Shades of Green, convince me it'll be ok!

I need some reassurance about a possible stay at Shades of Green. Or perhaps someone will talk me out of it. LOL.

I just found out the dates of my kids' fall break in Oct. We have never been to Food and Wine Festival, and it's something DH and I have wanted to do for a long time.

Typically we use the military discount and stay in a Disney resort. I know that last year during the months of Oct. and Nov. the military discounts were hard to come by. Ideally we would want to stay at Beach Club but, not without the discount. I know that everyone wants to stay in the Epcot resort area for F&W, so I am guessing that discounts for any of those resorts will be slim to none. Our second choice would be Wilderness Lodge. Again, not sure we will be able to secure the military discount there either.

Since DH would like to golf a morning or two while we are there, and also because of the great prices, we are considering Shades of Green. I plan to book it soon, and then cancel if we happen to get the military discount elsewhere.

My problem is I am not sold on this resort. We've stayed a few times before, but only for a night before or after a trip. Really the main thing I didn't care for was the bus service. I am looking for pros and cons from guests who have stayed there for a whole trip. How were the buses? How is the resort for an extended stay?

Thanks!:mickey:

I didn't mind the buses. They leave on time and pick up at the parks on time. A bit inconvenient for MK and EPCOT 'cause you pick the bus up at TTC. I liked the resort for the larger rooms...not much disney theming which is OK for me.

The bus to TTC runs regularly about every 15-20 minutes...so getting to Epcot is very easy...bus to TTC, and pick up the Epcot monorail...
To the MK, just take the short walk to the Poly, and hop the monorail, or the boat...
Since the buses to AK and DHS runs about once an hour, I often took the more frequent bus to the TTC, and got the Disney buses to those two parks...and the same on return, unless the direct bus was immediately available.
The resort is much better than the Disney moderates, and the buses are usually less crowded than the Mods, or value buses.
We love the larger rooms. We usually request a ground floor room, in the newer section...DW loves sitting on the patio, and watching the wild life, including the golfers. The food venues, at least on our last several trips, were good, and much lower in price than other on-property venues.

I enjoyed the timed bus schedule. Staying at a Disney owned hotel there were times when it would get frustrating waiting for the right bus to come. At least with SOG you know when the bus is coming and you can plan accordingly.

They got all new buses last fall. Really like knowing my bus will always be there at the stated time. Never have to wait and wait for a bus. This is our favorite resort.

We stayed for 8 nights last December and are going back this December. I did not like the bus system either. I loved the rooms and everyone was very friendly. I learned not to ask anyone about the SOG buses except when at the resort. The cast members in park bus areas directing at night have no idea where, when, or what to do to get to SOG. I learned after our first night going back to the room. I think this trip we may just walk back from Poly at night. Morning buses were easy. Once we leave the room in the morning we don't go back until evening. If you like to go back for a mid-day rest I would find it very frustrating.

As I learned on last several stays at SoG...return trips to SoG that worked best...from MK, boat or monorail to Poly, then walk to SoG, for EPCOT, monorail to TTC, then SoG bus from TTC...from AK or DHS, either SoG bus (which runs only once an hour), or Disney bus to TTC, and SoG bus to SoG...worked great for me, although I did note others decried this approach. I never had problems catching Disney buses to TTC, and never had problems with crowding on buses.

The walk to/from Poly was easy. Last several visits, DW and I got refillable mugs at Poly, and usually enjoyed a beverage and/or a Dole Whip on the walk to SoG.

We are going in Oct as well, and plan on spending lots of time at F&W. We have stayed at SOG many times, several since the renovation. We love it there.

Prior posters have pretty much covered the bus issue. I can back up what they said. Buses are not a huge problem at SOG. We usually drive so we have our car available, but we have used the buses before, and have found them to be timely and efficient. Plus we always enjoy striking up a conversation with people (DH will tell ANYONE about her DD who used to be a CP Intern and is coming back for another round).

Is it the schedule folks don't like about the buses? I've never understood the complaints. We take them when convenient, and if not, walk from the Poly. I actually love doing this.

Love SoG. The value for what you get is undeniable.

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Originally Posted by wdwfansince75

The walk to/from Poly was easy. Last several visits, DW and I got refillable mugs at Poly, and usually enjoyed a beverage and/or a Dole Whip on the walk to SoG.

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That's a great idea!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Melanie

Is it the schedule folks don't like about the buses? I've never understood the complaints. We take them when convenient, and if not, walk from the Poly. I actually love doing this.

Love SoG. The value for what you get is undeniable.

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The problems we had with the system-

The first 2 days of our trip the board inside the building ( in little coffee shop) was blank and no instruction at bus stop. We were a little confused until we rode a few times. And staying late at parks we had a hard time getting back from Epcot.

Also, the monorail was down several early mornings and no instructions on how to get to MK and Epcot. We took the resort monorail but other SOG guests were walking around in confusion.

Can't wait for our December trip. Now that we are familiar with the resort it will be like going home.:thumbsup:

Just returned from my first trip to Shades of Green. Plenty of positives. Rooms are huge! The onsite restaurants and gift shops are much more reasonabley priced than Disney resorts. The bus service was an adjusstment, but we opted to walk to the Poly for MK and Epcot and use the monorail from there. The biggest draw back for me was the last of Disney customer service. While the customer service was fine, it was not Disney :)