Tell Me About SOG

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

I know it's not yet re-opened, but anyone who's stayed there, can you give me a little taste of what it's like? My main concern is transportation (since we will not have a car). I have heard it is NOT a far walk to the Poly. Is this the case? I've been to the monorail resorts many times, yet never really seen signs for SOG and am curious about the walking.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sugar223]

sorry

 

[Sugar223]

I've stayed at the SOG a few times and the walk is very pleasant. I'd say about 6 minutes or so to the Poly. The entrance road to SOG has a large pond on either side. When walking to and from the Poly you can sometimes spot an alligator in the pond. Towards the end of the walkway you can see the golf course. It's a pretty walk.
You'll have to cross one street with a cross walk. There is traffic so be mindful of that if you have small children or a stroller. Staying at SOG is the next best thing to staying at a monorail resort. As you said, the Poly is just a quick walk away. It does seem a little longer at night when returning after a long day in the parks. I'm looking forward to staying there again when they finally reopen.
Sue

 

[sk8ingmom]

The walk is nice.
You can also take a bus to the TTC. The busses are on a pretty regular (and frequent) schedule. It's been a while, but I think the bus only goes to the TTC (not MGM, AK, etc) so you may have to transfer - I can't remember. What's nice is that the bus only services SoG, so when the other lines are REALLY long (like at park closing) you can usually not only get on the first bus, but actually sit down!

 

[*Flower*]

If I remember correctly, SoG sends busses to TTC, DTD and MGM. I can't remember if they also had a bus for AK or not.

Transportation is great though.... but keep in mind that they'll be asking for your SoG room key or military ID to get on the bus.

We've done the walk to the Poly also, and it's not too far. You can even go by the gator pond!!

 

[TY31088]

For us the SOG transportation worked well when going to the four main parks. Just make sure you know the schedule. When we went they had two bus routes. One went to the TTC about every twenty minutes. The other went to Blizzard Beach, AK, & MGM,but this bus ran on an hourly schedule. If the schedule says they depart MGM at 40 minutes after the hour and you show up at the bus location at 45 minutes after the hour you will have to wait about 55 minutes for the next bus.

Besides knowing the schedule you have to know where the buses pick-up at BB,AK, & MGM. In the past the SOG bus did not pick up where the Disney buses do at AK & MGM, can't remember about BB. The very first time we went to AK we went there via the Disney bus, when we were ready to leave we went to the Disney bus pick-up area and never found a SOG bus, later learned the SOG bus arrives in a different area. If we had rode the SOG bus there to start with we would have know the exact location.

We have occasionaly walked over to the Poly and caught the monorail to MK but usually prefer to take the SOG bus.
But, in the afternoon I like taking the small boat that runs from MK directly to the Poly, buy a cool beverage from the bar near the pool and enjoy it as you walk to SOG.

I did find it a pain to get to Downtown Disney, you have to get the TTC and then catch a Disney bus. Just seems to take forever and the Disney bus going there was often crowded.

Overall I give the SOG buses an A rating, the drivers were always very friendly too.

I'm interested in seeing how it works when they re-open.

Enjoy your trip,

Ty

 

[Jodi1980]

We plan on staying at SoG this March - If we plan on visiting Downtown Disney, I think I'll look into the price of a cab. I'll be saving so much money at SoG anyway!

 

[Poohbeck]

We stayed there in 2000 and just booked for November 2004. I agree with everyone about transportation: nice brisk walk (even with 2 strollers) if you want and but the buses were perfect too!

The rooms were really spacious and comfortable. I remember reading somewhere that the SOG rooms were the largest (or one of the largest) on Disney property.

The pools were awesome too! The kids pool is very shallow and the other pool is in the shape of Mickey Mouse.

Food. We would try to eat breakfast or dinner at the SOG because it was sooooo much cheaper. When we arrived at Orlando we use TTC and got a 1/2 shopping trip which we stocked up on bottled water (was 2.50 per bottle in park) break, peanut butter, jelly, juice etc... we were able to keep it the fridge. Also, you could get souvenirs at the AAFES store too.

Well, that's about all I remember so far. We are soo excited to be going again.

It's supposed to be open in March? It will be interesting to see the first posts of people coming back.

 

[kadaten]

Loved staying at SOG! Stayed there 3 times before they closed for rehab. Did the walk to the Poly...very easy like everyone said.

Since they are more than doubling the size of the resort (288 rooms to 586 rooms, I think I read), I expect there will be some changes in their transportation...like more buses, or more frequent buses, to handle the bigger crowds. I never found anything at SOG to be lacking, so I'm expecting it to be as good as ever.

As for that March timeframe...it's not looking good. There's an informer on here somewhere who can tell you better, but you can judge for yourself. They have a webcam of the worksite...doesn't look anywhere near close to finished. Builder wants another extension (already got 2!), government says no....where do they go from here? It's anybody's guess!

Can't wait for it to open myself...hoping to stay there in October
Katie