Shades of Green vs. vacation house rental--Pros/cons???

[edwardsmt]

My family & I including myself, DH, DS (8), DD (4), two sets of their grandparents, and my sister are going in late Jan. We are currently booked at SOG, but have found a phenomenal deal on a vacation house in Indian Creek that will save us all $$$. I was ready to book the house, but when I checked in with my in-laws who just got back into town, they would rather stay on-site, but told us to go ahead and do what was best for us and they would make their own arrangments.

It means less savings, but still a savings none the less, plus more room. Having never been to WDW, however, I'm not sure about the trade off with conveniences, so I would like to hear the pros/cons from those of you have may have done both. What you like/disliked about each and which you would recommend. Since I can't fly down and try it for myself, I was hoping the experts could weigh in.

TIA!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Staying in a villa does give you a few advantages.

Extra room, privacy, home comforts, cooking facilities, private pool etc

Plus at Indian Creek you are ideally located, a Publix is a shgort drive away, restaurants on the 192, Disney and I4 also closeby too.

 

[BrerMama]

We did onsite in 2004, but chose to stay in Indian Creek this trip. It was cheaper, and I like the idea that we won't have neighbors right next to us. I'm one that can't handle the "magic" 24/7. I need a break from it. Last trip, we were all Disney, all the time, and half way through the trip, I had a real meltdown. I honestly feel that if I could have had some "me" time during the trip -- impossible when you're putting a family of 5 in one room -- that I wouldn't have ended up sitting in Pizzafari at Animal Kingdom, bawling my eyes out. My kids love to swim, and I love the idea of having our own pool. I like having the option to go off site -- we plan to visit Sea World and Universal Studios, and I'm sure we'll eat at offsite places.

I always look at it this way -- do we want a Disney vacation or an Orlando vacation? In 2004, I really wanted a Disney vacation. I wanted the full onsite experience -- we didn't rent a car, relied on Disney transportation, ate all our meals at Disney. This trip, I've known from the beginning that we wanted an Orlando vacation. We'll rent a vehicle, get some groceries to save some money on breakfast, and hopefully relax a bit more. I'm really looking forward to eating my breakfast by the pool in my pajamas.

 

[edwardsmt]

I have a son who has a really hard time winding down at night when things are "different" and I do think having the multiple rooms would make it easier for him to go to bed at night. Has anyone ever found parking at the parks (during value season) to be time consuming? Do you often have to take a shuttle from the parking lots???

 

[DisNae]

You're singing my song.

We went and stayed at Shades in Dec. 2004. It was wonderful, and I had our trip all booked for our visit there next month (last week of Nov/first week of Dec).

Then I started doing some research on rental homes, and the deal was just too good to pass up. I found a 3 bed, 3 bath townhome with heated splash pool (perfect for my young kids) in Windsor Palms for a couple hundred less than Shades. Plus, since it has a kitchen, we'll save even more money by being able to cook some of our meals instead of eating out for *every* single meal. We'll be there for 10 days so this is a big savings for us. We will be taking my mom with us this time, plus we now have 2 children (only had 1 when we went last time), and there's just NO WAY I want to try to squeeze 3 adults and 2 kids into a hotel room. It's just ridiculous, IMHO, for the "on-site experience".

Your in-laws would probably rather stay onsite because if it's just 2 adults, satying in a hotel room is no big deal. But squeezing in those kids and then expecting anybody to be able to relax at the room is asking a whole lot, IMHO. Plus, if your son is difficult to get down, I'd be willing to bet you'll all suffer even more if you're squeezed into a hotel room with him.

Also don't forget, at Shades you have to pay $5/day for parking at the resort, so add that into the cost of your stay. And, if you've never been, realize that Shades is VERY spread out, and getting to/from your room from anywhere else takes forever. I have heard this is true of many of the "true" Disney properties as well, but just thought I'd mention it.

We drove pretty much everywhere even though we had access to Disney's transportation, and we didn't find parking in the parks to be time-consuming at all. In fact the few times we took Disney's transportation, I found it to take just as long, if not longer, because you're waiting on a bus/monorail schedule. And those buses are s-l-o-w driving, too, sheesh.

But, we'll be there in 33 days, and I'd be happy to report back after my trip and let you know for sure the transportation situation with staying off property vs. Shades!

 

[flawlesscowgurl]

We leave for WDW on Nov 4th and are staying at Shades of Green. What is the food like there and do they have refillable mugs like the Disney Resorts?

 

[edwardsmt]

You're singing my song.

We went and stayed at Shades in Dec. 2004. It was wonderful, and I had our trip all booked for our visit there next month (last week of Nov/first week of Dec).

Then I started doing some research on rental homes, and the deal was just too good to pass up. I found a 3 bed, 3 bath townhome with heated splash pool (perfect for my young kids) in Windsor Palms for a couple hundred less than Shades. Plus, since it has a kitchen, we'll save even more money by being able to cook some of our meals instead of eating out for *every* single meal. We'll be there for 10 days so this is a big savings for us. We will be taking my mom with us this time, plus we now have 2 children (only had 1 when we went last time), and there's just NO WAY I want to try to squeeze 3 adults and 2 kids into a hotel room. It's just ridiculous, IMHO, for the "on-site experience".

Your in-laws would probably rather stay onsite because if it's just 2 adults, satying in a hotel room is no big deal. But squeezing in those kids and then expecting anybody to be able to relax at the room is asking a whole lot, IMHO. Plus, if your son is difficult to get down, I'd be willing to bet you'll all suffer even more if you're squeezed into a hotel room with him.

