Military Members Review and Rate Shades of Green

Military members who have never stayed at Shades of Green before often wonder what the military only resort at Walt Disney World is really like.

The Shades of Green Resort is the Armed Forces Recreation Center Resort located right on Walt Disney World property. Here you will find very affordable military room rates for your Disney vacation.

Here at MDT I ask those returning from their WDW vacation to take our Post Vacation Surveys. In this post I will reveal the results of our ongoing Shades of Green survey.

Readers are asked to rate Shades of Green on a 1 to 5 scale in many areas. As is usual 5 is the best score. In each area I also offer the ability to leave comments. Newest comments are at the top of each comment section.

Questions are asked about the overall stay, rooms, pools, dining, transportation, and other services and amenities.

I hope this post aids you in your decision making process!

Updated September 2023, prior update June 2023

Ok, let’s get on to the good stuff.

The Results

Again ratings are on a 1 to 5 system, 5 of course being best. We’ll share how all aspects of Shades of Green stack up and share some of the comments we’ve received through the survey.

You will also see the following symbols after the numerical rating to indicate the most recent trend:

• Rating Increased is +
• Rating Decreased is –
• No Change is =

This symbol is then followed by how much the rating changed from the prior update. So a rating of 3.50, -0.10 is a rating of 3.50 which got 0.10 worse since the last update. Updates are generally once a month.

If you haven’t taken the Shades of Green Post Vacation Survey, please go to our Surveys Page and do so.

Shades of Green’s Rooms

Overall Room Satisfaction – 4.55, =

Cleanliness of Room – 4.74, =

Room Size and Layout – 4.86,

Quietness of Room – 4.42, -0.01

Comfort of Beds and Pillows – 4.52, -0.01

All of these ratings have trended down for a couple years, there was a slight increase early in 2022, but the second half of the year brought a return to the down trend, this now continues into 2023.

Comments:

It seemed every time a maid came into our room they set the alarm for 6am. They also did it to the adjoining room which I believe was unoccupied during most of our stay.

It would be nice to have a king size bed.

Even with the most recent updates they’ve made to the resort, things just seem dated and in need to cleaning up. The rooms look a bit better than other parts of the resort. For instance, hallways, elevators, pool areas REALLY need to be repainted/repaired.

We loved our stay at shades of green!! It was the best and we were soo happy to spend down time at the pools in between trips to Disney.

Would have preferred a microwave in the room. A larger refrigerator would be nice also. Especially for longer stays.

Clean and well appointed. Very functional.

Lighted mirror in the bathroom did not work in 3 of our 7 rooms. Told the front desk 3 different times. Finally, after I went to front desk personally, someone checked into it, and said they have no more replacements for them. The plug in on the night stand did not work in my room, and although I appreciate the phone charging station, it is in a very inconvenient place.

We stayed at the Grand Floridian in 2021, and we’re happier with Shades of Green.

This was our first time booking multiple rooms. I asked that the be in the same area, not necessarily adjoining. The were all in a row with 2 connected.

I asked to have a room on the first hallway from the PX. We’ve stayed on that hallway several time (rm 205, 205, 202) and on the third floor hallway once. We love being close to the lobby and the room is surprising quite even though its on the main hallway for all the Magnolia side guest. I’m a very light sleeper and had not noise issues.

I wish the refrigerator was bigger. It’s a square mini-fridge rather than the taller rectangular type. It’s placed in the furniture. Two of our rooms were missing the cabinet doors that usually hide the fridge. The cabinet door isn’t really necessary.

It’s great that the toilet and shower are separated from the sink area by a door. There were double sinks as well.

Would have preferred a microwave in the room. A larger refrigerator would be nice also. Especially for longer stays.

The rooms need USB plugs or the lamps with the USB plugs in them. We had a hard time charging all of our devices each night. Two of our regular outlets also didn’t work, the one behind the coffee pot and the one behind the round table.

WiFi and hot water were spotty.

Hot water was not always available.

Room were wonderful. Big and spacious. Great having the separate sink area from toilet/shower area. Balcony and view were top notch! Plenty of usable furniture. Safe was good to have as I brought extra cash!

