SHADES OF GREEN at Walt Disney World Resort Information & Questions

[ZellyB]

Time for a little more detailed report on SoG. I think this is either our 3rd or 4th time staying there.

Check-in.
We got there around 11:00 and our rooms were not ready yet. They gave us our Ids and we checked all our luggage in with bell services. No problems with that at all. We then caught the bus to Disney Springs since we had late lunch reservations. When we returned from our trip to Disney Springs our rooms were ready.

Transportation.
This was the biggest issue with SoG the entire trip. Except for the TTC bus, all the other busses are a pain. As most people know since the busses aren't official Disney busses you can't get as close to the entrances as you can with a Disney bus. At MK/Epcot that means a trip to TTC instead of directly to the MK/Epcot. At the other parks it usually means a farther away spot then the Disney busses. Not horrible for HS, AK it is pretty far for a hot day. Disney Springs is the worst. The bus stop is on the other side of Cirque. When we went on Day 1, the nearest security entrance to Disney Springs was within the Orange Garage on the far side of the garage. It was a very long walk. When we left there was a show at Cirque so they did have a security checkpoint there but you can't guarantee it will be open at certain times.
Another day we went to Disney Springs and we just happened to have been at Wilderness Lodge visiting family at that location and it was a much more convenient trip to Disney Springs from there.
The other issue is that they combine busses to AK and HS. Our first day to HS they didn't combine busses, which made things more convenient but the rest of the week they did. This meant VERY crowded buses, standing room only during any popular times to the park and occasionally if you weren't there early you didn't get on at all. Unlike Disney busses if you miss a buss you don't just wait 5-10 minutes you have to wait at least a half hour (except for the TTC bus.) It also meant that you had to take the time to visit the other park when either going to or coming from the park which meant much longer bus rides.

The other issue we had was that my mother used an ECV. The only issue we had is that they can only take a maximum of two ECVs/wheelchairs per bus. They "suggested" that you be there 15 minutes early. At least one time my mother was close to bus arrival time getting there and was in line before the bus showed up but was unable to get on the bus because they didn't notice she was in line (the driver and the person monitoring the line were to busy talking to notice her) and they started boarding the bus without letting her on so she had to wait for the next bus even though she was the only ECV/wheelchair in line.

Be ready to show both your hotel id and photo id EVERY time you get on the bus and most of the times when the bus goes through the security gate at the resort. Last time we were at SoG the secondary Id show at the security gate only happened late night, this time we rarely didn't have to show our Id at both locations.

Rooms
Rooms are fine. We had a room in the Magnolia Wing overlooking the pool. The rooms are basic rooms that need a little updating. The drop ceiling in our bathroom looked a little gross. Standard rooms at SoG are much larger then standard rooms you get anywhere else on property so a family of 4 "adults" (2 adults/2 teens) can easily fit in the same room. The sofa bed is just a fold out single bed, so 5 adults would be pushing it.

Breakfast Meal Plan
Within a couple weeks of our trip they had brought back the breakfast meal plan. My father decided to add that onto our reservation. The food is ok, nothing special, not bad. There are plenty of options but the options don't really change to much day to day. They do have both a made to order omelet bar and a made to order pancake bar. Since you have to pay for it the entire length of your stay if you are planning on eating there every day it is a good deal, but if you plan on eating at say a park or having a quick breakfast one or more days it isn't really worth it since you will still be paying for that in your room cost. We ate one day at Kona so missing that one day at SoG probably ate up the cost of what we saved just purchasing the buffet on our own. Try not to get there at busy times because check-in seems to take a long time to deal with either paying or the meal plan and getting your table. Tip is not included in the breakfast meal plan.

Evergreens was pretty good for a relaxing drink or quick bite. Nice prices compared to Disney prices. Felt it odd that the bar shut down at 11:00 p.m. every day. Usually that was when it seemed to get popular due to people making their way back from the parks. Sometimes things could get pretty busy when the bartenders had to work both the "to go" line and the inside line. Food was just average but priced pretty good.

Only other issue we had was a problem with the laundry. She needed two washers and two dryers. The second washer she used didn't work right. It had issues reading the credit cards (all machines only take credit cards) and getting help wasn't easy. Also since the detergent dispenser was broken she had issues getting more detergent and since she was using a liquid detergent she couldn't transfer what she put in the machine to a new machine. We ended up having to go to the other wing to get more detergent. The front desk was finally able to give us a laundry card to use to make up for what she spent.

Good trip all in all. Whether I stay here again will depend on whether my father can continue to come down with us (since he is our sponsor) and what Disney and/or DVC rental offers are available.

One thing to note, if they make ANY changes to your reservation you need to re-enter your reservation number in the My Disney Experience Program and you have to use it via the online interface, not just the App. We had to do this three times. Once for the initial time, again when it turned out they made a mistake with the proper number of adults/youth in our rooms and a third time when we added on the breakfast meal plan.

Thank you for the thorough review. I'd say we've had similar experiences at Shades. We always rent a car so never use the busses any more, but I've also felt that when we did use them they just were not a good transportation option. Walking over to Poly for the monorail or driving has always suited us better.

