SHADES OF GREEN at Walt Disney World Resort Thread

[Disney Khi]

My understanding is that only alcohol and tobacco are restricted at the SOG store. He should be able to buy everything else.

Thanks so much! We are very excited for our stay, and I want to make sure I understand all the policies before we get there.

 

[Cindylieu]

Thanks so much! We are very excited for our stay, and I want to make sure I understand all the policies before we get there.

I have not been not yet, but the website indicates that only those two things are restricted. I’ll find out for myself when we go in June.

 

[Disney Khi]

I have not been not yet, but the website indicates that only those two things are restricted. I’ll find out for myself when we go in June.

Thank you. I guess I missed that part of the website! I would appreciate it if you could let me know if there are other restrictions.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[jeff_h]

This is nuts! To make it even more confusing my reservation was showing on the app but not on the website! Oh this is going to be annoying if it keeps happening!

Yesterday after noticing that the SOG reservation was not showing on the MDE web site, I checked the mobile app and it was still there - but clicking on the reservation to get the details gave an error. So if you still see your reservation on the mobile app it may be a zombie (for lack of better term) that doesn't have any real details behind it, as mine did.

 

[marauder]

We are staying at SOG for the first time this year. DH is a civilian DOD employee. I was wondering if we would be able to buy things at the gift shop at SOG. He is not able to shop at the stores on military bases, but I didn’t know if it was the same at SOG.

I have stayed at SOG three times and my father is a now retired DOD employee. Of the three times we stayed there 2 times was before he retired and the third was after. The only restrictions we had were in buying the alcohol in the gift shop (never tried tobacco since none of us smoke.) They also have a place to buy park tickets to all the area parks, some (but not all) of them are restricted where DOD employees can’t get them.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

Question for those who have stayed before... DH and I both use ECVs at Disney. I understand that the buses only start running half an hour prior to park opening, so that means PPO breakfast at HS and AK are not possible for us. We can live with that. However, when they say the buses leave then, is it only 1 bus going to each park in the morning? At Disney resorts, if there are more than 2 ECVs, I know they’ll call an extra bus, but we are worried about having that issue at SOG and having to wait an extra hour.

 

[capegirl]

For those with mid/late August reservations. SOG is offering a room discount for August 11-13, 18-31. I called this morning and they applied the discount for our eligible days!

 

[Cindylieu]

Question for those who have stayed before... DH and I both use ECVs at Disney. I understand that the buses only start running half an hour prior to park opening, so that means PPO breakfast at HS and AK are not possible for us. We can live with that. However, when they say the buses leave then, is it only 1 bus going to each park in the morning? At Disney resorts, if there are more than 2 ECVs, I know they’ll call an extra bus, but we are worried about having that issue at SOG and having to wait an extra hour.

You can also stroll over to the Polynesian and catch the monorail, bus, or boat. They run much earlier than the SOG buses.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

You can also stroll over to the Polynesian and catch the monorail, bus, or boat. They run much earlier than the SOG buses.

Ah, yes I forgot about taking the Poly buses... We do plan on using the monorail at the Poly for MK and maybe Epcot, although I think I read somewhere about walking to the TTC instead? Is that also a close walk?

 

[Sarahraegraham]

I wanted to add a post here about the Military Star Card in case anyone might find it useful. I've seen some places online say you can use it at SOG for your room and others say that no, you can only use it at the Exchange. I've confirmed by phone direct to the resort twice now that you CAN use the Mil Star card to pay your room balance with. This is very convenient for us personally, so I wanted to make others aware as well

 

[Cindylieu]

Ah, yes I forgot about taking the Poly buses... We do plan on using the monorail at the Poly for MK and maybe Epcot, although I think I read somewhere about walking to the TTC instead? Is that also a close walk?

I am told that the walk to the TTC is only about 5 minutes more along the path past the Poly.
Again, I have not been, so everything I say is information I have gleaned from the interwebs.

 

[marauder]

I am told that the walk to the TTC is only about 5 minutes more along the path past the Poly.
Again, I have not been, so everything I say is information I have gleaned from the interwebs.

Haven’t tried it from SOG, but have walked to TTC from just Poly when I stayed at Poly, but the walk is a little more then 5 minutes from SOG. SOG is on the far West side of the Poly, TTC is on the far East side. Also since the earlier poster is using ECV they would have to stick to ECV friendly sidewalks. Also, don’t forget that the Disney buses that go to HS and AK leave from the MK, not TTC. Other then going directly to Epcot or maybe catching a bus to Orlando, there is no advantage to walking to TTC. If you miss SOG busses it is probably easier just catching the busses and/or monorail at Poly. Not to mention the TTC from SOG leaves every 20 minutes.

 

[Sarahraegraham]

Heads up for anyone who is looking to book a special tour soon, I am trying to book the Return to Sleepy Hollow event within my 180+10 days, and they are having difficulty because the reservation in MDE is showing the SOG confirmation number and not the converted 8-digit number that Disney uses. They were able to find that number after several minutes for me, but now when trying to actually book it and pay, they are having difficulties pushing it through. So I was transferred to a different representative who then further escalated it to management, and she was told that although the policy for SOG has changed to allowed for booking dining at 180+10, any special events or tours can still only be booked at exactly 180 days. Which is ridiculous but whatever I guess. It just doesn't feel right.

