Shades of Green

[FirstNo]

Hi there! I'm not sure how many of you, if any one, remembers me from the old Disney Boards, but I'm discovering it's difficult to help any one with Shades of Green info where the group of us are hanging out now.

I don't see many SoG questions on here so, there may not even be any one here to try and help, but I thought I'd give it a whirl.

For those who don't know me, I work at SoG (the hotel on the Disney property that used to be the Disney Inn and is now used by military/DoD personnel and retirees). I will still have a job, for the time being any way, after the resort closes on Mar 31 for its expansion.

I am not here to promote or advertise the resort. I'm not paid to be here. I'm here on my own time to try and help any one who may need it with a resort I am very familiar with. I'm sure I won't be able to answer some questions. The answers and posts I make are my own views and not those of the hotel (I have to put that in there because of problems with a Disney CM on another board).

And, let me be clear that I am NOT a CM. We are held to the same standards as the CMs are, but the employees are not employed by or work for Disney.

I hope I haven't broken any rules or have been too long winded. We used to vacation at DW when I was growing up and when I was in the military, I used to stay at SoG every Jun. I'm very familiar with the DW property and most of the resorts so, I'm happy to try and help where I can.

 

[lookingforward]

Do you think the transition to the Contemporary will go smoothly. I am a little worried because we had the suite reserved at the SOG and are coming in the very beggining of April. The SOG told us they are getting us a "junior suite" at the CR, but the junior suites at the CR sleep three and we are a party of six. Do you know about that?

 

[aero99]

Well, first, thank you for offering your help. I feel lucky to be the 2nd one to ask a question. My friend has a reservation for the fall and she hasn't been charged her deposit or received anything in the mail yet (reservation made in January). Is this normal now with the reservations being transfer to the Contemporary? When should she start to worry?

Thanks so much!
Melissa

 

[sha_lyn]

If I call the 1 800 no. can they book PS's for me? I know SoG has a desk there where you can book PS's . I have a lot of PS's to book and thought this would save me a little $$

 

[DancingBear]

FirstNo, glad you are here, and glad that you still have a job! It would be great if you would look at this thread:

SoG Relocation FAQ

And let us know if the info there is good regarding the relocation and if there is anything else we should know. There are also a few specific questions there, particularly regarding whether military spouses can check in and use all of the SoG benefits without the military person present (using dependent ID).

 

[Bob NC]

lookingforward...Check out the PM I sent you about the junior suite.

 

[DawnCt]

FirstNo, welcome. I do want to say that you were a great help to me a couple of years ago when you called me about the waitlist. Also your advice is excellent. Perhaps you would like to detail some of the changes that will take place at SoG. I do have a question, Why were they not able to maintain occupancy of the existing rooms and keep the resort open during the expansion? Will they be expanding the size of the lobby, etc. Thanks,

 

[GrammieMame]

I have a reservation for 2 rooms, starting April 2, and haven't received a letter from SOG or a confirmation from CR. I do have a confirmed reservation for SOG. Do I need to worry because I haven't received anything official? I called several times and was told the letter was probably on the way, but that was weeks ago.

 

[suevee]

just want to be keep in the loop on this thread as I am booked for Feb. 03. Thanks.

 

[disney4us2002]

Thank you. I am finding this all very confusing. Are we still guests of Shades of Green or are we Contemporary guests? Are you part of the ticket office that will be transferring over to the Contemporary? Will the tickets remain the same, ie: single-day passes, hoppers, Stars & Stripes? We also want to purchase tickets to Medieval Times so I'm hoping all of the same ticket options are available in the relocation.

Carla

 

[DancingBear]

Originally posted by FirstNo
I don't see many SoG questions on here so, there may not even be any one here to try and help....

Guess you were wrong there! Questions pouring in!

 

[laurenk]

Thanks for the offer of helping all of us. Twenty of us will be there in November. When will we get a confirmation letter? We are all really nervous about that.

I also wanted to know the answer to Carla's question.

TIA!

 

[LeapYear Debbie]

I'm interested too in what the renovations will consist of. I love the look of SOG now, I would hate for it to change too dramtically. Are they adding another wing or adding more floors to the existing building? I'm already planning a trip in October 2003 so I can see the changes.


Debbie

 

[FirstNo]

Originally posted by lookingforward
Do you think the transition to the Contemporary will go smoothly. I am a little worried because we had the suite reserved at the SOG and are coming in the very beggining of April. The SOG told us they are getting us a "junior suite" at the CR, but the junior suites at the CR sleep three and we are a party of six. Do you know about that?