After staying at other WDW resorts, Shades is our hands-down favorite. The room size is great for our family of 5, and the trundle bed fits everyone in our family more than other trundles at WDW (i.e. Caribbean Beach).

We loved our location by the pool!! Our cleaning lady was super sweet too, I wish I remembered her name room 236

Constantly heard adults and children yelling in the hallway. Several nights children playing in the halls, running and yelling.

Loud kids and teens running the hallways, esp late at night, but you get used to it (they have had a long day at the parks! 🙂 ), We enjoy staying at SOG because of how nice the rooms are.

Need a pull out couch bed for a full size bed

Decor is getting dated. Furniture is chipped and bath tub needs retiling and updating.

7 SOG visits in 7 yrs! The only Disney Hotel that competes with the SOG is the Yacht and Beach Club at 3 times the price.

Sog is the only place we stay in Orlando even if we don’t do the Disney parks. It’s a beautiful resort and great value. Palm rooms are beautifully redone.

Could hear next door through the connecting door. Rolled-up a towel for blocking base of door – helped a little. Parents need to control their kids.

The walls are pretty thin, so you hear any noise from the hallways or the rooms next door. However, once we were moved into a different room, our stay was very quiet and peaceful. I guess you just have to hope for courteous neighbors!

We never had readily available hot water. We spoke to the front desk several times, and maintenance came twice. We were told first it was fixed… It wasn’t. Then they said to turn on the hot water in the sink and the tub and let them run until it got hot. Took upwards of 15-20 minutes! Then it was Luke warm at best most of the time. Coffee maker never worked, carpet in room felt dirty to the touch, door to the fridge was coming off the hinges.

This room was next to the playground, and a couple of nights unsupervised children playing on playground were very loud. We usually love the area because it is so quiet. however Security did run them off at pool closing time.

It would be nice to have a mirror in a location outside of the bathroom so that someone getting ready in the room would have a way to take a look if the restroom was occupied.

All info on standard rooms shows 2 sinks in bathroom. We got a very small bathroom with 1 sink.. front desk told us we had to request it. How can you request something that you think comes with all standard rooms! Even this website shows 2 sinks!! Very uncomfortable with 3 adults and 1 child! Also table had only 3 chairs for a room that accommodates 5 people. Not happy about extra charge for 3rd adult when we only had 4 people in our room. We probably won’t stay here again!

Links: 

• Shades of Green Guest Rooms
• Shades of Green Poolside Rooms
• Shades of Green Suites

Shades of Green’s Pools

Size and Layout of the Magnolia Pool Area – 4.57, -0.01

Crowd Level of the Magnolia Pool Area – 4.58, +0.01

Cleanliness of the Magnolia Pool Area – 4.69, +0.01

Size and Layout of the Mill Pond (Mickey) Pool Area – 4.59, +0.01

Crowd Level of the Mill Pond Pool Area – 4.35, +0.01

Cleanliness of the Mill Pond Pool Area – 4.49, +0.01

Comments:

The Mill Pond Pool was awesome. We loved having Evergreens right there.

The quiet pool was empty on the day we visited and really relaxing!

Our kids loved the day we spent at the pool… especially the slides.

The pools are wonderful! Lifeguards were very nice!  However-At the Magnolia pool, there was a brick in the walk area sticking up, causing numerous people to trip. The Mill Pond Pool area is looking very deteriorated.

The quiet pool was empty on the day we visited and really relaxing!

We loved it but they closed too early at Mill Pond area

The pool was absolutely beautiful. We had a wonderful time. My granddaughter enjoyed it so much.

Need better enforcement of the age limits in the hot tub.

Very surprised there was a lifeguard at the Magnolia Pool. Really enjoyed the hot tub and temp of the pool. Great having towels there.

We tend to use the pools at “off times,” so do not experience crowding. We love grabbing a pizza at Evergreens and snacking by the Mickey Pool.

Wish they had extended late hours after parks closed for adults

Great life guards – always friendly and knowledgeable.. Need to reign-in the older kids throwing balls as hard as possible at polo nets.

Loved the pool and splash pad. Noise was NOT a problem as I have heard some people concerned about.

Loved the pool. Wish we could bring towels back to the room.

