Which Disney Resort Category Is the Best Alternative to Shades of Green?

The Short Answer: Start With Disney’s Moderate Resorts

If you normally stay at Shades of Green and are looking for the closest Disney-owned alternative, I would start with the Disney Moderate Resorts.

Shades of Green does not fit perfectly into any of Disney’s current resort categories.

Before becoming the military’s Shades of Green, the resort was operated by Disney as the Disney Inn, and you will still sometimes hear people compare it to today’s Disney Deluxe Resorts because of its large rooms, location, pools, and overall scale.

I don’t think that comparison fits particularly well.

At the same time, calling Shades of Green equivalent to a standard Disney Moderate also undersells some of its strengths.

I’ve often described Shades of Green as a Moderate Plus, and I still think that is the best shorthand.

Its rooms are significantly larger than Disney Moderate rooms; it has substantial resort amenities, and it offers military families some benefits no Disney resort can duplicate.

But when I look at the overall guest experience today—dining, transportation, theming, service, recreation, and the resort itself—a Disney Moderate is a much closer comparison than a Disney Deluxe.

Why Shades of Green Doesn’t Fit Neatly Into a Disney Category

Part of the problem with comparing Shades of Green to Disney resorts is that it was not designed around Disney’s current Value, Moderate, and Deluxe system.

Shades of Green has its own mix of strengths and weaknesses.

It has:

• Very large standard rooms
• Two pools and a children’s splash area
• A fitness center
• Several dining locations
• An Exchange
• A military ticket office
• A children’s play area
• A spa
• A quiet golf-course setting
• A good location near Magic Kingdom
• Military-specific pricing

But that doesn’t automatically make it Deluxe.

Disney’s resort categories are about much more than room size.

A Disney Deluxe Resort usually combines strong theming, more sophisticated dining, greater service depth, distinctive public spaces, and—at many resorts—exceptional park access or transportation.

Shades of Green has some Deluxe-like advantages, but it doesn’t consistently deliver the whole Deluxe package.

Room Size: Shades of Green Has a Huge Advantage

This is probably the single biggest area where Shades of Green beats the Disney Moderate category.

The two Shades of Green wings have different standard-room sizes:

That is a substantial difference.

A family moving from a Palm Wing room at Shades of Green to a typical Disney Moderate room is giving up roughly one-third of its room space.

Even a standard room in Gran Destino Tower at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort, which is larger than a typical Moderate room, is still noticeably smaller than either Shades of Green wing.

Shades of Green’s rooms also sleep five plus a crib, which makes that extra space particularly useful for military families traveling with children.

So while I consider Moderate the closest overall Disney category, Disney Moderate rooms are not a room-size equivalent to Shades of Green.

Why Disney Value Resorts Are Too Much of a Step Down

Disney Value Resorts can absolutely be the right choice for a military family.

They are often the least expensive way to stay in a Disney-owned resort, and Pop Century and Art of Animation in particular have the transportation advantage of the Disney Skyliner.

But if the question is which category provides the closest alternative experience to Shades of Green, Value is too much of a step down.

Compared with Shades of Green, Disney Values offer:

• Smaller rooms
• More limited dining
• Fewer resort-style amenities
• A busier and more energetic atmosphere
• Less of the quiet retreat feeling you get at Shades of Green

A Value Resort may be a good budget alternative to Shades of Green.

It just isn’t the closest experiential alternative.

Why I Don’t Consider Shades of Green a Disney Deluxe Equivalent

Shades of Green’s location and room size can still feel Deluxe-like.

Disney Deluxe Resorts offer much more than large rooms.

Even Disney’s less expensive Deluxe Resorts, such as Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, deliver a complete Deluxe-level resort experience through immersive design, restaurants and lounges, elaborate public spaces, recreation, and a strong sense that the resort itself is part of the vacation.

At the monorail and EPCOT-area Deluxe Resorts, transportation and location can become major parts of the experience as well.

Shades of Green simply doesn’t compete at that level across enough categories for me to call it a Deluxe equivalent.

That doesn’t mean Shades of Green is a lesser choice.

It means it is a different type of resort.

Dining Is Where the Deluxe Comparison Really Falls Apart

Shades of Green has a surprising number of places to eat.

There is Garden Gallery, Mangino’s, Evergreens, Express Café, Java Café, Chip & Dale’s Deli, and other food options.

That is a respectable selection.

But the number of dining locations doesn’t tell the whole story.

