Shades of Green the military owned and operated resort on Walt Disney World property offers many dining options.
Both those staying at Shades and those stopping by for a visit* (perhaps to buy Theme Park tickets or shop at the AAFES Store) are eligible to dine at any of the resort’s restaurants.
Dining Options at Shades of Green
Shades offers both quick service and full service options as well as a buffet. The quick service options are open throughout the day while the full service and buffet are closed for lunch.
Mangino’s Steakhouse at Shades of Green
Quick Service
Express Cafe – Is a counter service location which features breakfast sandwiches, pastries, snacks, fresh coffee, tea and more. For lunch various sandwiches are available. It is located next to the resort bus loading area, making it a great option for picking up something eat on the go. Express Cafe Info and Review
Java Cafe – The Java Café is located in the lobby. They serve fresh Starbucks coffee and assorted pastry items, a variety of flavors of handmade ice cream cones and sundaes, and adult beverages (bee, wine, and spirits). Get your morning Joe and a pastry here before you head out to the parks! Java Cafe Info and Review
The Java Cafe in the Shades of Green Lobby
The On the Green Grill is located near the Magnolia Pool. They serve quick and delicious grilled hot dogs, Italian sausage, hamburgers, sandwiches, quick snacks and cold drinks. On the Greens is located between the Magnolia Pool and the Magnolia golf course putting green and is available to all Shades guests. Beer and wine are available. On the Green Info and Review
On the Greens Snack Bar
Full Service/Buffet
Shades full service option is Manginos Steakhouse. Manginos serves a variety of steaks, seafood, and chicken plus they have nightly specials and a very large wine list. Mangino’s Info
For daily breakfast and dinner buffets, head to the Garden Gallery. The Garden Galley buffets include a great selection of American and international cuisine and a fresh fruit, soup and salad bar. Lines can be long in the morning.
The breakfast buffet includes: Pastries, breads, eggs, omelets, waffles, quesadilla, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, and fresh fruit.
Kids 2 and under are free at the Garden Gallery
An Ala Carte menu is also available.
See our Buffet Breakfast Review
Shades of Green’s Garden Gallery Buffet
Evergreens Sports Bar & Grill is located next to the Mill Pond Pool Serves sandwiches, wraps and burgers, salads, pizza, wings, and nachos. There is an extensive game room for the kids (young and old) which is attached to Evergreens. Evergreen’s Info and Review
Evergreens Sports Pub, by the Mill Pond Pool at SoG
Evergreens Arcade
Disney Dining Plan and Shades Discount Packages
Shades of Green is not a Disney owned resort (it is owned by the DoD) and so does not participate in the Disney Dining Plan (DDP). Those who desire to participate in the paid (or sometimes free) DDP will need to stay at a Disney resort.
Shades does from time to time include either free Garden Gallery breakfast or breakfast/dinner buffets as part of their discount packages.
Shades of Green’s Food Quality
A note about Shades dining: In recent years the quality of Shades dining experiences has decreased. WDW has steeply discounted their resorts to the point where Shades must discount as well to stay profitable. Lack of revenue and required resort renovations have impacted the food department’s budget. The food is good, but not outstanding. Although recently the quality has improved, see our buffet breakfast review
If you want a special meal you can try one of WDW’s great restaurants. The Polynesian is just a short walk away and there you’ll find several great restaurants like The Kona Cafe, one of our favorites, and the monorail station at the Poly which will whisk you to the other monorail resorts (Grand Floridian and Contemporary) or the Magic Kingdom for even more restaurant selections.
NEW SPECIALS
In the last year or so Shades has begun to offer Dining Specials which offer higher quality menu items. They are often a set price for all you can eat. These meal events are offered several times a month. Examples of the types of meals are: a New England Clam Bake, Shrimp Fest, and an Evening With The Chef.
Shades also offer special holiday meals, Christmas, New Years, Fourth of July, and Oktoberfest to name a few.
Good Food at a Good Price
All in all, Shades of Green offers good food at a reasonable price. You most likely won’t be wowed, but you won’t be disappointed. And you can’t beat the price!
The buffets are plentiful and when you combine the sometimes free breakfast buffet with a room package, you can’t beat it!
Have you eaten at Shades of Green? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
* Please see this page for eligibility to enter Shades of Green property. Shades is a 100% ID check facility.
Information on Shades of Green the Military Hotel on Disney World property
See all the current Shades of Green Discounts and Packages
A Special Note on Shades of Green Discounts: Something to be aware of is that Shades constantly changes the dates and discounts offered of their specials and packages.
Shades of Green Links
- Shades of Green
- Military Members Review and Rate Shades of Green
- Shades of Green Rooms
- Shades of Green Room Rates
- Disney Tickets at Shades of Green
- Links to Everything Shades of Green
- Shades of Green Blog Tour
- Magic Bands for Shades of Green Guests
Planning a Disney Trip? Want to get the best military discounts that are available? Feeling a little confused? See our:
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
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We love staying at shades. The food prices are extremely reasonable compared to anywhere else on Disney Property. We always eat the breakfast buffet then head out for the day. It saves a lot of money over trying to feed a family in the parks. I’d say the quality of food and variety has greatly improved in the last 2 years. SOG has also done a lot of renovations including a very nice new pool that is kid friendly. You can also pick up some Disney souvenirs in the shoppette without breaking your pocketbook! Love love love SOG.
Thanks Katie,
Over on facebook breakfast at the GG seems to be the biggest hit.
Please update the info – Mangino’s is open for lunch 1130 to 1400, it is correct on the link but not in the text in this review. I don’t believe they have the all you can eat at Mangino’s on Friday & Saturday nights, probably needs to be verified. Also, Lucky’s is currently closed. I’m surprise you didn’t mention the theme nights in the Garden Gallery which are very kid friendly e.g. Carnival night. I also think the quality has come back up.
Thanks JT I appreciate the feedback!
We recently stayed at SOG in November and had the wonderful experience of the room/breakfast buffer package. The food was very good- variety, fresh fruit and a good mix of hot and cold foods left everyone satisfied. Plus-the ability to order “to go” at night at a reasonable rate was perfect for us. We have two small kids and sometimes sitting down to dinner is more work than its worth and NOT enjoyable. So we called for the late night menu (available until 10p or so) and one of us would go down and pick it up and bring it back to the room. It was a limited menu, but had hot food and was MUCH cheaper than eating in the parks. With 2 little kids, eating at SOG was a better deal than DDP and gave us our much needed flexibility. (Our kids were 12mos and 3.5 years at our visit).
Thanks for your experience Julia!
Love Manginos, never ate at Evergreens, never knew about On the Greens Grill, always get my coffee at Java Cafe
We stayed at Shades of Green for the first time this month since our son became a US Marine. Previously we were Disney Vacation Club members for 10 years and had stayed at 7 different Disney owned hotels.
I think the food is really good at Manginos and at Garden Gallery.
i dont think anyone should really compare the quality of the food at Shades of Green to the food at Disney resorts since the prices for the meals and hotel rooms is a fraction of what we paid at Disney owned resorts Shades of Greeni is a wonderful blessing meant to honor our military and their families. So if its food people focus I think they are missing the point of Shades of Green.
Thanks Susie,
Thanks for your thoughts!
I try to let everyone know all the facts so they can make informed decisions.
My wife, Wendy, and I will arrive January 21,2017 and stay at Shades of Green for 10 days,departing January 31,2017.
In advance,,We just wish to convey our Gratitude to The Entire Staff at Shades of Green !
Very Truly Yours,
Wendy and Paul