SHADES OF GREEN at Walt Disney World Resort Information & Questions

[DisArmyWife215]

Thanks for the tips everyone. I was able to link our reservation today. I did have to call into SOG and get the secondary confirmation number because the one with the letters from my email didn't work. After I had that it linked smoothly and I could pull over my DH and DD from my MDE friends list. Now only 19 days to ADR's & 139 days to Fastpasses!!

 

[tanyali26]

Yes I've done that, gone in and modified the existing reservation and replaced my name on the top of other rooms and entered an adult that will be staying in that room... steps are a few pages back in post #3600:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...tion-questions.2912833/page-180#post-59599409

Can you clarify - did you say you were able to put your husband's name on the reservation in place of your stepdad (the military sponsor)? We weren't able to do that and for us that means that we have one person who can't be linked to the room. There are 3 of us going - my husband is not going but they said his name has to be on the room so we can only add 2 more people. Last year we did this and they said we could still make FP at 60 days out for the 3rd person who wasn't on the room reservation as long as we all did the same rides. I'm concerned that this is going to be a problem - have they come up with a fix for this now that will allow all the names to be on the room yet?
thanks!

Can you clarify - did you say you were able to put your husband's name on the reservation in place of your stepdad (the military sponsor)? We weren't able to do that and for us that means that we have one person who can't be linked to the room. There are 3 of us going - my husband is not going but they said his name has to be on the room so we can only add 2 more people. Last year we did this and they said we could still make FP at 60 days out for the 3rd person who wasn't on the room reservation as long as we all did the same rides. I'm concerned that this is going to be a problem - have they come up with a fix for this now that will allow all the names to be on the room yet?
thanks!

Yes. when I logged in MDR and linked the resort ot had my stepdads name and four guests I tapped on his name and switched it out for my hubby's name, and added everyone else

 

[tanyali26]

No reason to be nervous. As someone who stays at both the Disney value resorts and SOG the differences are minor for kids. Yes, you don't get big tacky statues of Disney characters, but some people like that. You still get a good resort with a great pool that is close to the action. With a family of 5 you will LOVE the fact that the rooms are larger then anything you can get at Disney resorts for the same price point. Unless you get family suites, none of the rooms at the value resorts fit 5.

You can easily take the bus to TTC every 20 minutes (for Epcot or Magic Kingdom) or take a bus to the other parks every hour. Not sure you will be walking to the monorail with an 11 month old and not sure how often you will want to use the Shady Shuttle with 5 people and strollers and such. That will vary depending on your particular habits.

IMHO the biggest disadvantages to SOG vs. Disney
* Can't use DDP
* for the most part the staff is nice, but not quite as nice as at Disney
* Can't use Magical Express
* No free magicbands or room charges.

Beyond that, you will probably feel safer at SOG then any Disney resort. You are close to the action while still being an island away from the action.

Thanks. This visit we went be using dining plans as we will have are toddler and infant. Also I was able to book pop as a family of 5 because of the infant. So we count as 4 and a infant. But it would be a tight fit with the pack and play and two queens now. We did pop with a 1 year old and teen last year. The teen spent most of the stay in my moms room. When my mom left it was tight but she had the bed to herself as the 1 year old slept in the pack on play. Again it is doable for a family on a budget but considering not much of a price difference I look forward to trying Shades.

 

[wehrengrizz]

Thanks. This visit we went be using dining plans as we will have are toddler and infant. Also I was able to book pop as a family of 5 because of the infant. So we count as 4 and a infant. But it would be a tight fit with the pack and play and two queens now. We did pop with a 1 year old and teen last year. The teen spent most of the stay in my moms room. When my mom left it was tight but she had the bed to herself as the 1 year old slept in the pack on play. Again it is doable for a family on a budget but considering not much of a price difference I look forward to trying Shades.

We have 5 kids (ages 3-12) and have stayed at Pop almost every trip. We took them all to Shades a few years back (when the 4th kid was the baby) and we all 6 were in one room. What a spoiler haha! Otherwise we have done 2 rooms at Pop, but that was before the renovation. Our last trip we got to do AoA family suite because the youngest was still 2. Now we're too many for most rooms on property, and I agree if I'm going for 2 rooms, I might as well enjoy a LOT more space and get 2 rooms at Shades.

