Free Disney World vacation for attending Time Share presentation? Any catches?

[Jeff Crockett]

Hello, first I know I am a newbie, so I apologize for the long post, but if I end up going my first post is unlikely to be my last.

A little backstory: I am a 29 year old guy who through a tragedy has had custody of my ten year old cousin since 2016. As I have done all I can to help her get through the loss she and I have faced, I thank all that is good in this world that she has been able to find happiness again. She is my own blood and I love her like she were my own child.

As such, I have always tried to give and share with her some of the things I loved growing up, and one thing on that list is to take her to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. My parents and grandparents took me there when I was about her age. We stayed at Fort Wilderness and it was a magical time for me.

The only barrier is to save enough money to afford the trip. But there may be a way around that.

Lately I have been receiving telemarketing calls regarding a free trip in exchange for attending a 2 hour timeshare presentation. I have told them to stop calling me and I am on the do not call list, so I could get them civilly under the TCPA, but their is a better way to penalize them for their harrassmeng that is more sentimental than money, and that is to have them give me the free trip.

Before I tell you what they are offering, I am very wary of scams, but I have researched them and also had an attorney friend of mine look it over and he tells me the offer is legit.

Furthermore, one of the slots they have available will be during her Spring break.

Now, here is the offer:

They pay for Coach airfaire from Richmond, VA to Orlando for both of us and put us up in a hotel for one night. I pay for the return trip.

That night I attend a 2 hour timeshare presentation in a conference room at the hotel, and whether I buy or not, they give me three nights at a Fort Wilderness Cabin, plus two one day passes to both the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

I should note at this point that I have sales resistance that would put a brick wall to shame, and do not ordinarily take advantage of people but hey, giving me a free trip for nothing in return should sufficiently penalize them for their illegal telemarketing practices and get me off their calling list in the future.

So the idea is this: We check into the hotel, and I drop my cousin off at the daycare area then head to the meeting. I refuse to buy and get the vouchers and tickets.

Next morning, we get our Fort Wilderness cabin and I take her to Magic Kingdom, for free, one day and Hollywood Studios, for free, on the second day. Third day maybe I take her to Typhoon Lagoon and just buy the tickets. I can take her on Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribean, Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, the Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Small World, all the rides I went on when I was her age. Then each night I can take her down to the Fort Wilderness campfire where we watch a classic Disney Movie on the projector.

Forgive me for making the post so long with sentimental filler, but it means a lot to me.

They guarantee the Fort Wilderness cabin for three days and the day passes,redeemable any day, into those two parks whether I buy or not. I figure their no obligation offer is because they know they can sucker in more people than not. And it's not just my sales resistance I have going for me, but the fact that I cannot afford a timeshare and couldn't sign anything if I wanted too.

Now here's my question: Now that my attorney friend has cleared it as legit, do these things have catches that
I don't know about, but you do?

 

[jormom1030]

In my experience with other time shares, it will be much, much longer than two hours.

 

[Jeff Crockett]

In my experience with other time shares, it will be much, much longer than two hours.

That would still be worth it to me if I absolutely have to stay longer, but if the written agreement says I only have to stay for two hours and then get the cabin and tickets, can I demand they hand them over after two hours is up, with the law on my side?

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

Yes plenty of catches.
You're going to have more than 2 hours of your time wasted and they will seriously push you to a breaking point making you not even enjoy the likely little time you'll have left.
They may also charge you taxes and fees and other hidden costs.
Nothing in life comes for free like that.
I'd run far away.
I'd do it on the cheap minus the horrid timeshare presentation.
Drive instead of fly, stay offsite, just do base tickets, eat breakfast before going to the parks and eat dinner after leaving the parks and just have a quick service lunch.... there are other ways and you'll actually enjoy it more.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

That would still be worth it to me if I absolutely have to stay longer, but if the written agreement says I only have to stay for two hours and then get the cabin and tickets, can I demand they hand them over after two hours is up, with the law on my side?

There's lots of fine print they can whip out and say you signed your name to even if you didn't read the pages worth of that fine print.

 

[Marionnette]

Hello, first I know I am a newbie, so I apologize for the long post, but if I end up going my first post is unlikely to be my last.

A little backstory: I am a 29 year old guy who through a tragedy has had custody of my ten year old cousin since 2016. As I have done all I can to help her get through the loss she and I have faced, I thank all that is good in this world that she has been able to find happiness again. She is my own blood and I love her like she were my own child.

As such, I have always tried to give and share with her some of the things I loved growing up, and one thing on that list is to take her to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. My parents and grandparents took me there when I was about her age. We stayed at Fort Wilderness and it was a magical time for me.

The only barrier is to save enough money to afford the trip. But there may be a way around that.