We enjoy the breakfast buffet, but never would do it for every day since we like to rope drop and for most of the parks on most days there isn't time to eat there.

We also really enjoy Evergreens for what it is and the pricing is a welcome relief from Disney hotel prices.

We also had problems using the laundry room and getting the card readers to work properly. I understand why they went to just all credit cards, but the units often have problems which is a definite frustration. We are often there for runDisney race weekends and thus almost always use the laundry room to take care of smelly race clothes and we almost always have at least one hiccup while using them.

I also agree the rooms are a bit stale but like you said the size of the rooms is really great especially since I have two teens and we keep an ECV in the room.

Ultimately, while it's not always the greatest in every capacity, we find ourselves there again and again because even with our relatively minor complaints, the price is just too good to pass up, especially with it's proximity to MK. Thanks again for the review and I guess letting me know we are not alone in those things that bug us.

 

[NavyDad]

Just a couple of notes on the bus system at SOG in comparison to the regular Disney bus system used at other resorts:

1. If you look at the overhead map of AK, you will see the green pavilion roof about 7 rows out in the parking lot. That is where SOG busses pick up and drop off. It's actually about the same distance walk from the Disney Bus drop off area.

2. We have stayed at a bunch of different Disney resorts and our experience with the buses at those resorts was not always great. At busy times in the morning and at park close we experienced packed busses at every resort we stayed at from value to deluxe. Disney busses have the same rule with 2 ECV's which can be a real pain for people using the ECV, their travelling party and everybody else. At POR we actually had two ECV's ready to load and the driver forced the passengers who got on at POFQ to de-board and then he loaded the ECV's so by the time he allowed passengers to re-board some of the POFQ guests were not able to get back on that bus and had to wait for the next bus. Oh boy - they were BIG mad. We also saw a few instances where there were a few ECV's waiting and a bus would show up from another stop and it already had 1 or 2 ECV's so they couldn't load anymore. I think Disney does a good job with ECV's but the process can get frustrating with them whether it's Disney or Shades busses.

3. Our trip in April at the tail end of Spring Break we were prepared not to use the Shades buses at all due to what we read on this forum. We loved the flexibility to walk over to Poly and use the Disney transportation options over there. We did give the buses at Shades a try though and found them to be just as reliable and convenient as Disney buses and we could save ourselves a walk if our feet or legs were tired.

Every experience is going to be a little different. We had zero problems with Shades of Green buses. The first day we were surprised about showing ID but after that we just expected it. Really, one of the great things about staying at Shades is you have their busses at your service but you can also walk across the street and use the transportation options at a deluxe Disney resort.

Win-Win

 

[Leigh L]

We just came back from an 8-night stay at Shades. We typically change up our transportation depending on our park plans or goals for the day. Here's what we did this trip:

Day 1: Walked from SOG to Poly and then used the walkway to MK. I love this walk but know it's not the best option (DD took the SOG bus to TTC and tapped in before us). Walked to Contemporary for lunch at Steakhouse71 and then WDW bus to AK. DDs took SOG bus back to resort late day. DH and I closed AK and took Poly bus and walked back since we missed the SOG scheduled time.

Day 2: Drove our own car to DHS. I find SOG bus transportation too cumbersome when it comes to DHS since we've always gotten the shared bus and AK is always first. This is especially true if we want to get there early (we skipped early entry this day, but we still didn't want to deal with the AK/DHS ride.

Day 3: No parks or Disney transportation since we took a day trip.

Day 4: Took SOG bus to AK, but skipped early entry since we did mostly everything at AK we wanted on Day 1. About 3 p.m. we took a bus from AK to Wilderness Lodge for an ADR, then a boat to MK for the evening. Took boat to Poly at the end of the night and walked to SOG.

Day 5: Drove our car to DHS. Took a midday break and dropped the car off at SOG. Later we walked to Poly and monorail to MK. Finished the day at Hoop de Doo Revue at Fort Wildnerness and then boat to MK and then switched to Poly boat for return to SOG.

Day 6: Took SOG bus to TTC for Early Entry at Epcot. That timing was pure luck for us because I'd nabbed Virtual Queue for Guardians and got group 2! We walked down quickly to the bus stop and it timed with the TTC bus pulling up. Which was lucky since our group was called unexpectedly early at 8:10 a.m.(!?!) and we were still nowhere near Epcot since the Early Entry was scheduled to start at 8:30.

Overall, we don't mind the SOG transportation and on this trip, we used it more often than normal. My adult DD uses it more than we do, but the rest of us tend to prefer walking to Poly or driving. (And me being weird, will at least once every trip, walk to MK in the early morning for early entry )

To add to NavyDad, we've also had poor and great experiences with WDW buses when staying at Disney resorts. The one upside to Shades is you know what you get schedule-wise and while less frequent, you don't have to guess about buses. With WDW I feel, while buses are mostly reliable, it's sometimes a pure crap shoot.

 

[Neverbeast]

How long does that poly walk take you?

 

[Leigh L]

How long does that poly walk take you?

From the lobby, about 10 minutes, give or take.

 

[marauder]

How long does that poly walk take you?

