05/12/2026
Alright you know I love my military community and am always seeking out ways to help you guys thrive with discounts and resources galore. After staying at Disney resorts for the last decade, we finally gave Shades of Green resort, a military hotel on property leased to the military by Disney, a shot, and I’m so glad we did. We did a ton of recon beforehand and now that the trip is over, I have a decent review to send your way so if you and your family wants to stay there on your next Disney trip, you know what to expect.
1) ROOMS: Bigger than Disney hotel rooms we’ve stayed in, and every room has its own balcony. Housekeeping comes every day which, these days, is a luxury.
2) RESTAURANTS: a cafe in the lobby that serves Starbucks drinks, a fancier Italian restaurant, a poolside sports bar/pub, a casual restaurant that offers sit-down, take-out, and room delivery. A 14” pizza, 8 wings, and a 2-liter was $35. So, prices are very decent.
3) GIFT SHOP: tax-free NEX by the lobby. The Disney merch was not sweet and options very limited on that front, but the mini-NEX element was great, and now that I know it’s an option, I’ll get our stash of waters for the park and snacks from there next time rather than getting from Walmart and driving them down with us.
4) DISNEY TRANSPORTATION: There are two buses, one goes to Disney Springs/Animal Kingdom/Hollywood Studios, and one goes to the Transportation/Ticket Center where you catch a monorail to Magic Kingdom or Epcot. Buses run every 20 minutes and require photo ID from all adults to board. We timed how long it took between leaving our room and arriving at park gates, and it was a total of 30 minutes, bus and monorail included. The buses go straight from the resort to the park and don’t make 50 stops like the Disney buses do, and once you’re done for the day, the pickup spot is front and center. One downside is that the queue formation is undefined and results in confusion and some pushing and shoving if you have an unlucky encounter with a dependa in the wild. Most everyone was civilized as you’d expect from people well trained in the art of “liberty call.”
Send me a message if you have any questions! Love you 💙