Shades of Green or Caribbean Beach?

[michellejed]

We have always stayed at CBR and love it! This year we have an option of staying at Shades of Green with free breakfast and diner each day.

The CBR package would include free dining and ME.

Shades of Green is free B and D. I know we would eat dinner at other places and miss the free one here and there.

The 2 packages are about the same price considering out of pocket expenses for both and price is not the factor.

So for those of you who have stayed at Shades of Green, what would you pick?

 

[hawkeyesparks]

If I could stay @ Shades of Green I would. It's closer to MK, and because the hotel itself is smaller you'll like the transportation

 

[Lynne G]

I've never stayed at CBR, but I've stayed at SOG and Pop. Both have the plus and minus to them.

For room, the rooms at SOG are much bidder than any I have seen - standard onsite ones.

If you do SOG, there's no free shuttles to the airport or from. Must add the cost of a rental or car service for the airport to/from.

If you are going to spend alot of time at MK or Epcot, I'd stay at SOG.

If you want to eat at the parks most of the time, I'd choose CBR. Though I think all park food is ok, the food at SOG can be not the best. I've never eaten another other than breakfast and snacks at SOG. Never dinner.

I don't think you can go wrong with either. What's important to you, no driving? Stay at Disney What parks most interest you? MK and the monorail to Epcot, stay at SOG. (I will say the bus from SOG is as good as Disney ones. Though they are much more on schedule than Disney, which may call one for you if they see people are waiting.) How do you eat? Does the DDP meet your needs? Then Disney. If you don't do many table meals, like appetizers and not dessert with meals, then SOG may be a better fit.

Have a great vacation! We have done both, when we see a decent military or other discount, we stay at Disney. Otherwise, we like SOG for the large rooms and very close location to MK, and the monorail.

 

[michellejed]

Thank you for the replies!
My head says try something new but my heart says stick with what you know!!

I don't think the buses will be an issue and I did factor in a town car for the airport. The walk to the Poly looked a bit long for me but will see. I also added in meals away from SG.

I have a bit of time to figure it all out but thanks again for the info!

 

[ilovedisneyworld]

I didnt care for SoG. It wasn't very disneyish to me but could just be me.

 

[kirrrby]

I love SOG. The transportation is reliable, with a set schedule maybe a few minutes late or so. At least you know when the buses are going to come and go. The walk is a half a mile to Poly, if it is that big of a deal they have the shady shuttle which takes you down to the crosswalk near the pathway to the Poly. Shades of Green makes me think of Wilderness lodge with the interior decoration, the rooms are gigantic but they are plain. The breakfast is okay at SOG, we ate there once and it was your class american breakfast.

CBR is huge. You have several stops on the buses, which you'd have to factor in your travel time to and from parks.

 

[travelitis]

We've stayed at SOG several times. We're going back in 2 days, in fact.

The Cons: The transportation to the parks leaves much to be desired. They run fewer buses, so we usually take the 5 min walk (it is just across the street) to the Poly which is also next to the TTC. We could grab the monorail at the Poly or head to the TTC for the Epcot monorail. Now, if you pay attention to the bus schedule, you time it right to avoid waiting so long for a bus. We aren't so organized.

Not heavy on Disney theme

The Pros: The rooms at SOG are the size of deluxe resorts, and it's a nice, quiet atmosphere.

Teens have a media lounge that is free and supplied with game systems and comfortable furnishings.

We have found the pools to be less crowded that other Disney resorts.

Covered parking, if you rent a car or drive

Given the choice between CBR and SOG, if the costs were the same, and it was only the 2 of us, we'd stay at CBR. If our teens were going, we'd be more comfortable in the room at SOG. CBR would be nice for 2 or 3, but my family would feel crowded with 4 in there. We've had 5 at SOG comfortably. There's the difference for us. It's theme vs size. SOG wins for size/comfort and CBR for theme.