Love the pools. It would be nice to be able to use the pools later at your own risk.

Enjoyed both pools. Kid area was closed for cleaning for 4 days of our trip though

Pool closed several times during our stay.

Splash area wasn’t heated to the kids didn’t want to use it.

Older teens/adults winging the ball at the polo nets. Adults not reading rules for age restrictions in the hot tub and then complaining when life guards do their job.

Pool temperature was cold.

Links: 

• Shades of Green Pools

Shades of Green Dining

Overall Dining Experience at Shades of Green – 4.11, -0.06

Individually, all Shades of Green Restaurants hover around a 4 out of 5 rating; some just above, some just below.

Chip and Dales Deli is a Disney owned and operated location.

Manginos

Manginos Overall Dining Experience – 4.41, – 0.26

Manginos Value – 3.97, – 0.12

Manginos Food Quality – 4.13, – 0.13

Garden Gallery

Garden Gallery Overall Dining Experience – 4.33, -0.09

Garden Gallery Value – 4.28, -0.09

Garden Gallery Food Quality – 4.25, -0.10

Evergreens

Evergreens Sports Bar Overall Dining Experience – 4.28, =

Evergreens Sports Bar Value – 4.17, =

Evergreens Sports Bar Food Quality – 4.16, =

Express Café 

Express Café Overall Dining Experience – 4.18, =

Express Café Value – 4.00, =

Express Café Food Quality – 4.25, =

Java Café

Java Café Overall Dining Experience – 4,55, =

Java Café Value – 4.32, =

Java Café Food Quality – 4.40, =

Chip & Dale’s Deli

Chip & Dale’s Deli Overall Dining Experience – 4.40, =

Chip & Dale’s Deli Value – 4.00, =

Chip & Dale’s Deli Food Quality – 4.00, =

Dining Comments:

The pizza was horrible. The ice cream was great. We bought overpriced bananas every day we were there.

The food and drinks were excellent. We loved everything we got and the prices were incredibly reasonable.

The wait staff at the Garden Gallery was great. Food was very good too, although while we were there, they were offering the stir fry buffet. NOT worth the $29.00!!
The buffet breakfast was worth every penny! Very good.

The prices were great (by DW standards) and the staff were so friendly

At first I was really disappointed that the garden gallery doesn’t serve dinner currently, But we tried their build your own fried rice and build your own pasta option and found it to be a very good value and very good. The chefs who make it were great. We found that we could split one dinner between two people because the proportions were so plentiful. Some of the young adults with us bought the pizza package from garden gallery and said it was good. We also enjoyed Mangino’s but the young adults with us thought that was too pricey.

Granddaughters first taste of crab legs and she loved them as did my daughter. The Mickey waffles were great. And the size of the dinners was amazing the only problem with that is the fridge is too small to take leftovers back to the room and NO microwaves in the room. I mean come on microwaves are so cheap now. Throw them in the rooms. So many baby’s need bottles warmed in the night. It’s so inconvenient to go to the laundry room at 2am.

We got pizza from the bar a few times for lunch/dinner. Which was a significant amount less than eating in the parks and fed us easily. We had the breakfast with our rooms and enjoyed the buffet.

Breakfast was good, only ate there once though. Java Cafe coffee was quick, and nice to have in the lobby.

Shrimp was over cooked at Magnolias and more syrup choices would have been nicer and the Java Cafe

Garden Gallery overwhelmed by shear numbers, but always do a great job.

Overall pretty good

We have stayed at SOG 7 times now and did not enjoy Manginos twice, so have not returned (cold food, slow service). Have done Gallery once, Our favorite is Evergreens, it’s light, simple and relaxing. Miss the old crew at Express, they were fun to talk to, but did enjoy the new update and service was good.

Time before last visit we used the sunrise breakfast/room pkg & loved it. Food was good & nice value. This time we just wanted to grab & go from the Starbucks & downstairs service. Both ok.

The to go ordering was a mess. I didn’t like how we could only order certain things off of the menu. For example, we loved the mozzarella sticks from Mangino’s but we could not order them to go?!?

The Java Cafe in the lobby is nice to have there but needs to be open later. And the price of the items need to be lower. Coffee was too expensive as well as the ice cream. Maybe you need to consider taking the Star$$$bucks, out and getting someone else to run it. The employees were very nice.

