SHADES OF GREEN at Walt Disney World Resort Information & Questions

[Jaye1980]

Wow, we just called to see if the night of 1 Sept was opened and no, they are booked...does anyone know if they are only opening one section of the resort?

 

[zemmer]

Wow, we just called to see if the night of 1 Sept was opened and no, they are booked...does anyone know if they are only opening one section of the resort?

I have heard they are operating at 20% capacity for August and September.

 

[Leigh L]

Wow, we just called to see if the night of 1 Sept was opened and no, they are booked...does anyone know if they are only opening one section of the resort?

September has been blocked out for several weeks now I noticed.

We stayed in the magnolia wing for a night on Saturday, 8/15 and our room was fairly close to the lobby (not the main hallway, but just around the corner). We saw a few people, but not many at any given place in the resort (exchange, pools, ticket office, etc). When we walked to the elevators for parking a couple of times during those two days, I didn't see anyone in the Palm wing at all come to think about it.

 

[katyringo]

Heads up that the poly monorail will be closed starting in October

 

[NavyDad]

We have stayed at WDW 9 times in the past 11 years at different Disney owned properties using the military discount. Shades was always booked up solid for our dates by the time we were able to make reservations.

I am seriously considering making a reservation in April when our kids our down there for their band trip (if that still happens).

My main concern is transportation. I am a rope dropper and we sometimes like to come back to the room mid day for a break. This was very feasible at Disney owned resorts but how easy is it to do at Shades. With the Poly being closed how far would it be to walk from Shades to TTC? Can you get to every park from TTC?

What are the transportation options like currently at Shades? For those who have stayed at Disney resorts and Shades what logistical differences should we be aware of?

 

[zemmer]

We have stayed at WDW 9 times in the past 11 years at different Disney owned properties using the military discount. Shades was always booked up solid for our dates by the time we were able to make reservations.

I am seriously considering making a reservation in April when our kids our down there for their band trip (if that still happens).

My main concern is transportation. I am a rope dropper and we sometimes like to come back to the room mid day for a break. This was very feasible at Disney owned resorts but how easy is it to do at Shades. With the Poly being closed how far would it be to walk from Shades to TTC? Can you get to every park from TTC?

What are the transportation options like currently at Shades? For those who have stayed at Disney resorts and Shades what logistical differences should we be aware of?

Buses from Shades are maybe less frequent than Disney buses but they run on a set schedule. Personally, I prefer Shades buses because I know when they’ll be departing. I have stayed at a Disney property once and Shades many times. You can also walk to the Poly and take the monorail (when it opens again) out their buses.
ETA: We have always made rope drop and taken mid day breaks while using Shades transportation.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

In this COVID era, how is SOG modifying bus capacity/seating arrangements?

Are they still running every 20 minutes like clockwork?

Are buses running early enough to get to DHS in time to get a BG for RotR?

Thanks in advance for the info!

 

[kittylady1972]

We have stayed at WDW 9 times in the past 11 years at different Disney owned properties using the military discount. Shades was always booked up solid for our dates by the time we were able to make reservations.

I am seriously considering making a reservation in April when our kids our down there for their band trip (if that still happens).

My main concern is transportation. I am a rope dropper and we sometimes like to come back to the room mid day for a break. This was very feasible at Disney owned resorts but how easy is it to do at Shades. With the Poly being closed how far would it be to walk from Shades to TTC? Can you get to every park from TTC?

What are the transportation options like currently at Shades? For those who have stayed at Disney resorts and Shades what logistical differences should we be aware of?

As another poster already mentioned, the Shades buses run on a pretty strict schedule, so it is nice to know exactly when you can expect one to arrive. We have stayed at SOG and Disney Resorts many times and while we've walked over to the Poly to catch the monorail, sometimes that walk back after a day in the parks is extra long so we would just take the bus from the TTC to SOG which I think runs about every 20 minutes...or did in the past. Unfortunately we haven't stayed there recently to know what the current schedules are like but I would imagine they are probably very similar. I know the AK and HS buses tend to run less frequently and you would need to take a bus from Shades to those parks and back. Right now the only park you can get to from TTC is MK, and yes you could walk to TTC from SOG (SOG-->Poly-->TTC) with a few extra minutes from what the walk up to the Poly monorail would normally be for you. Right now EPCOT monorail isn't running, so I would imagine Shades has a bus for that park also but that could change by April.

