Cheap Trips-Time Share Meetings

[smilie]

Has anyone ever booked one of those really cheap disney packages online? The ones where you need to go to a 90 minute Time Share presentation? Is it worth it or is it not what it seems? I saw a package for $99 for 3 days 2 nights and 2 disney tickets. You just need to go to a 90 minute presentation. Are these things for real or is it just a rip off?

 

[etwinchester]

I've never booked a vacation through them but I did go to a presentation to get $100. It was a rainy day (we rented a house off site) and we didn't have anything planned on that day anyway (we stayed at WDW for 2 weeks) so to us, the $100 was worth it. We also needed the extra money by then...and we did 2 different tours. One was very pushy and slow, the other understood when we said "no" and left us go. Still don't think I'd do it again though.

 

[KathyFP]

I never did one for Disney, but have did the timeshare tour. The presentations last more than 90 minutes and they are a very hard sell.

 

[smilie]

I figured they'd be quite pushy about buying it, but we honestly CANNOT afford it right now. So I guess we'll be able to say no. I was just wondering if the price they quote is real? For some reason it seems like there's a hidden charge somewhere. I just want to make sure it's correct before I look into it.

 

[tkafam]

We signed up for one of these last summer thru Ramada Plaza Resorts. I did some research online after I gave them my credit card number. I found www.betterbusinessbureau.com which had over 300 complaints listed about this company!! Needless to say, I cancelled right away. I don't think they are all bad. I'm sure there are some great ones, my sister-in-law did one in Hawaii that was very nice. Just check the website I listed and see if anyone has complained about your company. Hope that helps!!

 

[smilie]

Thanks for the info tkafam! I'll look into it for sure!

 

[etwinchester]

We did two tours (no packages and not disney). The one we actually thought was nice but still high in price and not worth it for us. It was interesting to see but that's about it.

I wouldn't do it ever again and waste my time. The pushy one did it for us. They just wouldn't take "no" for an answer and my DH is not a patient man... We said "no" they brought over another sales guy, again said "no" they brought over the assistant manager, said "no" they brought over the manager...well, you get the idea. In the meantime, we waited about 10-15 minutes for each person to arrive. My DH finally spoke his mind!

 

[tkafam]

Smilie, I'm sorry it wasn't the better business bureau. It was www.badbusinessbureau.com. Although, I'm sure the better business bureau would be helpful, too.

 

[CarolA]

Time is money and mine is worth more then this LOL!

Actually, be careful. Some of the packages don't put you up at the nice timeshare but at a kind of seedy hotel. I think that's to make the timeshare look even better. So make sure you aren't being put at the "rat" hotel (No relation to the Mickey Mouse hotel!)

 

[HM]

I had a really bad experience at one of these (in Williamsburg VA). I left crying after nearly 4 hours with them. We made the mistake of asking questions (we were interested in how it worked) and they really thought they had a sale.....and when we refused to buy now...then the really hard sell started. They treated us horribly (except the original salesman). Needless to say, we would never buy from them now. I had to keep asking for our free vouchers before we could leave. We did enjoy our free part of the trip....so it made up for it. But we were lucky in that they put us a very nice hotel. While we were waiting to see our salesman, we heard others talking about how they were at a Red Roof and another place like it. We stayed at the Williamsburg Hospitality house (walking distance to the Colonial area) which is some place I'd stay again.

 

[mitushib]

at disney we did a timeshare at calypso cay resorts. they put us up in a La Quinta which was really nice and convenient and near to everything disney. we could come back to our hotel for a afternoon siesta. they give u the stay plus any 1 theme park ticket [disney or any other and u can buy discounted tickets thru them too]. it was nice the presentation lasted 1 hour and once we politely said no they did not push at all. i was worried about the hard sell but it was a nice 90 minutes. u could try them if you want to.

 

[smilie]

Thanks mitushib, I'll look into that one.

 

[dsanner106]

I have done a number of these over the years, not as many now, but early in our marriage we took a lot of cheap trips this way. Be firm and say no very early in the presentation, tell them you can't afford monthly payments, and they don't push as hard. If they know they are wasting their time, it is in their best interest to get rid of you and on to the next. The deals are for real, and if they say 60 or 90 minutes, and you hit that time, get up, tell them their time is up and you need your gifts so you can stay on schedule. They are required to honor their posted time limit. I have been out in as little as 25 minutes.

Drew

 

[powellrj]

do a search on the orlando board and there are lots of threads over there about timeshare tours. We have done Marriott and would do them again because they are very low pressure and it was a really great deal. I know if you stay with the major ones like marriott people report that they are very easy to deal with, but there are several that are very hard sell and should be avoided.

 

[seashoreCM]

A 1 or 2 day Disney pass is a poor timeshare gift if your entire Disney vacation will be 5 to 10 days in the parks.

If the timeshare presentation description says 90 minutes, after 90 minutes excluding the free breakfast and bathroom breaks and the time you asked (not answered) questions you can tell them that the presentation time has expired.

If the timeshare presentation description says "courteous", if they act discourteously you can interrupt them right there and say the presentation description said "courteous".

Caution: If you really want a timeshare, you are usually better off buying the weeks or points secondhand rather than at a presentation. Also be aware that some timeshares hold you personally liable for the annual fee even after you sell the points or weeks to somebody else, if the buyer does not pay.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm