How Do Disney World Resorts Compare To Shades of Green In Price?

Planning a Disney World vacation is a big undertaking!

One of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make during your Walt Disney World vacation planning will be where to stay.

Should you stay at a Disney World Resort using the Disney Armed Forces Salute, or at Shades of Green the Military Owned and Operated Resort on WDW property?

(Updated Jul. 2019)

There are many factors which will influence your decision. Factors such as: ambience, being immersed in the Disney experience 24/7, convenience/Disney benefits, transportation, and most of all, price.

This post will mostly focus on price, but I’ll explain some of these other factors as we go along as some of them do affect your final price.

Price Comparison Charts

I’ve put together these price comparison charts to give you a good visual representation of how Shades of Green’s rates compare to Disney’s Moderate and Value Resorts.

The charts are based upon Shades of Green’s standard rates. While Shades of Green does offer discounted rates and packages at various times of the year, I have not taken these into account because once released, Shades of Green constantly changes the dates, offerings, and prices of their discounts and cancels them, all with no notice!

• Find Your Shades of Green Price Category and Regular Room Rate
• Check For Shades of Green Discounts

The charts below are based upon:

• Disney’s 2019 Armed Forces Salute discounted rates*. The Salute discounts are:
  • Disney Value Resorts – Up to 30% Off Rack Rates
  • Disney Moderate Resorts – Up to 35% Off Rack Rates
• Shades of Green’s FY 2019 and FY 2020 rates
• Standard Rooms at both Resorts

*Note, starting in 2018 the Disney Armed Forces Salute room discount rates are not a set 30 or 35 percent off. They are “up to” the 30 or 35 percent off. This means that depending on your dates you might receive a lower discount amount; the only way to know what your price will be is to call (or have your Travel Agent do it for you).

The chart shows how much Disney’s prices fluctuate during the week and emphasizes that Monday through Wednesday night stays are preferred for the best savings at Walt Disney World’s Resorts.

While Shades of Green’s standard prices are the same every day of the year, Disney’s pricing year is divided into many different price seasons.

You will see that the Disney prices go way up during Spring Break when the Armed Forces Salute is not available and  on 20 December when the Armed Forces Salute ends.

Disney rates shown are plus tax with the full Disney Armed Forces Salute room discount applied. NO tax on Shades of Green’s rates.

Shades of Green’s rates go up on 1 October with the next fiscal year’s rates.

Daily Rate Chart

This chart illustrates how Disney’s rates fluctuate not only by season, but by day as well. Friday and Saturday nights are almost always the most expensive and Thursday and Sunday are at an intermediate rate much of the year. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and sometimes Thursday and Sunday are the cheapest.

This chart is most applicable to shorter stays. You can see the spikes in Disney prices for the higher priced days of the week and high plateaus when the Salute discounts are not available.

Shades of Green’s Category 1 – Shades of Green is cheaper than the Disney values except mid-week during about a third of the year. For the Moderates Shades is always cheaper.

Shades of Green’s Category 2 – Shades of Green is cheaper than the Values only on weekends and when Salute discounts are not available. For the Moderates Cat 2 is cheaper except mid-week in January and February.

Shades of Green’s Category 3 – Disney Values are almost always cheaper. Disney Moderates are more expensive except mid-week in January and February.

Weekly Rate Chart

On this chart I show the average room price for a Sunday to Saturday stay. This is how Disney will show your room price, averaged for your stay length. This smooths out the spikes and averages the weekly highs and lows.

THis chart is more applicable for those spending a week at Disney World.

Disney’s Moderates are more expensive than all Shades categories except Cat 3 in January and  February. Cat 2 is just slightly less in February.

Disney’s Values are cheaper than Cat 2 and 3 most of the year and only part of the year for Cat 1.

Other Factors Which Affect Price and Scheduling

Transportation

For those flying to their Disney World Vacation, Disney provides free transportation via their Magical Express from Orlando International Airport to your Walt Disney World Resort Hotel.

Those staying at Shades of Green must obtain their own transportation at their own cost.

Military Disney Tips has negotiated a Military Discount on Airport Transportation

For those driving to their Disney World Vacation, Parking is not free!

