IS doing a timeshare visit worth the cheap disney tickets?

[mketting]

We are considering do a Timeshare visit in order to get 2 WDW tickets for $25. Anyone done this? Is it worth it?

 

[TonyS20]

We haven't done one for free tickets, but we did the Marriott timeshare. We were staying at the Fairfield Inn and received $50 off our room and $75 in Disney Dollars. It was low pressure and we only had to say "no" once.

My parents did a timeshare when we did our one family vacation to WDW. I don't remember who it was but I know that is how we got our Universal tickets (before IOA). It was BAD! My father was angry and he is a very mellow guy. They had to tell at least 4 different people "no" and it took much longer than the 90 minutes.

Who is the timeshare through? Others may have experience with them and can provide more details.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

I don't like the tickets because they are only 1 day non hopper tickets. We always do the Marriott presentation for $100 Disney or Marriott dollars because we stay at our Marriott timeshare. It is an easy $100 for an hours time. If you stick with Hilton, Starwood or Marriott you should be fine. You could not pay me to go to Westgate or some of the high pressure sales pitches.

 

[webprinter]

We do them frequently but usually for cash. Some are hard sell and some are easy. Wyndham Palms was the hardest. Fairfield is pretty easy, as is Marriott and Orange Lakes. We don't do them for Disney tickets because we like Parkhoppers. The only tickets we have done them for was Islands of Adventure. We usually just walk up to the booth, tell them what reward we want and ask what they have. We usually just ask for $100. I haven't done Westgate, but I have heard they are very hard to get away from. Debby

 

[Ms. Belle]

I did a presentation once to get a cheap condo rate and I vowed never to do it again. It is not worth what you have to go through with the sales people. There was alot of pressure, plus it's an hour and a half of valuble time. Speaking from experience, I wouldn't do it.

 

[riu girl]

We have done approximately a dozen time share presentations in Canada and Mexico (the most we have received is 150 US plus two Mexican blankets) and would be interested in doing one in Orlando in Dec. 2005. We would be interested in one that we book prior to our holiday in return for a deeply discounted price for a condo for a week along with two one day nonhoppers. We don't mind high pressure sales since we are used to it.

Any suggestions as to a resort name or company to contact prior to our vacation would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Cujo]

We did a timeshare presentation a couple of years ago, to get 4 free tickets to a Medieval dinner show. I think it might depend on how tough skin you are. Their brazen selling tactics and pressure got to me, and I wasn't sure if it was worth going through for free tickets. But my husband was ready for another round and would do it again.
I think if you can go and not let them get to you, it is worth it.
I am too soft & sensitive to endure their presentations.

Good Luck!

Sandra

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Two important things when attending a time share presentation.

1. If it is supposed to be 90 minutes, let them know when you check in and again when you start talking to the salesperson that you have a firm appointment to meet some friends or relatives for a specific purpose (such as a meal) at a stated time which is approximately 30 minutes after the presentation is to end.

In other words if you show up for a 9:30 appointment (at 9:15) be sure to let them know you are meeting people for lunch at 11:30 and that you must be out by 11:00. Mention this a few times during the meeting (and you don't know the cell phone number of the people you are meeting)!

2. Don't ever get in a golf cart or the salesperson's car. They will take you to the far end of the property and you can't get back to your car without their assistance. Only do things within walking distance of your car.

 

[mketting]

Are the booths for timeshares found in Downtown Disney?

 

[powellrj]

we have done a Marriott vacation and would do it again. I think when we went it was $149 for 3 nights at Springhill Suites (which had free breakfast buffet every morning) and 2 tickets to universal. The sales pitch was very low key and not high pressure at all. If you go to the Marriott.com site, there is a link to vacation club and you can book from there. I am not sure what the offer is now, but if you are looking for a cheap room it was well worth the 90 minutes.

 

[maciec]

We are staying at Marriott's Grande Vista next week and we are doing the presentation as a favor to my parents. They are Marriott owners and they get points for refering people who take the tour. I am interested to see what we will get for taking the tour. My parents know that we won't be buying one.

As a favor to us they are doing the DVC tour. However, we really, really want them to buy a DVC.

 

[missyc]

What kind of incentives does DVC offer for the tour? I didn't think there were any with them.

 

[crisi]

DVC seldom offers anything for their tours. On occation, people get meal vouchers out of them - but there haven't been reports of even that lately.

The only timeshare booths in DTD will be DVC.

My two cents, having never gone.

1) How much is your time worth to you? Two tickets you'll pay $25 is only worth about $50 to your family. If both of you go, spend just the 90 minutes, plus half an hour each way in transit (2.5 hours) - that's $10 an hour for your time. We always value our vacation time fairly highly - its limited and we have a lot to do on vacation - so giving up half a day of it would have to be for more than $10 an hour. But you place value on your own time.

2) Can you deal with the sales tactics? Some people are such pushovers that they'd buy even if the salesman wasn't pushy - and timeshare salesmen tend to be pushy. You don't want to save $50 and spend $14,000.

Another good peice of advice I've heard, go in with resale info in your hand for their resort. If you would buy a timeshare, you can usually get it much cheaper via resale. However, this does show some interest, so be prepared.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

Originally posted by maciec
We are staying at Marriott's Grande Vista next week and we are doing the presentation as a favor to my parents. They are Marriott owners and they get points for refering people who take the tour. I am interested to see what we will get for taking the tour. My parents know that we won't be buying one.

As a favor to us they are doing the DVC tour. However, we really, really want them to buy a DVC.

Don't take the first offer. They will offer you $75, but will give you $100 if you ask. They will offer you 10,000 Marriott points, but will give you 15,000 if you ask. The appointment people get paid to make appointments and can offer you more to close the appointment.

 

[missyc]

What are Marriott points?

 

[maciec]

As the pp said there are no "incentives" like money or park tickets for taking the tour. We don't care about the incentives for DVC because we won't be buying. Hopefully, it will be my parents.

PrincessDadx2 ... thanks for the tip about the points. My parents will be happy to know that. Do we state that we want the 15,000 prior to the tour or after?

missyc ... Marriott points are accumulated by Marriott owners so that they can cash them in to stay at hotels for free....I think. I don't know what else they can be used for. This is what I gather from my dad.

 

[PrincessDadx2]

PrincessDadx2 ... thanks for the tip about the points. My parents will be happy to know that. Do we state that we want the 15,000 prior to the tour or after?

Maciec,

The points would be for you. The person doing the referral receives a flat 10,000 or 40,000 points through the Marriott friendshare program depending on state of residence and whether the referral purchases.

The person who takes the tour receives whatever incentive they negotiate with Marriott. They will call with an offer and you should counteroffer. You need to have the incentive negotiated before you take the tour. Some people like to take points, but we take the cash now because we have a lot of points.

HTH

 

[maciec]

Oh, what good would the points be to me if I don't buy a Marriott?