Staff are great. Food quality has gobe down over the last 7 years.

NOT WDW quality – but not WDW prices either, although I’d pay more for higher quality. However – convenience is a 10. Late night takeout is great.

Mangino’s was good, but a little overpriced for what you get (admittedly, not quite as expensive as you might expect a hotel restaurant though). The Evergreen Sports Bar’s cheeseburger is honestly one of the best I’ve ever had.

We love doing the breakfast buffet in the mornings, good service, quick, inexpensive. Evergreens is very limited menu and frozen food over priced.

Some of the staff seemed less than thrilled to be working. One waitress did not bring our drinks until we were just about finished eating. She had forgotten! And it’s a buffet.

Garden Galley Buffet was great value. Our family was glad to have fresh fruit and salads for a reasonable price (as opposed to greasy burgers at Disney prices). The food was “entirely adequate” — nothing special, but it met our needs. Service was almost always great. (Exception was a waitress who called everyone “baby” — kinda weird).

I would like The Garden Gallery to consider opening at 6:30am so families don’t have to rush through breakfast to get in line for the bus during early Magic Hours.

Maybe the best reason to stay at SOG. Food values, compared to the rest of the resort, are incredible.

Links: 

• Dining Options at Shades of Green

Shades of Green Ticket Office

Overall Experience – 4.51, =

Comments:

We ordered tickets ahead of time via email. Also talk to someone on the phone to get some questions answered. The service was fine. It took a while to get the tickets In the mail, but they were correct and preactivated. It seems like every time we go there’s a slightly different process for ticketing, Mostly due to the constantly changing Disney rules.

Excellent and knowable about best princess and where to go. Even bought Universal tickets.

We ordered tickets ahead of time via email. Also talk to someone on the phone to get some questions answered. The service was fine. It took a while to get the tickets In the mail, but they were correct and preactivated. It seems like every time we go there’s a slightly different process for ticketing, Mostly due to the constantly changing Disney rules.

Great service. Nice people! Always answered my questions within 24 hours.

Like all of Disney, we plan to go at off times. They have always been very helpful and efficient!

Pre-order and emailing ticket scans are great. (except they lost my hard-ticket and took almost 30 min to re-issue and trf all my fast passes. Ist time ever having them make a mistake.

We did our tickets online, and used the form to get our passes in advance to take advantage of MDE and magic bands. This is a GREAT service.. I highly recommend it, and promote the ticket service to military friends not staying at SOG (unless they get a better deal through Disney Promotions).

We were NOT told when we purchased the 4 ticket that we bought they need to be used by December 17. Therefore ewe lost 2 days on 2 of our tickets and lost 1 day on 2 tickets. We should have been told there was an expiration date for the tickets., because we purchased them so close to the date of expiration. We lost $ on them.

Links:

• Shades of Green Attraction Ticket Sales Office
• Shades of Green’s Discounted Ticket Types
• Shades of Green Ticket Prices
• Pre-Purchase Your Theme Park Tickets

Shades of Green’s Bus System

Overall Satisfaction – 4.01, +0.01

Convenience – 4.04, +0.01

Comments:

My daughter had a very unfriendly bus driver as she took my 6 yr old back to the hotel to swim from the magic kingdom. It was very hot and they were standing in the direct sun waiting for the bus. The bus driver pulled up and left a few people off. In stead of giving my daughter the go ahead to board the bus, he shut the doors and began to drive away. Thank goodness a family was waving the driver down to stop for them, or my daughter would have been stuck. I was livid when she explained to me what happened.

We prefer to walk to the monorail. Bus system is difficult for children and handicapped and with all of the timing requirements to get to Disney in time for lightening lane reservations and queues the buses are not convenient. A walking bridge would be ideal to Polynesian.  And free parking at shades and Disney parks would alleviate the inconvenience of not having the ability to walk to the poly.

The buses required long waits. We ended up using ride share a couple of times.

Has Disney moved the Shades bus stops? I felt like they used to pull up to the same areas as the WDW buses, but now they seem to be really far from the park entrances

Love the SOG bus system and the drivers were great.

