Shades of Green Resort the Armed Forces Recreation Center at Walt Disney World provides Free WiFi to their resort guests.
However the service isn’t that great!
In room WiFi speeds are very low. This could impact your ability to:
- Make Disney Genie+ Reservations
- Make Individual Lightning Lane Purchases
- Sign Up for Virtual Queues
When trying to make that important reservation at 7 a.m. is not the time to find out that you have unusable service!
What To Do?
It is important to note that the more devices attempting to use an individual WiFi node/system they lower the throughput for everyone.
If you have time prior (preferably the evening before) do some speed tests of the the Shades of Green WiFi and your cellular service in several locations.
First try your room, then the lobby area. Try these on WiFi and cellular.
Then try outdoor areas on cellular:
- Out the nearest exit to your room
- Walk a bit away from the building
- The Front Parking Lot
- The Top Level of the Parking Garage
Try to find where you have the best speed. Anything at or above 50 Mbps should be good for making reservations.
Note, this will probably be the parking lot…
This will be your spot for making Genie+ Reservations.
Your Intel Reports
MDT thrives on reader intel!!!
Please report back in the comment section below your experiences with Shades of Green WiFi and cellular service there. And if you have any issues or great luck with your reservations!
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This MDT Post By: Steve Bell Steve is the the Military Disney Tips Founder. He a retired U.S. Military Member who's been touring the Disney Parks since 1971! Steve's mission is to help military families with their Disney vacations in every way. Check out Steve's Bio. Subscribe to Steve's email newsletter to get website updates and news by clicking this link. |
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
- Why Stay at Shades of Green?
- Shades of Green Rooms
- Shades of Green Room Rates
- Shades of Green Resort Activities and Amenities
- Disney Tickets at Shades of Green
- Magic Bands for Shades of Green Guests
- Shades of Green Fact Sheet and FAQ
Planning a Disney Trip? Want to get the best military discounts that are available? Feeling a little confused?
See Our Great Disney Discount and Planning Info:
- Disney Veteran & Military Discount Eligibility Guide
- 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
- Resorts/Hotel Overview Page
- Dining Overview Page
- Transportation Overview Page
- Shades of Green, WDW’s Military Only Resort
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Military Disney Tips' Recommended Disney Travel Agent
Ears of Experience Disney Only Travel Agency. Military family owned and operated! They know all the ins and outs of Disney military discounts! |
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Hi Steve!
Great advice to check different areas ahead of time, I 2nd this based on our experiences at Shades of Green.
We were in WDW last week and I had low expectations of recently getting the Virtual Queue from the resort due to spotty service. We had already gotten the extra evening hours VQ on a Monday at 6 p.m. (while already at Epcot) for Guardians, so for this 7 a.m. attempt, it was more of a “nice if we could get” rather than “must-do” for us. Keeping that in mind, simply going out onto the balcony worked.
We were located at the way back of the Magnolia wing facing the road where the golf carts head out in the morning. Data wasn’t loading all the time inside the room so I figured I’d give the balcony a whirl. Wifi experience for us has never been great, so I didn’t even test that this trip.
At 6:55 a.m. I went out and had maybe 2 bars for cellular (Verizon), but still managed to get Group 2! Additional tips to help compensate for poor service, recommend:
• Being familiar with the process ahead of time because every split second can matter
• Closing all other apps
• Clearing cache on Disney app
• Editing and selecting group before the clock turns 7 a.m. (e.g. we only had 2 out of 4 people who were riding – this had changed since I was last in WDW)
• Having more than one person try if possible
• Being ready with fast fingers 🙂
We did not use Genie+ so have no experience with that for wifi vs data.
Other areas we’ve found helpful in the Magnolia wing were the seating areas near windows. Last year all of us (not just my party) using this strategy were successful in getting a boarding group with cellular data.
(Tip: If you get a low VQ group, prepare to scoot out and get over to the park ASAP. Our group was actually called 20 minutes before Early Entry even started. We were either still on the Shades bus or at the TTC when our group was called. I hadn’t anticipated that! I’m not sure how strict that hour return time is?)
Thanks Steve for the recent posts! I’m going to use your map to help choose our room for our next trip since (for the first time) wasn’t too thrilled with the location/view.
Leigh
Hey there Leigh,
Thanks for the awesome intel and tips!!!