I've actually tried to do a bit of research in that past on the history of the Golf Resort/Disney Inn/Shande of Green. It's the only on-site resort I've ever stayed at. Once as the Golf resort in 1979, and once as the Shades of Green in 2008 (will be there again this summer). For anyone interested, here's some of the history that I was able to paste together:
History of the Shades of Green on Walt Disney World Resort
When the Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom opened in October of 1971, two championship golf courses opened nearby, the Magnolia and the Palm. On December 15, 1973, at the site of the courses’ club house, The Golf Resort opened with 125 guest rooms and a swimming pool, the Magnolia Pool. A restaurant called the Magnolia Room was known for their French Fried Ice Cream dessert. The Players Lounge was overlooking the Magnolia Golf Course.
On February 1, 1986, the resort was reopened under a new name, The Disney Inn, and with a new theme, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The resort had been renovated and expanded to 288 rooms, and added a second swimming pool, the Mill Pond Pool. The Garden Gallery restaurant opened along with The Back Porch, a snack bar called the Diamond Mine, and a poolside bar called the Sand Trap.
In 1989, a third golf course was added next to the Magnolia course. The Oak Trail golf course is a nine-hole, par-36 walking course.
The U.S. Military began leasing the property on February 1, 1994, and started offering it’s rooms exclusively to U.S. service members and their families and various other categories of Department of Defense employees as part of their Morale, Welfare and Recreation program. On January 12, 1996, the Department of Defense purchased the resort and renamed it Shades of Green.*
After continued occupancy rates in the 90-99% range, on January 4, 2002, Shades of Green announced a major remodeling and expansion project. On April 1, 2002, the resort closed for construction. During the closure, guests with reservations were accommodated at the Contemporary Resort’s North Garden Wing (their reservation rates were honored, but they were charge an additional 11% sales tax). The Shades of Green ticket office was also temporarily moved to the Contemporary Resort.
On March 31, 2004, Shades of Green re-opened with 586 guest rooms, a new lobby area, a new ball room, a new signature restaurant called Manginos, a new parking garage, and new landscaping. The Garden Gallery was preserved, and other new dining and shopping options opened: Evergreens Sports Bar and Grill, Express Café, Eagles Lounge, Lava Café, America the Ice Cream Parlour, and AAFES convenience store, and an Armed Forces Recreation Center gift shop called East Meets West.
* I found conflicting accounts on this: one report says the U.S. Military paid $43 million for a 100-year lease from Disney in 1996.
I'd love to see any photos of the Shades of Green before it was Shades of Green. My parents can't find any photos from our Golf Resort stay, and I've never been able to find much of anything from the Disney Inn days.
) between 1984 and 2000 was in March 1990. So, that would make the book written in late 80's. Probably right after MGM opened. The pictures have to be a stand in for family pics I don't have anymore. I wish my I knew whatever happened to my father's slides that he would have taken of our trips in the early 70's. I never even got to stay ON property until our family trip with my kids in 2005.
