SHADES OF GREEN at Walt Disney World Resort Information & Questions

[laura3773]

Anyone stay recently? I know they aren't accepting packages, but can I do a Prime Now or Instacart order if I'm there to accept it?

 

[livbeatles]

Anyone stay recently? I know they aren't accepting packages, but can I do a Prime Now or Instacart order if I'm there to accept it?

No personal experience, but they're allowing Uber/Lyfts in, so I would think Prime Now/Instacart would be okay as long as you're there at the drop-off area to meet them.

 

[LvnDsny]

They are finally reopening the Garden Gallery! Just saw this on the SOG site:

Breakfast Buffet served Daily 7am - 11am
Beginning September 23, 2021
13 Hot Items Each Day
On the Buffet - Eggs / Bacon / Sausage / Corned Beef Hash / Breakfast Potatoes / Breakfast Pastries
Made to Order - Waffles / Pancakes / Omelettes
Kids Buffet also available

 

[Dreaming of Cali]

I need some reassurance! This will be our first time staying at Shades of Green. I’ve been reading the reviews on Trip Advisor and they seem to skew all over the place. Please tell me I’m not making a mistake by staying at SoG

 

[ZellyB]

I need some reassurance! This will be our first time staying at Shades of Green. I’ve been reading the reviews on Trip Advisor and they seem to skew all over the place. Please tell me I’m not making a mistake by staying at SoG

Everybody is going to be different, but we LOVE staying at Shades of Green. The rooms are big and have been renovated fairly recently. I think they have all of them done now. The grounds are very pretty, I think, with lots of palm trees and the golf course. We have often seen wildlife there like turkeys and even a peacock once. The resort itself is a bit sprawling so sometimes you have to walk a bit to get to the lobby, but it's nothing bad. With the breakfast buffet reopening, that's a big plus to me. It's a great buffet and priced so much more reasonably than any other Disney resort. The resort obviously doesn't have much in the way of Disney theming, but for me all of the other factors far outweigh that. The location is fantastic. So close to TTC and MK. We used the spa once on a trip there and it was lovely as well. We don't use the pools or hot tubs a lot, but they are nice enough although again lack some theming you'll see at other resorts. We've stayed a the Poly, Beach Club and the Contemporary and when you compare price vs amenities and other factors, Shades of Green wins by a mile.

Things I don't like especially are the bus service, but we pretty much always rent a car so that's not a big deal to us. You can easily walk to the Poly and access the monorail, so that's a nice plus. They still aren't offering housekeeping because of COVID and we did have trouble getting towels and coffee etc replenished but that was never a problem pre-COVID.

What sorts of complaints did you read on Trip Advisor?

 

[Dreaming of Cali]

Everybody is going to be different, but we LOVE staying at Shades of Green. The rooms are big and have been renovated fairly recently. I think they have all of them done now. The grounds are very pretty, I think, with lots of palm trees and the golf course. We have often seen wildlife there like turkeys and even a peacock once. The resort itself is a bit sprawling so sometimes you have to walk a bit to get to the lobby, but it's nothing bad. With the breakfast buffet reopening, that's a big plus to me. It's a great buffet and priced so much more reasonably than any other Disney resort. The resort obviously doesn't have much in the way of Disney theming, but for me all of the other factors far outweigh that. The location is fantastic. So close to TTC and MK. We used the spa once on a trip there and it was lovely as well. We don't use the pools or hot tubs a lot, but they are nice enough although again lack some theming you'll see at other resorts. We've stayed a the Poly, Beach Club and the Contemporary and when you compare price vs amenities and other factors, Shades of Green wins by a mile.

Things I don't like especially are the bus service, but we pretty much always rent a car so that's not a big deal to us. You can easily walk to the Poly and access the monorail, so that's a nice plus. They still aren't offering housekeeping because of COVID and we did have trouble getting towels and coffee etc replenished but that was never a problem pre-COVID.

What sorts of complaints did you read on Trip Advisor?

Thank you so much for reassuring me! Most of the negative things have to do with rude staff (which usually should be taken with a grain of salt), rooms that need to be updated (old bathrooms, musty carpets, etc.), some people did mention lack of housekeeping (towels, trash, coffee replacement). But I think if I bring 2 extra towels from home and some shelf-stable grocery coffee drinks we should be fine
As far ad trash removal, is there a place we can dump our own trash if needed?
Thank you again!

