Sog?

[MouseHound]

The waiting for AP discounts is making me crazy! Can someone give me info - one of the members in our group is Army Reserve, so we were considering SOG - but I understand it's closed until Mar 04. Does anyone have a line on any other specials Disney might be offering at other resorts for military members?

 

[DIZZNY]

I believe the Army Reserve person needs to be in Active status to use this benefit but I may be mistaken. For those who qualifiy, the guests are currently staying at the North Garden Wing of the Contemporary Resort but those accomodations are suppose to end in March 04 when the resort re-opens. There are also overflow rates available thru them for some of the other resorts.

More info can be found on their website:

http://www.shadesofgreen.org
or by calling PHONE 888-593-2242

Good luck and have a great trip!!

 

[sk8ingmom]

SoG doesn't open until March???? I just checked their web site. I have a reservation for March 12...hope we don't end up homeless! Originally, it was supposed to re-open in Dec 2003. Now I'm nervous.

I've stayed at the old SoG and it was great. Definately comprable to a moderate resort at about half the price. The only amenity I missed was the package delivery when you buy something in the park. The rooms were a good size, the restaurant was decent & the bus service was about the same as other resorts.

Price is based on rank & I'm almost positive that reservists have to be on Active Duty status. What's nice is military members (or dependents, i.e. spouse) can book up to three rooms with one ID card.

If you call SoG to book a room and they are booked, they will float you to PO for the same room rate (only you have to pay tax)

We've also stayed at the Dolphin through DU with a military discount at $129 a night (+tax).

When are you going? SoG rooms go fast! If they don't have a room for you, call again 29 days before you plan to go. They have a 30 day cancellation policy so some people will call and reserve 2 or 3 different sets of days...military schedules are pretty unpredictable...then cancel the dates they are not going to use 30 days out to get their deposit back. Just a helpful hint.

 

[MacMaam]

Actually, reservists and guardmen can use the SOG like active duty. They must be an active (i.e. participating member of the reserves) and have a current ID card. Also, certain DOD employees can use the SOG as well (GS employees with ID card). On my 6th trip with (and this time through) the SOG and both my husband and I are reservists (of course, he's active duty right now

 

[FirstNo]

Originally posted by MacMaam
Actually, reservists and guardmen can use the SOG like active duty. They must be an active (i.e. participating member of the reserves) and have a current ID card. Also, certain DOD employees can use the SOG as well (GS employees with ID card). On my 6th trip with (and this time through) the SOG and both my husband and I are reservists (of course, he's active duty right now

Inactive reservists are also eligible. Essentially, it boils down to this: if you have a military ID card that will enable you access to the Commissary and BX/PX, then you can stay at SoG.

 

[Leader of the Club]

We have a reservation for for March 12th also. We are thinking of making a back-up reservation at one of the value resorts, just so we are not "homeless" when we get there.

 

[AirForceRocks]

SoG is a great place - prior to be taken over by the military, it was The Disney Inn, and it was considered a deluxe resort.

I believe that they do have package deliveries to the resort, just like the WDW owned resorts. The rooms are big compared to WDW mods and the grounds are very nice.

 

[sk8ingmom]

When did you make your reservation? I made mine last April, at that time they were scheduled to re-open in Dec.

I'm going to call today or tomorrow, I'll let you know what I find out.

 

[clkelley]

Oh, just a positive note about SOG. I called to ask a question about what CCs they accept at the ticket shop and had to leave a message. I thought, oh well, I'll hear from them in a few days.

Well, less than 30 minutes later, SOG was calling back!!

I'm happy to report that they take ALL CCs.

Visa, MC, Discover, AMEX, Diners Club, JCB.

This may be because they are at the Contemporary, but I hope this ability will continue once they move back to SOG.

Most MWRs only take Visa/MC

The main reason I would probably not stay at SOG proper is the fact that the room charge only works at SOG. Even with 24 hour replace of most CCs, I like the fact that the WDW resort ID can be replaced immediately!

Carol

 

[Leader of the Club]

Originally posted by sk8ingmom
When did you make your reservation? I made mine last April, at that time they were scheduled to re-open in Dec.

I'm going to call today or tomorrow, I'll let you know what I find out.

