Need to know tips for Shades of Green guests

For those who don’t know. Advance Dining Reservations can be made 60 days in advance. For Disney Resort hotel guests, as well as Shades of Green resort guests, reservations can be made for the length of their stay, 60 days from your check-in date (typically beginning at 5:45am EST, with some opening at 6am EST). There are some extremely popular restaurants that will book up immediately. So the extended window is very helpful when trying to reserve those hard-to-get reservations.

To take advantage of the extended window your resort reservation needs to be linked to your My Disney Experience account. The day before your Advance Dining Reservation window opens up, double check that your Shades of Green reservation is still linked (this way you’re not scrambling in the morning if somehow it’s not still linked). Then, the morning of your Advance Dining Reservation window, you’ll see the dates for your entire stay (up to 10 days) show up for you to be able to select those dates.

^{*Pro Tip: If you are looking to reserve those popular restaurants, start with the last day of your trip and work your way back to the first day. There will be more time slots available later into your vacation than there will be on the very first day.}

What about MagicBands?

A popular question amongst first time Shades of Green guests is, “do I still need a MagicBand since I’m staying at Shades of Green?”

And the simple answer is… no. You don’t “need” a MagicBand. Can they still be very convenient and helpful? Yes!

Since Shades of Green isn’t a Disney owned resort, you won’t be able to use your MagicBand to charge things to your room or open your hotel room door. But they can still be very useful in the parks. Many people like the ability to just tap your wrist to scan into the parks, to redeem Lightning Lane selections or for the PhotoPass photos with the Memory Maker.

Ultimately, using a MagicBand is a personal preference. Click on the link below for all the details regarding MagicBands and the new MagicBand+

Early Theme Park Entry & Extended Evening Hours

One of the best perks to staying on Disney property is the “extra magic hours” (what it used to be called). Even though Shades of Green isn’t a Disney owned resort, guests of Shades of Green DO get to take advantage of those “extra magic hours”.

With Early Theme Park Entry, Disney Resort hotel Guests AND Shades of Green guests can enter any of the four theme parks, 30 minutes before the posted park opening time, any day of the week! Now, you might be thinking 30 minutes isn’t a long time, but in the first hour or two that the parks are open, this is when you will see the shortest wait times throughout the day. It’s also a great time to take pictures in front of Cinderella Castle without huge crowds of people behind you.

The other benefit Shades of Green guests can take advantage of are the new Extended Evening Hours, which are just for guests of Disney Deluxe Resort or Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts. Even though Shades of Green is such a great value, it is considered at “Deluxe Resort”. Extended Evening Hours take place on certain nights in Magic Kingdom and Epcot (and now on even more select nights at Disney’s Hollywood Studios). During the Extended Evening Hours, that specific park will be open for an additional TWO hours after the posted park closing!

Extended Evening Hours at Epcot is especially important if your party is attempting to ride the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and obtain a Boarding Group via the Virtual Queue. On the nights of the Epcot Extended Evening Hours, there will be a third opportunity to join a Boarding Group through the Virtual Queue at 6pm.
*Note: You must have a theme park reservation for that day OR have a park hopper ticket and have entered your first park. You DO NOT not need to be park to join the Virtual Queue