Shades of Green

[ColoradoDis]

We have an opportunity to stay at Shades of Green next May because my DSL is in the Air Force. It looks great.

Has anyone stayed there recently? What were your experiences? Recommendations for requests?

Thanks for your help.

 

[KristiKat]

We stayed in Feb and it was great. The rooms are large and would most compare to deluxe size rooms. The grounds are beautiful. Room service was great. The pools are just pools, don't expect slides and such as that. Don't eat at any of the restaurants, it's not worth it. The buses run a little different and it took some getting used to. It was great being able to walk to the Poly. Check out the Shades thread to learn more. We enjoyed our stay but did miss the Disney theme. We will most likely stay there again, the price for that size room is an awesome deal.

 

[SydsMommy]

We love Shades of Green! The rooms are huge and the resort is so quiet and peaceful. It is great having the monorail a short walk away too. We normally request a room in the newer wing near the lobby which they always accomodate. We drive so those rooms are also right near the garage which is nice to only have a short walk to the car.

 

[bellemeeko1]

Shades has been our "home" since it opened in 1994.....we absolutely love the spacious rooms, and the grounds are beautiful. Buses are great and on time...can go anywhere on the Disney property. We also love the short walk over to the Polynesian and hop on the monorail.

We always get the same room, infact when I make our reservations, they always ask if we still want the same room!

The only thing we don't get as those staying at Disney resorts, is the Magical Express and the Dining Plan....but there is a great car service to and from the airport that works with Shades and Shades has their own dining plan for their restaurants.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

There is already an "official" SOG thread here. You might want to read through it:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2912833&page=19

 

[skatalite]

The fiance and I will be staying there for a couple nights next week! We're getting married there next Friday. My dad, her dad, her mom, her step-dad are all retired military, so their wedding package was a no-brainer.

 

[vettegirl]

The fiance and I will be staying there for a couple nights next week! We're getting married there next Friday. My dad, her dad, her mom, her step-dad are all retired military, so their wedding package was a no-brainer.

Congrats to you and enjoy the resort, it's quite nice

 

[crostorfer]

The rooms are huge, and you can't beat the price for the location. My two HUGE negatives are lack of availability for the Disney Dining Plan, as we only eat in the restaurants at the resorts and in the parks, and we usually eat at least two signatures and three character meals, and the pool. We are not all day park people. We go in the morning, take a long afternoon break and come back in the evening. I need more from a pool than just a hole in the ground. I like the pool games, a poolside bar, and a water slide.

The resort is very nice if you just want a basic resort at a good price with a big room, but it's not Disney.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

We have an opportunity to stay at Shades of Green next May because my DSL is in the Air Force. It looks great.

Has anyone stayed there recently? What were your experiences? Recommendations for requests?

Thanks for your help.

The rooms are a great size, and the food is not that good.
The pools were nice (but no slide, but has at least one hottub) and the pool bar area had good finger foods/good arcade.
They also had a coffee bar w/ starbucks which I loved.
and the gift shop was cute
oh and the golf course if very good.

They try to do a disney touch with the TV playing the old cartoons plus a Mickey MOuse Figure in the Lobby

Enjoy your stay!

 

[shburks]

I think it CAN be a great value but depends on your category. For my dh, who is active duty Air Force, we can book a room at a Disney resort for less money especially if using the military room deal or a promotion. We like the theming at other resorts, the Magical Express, the food, etc. at the Disney resorts better.

 

[ArmyWife3-4]

I think it CAN be a great value but depends on your category. For my dh, who is active duty Air Force, we can book a room at a Disney resort for less money especially if using the military room deal or a promotion. We like the theming at other resorts, the Magical Express, the food, etc. at the Disney resorts better.

I was going to post the same thing. It's always been cheaper for us to stay on property versus SOG with the military rates they offer! Personally, I think it's more than worth it to stay at an official Disney property. It all depends on your SIL's category though! Either way, have a great trip!

 

[Nomad70]

We stayed at SOG once back in '06 and loved it! We were in the older section wayyyyy in the back, but our room was awesome. It was a ground floor with a patio looking out toward the golf course. The kids got a kick out of seeing wild turkeys every morning. lol We didn't mind the long walk from our room to the buses (we are an active family who enjoys physical activity) and back then the buses ran on a great schedule for us. We did walk over to the Poly a couple of times which was a nice walk. Our youngest was in a stoller at the time and we had no issues with that. As for the grounds at SOG, it was/is beautiful! No it isn't "Disney Themed" but that didn't take away from our vacation at all. Heck, there isnt' much "disney" about The Contemporary either, but people pay the outrageous bucks to stay there. SOG is a great choice and one that is usually economical for us as a family of 5 at a Cat 3. We aren't willing to pay the Deluxe prices so it's moderate for us. Unfortunately that kind of limits us to SOG and POR most of the time. I wanted to add, we are not big pool people on vacation (we have a pool at home), we always drive there sowe don't need the Magic Express and the DDP is not economical for us. We can always eat two small meals and one sit down a day much cheaper then the DDP. Those are usually the main reasons people opt to stay at a Disney resort rather then SOG.