Shades of Green VS..

[wildzootv]

Hi guys...finally we have the opportunity to stay at SOG but I'm having some doubts if we should or not. Please help me think through it.

I know SOG is a great deal when you think of the size of the room... and with the R&R discount if we stay there and purchase their meal plan we get 20% off. Meal plan is breakfast & dinner there.


But what concerns me is the negative reviews on transportation to the parks (MGM, Animal Kingdom - we are also going to DW and Epcot too) and the fact that there is no free shuttle from the Airport to the SOG unlike the other disney resorts.


Is it still worth staying there without the free transport to and from the airport and longer transportation to the parks??? Or should we shell out more $ to stay at a disney resort for those things and more of the "disney feeling"?


Is the meal plan there worth it?


Thank you so much!! I really appreciate ya'll talking things out with me.


**oh we're going at the end of NOV**

 

[stitchrulz]

Hmm . . .

Not only a bigger room, a room that is scandalously close to the Magic Kingdom! And what a bargain!

As for transportation, we usually hoofed it over to the Poly and caught the monorail to MK & Epcot. I think they now have a golf cart (Shady Shuttle?) that will zip you to the end of SOG which is right across the street from the Poly. I don't recall the bus situation being horrible, it's just different from how Disney runs theirs. And as someone pointed out before, you won't find healthy men sitting on the SOG busses while women and children stand . . .

We ate breakfast daily at the Garden Gallery (we did the buffet), and it was fine. It was pretty much the same each day, but everything was good, and there was a nice variety. (No Mickey waffles, though.) We pretty much ate our other meals at the parks or DTD. Oh! We did get a pizza from Evergreens one night which was quite good.

The one thing I do miss by staying at SOG is the Disney wake-up call (Mickey & Stitch currently!). Other than that, I still felt enough Disney connection by the proximity to the Poly/MK. Remember, the original SOG used to be a Disney Deluxe resort.

It's a tremendous value for the money, that's for sure. I don't think you're going to lose that much time via the bus issue. And, you're going to get plenty of "Disney feeling" in the parks. We drive down, so I can't answer about the airport shuttle, but I'd guess you'd still save at SOG even if you have to pay for that.

Don't forget there's a PX at SOG where you can purchase items at a cheaper rate than on Disney property (snacks, souvenirs, etc.)!

Just my two cents! Good luck with your decision and have a magical time wherever you stay!!!

 

[Disney Davo]

You can't beat the SOG for quality and price. As far as the buses they are different than Disneys and not as nice. With Disney you go to the bus stop and wait for the next bus. With SOG they have schedule and they are always on time so you can plan better and not waist time waiting for a bus. The Shady Shuttle is run by the bell boys, just walk over and ask for a ride to the Poly and they will give you everytime.

 

[wildzootv]

ahhhhh feeling better now. Thank you. Totally appreciate ya'lls time & oppinons!

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I'll be honest - I chickened out and changed my reservation from Shades of Green to Coronado when the Free Dining promotion was going on. I did not think the SoG dining plan was worth it - we would not want to trek back to the resort to eat dinner each night, and I didn't read very complimentary things here on the DIS about the meals there anyway. I also read at least one thread that said that the bus service was less than stellar (at some point this summer one bus was out of service and it made for long waits).

What I did was work out how much our vacation at SoG would cost, including an estimate for food. At my dh's rank, 6 nights would run $618, which I thought was great. Then, I started figuring meals. I had already booked character meals at Hollywood & Vine and Chef Mickey's, and dinner at Le Cellier. Even making allowances for eating some breakfasts in the room and skipping lunches if we ate the big breakfast at SoG buffet, I still came up with spending at least $500 on food/snacks, for a total of $1118, plus we'd have to spend $70 in parking fees. For the same total, I booked Coronado for the same length of stay and got the free dining promotion. We'll get more sit-down meals at our choice of places (including 2 more character meals) and have the counter-service meal each day. I thought it a better deal for us.

I'm sure we'll stay at SoG at some point in the future when our kids are older or if DH and I can manage to get away for a no-kids trip. Having little ones, I was less willing to be frustrated with the bus service.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[disneydance]

I dont know what the price is since i'm not military so really i cant help you here so how much is SOG anyway?????