We made it over the summer. July, maybe.

We had promised ourselves that we would not be taking a trip in 2004--HA! That promise was broken real quick!

 

[sk8ingmom]

I called SoG yesterday, the reservation guy told me that if they will not be open in time for our reservation (3/12/04) they will send out a letter a few weeks before with several options for us to choose from. He mentioned: floating to the CR or another Disney Resort (I assume PO, since that's where I've always been offered 'floats' to), cancelling the reservations (NNNNOOOOOO!), or re-booking for the same time the following year (not a chance - we are DCL cruisin' as part of this vacation).

I specificaly asked if all of the options would be in the same price range as our SoG rate & he said yes. As much as I would love to 'float' to Poly or somewhere else really cool...I just don't want to double the $$ I have budgeted for the hotel.

I think I'm going to go ahead & book a moderate resort on my own just to be safe. Since we are traveling at spring break time, I'm not sure what SoG will be able to come up with on short notice.

Side note: Has anyone else noticed that the reservation line is ALWAYS "experiencing higher than usual call volume" I always laugh at that recording. I've bee calling there for several years at all different times of day & that recording ALWAYS plays...I would think it was 'usual' call volume by now!!

 

[Leader of the Club]

Thanks for the info. We are going to book a back-up, also--just for my peace-of-mind.

 

[Jynohn]

We had reservations at SOG for this January, and got our letter in July telling us we had to move to the CR. The rate was the same, except now we also have to pay the 11.5% sales tax (SOG is normally tax-free).

I was really disappointed because I'm not crazy about the theming at the CR and we were looking forward to staying at the new SOG while it was still brand new. I cancelled the reservation and planned to stay at the WL if the AP rates came out.

I called again yesterday hoping that they'd have an overflow rate at one of the other resorts for our dates, but they actually still had rooms available at the CR. I decided I was being ridiculous to pass up such a great rate at the CR ($78/night including tax) and ended up booking it. I was really surprised they still had availability on such short notice as SOG usually books up very quickly. They also get many cancellations though because of the nature of the military and people getting deployed on short notice.

I'm still trying to get excited about staying at the CR, but for $780 for 10 nights at a monorail resort, I guess I should be grateful! It beats all this anxiety over waiting for AP rates, that's for sure!

 

[Leader of the Club]

I would LIVE at the CR if they would let me. The kids feel the same way. You can't beat the service or the value--especially at $78 a night!

You'll be very pleased there. We walked to the MK in the morning--took about 7 minutes. We loved the ease in going to the campground for the movies. We loved being able to hop on the monorail so easily. We loved being on the lake for that electric boat thingy. We watched it from the pool one night!

Our room (each time) was very near the food court so the refillable mugs were very convenient. Once we even had a room facing the playground. All we had to do was open the sliding door and let the kids go play.

ahhh, now I'm feeling homesick!

 

[Jynohn]

Thanks for making me feel better about the CR. I posted a few months ago when we first were notified of the change and many other people said the same thing that you did. I guess I should have listened to everyone then! Would have saved me a lot of anxiety over these AP rates. LOL

I finally came to my senses and realized that even if the WL AP rates do come out, I'll still be saving over $400 by taking advantage of the SOG rate. Not only that, but by staying at a monorail resort, we won't have to rent a car. That's another $200+ in savings.

For anyone who is eligible to use SOG, it really is a wonderful benefit. We've stayed there twice in the past when at the time, we never would have been able to afford to stay onsite. Especially in such a beautiful resort! We're disappointed that the new building won't be ready in time for this trip, but I guess it just gives us one more reason to go back!

 

[suevee]

I have been to WL and CR. Like you, the first time I was schedualed to stay at CR, I was a little apprehensive. I just didn't care for the look of it. However, while WL is very beautiful and I loved the restaurants, I have to say I much prefer CR. The convenience is just unbeatable! And the rooms are much much larger. It is so great to hop on the monorail for MK or Epcot and not even think about buses or driving. Not mention the ease of walking. Then you have two very nice pools, hot-tub, arcade room, as well as boating and water-mice. AND it is very easy to get over to WL or the campgrounds to take advantage of all the things they have going on. I am sure you will be very pleasantly surprised. I sure was.