Bus drivers were great. All were very friendly and nice. (except one-not overly friendly, but that was ok)

All of the bus drivers were so FRIENDLY this time. We loved getting on the bus with a friendly face smiling at us. here’s an old man comment: When leaving the Magic Kingdom, there is no “line” for the bus at the TTC. Some guest, for whatever reason, may walk up to the bus door without regard for those who had been waiting. We never missed the bus because of this, but did have to stand when younger people were sitting.

Very nice clean friendly drivers and buses.

I appreciate the rope lane dividers (have been suggesting for years instead of the mob approach). Maybe extend to inside with signage. One morning we were stretched almost to the Express To Go entrance.

They desperately need direct drop off Magic kingdom not the TTC and drop off and pick up Disney Springs not at west side, to far away from popular restaurants.

We loved all the bus drivers, all friendly and funny. They should run more often after parks close to make the busses less crowded

I think they should run the buses more frequently. Also, some of the bus stops were way away from main buses. Bus drivers were always nice. Also…needed more buses at park closing.

Depending on your time of arrival to the bus location, if you timed it right, there is minimal wait.

Buses were very prompt.

They need more pick up and drop off times.

Love the system with the schedule.

Way to overcrowded late evenings, don’t run enough buses, we used Monorail to Poly and walked from there it was always quicker late evenings.

Returning was usually a slightly longer wait, but not more than 30 minutes max.

Desperately need organized que lines for each bus destintation instead of the herds rushing the buses (esp TTC)

I like knowing what time my bus will be there.

At busy times for TTC it is better to walk to the Poly

They need way more Universal buses!

Drivers are always polite

Locations and times are not convenient at all.

This was our first time staying at Shades of Green. We were never informed of the need for the guest ID card and constant ID checks which caused some very ridiculous delays. The times we were told the busses would arrive for pick up were off by 30 minutes causing us to be late for 2 events. For a military establishment this was all very unorganized and an absolute disgrace to the men and women who serve this country and pay a lot of money to visit here. We ended up having to walk way more than necessary due to the bus system not doing their job efficiently.

The one lady driving the Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom combined route bus was not particularly friendly or pleasant and she drove very fast. Though the bus was crowded, her speed and movement made it a bit unsafe to stand. My husband and I both sat at the very first opportunities to do so. Families with small children who typically have mom and kids sitting and dad standing up, were sitting mom with child in lap, dad with child in lap, et cetera.

The Best Drivers — so friendly and helpful.

Links:

• Shades of Green Transportation

AAFES Store

Overall Experience – 4.58, =

Prices – 4.43, +0.01

Item Selection – 4.21, =

Comments:

We were expecting more Disney merch, but the prices were good.

Such a great amenity on property. It was so nice to be able to shop for things at normal prices instead of the Disney mark-up.

It’s really helpful to have that store. We would like to see more variety, but on the other hand they have most of the categories that we needed. For example they have breakfast cereal but only a couple of sweet types.

Would like honey nut cheerios, but other than that that store is well stocked! The staff is very friendly and helpful.

Great selection on Disney items, and nice selection of food/non grocery items

Very nice remodel since last visit. It was usually closed when we left for the day and when we got back, but one morning we had a few moments.

A nice satellite store which carries supplies tailored to visiting the parks (esp water) for adults and families. Good prices.

Did not sell swim diapers, which are required for the pool. They kept telling me to come back yet never got them.

Nice & convenient. A good overall selection of items

I thought the merchandise was a little pricey

The prices are a bit expensive. I had hoped they would be a bit cheaper.

Out of stock on diapers we needed.

Wish had few more items like case of water.

Could have more Disney souvenirs.

Should not run out of items like kids medicine, etc.

Friendly staff, a really good selection of products per square foot, and seemed to be about the same price I’d pay at home (a few items, like Monster energy drinks, were marked up though).

They got rid of magazines! Tons of Disney merchandise a little skimpy but prices are good. I use the store multiple times every stay. They take the Star Card.

A lot of their Disney merchandise had some type of military logo on it. Not really looking for Disney merchandise with Navy/Army logo on it.

I appreciated you had items that were forgotten but direly needed

There was too much Disney and other type merchandise that was highly overpriced.

