SHADES OF GREEN at Walt Disney World Resort Thread

[BigBlueWho]

Yes, I’m sure if you call they can tell you what time the buses start running.

Thank you!

 

[Leigh L]

Good news we've been waiting for! Shades of Green posted on FB it'll be included with Early Entry

Thank you @Future_WorldPhonencian for your post in the news thread!

 

[capegirl]

Great news popped up in my Twitter feed today. According to one of the Disney bloggers, SOG will be eligible for early entry!!! I will have to verify, but it sure sounds good.

ETA..
From SOG Facebook page...'It's official, Shades of Green will be participating in Disney's Early Theme Park Entry program when it begins on October 1st!'

 

[katyringo]

Did you guys see that shades is ALSO included in the evenings hours too?!?! I switched back to shades!

 

[Leigh L]

Did you guys see that shades is ALSO included in the evenings hours too?!?! I switched back to shades!

Thanks for posting!! I had looked earlier today after I read about S&D but didn't see anything about SOG.
Glad you were able to switch back (lots of sold-out days the next several months!)

 

[LvnDsny]

Not sure if anyone else has shared this, but just saw this on the SOG website:

Enjoy More Time in the Parks
Shades of Green is proud to announce that we are part of the Early Theme Park Entry & Extended Evening Theme Park Hours Programs! Starting October 1st, guests will be able to enjoy more fun with a 30-minute early entry to any Walt Disney World theme park, every day. Guests will also be able to enjoy extended evening hours on select dates.

 

[LvnDsny]

Did you guys see that shades is ALSO included in the evenings hours too?!?! I switched back to shades!

Guess I should have scrolled up

 

[livbeatles]

I had only seen the morning announcement, not that SOG would be included in the evening extended entry. Woohoo!

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Not sure if anyone else has shared this, but just saw this on the SOG website:

Enjoy More Time in the Parks
Shades of Green is proud to announce that we are part of the Early Theme Park Entry & Extended Evening Theme Park Hours Programs! Starting October 1st, guests will be able to enjoy more fun with a 30-minute early entry to any Walt Disney World theme park, every day. Guests will also be able to enjoy extended evening hours on select dates.

Well, I guess that clarified my SoG v. Pop Century decision. Love evening hours! SoG here we come! Skyliner to Epcot will have to wait until another trip.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Has anyone done a RunDisney event? If so, how did you get to the run?

I have driven and also have taken Poly bus (this was 2011 Princess run and I don't think Shades had their own run transit back then).

 

[bdcp]

Anyone waitlisted recently? We made reservations last Dec for our Dec trip (mid month) and our oldest son and DIL said yes, so we made two room reservations. Youngest son and DIL said no as she didn't want to go. She hates crowds but loves Star Wars in particular. I think this past weekend we finally wore her down lol and now at least DS plans to come with us and prob DIL also. As I've told her if she wants to hang at the resort it's quiet and peaceful so that may have swayed her. DH was able to get the first night reservation, but the other 4 nights are waitlisted. I wish we'd gone with our gut and booked three to begin with. We were wait listed years ago and got a room a couple of months out, but no idea how probable it is now. We've stayed at SOG 7 times since 1998 but we always book months out-usually a year.

 

[Leigh L]

Anyone waitlisted recently? We made reservations last Dec for our Dec trip (mid month) and our oldest son and DIL said yes, so we made two room reservations. Youngest son and DIL said no as she didn't want to go. She hates crowds but loves Star Wars in particular. I think this past weekend we finally wore her down lol and now at least DS plans to come with us and prob DIL also. As I've told her if she wants to hang at the resort it's quiet and peaceful so that may have swayed her. DH was able to get the first night reservation, but the other 4 nights are waitlisted. I wish we'd gone with our gut and booked three to begin with. We were wait listed years ago and got a room a couple of months out, but no idea how probable it is now. We've stayed at SOG 7 times since 1998 but we always book months out-usually a year.

I haven't but I scored reservations in the spring (April?) for two rooms for June by repeatedly checking (I didn't think about asking about waitlisting at the time) and I booked each room as I found an available one. I suspect SOG isn't opened to full capacity yet, so it's possible more inventory may suddenly open up. When we were there for 4 nights in June, it was not nearly as busy as it normally is, but rooms were sold out and they were still practicing some level of social distancing.

We frequently book SOG on fairly short notice (sometimes a few months, other times days - unless it's something like Christmas week - that we book a year out), so I think it's very likely you'll get those nights. This year is weird though and their calendar looks more booked than what I'm used to seeing. I'm wondering if it's a combination of limited capacity and so many wanting to use leave they couldn't use last year?

 

[bdcp]

I haven't but I scored reservations in the spring (April?) for two rooms for June by repeatedly checking (I didn't think about asking about waitlisting at the time) and I booked each room as I found an available one. I suspect SOG isn't opened to full capacity yet, so it's possible more inventory may suddenly open up. When we were there for 4 nights in June, it was not nearly as busy as it normally is, but rooms were sold out and they were still practicing some level of social distancing.