And of course if you don't want to wait you can always take a bus from any of the parks directly to the Polynesian Resort and then just walk to SOG from there.

FYI: Current Shades bus schedule: Shades Bus Schedule

 

[ZellyB]

We always rent a car when we stay at Shades. I do like the set schedules of the buses, but don't feel like they run frequently enough for us. It obviously adds to your expense, but we do like the freedom of having our own transportation.

 

[DisneySoldier]

We have stayed at WDW 9 times in the past 11 years at different Disney owned properties using the military discount. Shades was always booked up solid for our dates by the time we were able to make reservations.

I am seriously considering making a reservation in April when our kids our down there for their band trip (if that still happens).

My main concern is transportation. I am a rope dropper and we sometimes like to come back to the room mid day for a break. This was very feasible at Disney owned resorts but how easy is it to do at Shades. With the Poly being closed how far would it be to walk from Shades to TTC? Can you get to every park from TTC?

What are the transportation options like currently at Shades? For those who have stayed at Disney resorts and Shades what logistical differences should we be aware of?

We've stayed at Shades of Green (SOG) about 8 times over the last 5 years, and at various Disney moderate (POFQ, CBR) and value (All Stars, Pop) resorts. I could point out a lot of pros & cons of SOG vs Disney resorts, but since your main concern is about transportation, if you want flexibility - I'd recommend a Disney resort instead of SOG. We're rope droppers as well, and like to return to the room for a mid day break. The SOG convenience to the Poly monorail is great - however, if it's not running that's a major negative.

While the buses from SOG do run according to schedule - some of the downsides for me are:
1) The SOG bus to the Magic Kingdom (MK) doesn't actually go to the MK like the Disney buses do. Instead, the SOG bus drops guests off at the TTC, and then you need to take the monorail or ferry to MK, and same for returning to the hotel. Depending on your timing, this can add a lot time to trying to get to/from MK.
2) Relying on SOG transportation to rope drop creates a lot more anxiety for me than Disney resort buses. SOG doesn't have the ability to surge or flex like the Disney resorts do, to bring in additional buses to support bigger crowds, particularly at rope drop. Over the last couple years - we've had several situations where we got to the bus stop early to make sure we were able to rope drop a park (especially during early magic hours), and we weren't able to get our party on the bus. We've never missed a rope drop because of Disney transportation, but have because of SOG transportation.

I know I might sound negative about SOG -- but it's strictly about their transportation (especially if the Poly monorail is closed). There's a lot that I like about SOG like the location, resort layout, room sizes, dining options, etc. My DW and I even have a personalized brick there. However, I think their bus transportation has gotten worse and worse over the last several years.

 

[NavyDad]

Thank you all for your responses.

I think we are just going to go with SOG if I can still get a reservation. Now that I have a little more knowledge of the transportation system I can plan accordingly.

I did have a follow on question:

We will likely have a car with us. I understand that there is a parking fee at SOG which I am fine with paying. Will we get free parking at the parks like we do when staying at a Disney owned resort?

 

[Leigh L]

Thank you all for your responses.

I think we are just going to go with SOG if I can still get a reservation. Now that I have a little more knowledge of the transportation system I can plan accordingly.

I did have a follow on question:

We will likely have a car with us. I understand that there is a parking fee at SOG which I am fine with paying. Will we get free parking at the parks like we do when staying at a Disney owned resort?

Unfortunately not free for SOG.

Edited to add. I don't know how it works now since the pandemic, but last summer SOG buses combined DHS and AK on the same bus.

 

[NavyDad]

Well, I just went ahead and did it.

DW and I are booked at SOG this April during the week our kids have their school trip.