As was said about 10 minutes but pay attention to the weather. It is a pleasant walk in the morning or the evening, but during the heat of the day it can be a little much for most people, especially after spending all day in a park. There are a couple areas with shade along the path but a lot of it is direct sun.

 

[NavyDad]

How long does that poly walk take you?

I would highly recommend walking to the Poly in the morning before you attempt to walk back from Poly to Shades the first time.

In April we did the opposite and tried to walk back to Shades from Poly late at night after fireworks and a few drinks. We were not familiar with the path yet and the signs at Poly are not great if you don't know where to look.

 

[Saltywardog]

I would highly recommend walking to the Poly in the morning before you attempt to walk back from Poly to Shades the first time.

In April we did the opposite and tried to walk back to Shades from Poly late at night after fireworks and a few drinks. We were not familiar with the path yet and the signs at Poly are not great if you don't know where to look.

Dying LOL. It's out of the main house from Capt Cooks left at the end of the main house split and under the monorail till you hit the second star on the right

 

[BigBlueWho]

All, here now and here is an (ot) update on DAS. The parks no longer give DAS for mobility purposes. They offer a complimentary wheelchair. I checked with multiple parks about this.

 

[sweetyk83]

I would highly recommend walking to the Poly in the morning before you attempt to walk back from Poly to Shades the first time.

In April we did the opposite and tried to walk back to Shades from Poly late at night after fireworks and a few drinks. We were not familiar with the path yet and the signs at Poly are not great if you don't know where to look.

We did the same thing last year during heavy Poly construction. That was an EXPERIENCE! We got so lost! It was entertaining at the least.

 

[NavyDad]

We did the same thing last year during heavy Poly construction. That was an EXPERIENCE! We got so lost! It was entertaining at the least.

In April it seemed like there was still some light construction going on with a few walls here and there. We somehow ended up in a laundry loading area off the parking lot. LOL

 

[Neverbeast]

My family will never let me live it down if I do that to them

 

[Neverbeast]

Stupid question but when is final payment for rooms due? 30days? Check in? Check out?

 

[LvnDsny]

Stupid question but when is final payment for rooms due? 30days? Check in? Check out?

Check out, they will put a hold against your card at check in, but you aren't actually charged until check out.

 

[Neverbeast]

Check out, they will put a hold against your card at check in, but you aren't actually charged until check out

Thank you, so different from how Disney handles it I didn’t want to be accidentally canceling through non payment!

 

[BigBlueWho]

Just back and I have a few thoughts:

1. Buses: No issues with transportation, but we drove down and used our car to go to Disney Springs and Typhoon Lagoon. Some of the bus drivers are great.
2. Garden Gallery: I am not really a fan of the current Garden Gallery set up. The fried rice is good, and so is the pasta, but they are pricey. Be aware they both close at 2230; you can get pizza until 2300. Also, they bake, not fry, the wings there. I've always thought Bistro to go had better wings than Evergreen's, but I am not a fan of baked wings, so I got my wings from Evergreen's. I wish they'd bring bistro to go back. Seeing room service offered was pretty cool.
   1. Also, be aware of your cashier. My wife and kids are vegetarian and would never order a supreme pizza. We ordered a margherita pizza, got charged for a supreme, and than the clerk argued we ordered a supreme.
3. Pools: I really wish they stood open until 2300. 2200 is kind of early. Other than that, no issues.
4. Poly walk: it wasn't too bad; we did it a few times. I think it was just over a third of a mile.
5. Wifi: If you have work or school, good luck. I don't remember it being this bad, but it constantly dropped if you put your phone down and cut off a few times while I was in meetings.
6. Other restaurants: we didn't get a chance to go to Mangino's. We went to Java a few times, and the coffee was okay. I recommend bringing your own creamer though as they messed mine up (frothed it) a few times. Express cafe was good. The turkey/egg/cheese muffin comes with two muffins.
7. Bell service was super efficient and helpful. They brought our grocery order to our room after we got in and asked.
8. Food delivery: not sure why groceries can be delivered but food cannot. You still have to walk to the gate.
9. Tips: not sure how this works. Do tips get split equally amongst the staff? Every place on property had a tip line.

As far as WDW goes, DAS is no longer granted for mobility issues. I can walk okay but it gets painful after a while and standing in line is brutal. I will be renting a wheelchair next time, specifically for lines. I did have several falls in the park due to my issues and once getting onto the bus.

 

[abbyandangel]

Is there access to a toaster and microwave? How about an iron? I may not want to be all wrinkled at a nice restaurant.

 

[BigBlueWho]

Is there access to a toaster and microwave? How about an iron? I may not want to be all wrinkled at a nice restaurant.

The laundry rooms have a microwave and all rooms have an iron. I had to call to get an ironing board though. Not sure about toasters. I’ve never seen one.

 

[Leigh L]

@BigBlueWho sorry to hear you fell a few times and hope you're doing ok.

Hope it was overall a great trip

 

[Leigh L]

@abbyandangel i also havent seen toasters but a microwave is in each laundry room as @BigBlueWho posted. We noticed in June those were back (upon covid reopen they were temp removed for a while)