 

[livbeatles]

Question for those who have stayed before... DH and I both use ECVs at Disney. I understand that the buses only start running half an hour prior to park opening, so that means PPO breakfast at HS and AK are not possible for us. We can live with that. However, when they say the buses leave then, is it only 1 bus going to each park in the morning? At Disney resorts, if there are more than 2 ECVs, I know they’ll call an extra bus, but we are worried about having that issue at SOG and having to wait an extra hour.

In our three stays we've only aimed for a park opening bus once (yes, my dad is slow in the mornings...) but on our last trip my brother and I went to HS for morning EMH, and Shades of Green ended up running two buses to that park because of the numbers.

 

[firstwdw]

Just recently back from our 2nd stay at Shades. LOVED IT! Every staff member we encountered was polite, friendly and helpful. The buses were clean, on time, not crowded and wonderful as always. Our room was also clean and lovely, comfy beds, tons of space, nice balcony with pretty view. We saw a small gator, deer, turkeys, and a peacock, baby duckings with their Mama. We saw several brides as well. The other guests were respectful and friendly on the buses, in resort hallways and at the pool areas. Awesome pools with plenty for the kids to do. We didn't eat at Shades so I can't comment on the food offerings. Overall, a wonderful stay. Not sure we will ever stay at a Disney owned property again.

They have started renovations on the rooms near the pool. An entire wing's first floor was gutted and under renovation. The wing between the kids splash area and the courtyard gazebo area.

 

[jeff_h]

Just recently back from our 2nd stay at Shades. LOVED IT! Every staff member we encountered was polite, friendly and helpful. The buses were clean, on time, not crowded and wonderful as always. Our room was also clean and lovely, comfy beds, tons of space, nice balcony with pretty view. We saw a small gator, deer, turkeys, and a peacock, baby duckings with their Mama. We saw several brides as well. The other guests were respectful and friendly on the buses, in resort hallways and at the pool areas. Awesome pools with plenty for the kids to do. We didn't eat at Shades so I can't comment on the food offerings. Overall, a wonderful stay. Not sure we will ever stay at a Disney owned property again.

They have started renovations on the rooms near the pool. An entire wing's first floor was gutted and under renovation. The wing between the kids splash area and the courtyard gazebo area.

Thanks for the review and I agree with all of that - we stayed on Magnolia Wing (Palm is the one near parking garage) first floor in Nov 2016 and I think it was almost the scheduled renovation time as I think it was originally going to be sometime in 2017 and then IIRC from much earlier in this thread that was delayed, glad to see someone report that renovations are underway, thanks.

 

[capegirl]

Ah, yes I forgot about taking the Poly buses... We do plan on using the monorail at the Poly for MK and maybe Epcot, although I think I read somewhere about walking to the TTC instead? Is that also a close walk?

The walk from SOG to the TTC is a bit of a hike. It takes about 15 minutes or so to walk over to the Poly, and at least another 10 minutes to TTC depending on how fast you walk. If you plan on taking a bus from the Poly be sure to arrive at the bus stop early, especially if it's an EMH day.

 

[Disney Khi]

I have stayed at SOG three times and my father is a now retired DOD employee. Of the three times we stayed there 2 times was before he retired and the third was after. The only restrictions we had were in buying the alcohol in the gift shop (never tried tobacco since none of us smoke.) They also have a place to buy park tickets to all the area parks, some (but not all) of them are restricted where DOD employees can’t get them.

Thanks!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Thanks so much! We are very excited for our stay, and I want to make sure I understand all the policies before we get there.

I have not been not yet, but the website indicates that only those two things are restricted. I’ll find out for myself when we go in June.

We had non DOD guests staying with us in March. As resort guests, they could purchase anything but alcohol and tobacco.

I am told that the walk to the TTC is only about 5 minutes more along the path past the Poly.
Again, I have not been, so everything I say is information I have gleaned from the interwebs.

We went over to the poly to try to get to Epcot earlier on our first morning. We took the friendly shuttle for a couple of us and then once we got to the Poly the monorail wasn't running yet. We took a very long and convoluted path over to TTC. I don't know if it was the construction or what but It seemed like it took forever to get over there and then the monorail was not running yet. We had to go through security to get on the monorail, and then still had to join a very long security line once we got to Epcot. It was a mess! After that, we just took our chances with the SOG bus and did just fine, getting to the park early enough for RD and got on our first rides right on schedule.

 

[Nomad70]

We are staying at SOG for the first time this year. DH is a civilian DOD employee. I was wondering if we would be able to buy things at the gift shop at SOG. He is not able to shop at the stores on military bases, but I didn’t know if it was the same at SOG.

Typically non-military will only be able to purchase food and non-alcoholic drinks. This is the case on military installations (though there are exceptions to the rule, i.e. remote areas with government and contracting employees living on post/base). They may or may not allow you to purchase souvenirs.