SOG vs DDP

[Bass T-bone]

I am torn here. We have been to WDW many times and have always enjoyed the Disney Dining Plan. We have never stayed at Shades of Green, and yes we are eligible. What to do? I guess what I am asking is... Is the SOG worth staying at and having to forgo the DDP?

[diz_girl]

It depends on where you've stayed before and how you use your DDP credits. The great thing about SOG is that they have Deluxe-sized rooms (they sleep 5) at prices that are not much more than for a Value resort (depending on your SOG price category) and definitely less than the Mods. And the rates are the same at any time of the year (Oct 1-Sep 30). So if you are used to staying at a Moderate or Deluxe, the money that you'll save staying at SOG should pay for some or all of your meals, negating the need for the DDP.

The only drawbacks for SOG are that you can't charge items to your room or have your purchases shipped to your room. I've heard that the transportation at SOG can be hit-or-miss, so you could walk to the Poly and go from there, if you don't mind the walk.

You are also close to the MK and its resort area, so you have lots of dining and recreation options nearby.

I'm also eligible for SOG, but I usually stay at Disney-owned resorts. Not for the DDP, but for the theming, as the rest of my family usually wants to stay at a WDW MK resort. The two trips that I took with just my DH, one was on very short notice and the other was because I really wanted to stay at the Poly for our babymoon. I always consider staying at SOG. In a future trip, I might stay at SOG to save $ and split my trip with a stay at the GF.

[donnah77]

I am a big fan of SOG and would certainly recommend it to anyone. The rooms are great, facilities too, and the price (and no tax) can't be beat. We are hoping to stay in April if we're still eligible, and the cost will be literally half that of a Moderate. And staying at a new resort is always fun too!
We have not used DDP as we favor CS meals & the SOG restaurants, so I can't give a comparison for you on that part... Guess you would have to do the math to see if it works out for you.

[wdwfansince75]

Let's see....Disney says that the DDP saves you about 30 % on food....so at about $40 a day, the DDP saves you about $20...actually, a little less. It also makes you use MYW tickets, which are more expensive than buying through SoG. For a week, savings on DDP are about $140, and price difference on tickets, using SoG is about $20. On the other hand, difference between SoG and the lowest cost deluxe is about $160 per night, plus no room tax (11 %?)for another $40 per night savings. So for the same 7 days, SoG costs about $840 for the room, and about $35 for parking.....as compared to
$2100 for a week at WL....and over $3000 for Poly. DW and I could eat quite well, thank you, (and did this trip) on $50 a day each....7 day park hoppers at SoG were $259.....Total cost for 7 days and nights at SoG with park hoppers, and $100 a day for meals was $2093....Same stay, with DDP and park hoppers at WL would have been about $3500, and for POR, about $2800.

While we enjoyed the DDP when we used it, we found that it made us structure our days. That's not why we go on vacation. This year, we made ADR's at LeCellier, Kona Cafe, and Cali Grill, as well as Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, and Rose and Crown. Ate well, when and where we wanted, and stayed within the budget we set, except for treating kids and grandkids on several occasions. No doubt in my mind, if savings is the goal, SoG is the place. And those savings definitely put plenty of change IYP (in your pocket), so you can afford to pay OOP.

[jrpersinger]

The only drawbacks for SOG are that you can't charge items to your room or have your purchases shipped to your room. I've heard that the transportation at SOG can be hit-or-miss, so you could walk to the Poly and go from there, if you don't mind the walk.

You CAN have your packages sent back to the hotel. We do it all the time. They are sent to the front desk. However, if you are 1 day away from leaving, you can not do it.

We are not a fan of SOG transportation. We have been there when it was great and when it was horrible. This past trip, we just drove ourselves. We actually found we liked doing that better anyways. You have your own car, no waiting, no cramming into a full bus..... and no certain times to remember to catch the bus.

Otherwise, we LOVE SOG. Rooms are huge! The hotel itself is beautiful. Resturants are good. Not great, but good. And its all tax free. We have said several times we were going tostay at a "Disney" hotel again, but we never do. We always end up back at SOG.

[Bass T-bone]

Let's see....Disney says that the DDP saves you about 30 % on food....so at about $40 a day, the DDP saves you about $20...actually, a little less. It also makes you use MYW tickets, which are more expensive than buying through SoG. For a week, savings on DDP are about $140, and price difference on tickets, using SoG is about $20. On the other hand, difference between SoG and the lowest cost deluxe is about $160 per night, plus no room tax (11 %?)for another $40 per night savings. So for the same 7 days, SoG costs about $840 for the room, and about $35 for parking.....as compared to
$2100 for a week at WL....and over $3000 for Poly. DW and I could eat quite well, thank you, (and did this trip) on $50 a day each....7 day park hoppers at SoG were $259.....Total cost for 7 days and nights at SoG with park hoppers, and $100 a day for meals was $2093....Same stay, with DDP and park hoppers at WL would have been about $3500, and for POR, about $2800.

While we enjoyed the DDP when we used it, we found that it made us structure our days. That's not why we go on vacation. This year, we made ADR's at LeCellier, Kona Cafe, and Cali Grill, as well as Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, and Rose and Crown. Ate well, when and where we wanted, and stayed within the budget we set, except for treating kids and grandkids on several occasions. No doubt in my mind, if savings is the goal, SoG is the place. And those savings definitely put plenty of change IYP (in your pocket), so you can afford to pay OOP.

Thank you wdwfansince75!

