If you’re military and are planning a vacation to Orlando, Florida then the only place you should consider staying is at the military AFRC (armed forces recreation center) at Shades of Green. Shades of Green is located on the Disney World resort property and within walking distance of Disney’s ticket and transportation center. Below are a few benefits of staying at the Shades of Green.
Cheap room rates
Cheap is a relative term. What is cheap to me may be expensive to the next bloke. The pricing for Shades of Green is dependent on your rank. Room rates are currently $80 to $111 a night for a standard room. According to the Shades of Green website they have the largest standard room on the Disney resort property. For a comparable room at some of the other Disney resorts you’re looking at paying more than double the $111. Now you could stay at one of the Disney’s discount hotels but trust me they are no better than a highway motel. Shades of Green’s standards rooms are clean, spacious, and sleep up to six. You can request a crib if needed.
Recreation
At Shades of Green they have two award winning golf courses (in fact this hotel used to be Disney’s Golf resort before it was sold to the military). They book up fast, actually so fast that in eleven visits my husband has not once had the opportunity to golf there. They also have two large heated pools and even one of them is shaped like Mickey Mouse.
Shade of Green offers you three resturants, two snack bars, and one adorable ice cream parlor to choose from. The restaurants range from moderately price to expensive, but trust me it’s cheaper than eating at the park. The Garden Gallery restaurant, where my family normally eats breakfast, is located in the lower level of the hotel. The breakfast is buffet style and my family of four eats for about $25 plus tip. And trust me we eat a lot. The ice cream parlor is reminiscent of an old 50’s ice cream parlor. It’s cute and comfortable and the ice cream is pretty darn good.
If you feel like you need to get your drink on you can do so at the Evergreens Sports bar and grill. This is actually a family restaurant that looks more like an English pub. But none the less on our first trip to Shades of Green over eleven years ago (honeymoon) my husband and I got pretty tanked. So if that’s your thing you can do that too.
Ticket Prices
Shades of Green offers discount prices to all Orlando attractions and many restaurants. You are better off buying these packages from Shades of Green and not MWR. The best package that Shades of Greens has to offer is the Stars and Stripes pass. With this pass you get admission to all four theme parks for a set price. An example would be a four day pass for and adult would cost you $270 and $239 for a child. You can also add on the water parks and Pleasure Island. This is known at other hotels at the Hopper Pass. To purchase tickets you must have a valid military id and resort keycard. If you are not a guest of the Shades of Green you can still get a discounted Hopper Pass but you cannot purchase the Stars and Stripes pass.
Shades of Green is an amazing hotel. One of the best things about this hotel is besides the pool shaped like Mickey there is not a whole lot of things that are “Disney” about this hotel. Meaning, that if you feel “all Disneyied out” you can back to your room and truly relax.