 

[capegirl]

Personally, I consider SOG the best of both worlds because of location, room size, bathroom size, prices, and the fact that when I tire of all the high energy Disney activities I can return to the the land of peace and quite at Shades. Granted, the SOG bus service is very different, but once you get a handle on the schedule you will not have a problem. We actually enjoyed the walk to the Poly to catch the monorail, and we also hitched a ride on the Shady Shuttle. It was fun to go over to the beach at the Poly at night to watch the fireworks, and the electrical water pageant. SOG does not have the Disney theming that you would find at CRB, so I understand why some people would be disappointed. There is a big Mickey pool, and a large Mickey statue in the lobby, and that's about it; no Disney touches like towel animals and such. They are replacing their quiet pool with a zero entry pool, which is now under construction, along with the hot tub.
The biggest negative at SOG is the food. Though you indicated the cost may be about the same, SOG free dinning cannot hold a candle to free dinning at Disney. So if you enjoy your Disney meals, you may not be entirely happy with SOG. We are not big eaters, so we've never done the dinning plan at Disney, we always pay OOP. We stayed at CRB when the children were very young, and they really enjoyed the pool area. I thought it was a very pretty resort, but I was not a big fan of the bathroom sink arrangement.
We made the decision not to go with SOG this year because DH has to have his hot tub time on vacation. As soon as he found out it might be closed due to construction when we were going in July, it was over for him. So now we're booked at CSR where I'm sure he'll enjoy the giant hot tub over there in the 'Southwest' corner of the Kingdom.
Don't decisions drive you crazy?

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Just to let you know, there are no sidewalks to walk from SOG to Poly and Disney does not allow walking in the roadway.

 

[mapmakerj]

There is a walking path that runs parallel to the SOG driveway. When you reach the main road there is a painted crosswalk that leads to across the road to a walkway on Poly property. No need to walk down any road to reach the Poly. We used it a couple weeks ago. You can see the route on Google earth.

 

[kidsrfun]

As others have stated, it depends on what you want for this particular trip. Sometimes we want the DDP and Disney theming. So on those vacations we pick a Disney resort. ( We are planning to stay at the pop in feb) Other times we want a Disney vacation where we have busy days at the parks, but a more relaxing resort (our plan for our August trip). So for those trips SOG is amazing! Next july we are going on a big family trip after our daughters wedding (meeting the happy couple to share the second half of their honeymoon) and since we want to share lots of sit down meals as a large group, we decided to stay at a disney resort and get the dining plan.

The SOG pros are the larger rooms, quieter setting, larger bathroom, fits 5 people in a regular room. The bus system can be either a pro or con. If you can time your day accordingly, then SOG busses are awesome! If you can't, and walking to and from the Poly isn't an option, then disney's bus system might suit you better. The pros to staying at a Disney resort are the theming, DME, DDP, more busses to and from the parks. And depending on what resort, the food may be better than SOG. I love the breakfast buffet at shades. Perfect to start the morning in our opinion. But other than that the food at Shades is hit or miss.

I think that no matter what you pick, you'll have a great time!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[wdwrich]

Just to let you know, there are no sidewalks to walk from SOG to Poly and Disney does not allow walking in the roadway.

Actually there is a walking path as a PP mentioned. We have walked it many times as have multitudes of other folks. They even have a shuttle that makes the run to the end of SOG property where there is a crosswalk to the Poly.

Another advantage to SOG is that SOG has queen beds versus the full size beds at CBR.

 

[Mrsjvb]

We have always stayed at CBR and love it! This year we have an option of staying at Shades of Green with free breakfast and diner each day.

The CBR package would include free dining and ME.

Shades of Green is free B and D. I know we would eat dinner at other places and miss the free one here and there.

The 2 packages are about the same price considering out of pocket expenses for both and price is not the factor.

So for those of you who have stayed at Shades of Green, what would you pick?

the food options at SoG are not all that great. the buffet is marginal at best( after all it is RUN by the Army MWR) the bus schedule is once an hour, not once every 20 minutes. with Evergreen's closed there is no where to enjoy a late night beverage

what is does have going for it is really nice rooms, a quiet retreat and proximity to Poly( monorail)

Much as I love SoG for some things, I'd stay on site on site whenever I can

 

[Mrsjvb]

Just to let you know, there are no sidewalks to walk from SOG to Poly and Disney does not allow walking in the roadway.

uh yes there is. it's very nice, if occasionally blocked by a gator...

while the highway to cross is very wide, there is an island between directions to make it less dangerous.

 

[michellejed]

Again thank you all for your advice and info!
This trip will be 3 adults and one is a 1st timer. We all love to eat and will be going during F&W so I am not sure we will get the best use out of the free dining.
My daughters favorite park is Epcot so I imagine we will be tasting some great foods.
Another concern I had was at SoG I don't think you have a card for your room and charging. I didn't want to carry cash and credit cards and have to tote around any thing I purchase.
I am a tired old lady at night coming back from a park so will have to really think about the Poly/bus thing.
I am probably making this harder then it needs to be

Still time to think on it!
Thank you!