 

[Lisa P00]

Hoping someone can help me. We will be staying at SOG in January for my belated birthday and our anniversary. DH is a veteran so this will be our first stay here. We are not planning to rent a car so I'm trying to find out the best way to get to the resort from the airport. I'm assuming there are no shuttles from SOG. Also, I read in one of the early threads that you need your MIL ID to purchase alcohol while staying. As my DH is a veteran, he does not have a MIL ID. Does that mean we cannot sit at the pool bar and have a cocktail (weather permitting) or is that to buy at the AAFES? And I had read that you cannot buy park tickets as a veteran at SOG. Is this correct? I just want to make sure to get them before we arrive if that is the case. Thanks!

 

[JKMastalski]

Hi! You are correct as far as the transportation. There is nothing from the airport to Shades. We have used their recommended service (sunstate) and never had a problem with it. I believe it even included a grocery stop. Another time, we booked Mears shuttles and that was fine as well. We have stayed at SOG many many times (Veteran status) and we have never been asked to show any kind of MIL ID for purchases in the AAFES, including alcohol. I dont think we have ever gone to the pool bar, so I can't answer that one.
You can definitely purchase your park tickets as a veteran. They usually email you a form to fill out a few weeks before you arrive and then the tickets are waiting for you. I haven't stayed there in about 2 years, so things may have changed, but that was how it was when we were there.
The renovated rooms are SO nice (we stayed on the Palm side) and we have rented a car at SOG many times as well, which is super convenient if you want to go to Universal, etc.

 

[chilly2336]

We stayed at SOG in August and used Uber both ways from/to MCO. I think it was around $55 for UberXL as there were 5 of us so probably would be cheaper with less people. Both times driver was there in less than five minutes when we requested the service.

 

[Lisa P00]

Hi! You are correct as far as the transportation. There is nothing from the airport to Shades. We have used their recommended service (sunstate) and never had a problem with it. I believe it even included a grocery stop. Another time, we booked Mears shuttles and that was fine as well. We have stayed at SOG many many times (Veteran status) and we have never been asked to show any kind of MIL ID for purchases in the AAFES, including alcohol. I dont think we have ever gone to the pool bar, so I can't answer that one.
You can definitely purchase your park tickets as a veteran. They usually email you a form to fill out a few weeks before you arrive and then the tickets are waiting for you. I haven't stayed there in about 2 years, so things may have changed, but that was how it was when we were there.
The renovated rooms are SO nice (we stayed on the Palm side) and we have rented a car at SOG many times as well, which is super convenient if you want to go to Universal, etc.

Wow, that's awesome! I may have been mistaken about the MIL ID, or maybe I read that from a really old post. This is all new for me but I'm crazy excited. Thanks for the help!

 

[ConnecticutFlea]

I have stayed at SOG more than 40 times, the last time being in August. You need a military ID to buy alcohol in the AAFES. You do not have to have a military ID to buy a drink in any of the restaurants including Evergreens which is the sports bar near the main pool.
As a veteran you are not eligible to buy the military salute tickets but you can buy park tickets at SOG which are tax free and at a discount. You can find prices on their web site. If you have a reservation, SOG will send you an email with all the information you need to purchase tickets in plenty of time to make your FPs at the 60 day mark.
Enjoy your trip!

 

[goofynut41]

My husband is a veteran and we buy the salute tickets all the time. They will sent you a form and ask what you want and they mail them to you to enter on your MDR for dining and fastpasses.

 

[wehrengrizz]

Back from our super short trip! Just wanted to put a quick note about anyone who might be headed to the TSL AP Play Time events at DHS. We had an arrival time of 0645 at DHS for our 0700-0800 event. We ended up ordering a Lyft (not a Minnie van one) and it picked up right by bell services, within 3 minutes, even at 0605. It was about $9 and took maybe 10 minutes to arrive at DHS. Walking up to the bag check took about 3 minutes and so we were very early, which was perfect.

 

[wehrengrizz]

Hoping someone can help me. We will be staying at SOG in January for my belated birthday and our anniversary. DH is a veteran so this will be our first stay here. We are not planning to rent a car so I'm trying to find out the best way to get to the resort from the airport. I'm assuming there are no shuttles from SOG. Also, I read in one of the early threads that you need your MIL ID to purchase alcohol while staying. As my DH is a veteran, he does not have a MIL ID. Does that mean we cannot sit at the pool bar and have a cocktail (weather permitting) or is that to buy at the AAFES? And I had read that you cannot buy park tickets as a veteran at SOG. Is this correct? I just want to make sure to get them before we arrive if that is the case. Thanks!