The culinary experience at Shades of Green is much more functional than what you find at Disney’s Deluxe Resorts.

Disney’s better resort restaurants have their own culinary identities, dedicated menus, lounges, specialty kitchens, baking and pastry programs, and food and beverage operations designed to make dining part of the resort experience.

Shades of Green’s dining is primarily there to feed resort guests conveniently.

That distinction becomes especially noticeable at table-service restaurants and with items such as baked goods and desserts, where Disney’s culinary operation is simply operating at another level.

And today, you don’t even have to move up to Deluxe to find a significantly stronger dining program.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort is still a Moderate, but it offers restaurants and lounges such as Toledo, Three Bridges, Maya Grill, Dahlia Lounge, Rix Sports Bar, and Barcelona Lounge.

That is much closer to the type of dining depth people often associate with a Deluxe Resort.

So if dining matters to you, the idea that Shades of Green is basically a Deluxe resort at military prices becomes especially hard to defend.

Transportation: Shades of Green Has a Good Location, but That Doesn’t Mean Great Transportation

Shades of Green is in an excellent physical location.

It sits near the Polynesian, between two of Disney’s golf courses, and close to Magic Kingdom.

But location and transportation convenience are not the same thing.

Shades of Green relies on its own scheduled buses.

For both Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, those buses take you to the Transportation and Ticket Center.

From there:

• Magic Kingdom requires transferring to the Monorail or Ferryboat
• EPCOT requires transferring to the EPCOT Monorail

That makes those two park trips less convenient than they appear when you simply look at Shades of Green on a map.

Disney’s own resort buses, by comparison, use bus stops much closer to the park entrances.

That matters when comparing Shades of Green to Coronado Springs.

Both resorts are effectively bus-only for theme park transportation, but the experience is different.

At Coronado Springs and the other Disney Moderates, Disney buses take you directly to the Disney bus stops, which are closer to the park entrances.

Transportation is another big reason I would not equate Shades of Green with Disney Deluxe-level resorts—and in this particular category, it can even fall short of the Disney Moderates.

Some Disney Moderates Actually Improve Greatly on Shades of Green’s Transportation

The Moderate category also includes resorts with transportation options Shades of Green doesn’t have.

Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort offers the Disney Skyliner, giving guests direct gondola transportation toward EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside and Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter have boat transportation to Disney Springs in addition to buses.

So while Shades of Green has the better geographic location on paper, Disney Moderates provide a more convenient transportation experience depending on where you are going.

Pools, Recreation, and Atmosphere Are Where Shades of Green Holds Its Own

Shades of Green compares much more favorably with Disney Moderates when it comes to recreation and overall resort atmosphere.

The resort has two pools, a splash area, a playground, fitness and spa facilities, golf nearby, and plenty of open space.

It also has something that is harder to quantify: quiet.

Shades of Green feels removed from the intensity of the theme parks.

That is one of the things I have always liked about it.

Disney Moderates tend to provide a similar sense of being at a real resort rather than simply having a hotel room near the parks.

That is another reason I think Moderate is the right comparison category.

Service: Shades of Green Is More Functional Than Luxury-Oriented

The service difference is another reason I would not put Shades of Green in the Deluxe category.

Shades of Green is designed first and foremost as an Armed Forces Recreation Center.

The experience is generally practical, friendly, and functional.

Disney Deluxe Resorts operate with a different service expectation.

That can show up in housekeeping, food and beverage operations, concierge-style assistance, public spaces, and the overall level of polish throughout the resort.

Again, this does not mean Shades of Green provides bad service.

It means the resort is serving a different mission.

A Moderate comparison acknowledges that without pretending Shades of Green is something it isn’t.

Which Disney Moderate Is the Best Alternative to Shades of Green?

Once you accept that Moderate is the closest category, the next question becomes more interesting:

Which Moderate should you choose?

That depends on what you value most about Shades of Green.

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort: Best Overall Alternative

If I had to choose one Disney-owned resort as the closest overall alternative to Shades of Green, I would start with Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.

Coronado Springs has several qualities that translate well for Shades of Green guests:

• A more adult-oriented atmosphere
• A large, spread-out resort setting
• Extensive dining and lounge choices
• A substantial convention-resort feel
• A more polished hotel experience in Gran Destino Tower

As I mentioned, like Shades of Green, Coronado Springs relies on buses for theme park transportation.

But Disney’s buses take guests directly to closer theme park bus stops. For Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, they also eliminate the TTC transfer that Shades of Green guests face.

The biggest compromise is room size.

