The Best Rooms at the Shades of Green Resort at Walt Disney World

Shades of Green, the US Military’s Armed Forces Recreation Center at Walt Disney World allows you to make room requests when you reserve your room.

This post will guide you in deciding if  you’d like to make a request and what to ask for if you do.

One of the things that you might request is your room location. That brings us to the topic of this post, what are the best rooms at Shades of Green?

We’ll be referring to the Shades of Green Property Map during this post.

As a reminder, Shades of Green has 2 guest wings, the Magnolia Wing and the Palm Wing.

The Magnolia Wing is the original guest wing and has 3 floors and is near both pools. There are 3 single elevators spread throughout the wing. The second floor on this wing is level with the lobby; you’ll go down to the first floor and up to the third. The Magnolia wing has views of the resort’s pools, the Magnolia Golf Course, the greenery at the rear of the resort, or the central green space between the wings. The room numbers here have 3 digits.

The Palm Wing was added at a later date and has 5 floors; it is closest to the parking garage. There is a bank of 3 elevators adjacent to the parking garage, which is near the lobby. A ramp goes down from the lobby to the first-floor elevator area. The Palm Wing has views of either the Palm Golf Course or the central green space between the wings. The room numbers here have 4 digits.

Each wing has a laundry room with washers, dryers, laundry supply and, snack vending, and a microwave.

Your thoughts on what makes a great room are probably different than someone else’s so I’ll try to cover every angle.

Naturally, room requests are not guaranteed, but Shades of Green will try to grant them if possible. (My last request was not honored at all!)

Room Type Requests

Before we get into locations, let’s talk about the very basic requests that you might want to make.

Connecting Rooms – This is probably the most common request! If you’ve got a party bigger than 5 or perhaps different families that want to be together, a connecting room is probably something you’ll want to request.

Double Sink Vanity Room – Shades of Green has 2 types of bathrooms, those where the shower, single sink, and toilet are all in the same room with a small dividing wall for the toilet, or those with the shower and toilet in a separate room with a door off of the double sink vanity area. The latter eases getting ready in the morning for multiple people!

ADA with Roll-In Shower –  These rooms are ADA compliant with a roll-in shower at no extra charge.

Poolside Room – Poolside rooms are not an additional request, they are an upgraded room type, which cost an additional $10 per night. These rooms are all in the Magnolia Wing, on the ground floor, and either face the Magnolia Pool on 2 sides or surround the Mill Pond Pool on 3 sides. You can add a location request to these rooms. The Magnolia Pool is the quiet pool and tends to be more peaceful. Rooms here are close to the pool. The Mill Pond Pool is the busier pool with a kid’s splash area and play-set. Rooms here are separated from the pool by a bit of lawn space.

You can ask to be near a specific pool, or narrow your request down even further, for example “Near Evergreens”, “Near the Kid’s Playground”, “Room 101-108”. See my Poolside Room page for more info on these rooms.

Suites – Suits are also an upgraded room type. There are very few suites at Shades of Green, so if you desire one, you must reserve one 365 days in advance! All the suites except the Magnolia Suite are located in the Palm Wing, where the building makes a 45-degree turn to the left on each side of the central hall. The Magnolia Suite is located straight across the central green area from the other suites. It is not depicted on the property map as it is actually just 2 connecting rooms, with one set up as a sitting room with a small kitchenette (it’s in the 284 vicinity). See my Suites page for more info.

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Room Location Requests

Now let’s discuss some of the different room location requests that you might want to make. You can make general requests, such as near the parking Garage or a specific Wing, or a specific request, like Palm Wing rooms 101 to 104 on any floor.

Close to the Lobby – Being close to the lobby puts you near the AAFES General Store, the Attraction Ticket Office, the Bus Stop, and the majority of dining locations. No matter which wing you are staying in, the walk to the far end of each is a long way from the bus stop after a 10 to 12-hour day on your feet! From the bus stop to the far end of the Palm wing is 0.17 miles, and tho the far end of the Magnolia wing it’s 0.23 miles. The closest rooms to the lobby are in the Palm wing, rooms X101-X106 (substitute the floor number for X).

Close to Parking – If you’ll be driving you car a lot while at Shades of Green, perhaps around Disney World or to other Central Florida locations, you might want a room close to the parking garage. These would all be in the Palm Wing, rooms X101-X110 and X142-X152.

