Best Timeshare Tours

[jchardy]

My family and I are visiting Orlando over the Christmas Holidays (Dec18-25th) and would like to do a timeshare or two while we're there.. We have no intention of buying, would just like to check them out and the freebies don't hurt either! LOL
What in your opinion are the 3 best timeshare tours to do as far as high sales pressure.. I have no problem saying no and being firm about it but have never been to any of these.. Another thing is my hubby is 38, and I'm 23.. Most things I see says 25.. Does that mean 1 person or both.. The income requirements are no problem for us, we're self employed and make a nice living.. also most ask for cc's...Neither of us have anything but credit/debit cards because we pay for EVERYTHING with cash, no matter the cost..Also do I need to sign up online or is it better to wait to get there and do it.. =)

Thanks in advance!

[Tigger1]

Disney is the best one. No pressure sales. In fact I wished the guide would have said more. I bought 1 year latter. NO freebies except lemonade and cookies. Actually when boyfriend took the tour last year we did get some meal vouchers.

Other timeshare presentations with freebies, like free tickets, Vistina or marriats. I have never done the Marriats but heard it was not to high pressure. I did Vistina twice. The first time it was very high pressure. I heard they eased down and I wanted to check out there newer resort, the sales pitch was not so bad.

I suggest doing Disney first. Then if you want to say NO to the other timeshare you can mention that you are more interested in Disney. Timeshare sales people fear Disney DVC and will try to tell you how Disney is not what it is cracked up to be Its good to be educated in Disney DVC before going to other timeshares.

Disney used to give video tapes, likely DVDs of there time share. I think you could call 1-800-******** and request one.

Tigger

[powellrj]

we have done the Marriott one and it was very low pressure and would do it again. I am not sure about the other ones, but if you do a search there should be some threads where others have posted. Good luck!

[CheapMom]

http://www.discounthotelskissimmee.com/free_tickets/free_tickets.html

I did a quick search and found this- only the hasband has to be over 25.
Good luck

[chicknoodle99]

DH and I have done the DVC one and it was great! Very informative and low stress on buying. We wanted some info as we were interested..didnt want freebies..but we did get two of the quick meal vouchers for counter service AND they gave us six of the fastpass tickets. They were cards you put in the fastpass machine and it instantly gave you a ticket for up to an hour of the exact time you used it. It was an instant fastpass ticket. That was really nice.

We also did the Westgate Lakes timeshare. We got two nights at the resort (VERY cheap!) so we stayed there (then moved to Disney property for the rest of the week) and went to the presentation in the morning. They gave us free tks to SeaWorld so we did that the second day before going to Disney. I didnt like that one as well. They told us we got breakfast and it was just rolls and juice basically...the tour was sopossed to be 90mins but they neglect to tell you that that is the TOUR only. It doesnt include the time they give you prices and pressure you to buy. I didnt think it was very clean..our room wasnt that great either. But, we had never done it before and wanted to try it and the freebies were good. I guess it was a small price to pay for about 2hours of our time.

So, I guess, I also suggest the DVC...they were really great. I have heard good things about the Fairfield Resort one (they have a resort called Bonnet Creek which I believe is in the Disney resort area). Not sure on that one, I did email them for info for our upcoming trip but never heard back. Good luck and Enjoy!!

::MinnieMo ::MickeyMo

[lawgs]

most of the "offsite" type timeshares usually require a "major credit card" to be shown at the registration desk along with ID


think they do this just in case you "buy" so that you can put the downpayment on your credit card

if your debit card looks like a credit card ....maybe they will not notice the difference

[hookedup]

The DVC one is good to educate yourself about timeshares as they are quite low key in comparison to others. I too am good at saying no but I have learned that some of the timeshare tours are nightmares - esp when you do say no, I have had the staff become very rude and really make us feel very uncomfortable - which is a downer if you are actually staying on the property and still have to be there after your tour is over. Try to get some personal recommendations from folks who actually experienced the shpeel before you commit to attending one.

[CheapMom]

We have dome timeshare tours with RCI and always put down our debit card (Visa check card) It was not a problem.
Mary

[ajkillian]

We're doing Westgate soon. Didn't know if anyone else had some other ideas.

Thanks!
~Aaron~

[Cheshire Figment]

Most timeshares will state a 90 minute requirement to get whatever they are offering

However... When you get there you will be invited to go into a lounge for snacks, coffee, etc.

When you are finally taken to the salesperson is when the clock starts. You will be invited, after a movie or something, to tour the property. Ths will be in a golf cart. You will be far from the sales office when the 90 minutes is up.

Once you get back you will stil have more to go through, possibly a "manager" coming in to offer a better deal than the original salesperson.

Actual total time from arrival to departure will be closer to 2.5 hours rather than 90 minutes. Add in travel time both ways and how much time will you be spending?

Calculate your vacation time and hourly cost.

Take the total number of hours from the time you leave home until the time you return. Then subtract out the time sleeping or otherwise spent in your room. This gives you actual vacation time in hours.

Then take the total cost of your trip, transportation, tickets, lodging, meals, etc. Divide this by the number of hours. This gives you a cost per hour for your actual vacation time.

Now look at what you are getting, and consider how much it is really costing you.

BTW, any Disney ticket you get from a timeshare promotion is NOT upgradeable; I know this as I am involved in selling tickets at WDW.

My understanding is as far as actual time that Disney and Marriott are very good about how they treat you, Hilton not quite as good, everything else is pretty bad with Westgate at the bottom.