I still have some concerns about transportation but I'm going to try to overcome that with planning. We have been wanting to stay at SOG since 2009 and I was simply never able to get a reservations so I'm just going for it. Greatly looking forward to it and I will consider this another chance to check off another resort on our bucket list of staying at every WDW resort. (I know it's not owned by Disney anymore but I'm still counting it)

 

[Leigh L]

Well, I just went ahead and did it.

DW and I are booked at SOG this April during the week our kids have their school trip.

I still have some concerns about transportation but I'm going to try to overcome that with planning. We have been wanting to stay at SOG since 2009 and I was simply never able to get a reservations so I'm just going for it. Greatly looking forward to it and I will consider this another chance to check off another resort on our bucket list of staying at every WDW resort. (I know it's not owned by Disney anymore but I'm still counting it)

Have a great trip! It's a really nice resort, the rooms are very spacious.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

We've stayed at Shades of Green (SOG) about 8 times over the last 5 years, and at various Disney moderate (POFQ, CBR) and value (All Stars, Pop) resorts. I could point out a lot of pros & cons of SOG vs Disney resorts, but since your main concern is about transportation, if you want flexibility - I'd recommend a Disney resort instead of SOG. We're rope droppers as well, and like to return to the room for a mid day break. The SOG convenience to the Poly monorail is great - however, if it's not running that's a major negative.

While the buses from SOG do run according to schedule - some of the downsides for me are:
1) The SOG bus to the Magic Kingdom (MK) doesn't actually go to the MK like the Disney buses do. Instead, the SOG bus drops guests off at the TTC, and then you need to take the monorail or ferry to MK, and same for returning to the hotel. Depending on your timing, this can add a lot time to trying to get to/from MK.
2) Relying on SOG transportation to rope drop creates a lot more anxiety for me than Disney resort buses. SOG doesn't have the ability to surge or flex like the Disney resorts do, to bring in additional buses to support bigger crowds, particularly at rope drop. Over the last couple years - we've had several situations where we got to the bus stop early to make sure we were able to rope drop a park (especially during early magic hours), and we weren't able to get our party on the bus. We've never missed a rope drop because of Disney transportation, but have because of SOG transportation.

I know I might sound negative about SOG -- but it's strictly about their transportation (especially if the Poly monorail is closed). There's a lot that I like about SOG like the location, resort layout, room sizes, dining options, etc. My DW and I even have a personalized brick there. However, I think their bus transportation has gotten worse and worse over the last several years.

Thank for the detailed transportation update.

We very well may take a Poly bus over to DHS or maybe go by car.

Would love to avoid the 25 dollar parking fee......I no longer have an AP.

 

[ajanderson84]

Thank for the detailed transportation update.

We very well may take a Poly bus over to DHS or maybe go by car.

Would love to avoid the 25 dollar parking fee......I no longer have an AP.

We are staying in November and March/April... we also want to avoid the parking fees and I think we will most days by either taking the Shades buses or walking over to the Poly for buses, which to my understanding are still running, so we'll see how that goes.

 

[Nanceliz319]

wondering how often the buses run at Poly. Looking at Shades bus schedule, EPCOT bus runs only once an hour and looks like 1st one doesn't arrive at park until close to opening. We will probably walk to Poly or Uber it.

 

[Esmerelda]

I called earlier to make a reservation for 9/15/2021 (exactly 1 year in advance). I was told SOG is sold out for last 3 weeks of September 2021. I asked how was that possible since we were told we could only book 1 year out? They said some big group booked entire hotel. WTH? ☹ I also ask about another room on property, was told there wasn't anything available.

 

[cdobert]

Thats really disappointing. Im hoping that the large group meets the requirements to stay on site.

 

[Leigh L]

Since Shades of Green opens up availability to all Veterans every Sept and Jan, I wonder if groups are now starting to book that can't stay there at other times of the year? This year September has been booked too which I thought unusual for Sept., but figured it was due to capacity limits.

Wonder if SOG is intentionally keeping capacity lower indefinitely until things improve (better to open up more availability for booking later than cancel a bunch of guests if they can't up capacity by then?)

I would definitely keep checking!