Milk was more expensive than what I’m used to paying at home, but the Disney Merchandise was significantly cheaper than the parks.

Links:

• Shades of Green Shopping

Magnolia Spa

Overall Experience – 4.20, – 0.09

Value – 4.46 – 0.10

Children’s Makeover Value – 4.50, =

Children’s Makeover Satisfaction – 4.33, =

Comments:

Everyone was friendly and welcoming. The Massage therapist, I think her name was Kim…she seems cranky and annoyed that we were there. More like just doing her job for $$ not customer happiness

Tried to get a princess makeover but they didn’t have an early enough opening. Book that a ways in advance.

They need to remodel.

Made an appointment when arrived they couldn’t find the appointment or any appointment

Incredible value

Used the special package. Would have preferred a massage and pedicure package.

I was impressed that they were able to work me in for a facial and my husband and I for a couple’s massage. I was a little nervous about getting my first massage, but the staff were very nice and very understanding.

Links:

• Magnolia Spa

Shades of Green’s Gym

Overall Gym Rating – 4.15, =

Comments: 

Great gym and clean.

Very big resort, it could be bigger to accommodate everyone

Good selection of equipment, Always clean and accessible.

Never busy. Good ion of equipment for the use it gets.

comparable to, if not better than, most hotel gyms

Links:

Shades of Green’s Fitness Center

 

Shades of Green’s Staff

Check In Process – 4.64, =

Check Out Process – 4.84, =

Accessibility, Friendliness, & Knowledge – 4.66, -0.01

Ratings in this category have trended downward for a long time!

Comments:

We have always had friendly staff members checking us in and they have always accommodated our requests. The staff in the ticket office are friendly and patient as we try to navigate the Disney App to enter our tickets/ reservations.

Front Desk Clerk did not believe I did not drive a car and was really snotty to me about it like I was trying to rip them off!

Front desk staff is not very friendly. Everyone else is. The rooms are great, however there needs to be some maintenance on them.

Great staff, they were very busy when we were there, but still very nice and helpful. The coffee and downstairs breakfast staff were excellent.

Everyone was 100 the best and we received top notch service. We had packages delivered from Amazon and scooter and stroller rental arrived and everything was in order. We LOVED the garden gallery and the fun games at the pool.

The staff lost my luggage. And, I just cannot understand how that could have happened 10 yards from the elevator. During an effort to retrieve the luggage, I was treated as a criminal. The bag was finally returned to me after a complete inventory by security and I was forced to sign for it. While the man who lost it was somewhere enjoying the $30.00 tip and appeared more interested in racking more tips than helping me locate my lost luggage.

Maintenance/housekeeping/bus drivers./bellhops…..everyone was great. EXCEPT..When I would call, before we arrived, 50/50 on getting someone that wasn’t rushed, and/or nice. Same with front desk staff while there. Some were not very nice, others were great. PLUS..Would have someone tell me a “policy” then someone tell me the exact opposite later. There is a management/training issue with front desk/reservations.

Everyone was great! Loved our bellhop!!

Always courteous with knowledgeable answers about Disney and surrounding area.

Some were clueless, some said one thing, next person said the opposite

In all the years we have stayed at SOG, we have never had any issues with the front desk, check-in, housekeeping. They make for a great experience (for us). Why we keep returning. The front desk was very helpful in having our tickets ready in our arrival pkg, a major plus.

Not overly friendly or helpful

Everyone we came into contact with was very friendly & helpful

I had ordered a birthday cake (made by SOG) to be picked up at check-in. When I checked in, no one was able to locate it and I had to make several trips back to the desk/speak with a manager before it was found.

Not very helpful in the evening.

Pleasant helpful staff.

Staff is always, always, always great!

Wonderful freindky knowledgeable staff

I did notice it is a little stiffer since under new management

Overall ok. Not very helpful or concerned about our water issues. Made it hard to get up and ready to start the day with 2 babies.

We have been to shades 4 or 5 times with a trip coming up this a December Eachbtime all staff members are awesome

All staff members were friendly and courteous and helpful. The only negative was your registration people not being aware of the dining facilities not accepting the Military Star card and therefore giving out erroneous information.