 

[fairestoneofall]

We stayed at SOG in November and loved it.

The bus system runs on a set time schedule, so you never have to wonder what time a bus will arrive/leave. We were there for a week, and I have no complaints about the bus system. At all.

We saved so much money staying at SOG. The rooms are huge.

I think, as long as something like free dining isn't going on, staying at SOG is definitely a outstanding value.

 

[wdwsog]

we have always stayed at SOG, as my name suggests. Our next trip will be at POP but only beacuse of the promotion going on during that time. We love SOG and I had to literally beg my wife to stay at Pop, we knwo we are going to stay at SOG again anyway, you can't beat the location and the walk to Poly is easy. The food for breakfast is great, but I would not go for the dinner buffet, have dinner in the parks where it is alot better some nights and then order pizza from the sports bar, very cheap but great!

 

[PilotWife]

I dont know what the price is since i'm not military so really i cant help you here so how much is SOG anyway?????

Depends on your military or DOD pay grade. But around 110.00 per night

And for the OP - we stayed at SOG at Christmas. LOVED IT! BUT I would NOT get their dining plan....Breakfast was OK, Evergreen's Pizza was good but the other offering was awful....and service was terrible. The evening buffet was edible but I we prefered other places, like at the Poly(short walk). We did decide to stay at AKL this coming Sept but only because of the free dining plan. If it was not for that we would be right back at SOG...love the size of the rooms...transportation was not so bad...but it we went somewhere other than MK or Epcot we did take our own car most of the time.

Jennifer

 

[FrozenMinnie]

In January 06 we stayed at SOG with the R and R package when my husband came home mid-tour from Iraq. We stayed 10 days and I must be honest that the food there did get old. We could not beat the price.....it was really affordable though. This time we are coming down before he returns to the desert. We wanted to try the other side by staying on property with the dining plan. It will allow for greater flexibilty for where and what we eat. I also love the idea that most is paid for before we get there in January. The rooms at SOG were large however we did have problems with air and items in the room not working properly. The staff at the dining places acted as if they almost resented us for eating there...we tipped as to what would have been the actual cost...not the $14 a day for a family of four. (Yes....we paid $14 a day for two meals for all four of us...a special Thank you for serving in Iraq deal) Transportation was limited compared to the people who wanted to ride.....I am sure we will see this on the other side. This time we are going to POR Riverside. I can't yet tell you which is better...but wanted to be honest with my concerns.

Good luck with your decision. You won't know until you try it....it seems that everyone can have a different experience.

 

[wildzootv]

Thank you all so much!!! I feel so clueless still about disney world and the offers...I've been before but I guess my head was always in the clouds! lmao


The free dinning program sounds great - I guess that's over with? Poopies!


Thank you again!

 

[minnie61650]

Just an FYI

SOG was the Disney Inn back in the 80's.
Our family stayed there and we were so impressed with the beauty and the quiet location.
The rooms were a nice size, the view of the golf course was wonderful.
At that time it was an easy walk over to the Poly.
I miss the Disney Inn but I am very glad it is now SOG.
What a wonderful place for our military and their families to stay while visiting Disney.

Have fun at Disney!

 

[robynv]

I was just there last month. In my opinion, it all depends on what YOU are looking for.

Here is what I mean--

Frankly you can't beat the price for the room. It is a nice big room, and at my husband's rank it was $ 110. ( and that is one of the highest rates.) It is even less if you are enlisted. The resort is not really themed, but kind of garden ish. The only thing we didn't like was the buffet for dinner. Never tried it for breakfast, but dinner was not very good!

The buses were not bad! I really didn't feel like we were missing out! We even stayed for EMH until 2am at MK and walked to the bus stop, got on the bus and were back at SOG by 215! It is so close! And yes you can use the shady shuttle to the poly and hop on the monorail. Not a big deal at all!

But if you are looking for the Disney themeing 24-7, you may be a bit disapointed. There are no mickey wake ups, and you can't use the dining plan. But you can use EMH.

All in all, I've stayed at Disney and SOG, we would not hesitate to stay there again!

