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Shades of Green Tour

Check out the amenities available at the Shades of Green Resort

Shades of Green’s Manginos – Fantastico

Aug 5th, 2010
by Steve.
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Manginos Kitchen at Shades of Green

Manginos Kitchen and Dining Room

Last Saturday Night my wife Tracy and I dined at Mangino’s Bistro at the Shades of Green Resort located in Walt Disney World. We absolutely loved the food, it was all excellent! The service was good too given that there was a large wedding party in the other room which occupied most of the staff.

Manginos Dining Room at Shades of Green

Manginos Dining Room at Shades of Green

We’d never eaten at Mangino’s before so we were anxious to try it. We got there just as they opened for the evening (1700 hrs), and were seated right away. The dining room had a rustic feel and was decorated nicely. The seating was all at distressed tables with mixed chairs to give it a old home feel. You can see into the open kitchen from one of the dining rooms.

Bruschetta from Manginos at Shades of Green

Bruschetta from Manginos at Shades of Green

For our appetizer we had Bruschetta, which was outstanding, nicely toasted bread with mozzarella, tomatoes, and a balsamic drizzle. Next we each had a salad, Tracy had the house salad which had a good assortment of mixed greens, and I had the caesar which was crisp and had a very good caesar dressing. I also had a bowl of the Sausage Chowder Toscana. It was outstanding, Sausage, potatoes, and greens in a creamy chowder.

Mushroom Stuffed Ravioli from Manginos at Shades of Green

Mushroom Stuffed Ravioli from Manginos

For our entrees Tracy had the mushroom stuffed ravioli. It had a great sauce with mushrooms and red peppers and came with a very good breadstick. I loved the bites she shared. I made a special request for my entree which the staff filled graciously. I ordered the Pasta Rotini (Tri-color pasta tossed with sweet sausage, garlic and fresh tomatoes), but I don’t really care for tri-color pasta so I asked for it to be served over spaghetti, and I was so pleased. It was outstanding! It definitely had a little kick to it.

Spaghetti with sweet sausage, garlic and fresh tomatoes from Manginos

Spaghetti with sweet sausage, garlic and fresh tomatoes

I highly recommend Manginos, it’s by far the best restaurant at Shades of Green. It’s definitely comparable to some of the better full service Disney restaurants on property. Tracy and I throughly enjoyed our meals, and each others, there was lots of sharing going on. We were too full for desert but took care of that later on at Disney’s Boardwalk.

Bruschetta – lightly toasted crostini with diced tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese $6.95

Sausage Chowder Toscana – light creamy soup with Italian sausage and potatoes $4.25

House Salad – greens, cucumbers, tomato, onions, choice of dressing (included w/ entree)

Caesar Salad – traditional Caesar salad (included w/ entree)

Mushroom Ravioli – served in a creamy sundried tomato sauce $14.50

Pasta Rotini – Tri color tossed with sweet sausage, garlic and fresh tomatoes $14.25

Shades of Green Dining

Mangino’s Bistro Info and Menues

Shades of Green

Shades of Green Guests Pay For Disney Parking Now

Aug 1st, 2010
by Steve.
5 comments

Hi, just got back this evening from a nice weekend at Shades of Green Resort on Walt Disney World property. I’ve got lots of great info and pictures to post in the coming weeks, but there is one thing that I wanted to post right away.

When I was checking in to Shades of Green on Friday the desk clerk casually mentioned that if I wanted to drive my own car and park at Disney’s theme parks I’d need to pay the $14.00 per day parking fee at the theme park entrance. “I said What? I thought Shades of Green guest’s parked for free.” and she replied, “Sorry they just changed that.”

From the time Shades of Green opened and until recently their guests were extended the same benefit as other guests staying at other resorts on Disney property. But apparently Disney has decided to put an end to this benefit. You still have the Shades of Green provided buses which will take you to Animal Kingdom, Disney Studios, the water parks, and the Transportation and Ticket Center (where you can catch a monorail to the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT and Disney bus transportation to all points). Or you can make the 10-15 minute walk to Disney’s Polynesian Resort and catch the monorail there.

While the Shades of Green bus service is appreciated, my family enjoys the freedom of driving to some of the parks (we’ll walk to the Poly to catch the monorail if we’re going to the Magic Kingdom) or other destinations on property. We find it so much more convenient to drive ourselves. At the end of a long hot day in the theme parks we’d rather get in our car and be back to our room as quick as possible. You can wait a long time for the resort bus to arrive at the pick up points, then you’ll pack into the bus with 30 other people who’ve also been in 95 plus degree weather all day.

So if you’re someone who has enjoyed, or was planning on the free parking for Shades of Green guests at Disney’s theme parks, you’ll need to factor an extra $14 per day into your planning budget for each day that you want to use your car.

Check back soon for lots more Shades of Green info, tips, and reviews. Also look for a redesign of the main site which will more closely match the look of the blog.

Shades of Green

Shades of Green Info Links

Shades of Green’s Garden Gallery Restaurant

Sep 7th, 2009
by Steve.
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I recently had the opportunity for a quick day trip to Orlando, so I detoured by Shades of Green to check for updates and get some new pictures. I was there during lunchtime so I decided to eat at the Garden Gallery Restaurant. I thought I’d share my experience so you’d get a feel for dining at Shades of Green.