The staff was very unhelpful and acted like they weren’t to sure how to answer our basic questions.

We had an amazon package delivered and it seemed to be lost someone in their system. First staff member promised to look for it — and when we hadn’t heard anything we tried again with a second staff member – a little annoying, but the second person was so apologetic and determined to fix the problem — he is truly a credit to shades!

The clerks there during our stay were the friendliest clerks I have encountered during my past stays.

Overall Experience

Overall Satisfaction with Shades of Green – 4.68, =

Would You Stay At Shades of Green Again – 94% Yes, =

How Likely Are You to Recommend Shades of Green to a Friend or Coworker – 4.67, +0.07

Comments:

We usually choose Shades of Green as our go to resort. Unfortunately so many things happened this trip that were unsatisfactory that we most likely will look somewhere else.

We will only stay at SOG. The value, comfort and convenience cannot be beat.

We have stayed at SOG over 10 times and I would have given an overall 5 if our room requests would have been honored since I made the reservations exactly 365 days ahead and still have the original reservation form with these requests. We will still continue to stay at SOG but call a week before our stay to verify our request is being honored.

Disappointed that although the resort is on Disney property, it is not considered a Disney Resort. If you make reservations for the Galactic Starcruiser and stay at a Disney resort, you have the benefit of early check in and late check out on boarding/departure days. Shades of Green does not allow this benefit since it is owned by the government and not Disney. Wish SOG would offer this benefit as a courtesy to military members going on Galactic Starcruiser.

This is a great resort that is on the “Disney Compound” as I call it. It is only about 100 meters from the Monorail station. I would hightly reccomend for any Veteran/Service Member to stay at. Between rooms and Salute tickets it is a great deal. Plus you get the perks as if you are staying at a Disney Resort Hotel. Early Park Hours/Late Hours.

This resort is top notch. The transportation was incredibly reliable and the drivers made sure they got us to the TTCs or parks. We did not think the other ways were worth it at all.

I believe this is our 15 or so stay at shades since it was purchased. It never disappoints. We had our Thanksgiving dinner there and it was wonderful. Great selections and the staff went above and beyond.

Best place to stay in Disney!!! This was our third time staying there and I already booked it again for next November. The breakfast buffet is amazing… so good! I recommend Shades to everyone (who is eligible). This visit, I sponsored a room for my brother and his family and they absolutely loved it too.

Would like faster service of a broken ice maker I. The wing we were on especially since the fridge is so small. The ice maker was broker THE WHOLE WEEK.

There is no better way to go than staying at shades of green!

These rooms were a long way from the lobby and bus area, but it was also fairly quiet out there.

Why stay elsewhere. We resort hop and have yet to see a place better. The values are so far out it is annoying. The premiers are so expensive. DVC won’t even clean your room or change towels! With 4 people towels get mixed up!

All the staff seemed happy to be back to a “full house” and were very friendly. Of course, my family was also so happy to be back to WDW!

Always, professional and personable. Every single one of the employees, from manager, life guards, restaurants, to room help are always cheerful and helpful. I always feel personally valued as a guest.

In addition to the friendly, supportive staff, we greatly appreciate the bus services and ticket office.  Really like the AAFES store at Shades of Green.  Wish it was a little but bigger, but it certainly served our needs.

One lady and one guy on the front desk was very nice.

Shades of Green is a WONDERFUL place to stay! Am extremely grateful for having it available!

We stay at SOG several times a year. The smell of the fireplace and waffle cones upon entering will be forever etched in our children’s memories! It feels like our secret place at Disney.

Have stayed here numerous times (9-10). A tremendous value. Hmm… $150 a night on Disney!! 700+ across the road. Maybe offer a shuttle over to the Polynesian. Later P/U at Universal.

Was impressed with the updated front entrance security (including inbound walking ID check). Our next trip we plan to do a night or 2 at a resort hotel but end our trip at SOG.

Would like to be able to use magic band and get our fast passes 60 days out. (Note FastPasses are now available 60-Days out)

It is a nice motel for the price, I would not do the dining package ever again, food was not great and same thing every day. Does not have a Disney feel.