Lately I have been receiving telemarketing calls regarding a free trip in exchange for attending a 2 hour timeshare presentation. I have told them to stop calling me and I am on the do not call list, so I could get them civilly under the TCPA, but their is a better way to penalize them for their harrassmeng that is more sentimental than money, and that is to have them give me the free trip.

Before I tell you what they are offering, I am very wary of scams, but I have researched them and also had an attorney friend of mine look it over and he tells me the offer is legit.

Furthermore, one of the slots they have available will be during her Spring break.

Now, here is the offer:

They pay for Coach airfaire from Richmond, VA to Orlando for both of us and put us up in a hotel for one night. I pay for the return trip.

That night I attend a 2 hour timeshare presentation in a conference room at the hotel, and whether I buy or not, they give me three nights at a Fort Wilderness Cabin, plus two one day passes to both the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

I should note at this point that I have sales resistance that would put a brick wall to shame, and do not ordinarily take advantage of people but hey, giving me a free trip for nothing in return should sufficiently penalize them for their illegal telemarketing practices and get me off their calling list in the future.

So the idea is this: We check into the hotel, and I drop my cousin off at the daycare area then head to the meeting. I refuse to buy and get the vouchers and tickets.

Next morning, we get our Fort Wilderness cabin and I take her to Magic Kingdom, for free, one day and Hollywood Studios, for free, on the second day. Third day maybe I take her to Typhoon Lagoon and just buy the tickets. I can take her on Space Mountain, Pirates of the Caribean, Splash Mountain, the Haunted Mansion, the Rockin' Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Small World, all the rides I went on when I was her age. Then each night I can take her down to the Fort Wilderness campfire where we watch a classic Disney Movie on the projector.

Forgive me for making the post so long with sentimental filler, but it means a lot to me.

They guarantee the Fort Wilderness cabin for three days and the day passes,redeemable any day, into those two parks whether I buy or not. I figure their no obligation offer is because they know they can sucker in more people than not. And it's not just my sales resistance I have going for me, but the fact that I cannot afford a timeshare and couldn't sign anything if I wanted too.

Now here's my question: Now that my attorney friend has cleared it as legit, do these things have catches that
I don't know about, but you do?

That would still be worth it to me if I absolutely have to stay longer, but if the written agreement says I only have to stay for two hours and then get the cabin and tickets, can I demand they hand them over after two hours is up, with the law on my side?

Have you taken into consideration how your 10-year-old cousin will feel, sitting in the kids' area for hours on end, not knowing when you will return for her?

Find another way. Try credit card travel hacking. Get a part-time job. Do online rewards programs. But don't leave a child who has suffered a tragic loss alone in unfamiliar territory with no one she knows for hours and hours just to get a *free* vacation.

 

[Wubar]

That would still be worth it to me if I absolutely have to stay longer, but if the written agreement says I only have to stay for two hours and then get the cabin and tickets, can I demand they hand them over after two hours is up, with the law on my side?

Law on your side? Will you have your attorney with you? Or threaten to sue after 2 hours and actually take them to court? No, I wouldn't base any time saving strategy on "having the law on your side". They could probably drown you in fine print in a matter of seconds.

 

[elaine amj]

I know people who have successfully gone through timeshare presentations and lived to tell the tale If you are good at withstanding sales techniques, it really is just a few hours out of your life and it sounds like a pretty sweet deal (if u can hook me up - I'd be very interested for my upcoming Christmas vacation).

What is odd about the offer is they are putting you up at a very expensive on site Fort Wilderness cabin. Usually timeshare folks put you up in their own resorts so you can "try it out". Also, 2 days worth of tickets for 2 people sounds like a lot. I usually hear of one day tickets.

Are they asking you to put down a large deposit or taxes/fees? My only worry is that your offer sounds so good that it might be a scam and not a normal "legit" time share offer (or as legit as these scammers get anyway haha!) The last timeshare offer my friend did was to pay $199 for 3 nights in a Holiday Inn Express type place and then he got a $200 gift card. So essentially 3 nights stay for spending 3 hours saying no. Nowhere near as good an offer as you got.

 

[Wild4Walt]

Here's my question - are they guaranteeing that you will have a cabin at Fort Wilderness or a camp site? I'd seriously question how that happens ( especially with Disney at Spring Break ) so make sure you get a reservation number and verify it with Disney before purchasing airline tickets.

For me, that would be the biggest question and then from there I would make sure there are no hidden fees ( like the room is free, but you're paying the taxes ).

For me, no timeshare that I don't intend to buy is worth the time. We had a cousin who went to one ( he has brought my spouse and I with as guests ), he had no intention in buying but wanted the free vacation too - 5 hours later he finally returned to the room, with a new timeshare.

 

[charliebrown]

That would still be worth it to me if I absolutely have to stay longer, but if the written agreement says I only have to stay for two hours and then get the cabin and tickets, can I demand they hand them over after two hours is up, with the law on my side?