Good question. Nothing is perfect so although I wish I could feel confident in telling you that the transition will be trouble-free, I'm sure we'll encounter some problems. My understanding is that Disney has been trying to work with us to make the transition smooth. Actually, I have a staff meeting that I need to leave for shortly and we'll be discussing the transistion more. If I hear any thing that may be helpful to any one, I'll post it here.

Guests who had a suite at SoG, should be getting a jr. suite at the Contemporary which sleeps 8. We took a road trip over there a couple of weeks ago. It's been 3 years since I've stayed in the Contemp and I've never seen a suite so, I appreciated Disney taking the opportunity to show us around.

I like the Contemp but I'm not crazy about the decor. Definitely, not my taste (esp in the suite!), but I think most guests will like what they're getting for the price. The suite had (if I remember right) 2 rooms; the master bedroom with a king bed, tv, bathrooms and sofa sleeper and then the main living area had a queen bed and sofa sleeper and 2 tvs and lots of sitting space (I guess they expect you to entertain <g>). There was a fridge in the one we saw, but I'm not sure if it comes with the suite (IMO, it should) or if it was there in preparation for whichever guest was going to be checking in.

I hope that helped!

 

[FirstNo]

Originally posted by aero99
My friend has a reservation for the fall and she hasn't been charged her deposit or received anything in the mail yet (reservation made in January). Is this normal now with the reservations being transfer to the Contemporary? When should she start to worry?

Thanks so much!
Melissa

Here's the fun part: first, we were told to treat the reservations as normal, which means the deposits were still due within 2 weeks of booking. A few days later, we were told to not accept deposits. Then, 2 weeks after that, we were told to go back to the way things were before. And, tonight at the staff meeting, we were told to stop accepting deposits after tomorrow. Clear as mud, isn't it <g>?

I would tell your friend not to worry. She probably made the reservation during that time frame where we were told to not charge any thing.

At the meeting tonight, we were told that all 10,1 hundred and some reservations are suppose to be sent over to Disney on Sat. Within 4 weeks, guests who have reservations should receive their Disney confirmation letters and, if a deposit was not transferred (from what we had charged or received in the mail from the guests) from us, then Disney will charge the credit card on file or will be expecting a check from the guest.

I would advise you to tell your friend that if she doesn't receive a confirmation letter from Disney by mid Apr, it would be wise to contact us (reservations will be open the entire time the hotel is closed). We were told we should have the Disney confirmation numbers in our system and we can provide that to her as well as making sure Disney received the credit card information. From what we were told, we will not be able to see if Disney has received a deposit from a guest (just as if we booked them in our overflow). We'll have to call over there, but it's better to be safe than sorry. It will be much easier to try and get a room back that was cancelled for non-deposit now, than trying 1 month before the arrival date (as an example).

 

[FirstNo]

Originally posted by aero99
Well, first, thank you for offering your help. I feel lucky to be the 2nd one to ask a question. My friend has a reservation for the fall and she hasn't been charged her deposit or received anything in the mail yet (reservation made in January). Is this normal now with the reservations being transfer to the Contemporary? When should she start to worry?

Thanks so much!
Melissa

I apologize if this come up as a duplicate. It takes forever to upload and I'm not sure if my original response to you actually posted (I've checked a few times and haven't seen it so, I'm trying again!).

When we were told of the change, we were supposed to continue as we always had; deposits due within 2 weeks of booking. A few days later, we were told to take the credit card info (if the guest provided it), but not to take any deposits. Then, 2 weeks later, we were told to go back to accepting deposits. Tonight at the meeting, we were told to not accept any more deposits after tomorrow. Clear as mud, isn't it?

Looks like your friend made her reservation during that 2 week period where we were taking the info, but not charging. I'm sure she was told her card would be charged because it should be, eventually, by Disney.

We were told that all 10,1hundred and some odd reservations that we have in our system are being sent to Disney over the weekend. Whichever reservations that have crdt crd info should be charged. I would tell your friend that if she doesn't receive a confirmation letter from Disney by mid Apr, to get back in touch with us. We will have to input, by hand, all of the Disney confirmation numbers in our system, but we should have them in there, by that time. We should be able to give her the number and then call Disney and confirm her reservation is guaranteed. Just as with reservations we book in our overflow system, we will not be able to see any monies that have been charged to a credit card or checks received by Disney. That is all on their end, but we're happy to check for her.