Resort Parking

Walt Disney World Resorts charge a nightly parking fee (for reservations made after 21 March 2018). This fee is based upon the resort category:

• Value Resorts $15 per night
• Moderate Resorts $20 per night
• Deluxe and Disney Vacation Club Resorts $25  per night
• The Fort Wilderness campground is still free
• Valet parking at all resorts that offer it is $33 per night

Those staying at Shades of Green will pay $11 per night to park their car at Shades of Green and $16 for valet parking.

Theme Park Parking

Theme park Parking is free for Walt Disney World Resort Guests.

Those staying at Shades of Green will pay $25 per day to park at Disney World’s parks. You can take both Shade’s and or Disney’s free transportation service instead of driving to the parks though.

You’ll need to factor these extra costs into your overall Shades of Green cost estimate if applicable.

 Disney Amenities – Scheduling

Advance FastPass Plus Reservations – Both Walt Disney World Resorts and Shades of Green Guests may make advance FastPass Plus reservations 60 days prior to check in.

Extra Magic Hours – Both WDW Resorts and Shades are eligible.

Package delivery to your resort from the theme parks and Downtown Disney – Both WDW Resorts and Shades are eligible.

Charge to your room privileges – Disney resort guests at all Disney locations, Shades of Green guests, only at Shades of Green.

Magic Bands – Shades Guests will not receive free magic Bands (only Disney Resort guests do). You may buy your own from the Disney Store or a WDW giftshop after arrival. Shades guests may then use their bands for their theme park admission, FastPass Plus returns, and PhotoPass but not for room key or room charges.

Details

The Resorts quoted are standard view rooms (the cheapest) at Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort and Disney’s All Star Movies Resort.

Price quotes for Disney resorts were obtained from the disneyworld.com website, the applicable maximum Disney Armed Forces Salute discount was subtracted, and then hotel taxes added back in (13.5% at the All-StarResort & 12.5% at the Caribbean Beach Resort).

The Moderates are fairly similar in price, with about $10 a night variance. The Fort Wilderness Cabins which also fall under the Moderate Discounts are quite a bit more.

The Value Resorts have three different price levels, the All Stars are the cheapest, followed by Pop Century, and then Art of Animation Suites. The Art of Animation Little Mermaid rooms are not eligible for the Disney Armed Forces Salute room discounts.

 Wrapping It Up

These charts are not meant to be used to figure your actual costs, rather as a visual guide to how Disney World’s fluctuating resort prices relate to Shades of Green’s constant rates at different times of the year.

They also just show the cost for the room, no extra charges.

You will need to do a cost comparison including all charges for your dates to see what will be cheaper for you.

See our posts on how the 3 Disney Resort categories compared to Shades of Green in all respects:

• Shades of Green – Disney Value Resort Comparison
• Shades of Green – Disney Moderate Resort Comparison
• Shades of Green – Disney Deluxe Resort Comparison

You can see what other military families think about Shades of Green in our Shades of Green Survey Results.

Call Disney or my recommend travel agent, Ears of Experience for a Disney Resort quote or for more information.

Kudos to my friend Dave from yourfirstvisit.net for the inspiration for these charts. His numerous, fantastic and very through ones cover many aspects of non-military discounted prices and better yet, both crowds and when to go to Disney World.

If you are planning a Disney World Vacation, when will it be? Let us know in the comments section below!

Planning a Disney Trip? Want to get the best military discounts that are available? Feeling a little confused? See our:

• The Military Family’s Walt Disney World Comprehensive Vacation Planning and Preparation Guide 

• Military Disney Tips Disney Packing Checklist 

• Disney Military Tickets – Your Start to Finish Guide

Learn about the Disney Armed Forces Salute the best military discount that there is for Disney. For where to stay see our Resorts/Hotel Overview Page. Disney doesn’t discount dining for the military, but there are a few places on property that do, see the Dining Overview Page to learn where plus more dining info. You can also learn about Transportation Options. Be sure to check out our Technology Overview to learn about Magic Bands and My Disney Experience to see how they work with military tickets. Walt Disney World visitors might be interested in staying at Shades of Green, WDW’s Military Only Resort.

See: Top 8 Reasons to Use An Authorized Disney Vacation Planner

SaveSave