The location is perfect! We didn’t mind the walk to the Poly to get the monorail. The bus system could be more organized, maybe having guest line up per destination. We had 2 motorized scooters so we always felt we had to rush to the bus once it arrived.

Regarding the parking, if there was a choice of where to park, I wouldn’t mind the fee. But since we had no choice but to park in the garage, I feel that the fee should be included in the room charge.

The transportation needs to be revamped. A ride from and back to the airport would be nice. Not all military families can afford a rental. Please consider at least a coffee pot and or hot water in the lobby for late night visitors from the park. There is no place to get a cup of coffee! All said we do appreciate Shades of Green resort, there are just amenities that should be added to accommodate guests. We did not eat in the hotel because mostly the staff was so cranky and quite frankly the food was EXPENSIVE! Try to get a simple cup of coffee in the evening the look at you like you have 4 heads! Mangos clearly didn’t want to sell you a cup of coffee and when it was closing time they wouldn’t even give you the time of day!

Shipping packages to the room was a nightmare. They do not pickup their mail on Saturdays! If you ship, do not uses USPS (as it is not delivered to the resort and will result in delays). The package we shipped didn’t get to us (because of schedule) until just before we left.

Everything about Shades we love. Dining awesome & great value. Friendly staff, rooms beautiful, big,clean . Can’t say enough about Shades. Recommend to anyone. We will never stay at a Disney resort over Shades.

Will definitely stay again. Have recommended & will continue recommending to others. We love Shades.

Just a little room updating is needed. Otherwise great stay!

I would only stay at shades of green in the future when going to Disney.

My husband and I had a couple of very minor issues that were quickly resolved. overall, we were impressed with the quality of the hotel and its offerings. we began planning a return trip to SoG even before we left!

We have stayed here numerous times and since we no longer have little kids its the only place we will stay, much more serene and peaceful.

I was told when booking my reservations that my Military Star card could be used at all the dining facilities and could also be charged to my room that was being billed on my Military Star card. When I tried to bill our meals to the room I was informed that none of the eating establishments accept the Military Star card any longer.

We had no problem getting Uber drivers in and our of shades. We were delighted with peacocks and Ibises around the pond. Great Experience (in large part due to your blog!)

Staff is better than 5 years ago, but there’s one desk clerk that is rude, one not helpful but the rest nice.

Every time I called to ask questions about rooms and so on, you’d get a different answer depending on who you talked to, One person had me all worked up I almost canceled my reservation.

SOG staff is fine, but not quite up to the standards set as other WDW resorts.

Very helpful and knowledgable staff.

I will never stay anywhere else unless I can afford to stay at a deluxe resort. I thought I’d miss the theming but I didn’t and I’ve completely converted. Ease of getting to Magic Kingdom alone had me hooked. We could see the fireworks from our balcony, but the night we decided to stay in the park to watch them, they started at 9:15 and we were back in our room with both kids asleep by 10:15. Unheard of. I’m totally hooked!

MDT Thoughts

So there you have it, this is what your military brethren think of their stay at Shades of Green.

As with all surveys, you’ll find those who had a fantastic time and rave about it, and others on the other end of the spectrum.

Military Disney Tips feels that if you don’t mind the lack of Disney themeing, Shades of Green can be a great cost saving decision for your Disney vacation (depending on other discounts available and time of year).

Do your research and you’ll be able to make the best decision for your family’s individual needs and desires.

These other posts may help:

• 10 Best Things About Shades of Green
• How Do Disney World Resorts Compare To Shades of Green In Price?
• Shades of Green – Disney Value Resort Comparison
• Shades of Green – Disney Moderate Resort Comparison
• Shades of Green – Disney Deluxe Resort Comparison

Now over to You

Have you stayed at Shades of Green? Please take our Shades of Green Survey and leave a comment below!

If you’ve recently completed a vacation that includes one or more of our topics, please take that survey!

Shades of Green General Survey (Rooms and Staff)

Shades of Green Amenities Survey (Transportation, Pools, AAFES Store, Ticket Office, Magnolia Spa, Gym)

Shades of Green Dining Survey (For those who have dined at Shades of Green)

Disney Military Ticket Survey (For all who have used Disney Military Tickets at WDW & Disneyland)

Thanks so Much!