 

[ZellyB]

Thank you so much for reassuring me! Most of the negative things have to do with rude staff (which usually should be taken with a grain of salt), rooms that need to be updated (old bathrooms, musty carpets, etc.), some people did mention lack of housekeeping (towels, trash, coffee replacement). But I think if I bring 2 extra towels from home and some shelf-stable grocery coffee drinks we should be fine
As far ad trash removal, is there a place we can dump our own trash if needed?
Thank you again!

Well I'd agree that staff aren't always the best. I wouldn't call them rude really, but they are DoD employees I think, so customer service isn't something that is a priority to them. It's definitely not like the service you typically get from a Disney CM, but it's never bothered me either. I don't know that I'd bother with bringing my own towels or coffee necessarily. We were always able to get what we needed by going to the front desk and requesting it. We just bagged up our trash and set it outside our door and somebody always picked it up. The last few times we've been there we were in updated rooms, so I had no issues with them being old. Hopefully you'll love it like we do!

 

[Dreaming of Cali]

Well I'd agree that staff aren't always the best. I wouldn't call them rude really, but they are DoD employees I think, so customer service isn't something that is a priority to them. It's definitely not like the service you typically get from a Disney CM, but it's never bothered me either. I don't know that I'd bother with bringing my own towels or coffee necessarily. We were always able to get what we needed by going to the front desk and requesting it. We just bagged up our trash and set it outside our door and somebody always picked it up. The last few times we've been there we were in updated rooms, so I had no issues with them being old. Hopefully you'll love it like we do!

Okay, thank you! I’ll be sure to ask at the front desk for extra towels and coffee rather than bringing our own. Good to know about bagging and placing trash outside the door. Definitely will be easier than trying to find a place to take it to in the resort.
I’m not too worried about the staff not being overly friendly. That stuff doesn’t usually bother me, but I’m glad to know in advance what to expect. You’ve been super helpful! I’m looking forward to my upcoming stay now

 

[Leigh L]

Thank you so much for reassuring me! Most of the negative things have to do with rude staff (which usually should be taken with a grain of salt), rooms that need to be updated (old bathrooms, musty carpets, etc.), some people did mention lack of housekeeping (towels, trash, coffee replacement). But I think if I bring 2 extra towels from home and some shelf-stable grocery coffee drinks we should be fine
As far ad trash removal, is there a place we can dump our own trash if needed?
Thank you again!

Just to chime in .

We stay at Shades at least a night to a week every year, usually more than once. We pass through Orlando a lot and try to stay at least a night. We've never experienced rude staff at SOG or ever had an issue getting what we've needed like towels, etc. In June, our last stay, the tub wasn't draining properly and it was fixed quickly.

Some of the rooms in the Magnolia wing still have carpets and the older style bathrooms (at least the bathrooms seemed that way to me). Every room we've had in the Palm wing in recent years looked brand new!

Shades is one of our favorite resorts (my teen likes it better than Contemporary). It's different than a Disney stay, but we find it nice and love the easy access to Poly and other monorail resorts.

 

[LvnDsny]

Just to chime in .

We stay at Shades at least a night to a week every year, usually more than once. We pass through Orlando a lot and try to stay at least a night. We've never experienced rude staff at SOG or ever had an issue getting what we've needed like towels, etc. In June, our last stay, the tub wasn't draining properly and it was fixed quickly.

Some of the rooms in the Magnolia wing still have carpets and the older style bathrooms (at least the bathrooms seemed that way to me). Every room we've had in the Palm wing in recent years looked brand new!

Shades is one of our favorite resorts (my teen likes it better than Contemporary). It's different than a Disney stay, but we find it nice and love the easy access to Poly and other monorail resorts.

I'll add another vote for SOG.. We have stayed there a number of times, with the most recent being last month. In all of our trips, we have never experienced rude staff, though I have seen guests be quite rude to the staff. When we were there last month, they were not doing housekeeping, which is fine by me as I prefer to make my own bed, but did come in every day to replenish towels and toiletries and empty the trash.