Close to the Pools – You might want to be near to one of the pools, but not necessarily on the first floor at a higher price. Or you might prefer a balcony versus a small patio anyone can walk up to. In that case you can make a general worded request or request a block of room numbers (on the 2nd and 3rd floor, or 1st floor facing away form the pool) near one of the 2 elevators in the branches of the Magnolia Wing or near the external stairways.

Strong Wi-Fi – There are no rooms with strong WiFi at Shades of Green. See my post on making Disney Genie+ Reservations and Purchasing Lightning Lanes at Shades of Green.

Fireworks Views – Shades of Green is a Magic Kingdom Resort and is close enough (just) to see the fireworks over the trees. The Magic Kingdom Fireworks are 1.75 miles away form Shades of Green. Shades of Green is also an original (1971) Walt Disney World Resort and has lots of mature trees close to the Magnolia Wing’s buildings. If you want a fireworks “view” from your room, you are probably better off leaving it to the staff’s discretion. You could ask for a room in the right area, but have the view partially of totally blocked by trees.

 

On the room map below the rooms highlighted in red probably have a good view of the fireworks, the orange probably have an obstructed view.

In the Magnolia Wing, try 3rd floor rooms, or on the 1st floor you could walk out of the room into the grass to watch.

In the Palm, the 5th floor would be best as you have to look over the main building.

If you can’t snag one of these rooms or other requests are more important you can get a great view of the fire works from the top level of the parking garage or the grassy area between the Magnolia Pool  and the Magnolia Golf Course Club House (very bottom right in pic)

How to Make Room Requests

Making your request is simple, just tell the reservationist your request when calling or enter it here in the online form.

If your request is tricky or detailed, you might want to call rather than enter it online and hope for the best!

Over to You

That’s it for this guide. Do you have any tips or tricks to share? Pleas share them in the comment section below!

Best Rooms at Shades of Green — Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make specific room requests at Shades of Green?

Yes. You can request things like connecting rooms, a double-sink vanity, or an ADA room with roll-in shower. Requests are not guaranteed, but the resort tries to honor them when possible.

What’s the difference between the Magnolia Wing and the Palm Wing?

Magnolia Wing (3 floors) is the original wing near both pools, with views of the pools, Magnolia Golf Course, resort greenery, or the central green space. Palm Wing (5 floors) is newer and closest to the parking garage, with views of the Palm Golf Course or the central green space.

Which rooms are closest to the lobby and amenities?

The closest rooms are in the Palm Wing, rooms X101–X106 (replace X with your floor). Being near the lobby puts you close to the AAFES General Store, Ticket Office, dining, and the bus stop. Note: the walk from the bus stop to the far end of the wings is long—about 0.17 miles (Palm) and 0.23 miles (Magnolia).

What should I request if I’ll use the parking garage a lot?

Ask for Palm Wing rooms near the garage, e.g., X101–X110 and X142–X152.

What are Poolside Rooms and where are they?

Poolside Rooms are a paid room type (about $10/night more), all on the ground floor of the Magnolia Wing. They face either the Magnolia Pool (traditionally quieter) or the Mill Pond Pool (busier; near kids’ splash area/playground). You can further request “near Evergreens,” “near the playground,” or a number block (e.g., 101–108).

Which floors or areas are best for a quieter stay?

Generally, Magnolia Pool-facing rooms (not directly at the splash/play areas) are calmer. Upper floors away from elevators and stairwells also tend to be quieter.

Are there rooms with strong Wi-Fi?

Per the page: there are no rooms with strong Wi-Fi at Shades of Green. Plan to make Lightning Lane Multi Pass / Single Pass purchases with extra time or use alternative connectivity.

Which rooms have the best chance at Magic Kingdom fireworks views?

Views are partially tree-dependent. Your best bet is Magnolia Wing 3rd-floor rooms or Palm Wing 5th-floor rooms facing toward MK. If in doubt, great alternatives are the top level of the parking garage or the grassy area between Magnolia Pool and the Magnolia Golf Course clubhouse.

Where are the suites, and how do I request one?

Most suites are in the Palm Wing (the Magnolia Suite is the exception). Suites are very limited and typically fill 365 days in advance, so call promptly when reservations open.

How do I phrase a detailed location request?

Use wing + number blocks + nearby landmarks. Example: “Palm Wing, rooms 4101–4106, near lobby” or “Magnolia Wing, near external stairs by Mill Pond but not ground-floor Poolside.” Complex requests are best made by phone.

Where can I see the property layout?

Use the Shades of Green Property Map linked on the page to visualize wings, elevators, pools, and walking distances before you submit requests.

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