I have no doubt that there will be some reservations that are cancelled for non-deposit. The nature of the beast. But, it will be easier to reinstate reservations that can be caught early on than the ones who wait until 2 weeks before their arrival date because they haven't received any thing and are only letting any one know about it now.

The only guests I can really see problems with are those guests who are arriving within the next 6-8 weeks. Everyone from Jun on, should receive their information and/or be able to get back to us quick enough that we can fix any problems with little headache for all concerned.

 

[FirstNo]

Originally posted by sha_lyn
If I call the 1 800 no. can they book PS's for me? I know SoG has a desk there where you can book PS's . I have a lot of PS's to book and thought this would save me a little $$

Nope. We can only book hotel and Budget car rental reservations. Can't do PS or tickets or any of the other fun stuff on the toll free number. Sorry!

 

[FirstNo]

Originally posted by DancingBear
FirstNo, glad you are here, and glad that you still have a job! It would be great if you would look at this thread:

SoG Relocation FAQ

And let us know if the info there is good regarding the relocation and if there is anything else we should know. There are also a few specific questions there, particularly regarding whether military spouses can check in and use all of the SoG benefits without the military person present (using dependent ID).

Thank you!! I'm happy to still have a job since the majority of the employees will be out of one. It's been difficult going to work, knowing most of the people I see won't be around after Apr.

I looked over the FAQ. For the most part, it seems to be fine. There are some little things: SoG is closing on Mar 31. Tonight at our meeting, we found out that the Garden Gallery will be serving breakfast that morning, but will close at 11am. Bus service to the parks will run on first shift only (not sure how long that will be, but I can't imagine they will run past 3pm). So, for those guests who had planned on taking the transportation in the morning to a park and returning to pick up their vehicle later in the day, I don't recommend doing that.

We're getting 300 rms in the North Wing, but we won't have the entire wing. We get the 2nd and 3rd floors and, apprx, 70 rms on the first floor. I also found out tonight that guests who have guaranteed poolside reservations will be guaranteed first floor rooms, facing Bay Lake. I think they said there are 46 of those rooms.

As of this evening, all guests who had guranteed reservation for this year, have had letters from us (explaining the situation), mailed to them. I think they're going to try and have every one else (guests booked in Jan/Feb/Mar 03) mailed out by tomorrow or early next week. Guests in overflow are being notified more slowly. I think they're only up to the Jun guests. This is because all of the envelopes are having to be hand written so, it is a slower process.

The Ticket Office will on the 3rd floor, room 73something soemthing (sorry, I left that paper at work).

I believe all of the rooms will have 2 queens and a sofa sleeper. Originally, I had thought they would be daybeds, but the standard room we were shown had a sofa sleeper. We do have a few rooms (not sure how many) that will have the 1 king and I'm guessing those guests who are booked into our single queen room can expect to be in the single king (but please don't quote me on that!).

On the plus side, Disney doesn't charge for the use of cribs or safe, as SoG does. But, guests who want fridges will have to pay the $10/nt + tax charge.

For some of the questions I saw below the FAQ:

For proof, we were told tonight that Disney is supposed to be sending some people from their Front Desk to our FD to observe how we check in the guests and what we ask to see. Apparently, they are going to try and remember to ask for the ID cards and double check the pay grades to ensure people are eligible to stay and are being charged the appropriate rate. I don't recommend any one trying to beat the system. I'm sure Disney will tell their FD CMs to call us with any questions. Just as if they were staying at SoG, if a sponsor is arriving after their guests, they will need to fax the Disney front desk with a copy of their military/DoD ID card and that nifty statement we always ask them to write. But, no one has bothered to give us their FD fax number so.....we can't give it to the guests. I'm sure once we have enough guests asking us for it, they'll remember to give it to us <g>.

The info JLazz received from the agent she spoke with was a little off (if I read it correctly). The sponsor (the actual military/DoD member or retireee) does NOT need to be present. However, a dependent, with a VALID dependent ID card, does. The military member's SSN will be on the dependent's ID card. This is how grandma can bring the sponsor's kids to DW without either parent being there. The kids (as long as they're at least 10, I believe that's the magic age) have a dependent ID card which will verify all of the info that was on the reservation. Another example, is the dependent husband shows up before the military wife. He can check in, without his sponsor, as long as he shows his dependent ID card and a photo ID. The only time we need to see a pay stub is if the member is DoD. This is because most DoD ID cards do not reflect their pay grade (as a military ID card does) and we need to verify that for the rate.