 

[NicoleLarson]

I need some reassurance! This will be our first time staying at Shades of Green. I’ve been reading the reviews on Trip Advisor and they seem to skew all over the place. Please tell me I’m not making a mistake by staying at SoG

We were just there 6 weeks ago for the first time. We've stayed at every resort on property and were happy with SoG. We thought the resort is laid out oddly. Our room was on the first floor and as far from the lobby as possible, it was quite a trek. However, we were right next to the main pool so it ended up being okay but we would definitely request a different location next time. Other than that, the room was really nice and large, our lunch at Evergreens was very good and large portions for what it was (sandwiches and salads). The staff was very friendly all over the resort too. It was also nice to have a shopette on property to grab things you forgot and not pay an arm and a leg for it. We won't hesitate to stay here again.

 

[jen7233]

We've been there multiple times and enjoy it every time. I like interior hallway resorts, so the budget is best if comparing the choices for us. It's my favorite place to go get coffee and bring back to the room compared to a few other on property resorts. We've never experienced rude staff, the opposite especially in the Evergreen's or wait staff. We were there in 2020 last, biggest thing noticed was the Garden Gallery closed, but it's open again. Bus service to us is not that great to and from some places, but it's available. Last visit I didn't enjoy our room as much, I had a hard time with our balcony door it was tough to open, hadn't had that before. I do know now I don't like rooms overlooking the pool, much prefer overlooking the golf course or the gazebo area.

 

[Dreaming of Cali]

Thank you everyone who has chimed in with praise for SoG!!! I really appreciate it. I feel much better about our upcoming stay in November!

 

[sharonmickey]

We have rooms booked at SOG in November. Is housekeeping emptying garbage daily or should I bring my own trash bags? We are traveling with an infant and toddler so diapers will need disposed of daily. Thanks.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

Thank you so much for reassuring me! Most of the negative things have to do with rude staff (which usually should be taken with a grain of salt), rooms that need to be updated (old bathrooms, musty carpets, etc.), some people did mention lack of housekeeping (towels, trash, coffee replacement). But I think if I bring 2 extra towels from home and some shelf-stable grocery coffee drinks we should be fine
As far ad trash removal, is there a place we can dump our own trash if needed?
Thank you again!

We’ve never had anything but helpful staff interactions. Room always made up nicely and plenty of towels. We are a party of 3 so maybe larger groups have problems. I do agree the coffee is not good. We always get Starbucks from the cafe in lobby when we actually want coffee. We love Shades and it’s my family’s preferred hotel. We stayed at All Star Sports, Pop Century and the Polynesian to give you a reference.

 

[DisArmyWife215]

We have rooms booked at SOG in November. Is housekeeping emptying garbage daily or should I bring my own trash bags? We are traveling with an infant and toddler so diapers will need disposed of daily. Thanks.

According to their website Covid protocols rooms are currently light service only upon request. Fresh towels and trash changed.

 

[ZellyB]

I'll add another vote for SOG.. We have stayed there a number of times, with the most recent being last month. In all of our trips, we have never experienced rude staff, though I have seen guests be quite rude to the staff. When we were there last month, they were not doing housekeeping, which is fine by me as I prefer to make my own bed, but did come in every day to replenish towels and toiletries and empty the trash.

Well this is an improvement from when we were there in February. As long as they are removing trash and changing out towels, I'm happy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[BigBlueWho]

I am canceling 5-14 November if anyone needs those dates.

 

[laura3773]

Just FYI - prime now/Instacart/shipt are allowed and can be dropped at bell services. We didn't end up ordering groceries because I just didn't feel like it, but by the end of the trip I needed another suitcase and was able to have one dropped off.

 

[JenLT]

We have never stayed at SOG and always have checked into the resorts after our room was ready. We are thinking of arriving early so it's unlikely our rooms will be ready. Can we check in early in the day, go to the park and come back later that evening directly to our room? Also, can we leave our luggage with bell services? I really don't know how that works at all. And I see from above that people do order groceries. Do you need to be there to accept them? Or does bell services hold on to them for you? One last question - what type of coffee pot do the rooms have?