Typical Coronado Springs rooms are much smaller than Shades of Green’s rooms, and even Gran Destino’s approximately 375-square-foot standard rooms don’t match the 450- to 480-square-foot rooms at Shades of Green.

Still, in overall resort feel, Coronado Springs is probably the closest Disney-owned alternative.

Port Orleans Riverside: Best for a Quiet Resort Feel

If what you like most about Shades of Green is the relaxed setting, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – Riverside deserves a serious look.

Riverside has:

• Extensive landscaped grounds
• A quiet, mature atmosphere
• A main feature pool and multiple leisure pools
• Recreation throughout the resort
• Boat transportation to Disney Springs

It has the same kind of “come back from the parks and decompress” quality that I think many Shades of Green guests appreciate.

It does not have Shades of Green’s room size or military extras, but emotionally it may be the closest fit.

Caribbean Beach Resort: Best for Transportation

Skyliner over the Caribbean Beach Resort

If your biggest frustration with Shades of Green is transportation, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort may be the better choice.

The Disney Skyliner provides direct transportation toward EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.

That can be a dramatic improvement over taking a Shades of Green bus to the TTC and then transferring to the EPCOT Monorail.

Caribbean Beach still gives you the amenities and atmosphere of a full Moderate Resort, while adding one of Disney’s most useful transportation systems.

Port Orleans French Quarter: Best for a Compact Resort

Shades of Green, Coronado Springs, Riverside, and Caribbean Beach are all fairly large resorts.

If you would rather have something easier to navigate, Disney’s Port Orleans Resort – French Quarter is the outlier.

French Quarter is compact, walkable, and easy to understand.

It also offers boat transportation to Disney Springs.

Its dining is more limited than the other Moderates, and it doesn’t resemble Shades of Green in scale, but it can be a very good alternative for guests who are tired of long walks within their resort.

Which Disney Moderate Should a Shades of Green Guest Choose?

When Moving Up to a Deluxe Resort May Make More Sense

There are times when Moderate may not be what you really want.

If you are leaving Shades of Green because you want an actual upgrade rather than the closest equivalent, then a Disney Deluxe may be worth considering.

That is especially true if your priorities are:

• High-quality resort dining
• Immersive theming
• Walking access to a theme park
• Monorail or boat transportation
• More polished resort service
• A resort that is a major part of the vacation itself

In that case, I would not think of Deluxe as the equivalent of Shades of Green.

I would think of it as the next level up.

Don’t Forget the One Thing Disney Can’t Replicate

There is one area where none of Disney’s resort categories can truly replace Shades of Green: Its military identity.

There is one area where none of Disney’s resort categories can truly replace Shades of Green: its military identity.

Shades of Green gives military families access to military ticket services, the Exchange, military-specific pricing, and an environment filled with other service members, retirees, veterans, and military families.

That matters.

So when I call a Disney Moderate the closest alternative, I am talking about the resort experience.

I am not suggesting that a Disney Moderate can replace everything that makes Shades of Green unique.

Bottom Line

If you normally stay at Shades of Green and want the closest Disney-owned alternative, start with Disney’s Moderate Resorts.

Shades of Green has much larger rooms than a typical Moderate, an excellent location, strong recreation, and unique military benefits.

But its overall dining, transportation, theming, service level, and resort experience are not equivalent to what Disney offers at its Deluxe Resorts.

That is why I still think Moderate Plus is the best way to describe Shades of Green.

Among the Disney Moderates, Coronado Springs is probably the closest overall alternative.

But the best choice depends on what you value most:

• Choose Coronado Springs for the strongest overall resort experience
• Choose Port Orleans Riverside for quiet and atmosphere
• Choose Caribbean Beach for transportation
• Choose Port Orleans French Quarter for a smaller, easier-to-navigate resort

And if what you really want is something noticeably better than Shades of Green rather than something similar, that is when I would start looking at Disney’s Deluxe Resorts.

Links to my content specifically for Non-Retired Veterans

• Veteran Discounts for Disney, Universal, and Other Theme Parks
• Disney Military Discounts for Veterans Who Did Not Retire from the Military
• Do 100% Disabled Veterans Qualify for Disney Military Discounts?
• Disney Veteran Discount and Disney Military Discount Eligibility Guide
• Disney Discounts and the John McCain Defense Authorization Act
• Shades of Green Stays for Non-Retired Veterans
• Why Not All Veterans Qualify for Disney Military Discounts (Explained Clearly) Plus Options