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From Iraq to Disney World: A Military Resort

May-19-2008 » Filed Under: General Military , Homefront

I had no idea Disney World had a private resort for military families. Thanks to Susy for the link.

By DONALD G. McNEIL Jr., The New York Times

AS they enter through the Magic Kingdom gates, following signs with the familiar mouse ears, past the sighing of the monorail and the distant screams from Space Mountain, a few visitors take an unusual route, up a driveway just off the entrances to the Disney World golf courses.

There they find, atop an artificial rock formation, the flags of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard flapping in the Florida breeze. Beyond that lies a resort where there are a lot of high-and-tight crew cuts in the lobby, not to mention more lean physiques than elsewhere in Disney World.

Shades of Green, a retreat for military personnel — of all ranks — their families and guests, sits within the expansive Disney World site outside Orlando, Fla. Officially called an Armed Forces Recreation Center, it is one of five retreats around the world that let servicemen and -women reconnect with their families in the precious time they have together.

Over a recent weekend at the resort, several guests had just returned from the deserts of Iraq or the mountains outside Kabul.

“This is a great way to repay them,” said Capt. Daniel T. Celotto, a marine communications officer back from his second Iraqi tour, referring to his wife and two sons. “What they go through is far more than anything I put up with,” he added, shooing his youngest away from the big Mickey-shaped pool and back into the wading one. “I signed up for this, they didn’t.”

Shades of Green — the name comes from the camouflage hues of the different services — was once a golf clubhouse, and then the Disney Inn, when it had a Snow White theme. The Army took out a 99-year lease in 1994, after a survey showed that Orlando was the top choice among military families for a rest-and-relaxation destination.

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