Shades of Green Resort

John park hopper

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I recently became eligible to stay at Shades of Green and booked a room for 2 in February 2025 $179 night plus $17/day parking. My question- is this a good price or should I look at any of the Disney resorts for a better price. For those who have stayed how is it. Most likely we will be doing Universal and maybe 1 day at Disney. Do Universal resorts have a better room rate?
 

Angel Ariel

Well-Known Member
I recently became eligible to stay at Shades of Green and booked a room for 2 in February 2025 $179 night plus $17/day parking. My question- is this a good price or should I look at any of the Disney resorts for a better price. For those who have stayed how is it. Most likely we will be doing Universal and maybe 1 day at Disney. Do Universal resorts have a better room rate?
Shades used to be a Disney deluxe resort (The Golf Resort). So the rooms are the size of a Disney deluxe, and it's all interior corridors with multiple restaurants. $179 is an absolute steal for the size of the rooms, the amenities on site and the location. The only Disney resorts that will be a similar style price are the Value resorts, with significantly smaller rooms, all outdoor corridors, etc. I would always choose Shades over a Value.

Shades rooms are fairly recently renovated, the property is quiet, the food options are good, their transportation to the parks was always reliable, the grounds are beautiful.

For reference - Disney Deluxe resorts usually start around $500/night.
 

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
Shades used to be a Disney deluxe resort (The Golf Resort). So the rooms are the size of a Disney deluxe, and it's all interior corridors with multiple restaurants. $179 is an absolute steal for the size of the rooms, the amenities on site and the location. The only Disney resorts that will be a similar style price are the Value resorts, with significantly smaller rooms, all outdoor corridors, etc. I would always choose Shades over a Value.

Shades rooms are fairly recently renovated, the property is quiet, the food options are good, their transportation to the parks was always reliable, the grounds are beautiful.

For reference - Disney Deluxe resorts usually start around $500/night.
The rooms are larger than many of the deluxe resorts due to being older;) As for everything else I agree. Also the food and beverage prices tend to be much lower
The dedicated busses can't be beat and are rarely crowded except the first bus or 2 and at park close and even then not bad at all compared to Disney transport
edit: No risk of tour groups, cheerleaders, football players...........................................
 
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John park hopper

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Shades used to be a Disney deluxe resort (The Golf Resort). So the rooms are the size of a Disney deluxe, and it's all interior corridors with multiple restaurants. $179 is an absolute steal for the size of the rooms, the amenities on site and the location. The only Disney resorts that will be a similar style price are the Value resorts, with significantly smaller rooms, all outdoor corridors, etc. I would always choose Shades over a Value.

Shades rooms are fairly recently renovated, the property is quiet, the food options are good, their transportation to the parks was always reliable, the grounds are beautiful.

For reference - Disney Deluxe resorts usually start around $500/night.
Thanks good info
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Shades used to be a Disney deluxe resort (The Golf Resort).
The rooms are larger than many of the deluxe resorts due to being older;)
What is today Shades of Green was built out in three phases. The Magnolia Rooms are the older rooms built in the 70s (The Golf Resort) and 80s (The Disney Inn). The Palm Rooms were added as part of a major expansion and renovation that opened in 2004.
 

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
I recently became eligible to stay at Shades of Green and booked a room for 2 in February 2025 $179 night plus $17/day parking. My question- is this a good price or should I look at any of the Disney resorts for a better price. For those who have stayed how is it. Most likely we will be doing Universal and maybe 1 day at Disney. Do Universal resorts have a better room rate?

We’re sitting in our room at shades of green now lol 😂 i will add a couple points:

There is an aafes gift shop near the lobby. They sell things you might need like water and Tylenols and souvenir’s and snack’s at regular prices not park prices

There is a Starbucks in the lobby

The buses are almost always on schedule and The drivers are really great. Also the vibe is very family friendly between guests, especially on the buses. Everyone plays with the kids when the kids need IT and the parents are on their last threads

The pools are really great. There’sa slide and a splash pad and there a playground right next to the pool too

The food, imo, is meh. But it’s cheap and we feelS lot of Disney food is meh too. The steakhouse is ponderosa quality. The breakfast is killer though

The only thing that’s kind of a burden is that you have to show your ID every time you get on the bus and sometimes also At the front gate even while on the bus.

The rooms are larger than many of the deluxe resorts due to being older;) As for everything else I agree. Also the food and beverage prices tend to be much lower
The dedicated busses can't be beat and are rarely crowded except the first bus or 2 and at park close and even then not bad at all compared to Disney transport
edit: No risk of tour groups, cheerleaders, football players...........................................

They did recently change their bus schedule like this weekend the schedule changed. Now it’s one bus for the TTC, and One bus that goes SoG, AK, HS on a loop. It’s on Time and still really frequent (every half hour) but they no longer have a dedicated bus for each of those parks.
 

jennab55

Well-Known Member
Shades is good if you are going to use your own transportation (car). Good is much better priced than Disney resorts. Since you qualify for shades, you probably also qualify for military discount on Disney resorts. You can call and find out how much it would be to stay at a Disney resort with military discount then compare.
 

