Any timeshare experts out there?

[mom2jp]

We're hoping to make our 2nd trip to DW in January and my parents want to go with us this time too! They just bought a timeshare and can trade with other timeshares. They want us to stay with them (it would save us $$$), but we would need a 3 bedroom as my brother will be going as well. We stayed at the Polynesian last year and loved the convenience of being onsite. Are there timeshares onsite? Are there any you recommend above others? Do you know of any that would have 3 bedrooms? We would love to save money and stay with my folks, but we need somewhere close - our girls will be 4 and almost 2 and still need to nap during the day! Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[webprinter]

We stayed at Orange Lakes Country Club in Dec. We had a brand new 2 bedroom overlooking the golf course. They have many activities. They also have 3 bedroom units. It is a very easy resort to exchange into. The disadvantage is that it is a few miles from the parks and it is hugeso you would have to depend on shuttles or have a rental car. We have also visited Wyndham Palms which is also very nice. There are a lot of timeshares close to Disney but nothing on the property. Fairfield is building one which will open in the spring that is near the Bonnett Creek area and bordered on 3 sides by Disney. That is as close as you can get but I don't know how soon they will have units for exchange. I would think that the Fairfield owners would be trying to get into those. After they are built up they will probably have more available for exchange. There are many timeshares around the Orlando/Disney are that are very nice and easy to trade into. You can visit www.rci.com or www.intervalworld.com, (it depends on which exchange company they are members of), and look at pictures of all the timeshares in that area. You can also join TUG, which is a BB for timesharing. Their web site is www.tug2.net. You don't have to pay a fee for their general BB. You just sign up and then read the BB. Your parents may be interested in it. They give out a lot of great information that is beneficial to people who are new or old at timesharing. If they joined and paid the membership fee, they would also have access to the ratings and reviews of all the timeshares TUG members have stayed at. Even for free, you can get a lot of info. Have fun. I hope you find one you like.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

There are currently four (soon to be five) timeshare resorts on Disney property. They are all under the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) flag.
They consist of- Old Key West (OKW), Boardwalk Villas (BWV), Villas at Wilderness Lodge (VWL), Beach Club Villas (BCV), and the soon to open Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR).
It should be noted that the likelyhood of trading into one of these resorts is slim, especially if you are looking for a 3br. The only DVC resorts that have grand villas (3br) are OKW and BWV (SSR will have them when open next spring). I don't think DVC makes grand villas available for trade.

That being said, it is possible to rent the points needed for DVC accommodations from a DVC member. It certainly is not cheap, but there are points available on the DVC rent/trade board.

Good luck....

 

[erikthewise]

In general, if you are looking for timeshare experts you should consider posting on the DVC board as there are some experts there.

In addition to what has already been mentioned, there are some timeshares that are quite close. Sheraton Vistana Resort (as opposed to Vistana Villages) is very close to WDW along route 535. Marriott has some timeshares in the Orlando World Center complex on route 536, which is an easy drive of a mile or less from WDW.

 

[Lisa P.]

Are your parents trading through RCI or II? Do they own with a larger company that offers some internal exchange options in the Orlando area? If you don't know which exchange company they use, post the name of their home resort. Someone here may know which exchange company is affiliated with it.

IF they're trading via RCI, the closest (nice) 3BRs are:

Sunterra Cypress Pointe Resort - #2750
Sunterra Cypress Pointe Grandvillas - #3996
Silver Lake Resort - #2610
Embassy Vacation Resort at Grand Beach - #3664
Sunterra Resorts Grand Beach - #6315
Celebration World Resort - #5389 (mixed reviews)
Westgate Vacation Villas - #0899 (very mixed reviews)

A little further away, try:

Oasis Lakes Resort - #4852
Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Sea World - #3517
Orange Lake Country Club - #0670
Summer Bay Resort - #3175

IF they're trading via II, the closest (nice) 3BRs are:

Marriott Imperial Palm Villas - MIP
Sheraton Vistana Resort - VIT
Westgate Town Center - WTG (very mixed reviews)

A little further away, try:

Marriott Grande Vista - MGV
Star Island Resort - STR
Fairfield Star Island Resort - VBR
Wyndham Palms Resort & Country Club - PCC
Ron Jon Resort - TLR (mixed reviews)
Westgate Lakes Resort - RYS (very mixed reviews)

3BR timeshare rooms are never traded from DVC, so onsite is not possible for your 3BR request. IF you could accept a 2BR that sleeps 8 and IF you are not going during the most popular timeframe and IF your parents' timeshare is a prime time week at a 5 Star, very high demand resort, then it's somewhat possible that they may be able to trade into one of the DVC resorts listed above. HTH.

 

[spiceycat]

go post their timeshare information on the rental/trade DVC board and see if anyone wants to trade with you. a DVC member can get you a 3-bedroom - maybe for 5 days trading your 2-bedroom for all 7 days - that kind of thing.

what ever is fair to both parties

now if you can't do that - the Marriotts in the orlando Marriott world center are lovely - Imperial Palm

if you want something newer the Hilton is very nice - but it is close to Seaworld = not WDW - they are also building a new one closer.

you can also look at the getaways and see if you can't find a bargin - sometimes because Orlando has so many timeshares that you are better off going this route. Oh you won't see any DVC resorts here - at least I haven's so far - lots of Marriotts and the other listed - just not DVC's.