Most excellent post. That's what I needed to hear!:thumbsup:

[Crow]

Yes Id go w SOG or a split stay (which i have done many trips)
the rooms are great for the price. i havent used the transport much due to the timing...only like 2 or 3 times
usually walk to Poly.
the buffet was decent
the DDP i used twice since it was free but also had to pay rack rates

[diz_girl]

[QUOTE=jrpersinger;1707369]You CAN have your packages sent back to the hotel. We do it all the time. They are sent to the front desk. However, if you are 1 day away from leaving, you can not do it.[QUOTE]

That's great news. A friend who stayed there said that they couldn't, so I didn't know better. Thanks!

[Bass T-bone]

Good information all away around. Thanks gang. :thumbsup:

[Marilyn Michetti]

We've always found that the busses at SOG are run EXACTLY on schedule. If you're early, you can board, but they're not going to move until it's time.

It's really easier to walk over to the Poly and catch the monorail.

I know this post is about the DDP, and we don't qualify, but then we wouldn't get it if we stayed anywhere else on property. It's just too much food, and you're too committed to a schedule.:shrug:

[sisterdisco]

If you decide to forego SOG for a Disney property, it may be worth a phone call to SOG to book the room through them. Spoke w/ them last winter and they said that they typically can offer you a 20% discount at a Disney property. I guess they operate a bit like a travel agency. Then.....can you get the DDP through them? I imagine you can add it at check in. Might be worth checking into!

[jrpersinger]

If you decide to forego SOG for a Disney property, it may be worth a phone call to SOG to book the room through them. Spoke w/ them last winter and they said that they typically can offer you a 20% discount at a Disney property. I guess they operate a bit like a travel agency. Then.....can you get the DDP through them? I imagine you can add it at check in. Might be worth checking into!

You can only get the overflo rate from SOG if SOG is booked at the time you are going. If they have a room available, they will not give you the overflo rate. We have tried before.


*Tread-jacking*
Marilyn -- You know, for a few years we had great luck with trans at SOG, but in June 07 it was horrible! Honestly, there were times the buses didn't run. One night in particular, they didn't do a run to MGM for 2 hours. We caught Disneys trans from their to the Poly. We were not waiting. When we got back to SOG a large group (us and a few other families) went to complain and they were short handed for the week and several buses were broke down. Then this June, we tried twice. Once the bus actually left before time, like 10 min early from SOG. I was shocked because I have NEVER seen them leave early! We ended up walking to the Poly that day. Then the next morning, they were about 5 - 10 min behind schedule. Both were TTC buses, the others seemed to be going right on schedule. But we did hear alot of people complaining about the buses again this year and heard the same response, shorthanded and broke down buses. We decided to try driving ourselves and that worked out so much better.

[Marilyn Michetti]

Sorry to hear that. We haven't been to SOG since Dec. of 2006. I guess we'll do the walk to the Poly.:(

[wdwfansince75]

*Tread-jacking*
Marilyn -- You know, for a few years we had great luck with trans at SOG, but in June 07 it was horrible! Honestly, there were times the buses didn't run. One night in particular, they didn't do a run to MGM for 2 hours. We caught Disneys trans from their to the Poly. We were not waiting. When we got back to SOG a large group (us and a few other families) went to complain and they were short handed for the week and several buses were broke down. Then this June, we tried twice. Once the bus actually left before time, like 10 min early from SOG. I was shocked because I have NEVER seen them leave early! We ended up walking to the Poly that day. Then the next morning, they were about 5 - 10 min behind schedule. Both were TTC buses, the others seemed to be going right on schedule. But we did hear alot of people complaining about the buses again this year and heard the same response, shorthanded and broke down buses. We decided to try driving ourselves and that worked out so much better.[/quote]

We were there in June, 2008, and the buses were a problem. All of the buses were in poorer condition than I remember from earlier trips, and one was only working a few days. They brought in a "loaner", which seemed to be an old charter bus...tiltable seats, narrow aisle, ect....One bus had a broken wheel chair lift...and the others had broken air conditioning. SoG ought to consider re-competing their contract. It is the only poorly functioning part of an otherwise well managed operation. A first rate resort with fourth rate transportation.

[Pirate Granny]

We were there over Memorial Day weekend and we had no trouble with the buses...they ran on time....SMILE...
:pirate:

[mudpuppysmom]

We've stayed at Shades and also stayed at Disney resorts and done the DDP.

Whle we do like to try new places (at least DH does -- I have a comfort level at SOG), when we did the DDP it left our day SO structured that we did not like it. It seemed like every time we started to get into something I had to say, "We need to get moving so we can check in for lunch/dinner".....that was the theme of the entire week it seemed, so we did not like that aspect of it. Yeah, it was nice to have meals paid for in advance, but it was not nice to have to run to ADRs every time you turned around! And believe me -- I PLANNED!!! I planned which park we would be in on a particular day and then did ADR's around that park. Only once did we leave Epcot to go to the GF for dinner -- plus we drove there and it was still painful.....we left Epcot 1 hour before we needed to be at GF and we checked in about 5 minutes before our ADR.

It's been posted that the $$ you save by staying at Shades will more than make up for your meals.....and I totally agree!! Also, you can eat there one night at Manginos!! Garden Gallery is a buffet and changes nightly, so there is a variety, but it's not gourmet food....it's basic, but does the trick. And, if you are just in the mood for pizza by the pool or in your room one night....Evergreens has decent pizza for well under $20 (I think last trip we paid around $14 and had leftovers for breakfast).

You really have to decide what kind of trip you want and then go from there when choosing whether to do the DDP or not if you ask me. THese days we generally opt for one AP and then get the DDE (it costs upfront, but in the end we still save $$). Just think about it first, then decide -- whatever you do decide you'll still have a great time!