Yes. You simply claim they are holding you against your will, a.k.a kidnapping
My family has used this in the past, however, don't expect them to be cordial.

That night I attend a 2 hour timeshare presentation in a conference room at the hotel, and whether I buy or not, they give me three nights at a Fort Wilderness Cabin, plus two one day passes to both the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

Now this is the part that scares me.
Disney tickets are good at any WDW park, and are not park specific. They don't make a "just MK" or "Just Hollywood studios ticket". So, these don't sound real.

Also, since they aren't affiliated with Disney, how can they give you a free Fort wilderness cabin whenever you'd like?


Your best bet is to look this company up online, and look at reviews. If they don't have a online presence, don't go.

To me, this sounds like a scam, cut and dry.
Unless tons of people online confirm this offer is true, consider it.



But, in my experience, it isn't even worth a google search. Block the number, and don't waste any more time.

 

[starry_solo]

I wouldn't do it. Nothing in life comes for free.

 

[poooh]

Now this is the part that scares me.
Disney tickets are good at any WDW park, and are not park specific. They don't make a "just MK" or "Just Hollywood studios ticket". So, these don't sound real.

This also rubs me the wrong way. Even if you research the company and it looks okay, I would still ask for clarification about this as well. They shouldn't be able to limit you to these two parks. That's not something Disney does, so that's definitely not something a third party should be able to do. Doesn't make sense unless they're just trying to suggest/promote those two parks but you can actually go to any of the 4.

 

[cmwade77]

It will take a lot longer than two hours, it will be a very hard sell with you having to say no multiple times, and do not pay any money to them, not even as a "deposit"

Personally, I don't think this would be worth it unless you were planning on going anyway.

 

[disfamily*]

I've done time shares to get discounts and gift cards but nothing was ever offered to me this great. If it works, good luck and enjoy but be wary.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Have you taken into consideration how your 10-year-old cousin will feel, sitting in the kids' area for hours on end, not knowing when you will return for her?

Find another way. Try credit card travel hacking. Get a part-time job. Do online rewards programs. But don't leave a child who has suffered a tragic loss alone in unfamiliar territory with no one she knows for hours and hours just to get a *free* vacation.

The child has been with him since 2016. I feel confident she would have a good time in a kid's camp situation for a few hours.

 

[Marionnette]

The child has been with him since 2016. I feel confident she would have a good time in a kid's camp situation for a few hours.

Started a reply and deleted it.

Neither you, nor I, know the kid so I would not feel confident predicting anything. The OP does know her. Let's hope that whatever he chooses, he does so with the child's best interest in mind.

 

[Donna M]

The problem I see with this is that there may not be any availability at the cabin for the days right after the sales presentation since you want to go for spring break in a couple of months. The timeshare people probably didn't tell you that the room has to be available first.

My family did go to a timeshare presentation in Las Vegas right after we bought into Disney Vacation Club. No way were we going to buy, and we didn't, but they were giving us $100, back in 2005. We had all day to wait for our flight anyway. It was hard sell, but at 2 hours I stood up and started to leave. The "closer" was a nasty guy, but he only took a few minutes to make us feel bad as he gave us our money.

 

[eliseisawkward]

I did something sort of like this and as a heads up it is NOT free. It is a gift, and you will have to pay all taxes and fees associated with it. For mine, I sat through a presentation that should have been 2 hours, but turned out to be 3. Afterward they gave me a voucher to use online to submit 2 different dates I wanted to travel (there were restrictions on travel days) and pay a deposit. I then had to call a number 45 days before my approved date to set it all up, which was another 45 minutes.

I opted for the 4 person trip for which they paid airfare (taxes and fees were more than the flight so that was still $400 for 4 people) and the hotel (NOT on site, cheap hotel off property) and gave me ANOTHER voucher to pick up my 4 “free tickets” at a welcome center. I’ve called to confirm I won’t have to sit through anything else at that center, but it’s still only open certain hours so it will eat into vacay time.

All in all, it would have been just about the same price for me to look up good deals myself. They charged me $661.17 for terrible flights (arrive 10:30pm Monday, depart 6:30am Thursday), a cheap hotel and 4 1-day tickets that I have to still go pickup in person.

Edit: we made the best of it, bought DAH for Tuesday to give us all morning to sort out tickets for Wednesday... and we will have fun regardless... but still not free by any means.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

a cheap hotel

I'm really curious which cheap offsite hotel they gave you! Although it sounds like your experience was kind of a pain, you'll still have a wonderful trip!

 

[eliseisawkward]

I'm really curious which cheap offsite hotel they gave you! Although it sounds like your experience was kind of a pain, you'll still have a wonderful trip!

It’s a Clarion. Looking at rooms they book for anywhere between $50-$100/night most nights this time of year. The actual location of the hotel is actually excellent so we aren’t complaining!