards. Check out the theme park attractions /strategies thread, if you have any questions everyone is very helpful. I am not an extreme Disney planner, but it is very helpful to have a flexible schedule in place to use as a guide; you can always make changes along the way. A Disney vacation can be a little overwhelming, and it is impossible to do it all, so a little planning goes a long way.
Best wishes to you for a happy vacation.

 

[tkbk]

Question about the water in the afes store. I was at SOG last February and having a little debate about the water sold in The store there. I thought it was only by the individual bottle and that hey didn't have an entire flat of water available at a reduced price. Having a debate here about if I should order a flat of water from garden grocer.

 

[capegirl]

Question about the water in the afes store. I was at SOG last February and having a little debate about the water sold in The store there. I thought it was only by the individual bottle and that hey didn't have an entire flat of water available at a reduced price. Having a debate here about if I should order a flat of water from garden grocer.

If my memory is correct, I do not recall seeing any cases of water at the afes store. We had a car, so we picked up two cases of water at the Speedway gas station by the Disney car care center on our way in.

 

[crysmc]

Does anyone happen to know the turnaround time between ordering a brick and it being ready? We're only 6 weeks out so I don't know if it's too late to order and be able to see it when we visit. The order form has an email address but I haven't heard back yet so I thought maybe someone here would have an idea.

 

[LG2]

Thanks so much. I did look on their website, but it was kind of confusing. I will just give them a call. Thanks again!

You may already have your answer, but here's some info: http://www.shadesofgreen.org/Veterans_Special15.pdf

 

[butternut]

Can you purchase Magic Bands and use them if you are staying at S/D ?

 

[crysmc]

Can you purchase Magic Bands and use them if you are staying at S/D ?

Yes! They will not work as a room key or room charge but you can still use them for entrance into the parks and fast passes.

 

[totallytigger]

I'm packing and I'm very picky about coffee so my own is coming with me. What type of coffee maker is in the room?

I haven't seen a reply to your question & I'm wondering the same thing. I know they sell Starbucks--but that can add up over the course of our upcoming 10 day stay at SOG. I'd rather bring coffee & disposable to-go cups for my am coffee fix. Anyone have an answer? Thanks

 

[capegirl]

I haven't seen a reply to your question & I'm wondering the same thing. I know they sell Starbucks--but that can add up over the course of our upcoming 10 day stay at SOG. I'd rather bring coffee & disposable to-go cups for my am coffee fix. Anyone have an answer? Thanks

We did not use the coffee maker, we indulged in Starbucks, but I did notice that the one in our room took pods, not k cups.

 

[CaleCakes]

How is the SoG transportation to other area theme parks, like Universal? I would assume it's a shuttle bus. Would they allow the car seat for my 1 year old or would he just sit on my lap?

 

[capegirl]

How is the SoG transportation to other area theme parks, like Universal? I would assume it's a shuttle bus. Would they allow the car seat for my 1 year old or would he just sit on my lap?

There is a shuttle to Universal, it is $10 round trip for adults, and you would need to reserve 24 hrs in advance. Not sure about the car seat.

 

[mog]

Has anyone had a Shades of Green room with a stand up shower? We've been going there for years and only ever had a tub/shower. I made reservations for February recently and all that was left was a room with a stand up shower. Is it the same as the other rooms? Is the bathroom the same, where the shower is in a separate room from the sinks? Does the vanity have double sinks like the others? I'm wondering because now I'm making reservations for next summer and wondering if we might prefer this over the tub since I don't have young kids that need baths - but with 5 of us we would still want the separate shower room and 2 sinks! Thanks!