During the day at Shades of Green most of the guests are in Disney’s Theme Parks so the resort isn’t very busy. This goes for the restaurants too.

I was seated at a table for two in the medium sized dining room. My server Sarah came right over to get my drink order and gave me time to look over the Garden Gallery lunch menu. There were only two other parties in the dining room and one soon left. During my meal two other parties arrived. It was a nice relaxing atmosphere. Sarah was a very friendly and attentive server.

As this was my first time eating at a Shades of Green restaurant in many years I didn’t want to try any standard fare like a burger or club sandwich so I opted for the Mediterranean Vegetable Wrap. I wanted to get a feel for how good something out of the ordinary would be. The menu described it as roasted eggplant, squash, peppers, onions, and garlic with hummus on a honey wheat tortilla. I asked for fries and a cup of the soup du jour which was minestrone. There was a slight wait for the fries Sarah told me but my lunch soon arrived.

The minestrone soup was outstanding! I really enjoyed it. It had a really great spicy Italian flavor. It had a tomato based broth and while the tomatoes were canned all the other vegetables were fresh and not overcooked. Besides chunks of tomatoes there was zucchini, potatoes w/ skin, carrots, yellow squash, onion, chick peas, and tiny bits of cauliflower. I didn’t want it to end!

To be honest I was a little disappointed with the vegetable wrap. I found it rather bland. The wheat wrap was very fresh and there was a good amount of leaf lettuce but the vegetables while cooked to keep some firmness didn’t have a lot of flavor. I unwrapped each half and added a little salt and pepper which helped. A bit of vinaigrette would have made it much better.

The fries were very good, a generous serving, done perfectly, crispy on the outside soft on the inside.

Overall a good meal. If I were going back today I think I’d opt for a bowl of the minestrone and a salad instead.

Kudos to Sarah, just perfect service!

NOTE: the Garden Gallery is not currently open for lunch.

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Shades of Green Overflow Rates

May 15th, 2008
by Steve.
2 comments

Shades of Green Resort - Wallt Disney World FloridaThe ins and outs of Overflow Rates.

Overflow Rates are a wonderful benefit provided by Shades of Green!

Shades of Green often fills up to capacity, in the event this happens they offer “Overflow Rates” at Walt Disney World Resorts! While Shades of Green has the most spacious rooms they are not “themed” in Disney fashion as are the Disney resorts. Obtaining an overflow rate can get you some of the best rooms on property at a great discount, or a very good rate on a Disney Value Resort.

Disney World classifies its resorts into four basic categories: Value, Moderate, Deluxe, and Home Away from Home. Shades of Green’s rooms are comparable to a Disney Deluxe room but without the Disney theme throughout.

If you’d rather get the full Disney experience and stay in a Disney resort it’s possible with careful planning and timing to get a very discounted rate on a Disney room. It’s possible to get a Deluxe for close to or somewhat higher, a moderate for less than, and a Value for much less than you’d pay at Shades of Green.

One word of caution, in order to get these rates Shades of Green must be sold out for one of the nights during your intended stay. When they start offering Overflow Rates it is on an escalating scale. The cheapest Overflow Rates are offered first and when a certain amount are reserved the rate goes up. The rate keeps stepping up until it is the same as what Disney is offering.

If you are unhappy with the overflow rates or resorts offered there is no fall back option to stay at Shades of Green, as it’s not possible to have a reservation with Shades and get an Overflow Rate for the same period. So have another plan that you’ve set up ahead of time, a reservation at a Disney Resort (one night’s deposit required) or at one of the national chains just in case. You can cancel this reservation after getting that great rate through Shades of Green.

OK ready to talk specifics?
It’s all about timing!

Shades of Green has an online reservations system, it is just hard to find.

A link form their main menu takes you to this page: http://shadesofgreen.org/booking.htm

Which has a link at the bottom taking you to this one: http://shadesofgreen.org/reservations.htm

Where you’ll need to click on Make a reservation in the following sentence: I’ve carefully reviewed the eligibility requirements and I am definitely qualified to Make A Reservation !

As far out as possible start watching your intended dates. You can make reservations through Shades of Green one year in advance and peak seasons do start to fill up soon after that. Always click on the refresh icon just below the calendar, as sometimes it will show all days as green until you do so. As your dates start to fill up you’ll see one or some of the days turn amber. You’ll want to check each day, Shades updates their data at 9 am Eastern Time. When one of the days turns red you’ll want to call Shades of Green Reservations at (888) 593-2242. There is a link on the site to submit a request via an Internet form but you’ll want to skip this and call in as the form takes a day or two. Occasionally the web site is a little off and they may still have a few rooms available, if so call back later that day or the next.

When you get the reservationist on the phone tell them that one of the dates for your intended stay shows as full on the web site and you are interested in an Overflow Rate. If you are interested in a specific resort, resort type or area let the reservationist know. Or if you’d like to hear all the options they’ll tell you. One night’s deposit is required to reserve the room and then you’ll receive a confirmation letter from Disney in the mail. You can pay the balance when you check out or make payments ahead so your room will be covered by the time you get there.

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