 

[FirstNo]

Originally posted by DawnCt
FirstNo, welcome. I do want to say that you were a great help to me a couple of years ago when you called me about the waitlist. Also your advice is excellent. Perhaps you would like to detail some of the changes that will take place at SoG. I do have a question, Why were they not able to maintain occupancy of the existing rooms and keep the resort open during the expansion? Will they be expanding the size of the lobby, etc. Thanks,

It's great to see a familiar face!! Hi, Dawn!!! As always, you're welcome and I'm glad I could help.

They haven't let us know too much, as far as the expansion is concerned, but I'll pass along with I remember and know. Some thing should be on the website about the expansion within the week. IMO, this is something that should have happened from the first day we were telling the guests. I even sat down and typed something up for the website, but I don't know if some, or any of it, will be used. I'll have to wait and see when it's finally up. But, we are going to try and get some artist renderings of the new hotel on the site. It will probably take a few weeks, but I think it will be great for the guests to see some pics.

We will have a 5 story (I think) parking garage. The new section of the hotel will vary from 4-5 stories and include 10 new suites. I've heard we were doubling the number of rooms so, that would put us at 574, but then I've also heard we'll have 600 rooms. So, I think it's safe to say we'll have any where from 550-610 rooms, total.

As for restaurants, the concept I had heard was a "hub" concept. You would walk into the main eating area and there would be other restaurants branched off from that hub, offering different dining options. These other areas could also be rented out for meetings and parties. I've also heard talk of an Italian Restaurant as well as an American (steak, burgers, etc) one, but haven't heard any thing beyond that. I think Evergreens will still be around, but they want to have covered walkways from the hotel to the restaurant. With the rainy and dangerous weather in the summertime, they want the guests to be able to safely walk from their rooms out to the restaurant.

What is currently the lobby area will be come a bar. In fact, the whole front desk will be the bar.

To my knowledge, they will not be adding any more pools (which I think is a mistake, but they may not have the room). I don't know if we will still have tennis courts once it's all done, but I hardly ever see the courts in use.

I don't know if the current 287 rooms will be redone. They were all just remodeled within the past year and a half or so. I haven't heard one way or the other. But, by the time guests come back, all of the rooms should be set up with Internet Access that is accessed through the TV (some of the rooms have it now).

As for the reason of the closure, there were a few. I received a letter from General Taguba (the BIG boss) explaining the closure. As you can imagine, the union is none too happy about what's going on and are complaining about it. The General sent the letter to someone higher up in the union than our people are, as well as sending it to all of the employees. Apparently, when they added on to the Hale Koa (SoG's sister resort in Hawaii), they had numerous guest complaints concerning the noise and dust the building was causing. SoG has a contract with Disney concerning the upkeep and appearance of our hotel and what kind of experience the guest can expect. Neither one of these would be able to be maintained. And, most importantly, from a safety standpoint, it just wasn't a good idea to keep the resort open. The majority of our guests are families. Kids are curious by nature and we know parents can't watch them constantly. The General was afraid a child would be injured, or worse, during the constuction. Last but not least, without guests and few employees about, the work should be able to be completed 7 months sooner than originally projected. So, instead of a reopening in early to mid 2004, we should be able to reopen 3/4 of the way into 2003.

 

[FirstNo]

Originally posted by GrammieMame
I have a reservation for 2 rooms, starting April 2, and haven't received a letter from SOG or a confirmation from CR. I do have a confirmed reservation for SOG. Do I need to worry because I haven't received anything official? I called several times and was told the letter was probably on the way, but that was weeks ago.

When did you make the reservations? By now, you should have received the information from us telling you about the closing. I know that reservations in Mar (that were crossing over into Apr) and some reservations in Apr have all ready been transferred to Disney. Arriving Apr 2, yours should have been in there.

If it were me and MY vacation, I'd be calling. I won't tell you to worry, but I know I'd like some reassurance (along with a name if any thing goes wrong) that my reservations truly are guaranteed and I'm good to go. Unfortunately, your reservations are some of those in that bad transition period. I'm not surprised you haven't received a Disney confirmation, but I would still feel better double checking on it, if they were mine.

Monday is the worst day of the week to try calling so, if you can, I'd recommend trying tomorrow (Fri). It's been a lot slower this week than it has since the beginning of the year. To give you an idea of 'slower' there's only been, on average, 7-20 people on hold instead of 25-40. But, there have been times when there have only been a few people on hold so, the wait times haven't been bad. But, in reality, I'd plan on holding 15-25 minutes.