as PP stated, there are options from MCO but just not free. We did a Lyft on Saturday (9/8/18) and it was about $30 for 2 people. I had seen that MEARS was about $35 if you ordered round trip buy my brother wanted to just go straight there not gamble we'd have to drop anyone off somewhere else. My Lyft back to MCO yesterday was $25 (solo, but that wouldn't have mattered). We were able to purchase an annual pass for my brother through SOG (I had an active AP already) and it was tax free. It was through the form SOG emailed out and we were able to link it and make FP+ etc then activate it when we arrived at our first park. We also purchased MNSSHP tickets at the military rate. The way the ticket office explained to me was if you are eligible to be staying at SOG then while you are staying there, you can purchase tickets for guests. The exclusion was the Salute tickets. For reference, the party tickets were not able to be ordered until 30 days out, whereas the regular tickets/AP was around 70-80 days out so that we'd have time for FP+

 

[mog]

Yes. when I logged in MDR and linked the resort ot had my stepdads name and four guests I tapped on his name and switched it out for my hubby's name, and added everyone else

That's weird - this is my second time going without my husband since they started allowing Shades of Green to be linked to MDE, both times his name was unchangeable. You couldn't click on it and reassign it to another person. The first time I went, I called and was told that it has to stay that way with his name since he is the military person and Disney said they can't do anything to modify Shades of Green reservations.....strange!

 

[mog]

I really wish that they would get these glitches with MDE and Shades figured out! I'm tired of my reservations being kicked out. Right now, the app shows one room but not both that I have reserved, MDE on the computer shows no rooms linked but when I try to re-link them it doesn't work. Also the app shows only one of our dinner reservations, and on the computer it shows the other 3 but NOT the one that is showing up on the app. Crazy! I wish they would work this out!

 

[Ladyfish77]

My husband is a veteran and we buy the salute tickets all the time.

Depends on the definition of "veteran". Retired veterans can purchase tickets. Veterans who served less than 20 years are not eligible unless they are 100% disabled.

 

[JKMastalski]

I think where the confusion comes in is the difference between the "Salute" tickets and the "Stars and Stripes" tickets. With my husband being a veteran, we have always been able to order the Stars and Stripes tickets while staying as a registered guest, which are a little bit of a savings due to no tax. The Salute tickets, we have not been able to purchase, as that is not veteran eligible. Hope this helps.

 

[famouschinesec]

as PP stated, there are options from MCO but just not free. We did a Lyft on Saturday (9/8/18) and it was about $30 for 2 people. I had seen that MEARS was about $35 if you ordered round trip buy my brother wanted to just go straight there not gamble we'd have to drop anyone off somewhere else. My Lyft back to MCO yesterday was $25 (solo, but that wouldn't have mattered). We were able to purchase an annual pass for my brother through SOG (I had an active AP already) and it was tax free. It was through the form SOG emailed out and we were able to link it and make FP+ etc then activate it when we arrived at our first park. We also purchased MNSSHP tickets at the military rate. The way the ticket office explained to me was if you are eligible to be staying at SOG then while you are staying there, you can purchase tickets for guests. The exclusion was the Salute tickets. For reference, the party tickets were not able to be ordered until 30 days out, whereas the regular tickets/AP was around 70-80 days out so that we'd have time for FP+

Grizz; What kind of discount did you get for MNSSHP? Did you order those tickets online through Shades? We are planning on doing MVMCP in early December and when I asked Shades if they sold discount tickets, they said they didn't.

 

[wehrengrizz]

Grizz; What kind of discount did you get for MNSSHP? Did you order those tickets online through Shades? We are planning on doing MVMCP in early December and when I asked Shades if they sold discount tickets, they said they didn't.

When I got my email with the ticket options one of the .PDFs was party tickets. It may depend on your dates ? For MNSSHP it was $56.25 for an adult ticket,but that latest date for military discounts is 9/18.
Looking at the MVMCP military rates, it's $71.50/adult but dates for that pricing are listed as Nov 9, 12,13,15 only.

 

[jen7233]

For those that mentioned SOG and linking with MDE, can you tell me if you called Disney to link it or was it automatically done? I have been following that it's now, well it's been for a bit, 60 days for FP. Also, last time we stayed at SOG and also did the parks it didn't link and it was the 30 day FP, but we also split stay with BC so it all worked out to 60 days FP. But anyway back to the linking, I'm really curious, does it show up now or do you have to call it in to link? Considering a WDW and SOG trip next summer. Thanks if you answer!

 

[goofynut41]

Depends on the definition of "veteran". Retired veterans can purchase tickets. Veterans who served less than 20 years are not eligible unless they are 100% disabled.

Oh well… My husband is retired 22 years in service.. I see now..