The only reason I'm staying at ASsp in Oct, is it will be only my sister and I and we got a pin deal, for 5 nights with dining for $650 total. But for my family, we would go back in a heartbeat!

Give it a try!!

 

[wildzootv]

wow!! cool beans. Thank you so much!

 

[mog]

We have stayed at SOG several times. I think their bus service has gotten better. We were just there at the beginning of August and didn't have any problems at all with the bus service. The busses are not as nice as the Disney ones - a little older and a little more beat up maybe.

When we are going to MK or EPCOT we always walk to the Poly and take the monorail. For the other parks we sometimes took our own car and sometimes took the SOG busses. One thing to remember is that there is a bus to/from the TTC every 20 minutes. (I thought it used to be 15 minutes but in August when we were just there it was 20 min.) So no matter where you are, if you can't find the SOG bus or miss it, you can hop on any Disney transportation back to the TTC and get on the SOG bus from there.

We never had to wait for a bus and never had a line or had a problem getting a seat on a SOG bus. They are very good about staying on schedule which makes it easy to plan.

 

[wildzootv]

that is great to know. I clearly remember being crowded at times using the ones from all stars. Total pain when one has a stroller!! thank you!

 

[micmacmissy]

Go with SOG!

We are going in January with the R&R plan (my hubby too is in Iraq for a year). We had 7 nights in a family suite booked for $250/night, for a total of $1,750.

Well, with the discount, we were able to add the dining plan for only $110 more...(that boils down to feeding five people two meals a day for 7 days)....plus a room....for a grand total of $1886! That was a no-brainer for us.

As for the quality of food, I don't know, we've never been there. Our last trip was a 2 bedroom suite at the GF, concierge. But a week at SOG is the cost of one night in the GF suite--another no brainer for us!

I figure we will use the breakfast buffet every day--we'll eat lunch in the parks and we'll have reservations elsewhere for dinner--but for the money, it's still a huge bargain even if you only use it for breakfast!

Have a great trip!

 

[AKLRULZ]

I think you'll overall enjoy the value you get at SOG for what you get. We tried it once and we won't be going back as it's just not a Disney experience for us - the resort has a very "un-Disney" feel other than the really cool Mickey shaped pool (from the Disney Inn days). The merchandise in the BX isn't "official" theme park merchandise and there is a distinct lack of magical feel that all Disney resorts have.

The rooms were huge and the location was great. We were glad to have a car rented, but the transportation is overall pretty much equivalent to Disney's. The staff were absolutely phenomenal in my opinion, but we never ate at SOG so I can't attest to food quality and/or service regarding dining options.

Bascially to us it felt like we were staying in a very nice chain (Hyatt, Mariott) hotel rather than a Disney resort - the makeover a few years back really was an nice transformation. I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to try it and that it's there for the men and women sacrificing for our freedoms!

 

[honey11dog]

Stay at SOG!

We have stayed both at Disney and SOG several times. I would pick SOG hands down and here is why.
1) You cannot beat the room price for the size of room that you get.
2) The transportation is very good. Although, there are bad reviews and I must admit I was one of those, it was back in 2004 when the resort first reopened from its major expansion. The staff where not well trained and the buses were off schedule. No more, SOG has really improved this. They stick to a strict schedule. Some of the other Disney resorts share buses, so they have to make several stops to get back to your place. SOG has only one right back to SOG.
3) If you are staying at SOG you can get the Stars and Stripes length of stay tickets. Basically, you can go to any park, waterpark, or Disney Quest unlimited times through-out your stay. And if you compare that to a Disney park hopper with waterpark option (even at military rate) it is much cheaper.
4) As far as getting to the resort, any car company such as Tiffany Towncar, Sunray ect. offers round trip transfers from the airport to SOG. We are booking for 2 adults and 3 children at $90. We won't have to worry about gas, tolls, or parking at SOG.
5) I DO NOT recommend getting the dining plan. The food is OK, but I cannot imagine eating breakfast and dinner there everyday. I just don't think that it is worth it.

 

[wildzootv]

Thank you so very much!! I feel much more informed...when paying this amount money I feel better knowing the facts apose to walking in blind!!


Where can I get more info on the Stars and Stripes length of stay tickets?


micmacmissy - God speed to your Husband.