Figgy1

Well-Known Member
Shades is good if you are going to use your own transportation (car). Good is much better priced than Disney resorts. Since you qualify for shades, you probably also qualify for military discount on Disney resorts. You can call and find out how much it would be to stay at a Disney resort with military discount then compare.
Have you had a problem with their busses? I never have. As far as price comparison you can take several uber rides a day and not come near the price of Shades for a comparable room as you're talking about at minimum a few hundred a night
 

jennab55

Well-Known Member
Have you had a problem with their busses? I never have. As far as price comparison you can take several uber rides a day and not come near the price of Shades for a comparable room as you're talking about at minimum a few hundred a night
The one time we stayed there we did not use their busses. They aren’t as convenient as Disney to me because they don’t come as often. Back when we stayed you could walk to poly and monorail too. My understanding is that is no longer an option.

I think it really depends on what one wants. If they want to stay at a skyliner resort or a resort with a boat to DS, there are some moderates and with the Disney discount it may work out to be cheaper than shades. I honestly don’t know we we don’t qualify for that discount, but I’ve heard it’s decent. Just telling OP that it’s worth a shot to check out the Disney resort military discounted prices too.
 

Bullseye1967

Is that who I am?
Premium Member
We’re sitting in our room at shades of green now lol 😂 i will add a couple points:

There is an aafes gift shop near the lobby. They sell things you might need like water and Tylenols and souvenir’s and snack’s at regular prices not park prices

There is a Starbucks in the lobby

The buses are almost always on schedule and The drivers are really great. Also the vibe is very family friendly between guests, especially on the buses. Everyone plays with the kids when the kids need IT and the parents are on their last threads

The pools are really great. There’sa slide and a splash pad and there a playground right next to the pool too

The food, imo, is meh. But it’s cheap and we feelS lot of Disney food is meh too. The steakhouse is ponderosa quality. The breakfast is killer though

The only thing that’s kind of a burden is that you have to show your ID every time you get on the bus and sometimes also At the front gate even while on the bus.



They did recently change their bus schedule like this weekend the schedule changed. Now it’s one bus for the TTC, and One bus that goes SoG, AK, HS on a loop. It’s on Time and still really frequent (every half hour) but they no longer have a dedicated bus for each of those parks.
I second the breakfast being fabulous! You can get cigs, beer, wine, and hard liquor at the exchange. Only resort on property where this is true and the prices are great. Before we had DVC this is where we always stayed, and even after DVC we would visit the exchange because the prices were so good. Also if you conceal carry they will valet your weapon while you stay. I know you could leave it in your car, but it is actually against the Disney rules and could get you banned. Can't say enough good things about the staff and the guests because we are all on the same page. While typing this I kind of miss that we no longer stay there.
 
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DryerLintFan

Premium Member
Shades is good if you are going to use your own transportation (car). Good is much better priced than Disney resorts. Since you qualify for shades, you probably also qualify for military discount on Disney resorts. You can call and find out how much it would be to stay at a Disney resort with military discount then compare.

The one time we stayed there we did not use their busses. They aren’t as convenient as Disney to me because they don’t come as often. Back when we stayed you could walk to poly and monorail too. My understanding is that is no longer an option.

I think it really depends on what one wants. If they want to stay at a skyliner resort or a resort with a boat to DS, there are some moderates and with the Disney discount it may work out to be cheaper than shades. I honestly don’t know we we don’t qualify for that discount, but I’ve heard it’s decent. Just telling OP that it’s worth a shot to check out the Disney resort military discounted prices too.

The bus to AK/HS comes every half hour

The bus to TTC comes every twenty minutes

Honestly the only one that made a problem for us was the bus to/from Disney Springs because it’s only once an hour.




The walkway is currently closed, yes. There’s some construction going on between Shades sand Poly but we never did ask what they were building
 

jennab55

Well-Known Member
The bus to AK/HS comes every half hour

The bus to TTC comes every twenty minutes

Honestly the only one that made a problem for us was the bus to/from Disney Springs because it’s only once an hour.




The walkway is currently closed, yes. There’s some construction going on between Shades sand Poly but we never did ask what they were building
Maybe it has changed. When we stayed probably 5yrs ago I believe the schedule for the busses was not that often, but more like every hour. We did end up driving to most parks and even ubered to DS because we didn’t want to drink. Worked out well for us and then could leave when we wanted.

I heard the walkway is closed permanently. Like even after construction is done they will not be re-opening it. Do you know if this is true?
 

DryerLintFan

Premium Member
Maybe it has changed. When we stayed probably 5yrs ago I believe the schedule for the busses was not that often, but more like every hour. We did end up driving to most parks and even ubered to DS because we didn’t want to drink. Worked out well for us and then could leave when we wanted.

I heard the walkway is closed permanently. Like even after construction is done they will not be re-opening it. Do you know if this is true?

I think it’s likely true. You can still get to the guard shack to look for swamp puppies though.


We were at shades around the time you were and the bus schedule was the same, except that AK and HS had separate buses back then. I was really intimidated by the buses my first time though because with Disney buses you just show up and them a bus shows up in the next 10-20 minutes. Shades buses are really really great though when you get the hang of it because we’ve never had a single one be late. Well, except one time the driver had a heart attack and the ambulance had to be called so the replacement bus was late.

Also, there’s an air conditioned cafe at the bus stop with bathroom’s and a water fountain so you can leave hang out there until the bus comes too which is nice.
 

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