We frequently book SOG on fairly short notice (sometimes a few months, other times days - unless it's something like Christmas week - that we book a year out), so I think it's very likely you'll get those nights. This year is weird though and their calendar looks more booked than what I'm used to seeing. I'm wondering if it's a combination of limited capacity and so many wanting to use leave they couldn't use last year?

I think it's a combo of things opening up and the 50th anniversary.

 

[Leigh L]

I think it's a combo of things opening up and the 50th anniversary.

That's true, I wasn't even thinking about the 50th!

 

[BigBlueWho]

Just back; our 10 day trip turned into a 2 day trip due to a family emergency. We are trying to do a quick rebound trip in mid-August. Shades has 3
of the needed 8; I will call tomorrow for standby.
Any luck recently with such a short turnaround? Any non-WDW owned area hotels you folks recommend?
(The most comparable resort is Coronado, and it’s almost double.)

 

[BigBlueWho]

Update to my own post: SoG had nothing initially, so we booked at Coronado. Slowly, but surely, the SoG dates opened up for mid-August. I only hope that we get the same room, only because I've already cleared the clog in the drain!

 

[capegirl]

Just returned from our stay at SOG, and I wanted to pass on some random observations for those going soon. Things are changing rapidly, so what I experienced may not be the case by the time you arrive. I didn't think the resort was operating at full capacity, but compared to our past summer stays it seemed to be super busy. Parking garage was packed, pools were crowded, there were a couple of weddings, and some sort of big conference during our stay. Our room was on the 5th floor, Palm Wing. I called housekeeping when we arrived, and asked them for whatever services they could provide. I have to say housekeeping was outstanding for the entire length of our stay, so that was an unexpected surprise. The Palm Wing however is starting to look a little worn around the edges. Our room was very clean, but maintenance was lacking most likely due to understaffing. There was a broken outlet cover, and the plugs were exposed. The magnifying mirror in the bathroom was falling off the wall, and the bathroom tiles could use an update. One of the elevators was acting crazy, doors wouldn't close, one morning we had to take the stairs. These were just minor annoyances and certainly did not affect our stay. Since SOG transportation gets a late start, we used Disney transportation at the Poly to get to the parks. The Poly monorail was still not running but they did have a lot of MK busses, so this was a plus. For those going to DHS, be at the Poly bus stop by 7:30 am as the first bus arrives between 7:40-7:45, and the bus fills up very fast. The DHS crowds are pretty bad at RD, so brace yourself. We were able to get a ROTR boarding pass twice from our SOG balcony where we had a decent signal. The EPCOT monorail is running, but we discovered the SOG bus was still doing EPCOT runs. I mention this because during our stay EPCOT did not have it's own designated bus, the bus also stops at Disney Springs. This does not work well at night when many people are leaving Disney Springs, and EPCOT. The bus was terribly packed when we got on at the Disney Springs stop, so when we arrived at EPCOT only two people were able to squeeze on, the rest had to wait for the next bus. The SOG bus driver who works this shift should be commended for his patience and great attitude, he was wonderful. If this bus sharing continues, I recommend you either drive or UBER to DS, and if you are leaving EPCOT at night take the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket center, and get the SOG bus back to the resort.

 

[JenLT]

I'm looking for some information on Shades of Green and also on the family suite. Has anyone stayed there lately (I see that it was updated and has queen beds instead of pull out couches). Does it still have a table? Do you know if they have family suites on the first floor or the room locations of the suites?
Everyone keeps saying how quiet the resort is. Are they family friendly? I'll be coming with 3 kids and they are not always quiet especially when playing in the pool or on the way to the parks.
Thanks!

 

[BigBlueWho]

I'm looking for some information on Shades of Green and also on the family suite. Has anyone stayed there lately (I see that it was updated and has queen beds instead of pull out couches). Does it still have a table? Do you know if they have family suites on the first floor or the room locations of the suites?
Everyone keeps saying how quiet the resort is. Are they family friendly? I'll be coming with 3 kids and they are not always quiet especially when playing in the pool or on the way to the parks.
Thanks!

No info on the suite, but the resort is family friendly.

 

[btuftee]

I'm looking for some information on Shades of Green and also on the family suite. Has anyone stayed there lately (I see that it was updated and has queen beds instead of pull out couches). Does it still have a table? Do you know if they have family suites on the first floor or the room locations of the suites?
Everyone keeps saying how quiet the resort is. Are they family friendly? I'll be coming with 3 kids and they are not always quiet especially when playing in the pool or on the way to the parks.
Thanks!

It's a quiet resort, but it's still full of families and kids on vacation, so I don't think you'll have any problems there. It is Disney World after all! I guess if it makes sense, the resort doesn't feel as "rowdy", not sure if that's some aspect of the military environment or if it's just more spread out?