Also don't forget, at Shades you have to pay $5/day for parking at the resort, so add that into the cost of your stay. And, if you've never been, realize that Shades is VERY spread out, and getting to/from your room from anywhere else takes forever. I have heard this is true of many of the "true" Disney properties as well, but just thought I'd mention it.

We drove pretty much everywhere even though we had access to Disney's transportation, and we didn't find parking in the parks to be time-consuming at all. In fact the few times we took Disney's transportation, I found it to take just as long, if not longer, because you're waiting on a bus/monorail schedule. And those buses are s-l-o-w driving, too, sheesh.

But, we'll be there in 33 days, and I'd be happy to report back after my trip and let you know for sure the transportation situation with staying off property vs. Shades!

I'd love to hear from your experience, just so I'll know for the future. My husband really wants to go with our original game plan (SOG) because his folks can't stay there without us and would have to book something else. So if we end up at Shades, I'd love to hear what you think of staying outside for at least our next trip (there's always a next trip, isn't there?

 

[DisNae]

I'd love to hear from your experience, just so I'll know for the future. My husband really wants to go with our original game plan (SOG) because his folks can't stay there without us and would have to book something else. So if we end up at Shades, I'd love to hear what you think of staying outside for at least our next trip (there's always a next trip, isn't there?

Ha ha, yes there is always a next trip! We started planning ours pretty much the week we got back from the first. We were supposed to go LAST year, but Hurrican Katrina destroyed those plans (we lived in the strikezone at that time and our house was badly damaged from the storm).

I think if I were in your shoes I might be telling DH sure, we'll go with the original plan, but your parents get to take one of the kids into their room with them at night, ha ha. But then, I'm mean like that.

We leave for WDW on Nov 4th and are staying at Shades of Green. What is the food like there and do they have refillable mugs like the Disney Resorts?

No, Shades does not have the refillable mugs. But, it does have a shoppette inside it with reasonably priced food, sodas, personal hygiene products, etc. The prices are pretty much in line with what you'd pay at a regular shoppette on base. No outrageous Disney prices. So the refillable mugs aren't really necessary there, as you can buy a soda without paying an arm and a leg. Also all rooms have a mini-fridge, you don't have to request or pay extra for it like the Disney resorts, so you can put some sodas, snacks, etc. in there as well.

The food is OK. It depends on which restaurant you're eating at. We ate at Evergreen's (the sports bar/grill type place) quite often. Usually we'd get takeout and bring it to the room to eat. It was pretty reasonably priced and the food was decent. I personally really liked their buffalo chicken salad.

The Garden Gallery restaurant, however, is another story. It was NOT very good, and pretty overpriced for what you got, IMO. We also got pretty sorry service every time we ate there. I think we ate there 3 times and decided enough was enough. Each time the food was not good and the service was even worse.

I did not eat at Mangino's (the Italian place) but have heard it is quite good.

There is a little coffee shop down by the bus stop that has good coffee, bagels, donuts, pastries, even cereal in those little bowls and fruit and milk. Their prices are good and the service fast (it's a grab and go type place anyway). Perfect for stopping by to grab breakfast on your way to catch the bus to the parks for the day.

I know you'll have a great time. Shades definitely does not feel like a "typical" military place--I went expecting it to be like glorified billeting, but it wasn't. It was very nice. And the price is right, too. I just have different needs this time around!

 

[edwardsmt]

Ha ha, yes there is always a next trip! We started planning ours pretty much the week we got back from the first. We were supposed to go LAST year, but Hurrican Katrina destroyed those plans (we lived in the strikezone at that time and our house was badly damaged from the storm).

I think if I were in your shoes I might be telling DH sure, we'll go with the original plan, but your parents get to take one of the kids into their room with them at night, ha ha. But then, I'm mean like that.

My in-laws are olympic snorers. The really mean thing to do would be to make DH sleep in with them.

Sorry to hear about your house. Is everything repaired now?

 

[DisNae]

My in-laws are olympic snorers. The really mean thing to do would be to make DH sleep in with them.

Sorry to hear about your house. Is everything repaired now?

Thanks for asking.....yes, we got it all repaired in record time as they offered us orders out of Keesler soon after the storm. I was pregnant at the time and the hospital was trashed, so I couldn't give birth there, so they gave us the option of moving to another base. We jumped on it--too much drama for us to endure another hurricane season (and wouldn't you know it, this one's been relatively quiet--go figure!) after that. Anyway, we got the house repaired and sold. Luckily we did not flood--ours was in one of those so-called no-flood zones, so like many of the people in the area, we did not have flood insurance. The water did come up to the middle of our yard, though, so another foot of storm surge and we'd have been screwed. The roof ripped off our house, and there was water damage inside the house from that, but fortunately for us all our damage was covered by insurance and we were able to fix everything and get the house sold. We're now near St. Louis, at Scott AFB.

And now, we get to take our much-anticipated, much-delayed trip to Disney next month.....we're so excited and feel like we deserve this trip so much after the year we've had! DH is deploying in January, too, so it'll really be a nice chance for us to relax and have some quality family time before that as well.

 

[edwardsmt]

St. Louis is great. My husband is Coast Guard and we were stationed 3 hours north of St. Louis. Believe it or not, it was our nearest airport. So we often made the journey to fly out, pick folks up, or for "city" amenities.

Hope you have a wondeful trip with your family! What a nice way to spend some quality time before your DH goes away.