Orange Lake Holiday Inn Club Vacations Resort - Advice?

[DundasValleyDude]

Hello DIS People!

My family will be staying at the Orange Lake Holiday Inn Club Vacations Resort in April.
My in-laws have booked a villa for the week and agreed to attend a time share presentation.
Any advice for surviving the presentation and enjoying the week?

Seems like there is a lot of Pay to Play stuff, but I was wondering what can be done for free? (So we can set expectations and budget acoordingly)

Pay to Play: Cabanas, Rock Wall, mini golf, Golf sim, mini golf,

Free: Swimming Pools, Hot Tub, Basketball, Volley Ball, Tennis, Pickle Ball (equipment rental is free), Fishing (BYORods)

Any advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Upatnoon]

1. Don't attend the timeshare presentation. If interested in timeshares, visit tugbbs.com. Orange Lake timeshares have no value and sell for $1 from owners wanting to escape the maintenance fees.

2. If forced to attend, don't agree to anything. Set a timer on your phone if there is a time limit stated on the presentation. Tell them you have a reservation and have to leave. Timeshares are great to stay in and there can be value in buying them RESALE but NOT from a high-pressure sales pitch.

3. Many people attend presentations thinking they are immune from high-pressure sales, then buy and regret it.

4. The resort is huge, so I would recommend having a car.

5. With all the high-pressure sales stuff out of the way, just enjoy the resort!

 

[CarolynFH]

Many people attend presentations thinking they are immune from high-pressure sales, then buy and regret it.

Yes, this is true!

If the worst happens and you sign a contract, just remember you have ten days to rescind, and do it!

 

[teawar]

We are owners at Orange Lake and DVC. We’ve enjoyed the property over the past 8 years. The grounds are beautiful and room quality varies between the different sections. Definitely check out the Timeshare website mentioned above.

Be prepared for the sales person to try to tug at heart strings and turn up the pressure. We’ve worked with some that are more like car salesman and others are kind and just doing their job.

There usually is some live music at the daily restaurants/pool bar areas, trivia night, kids candy bingo, corn hole competitions, movies at the pool, and some other planned activities like a “gator show” from gatorland. Cash bingo is very popular and happens just about daily at 10.

There are tons of shops and restaurants just off property.

 

[Brian Noble]

Many people attend presentations thinking they are immune from high-pressure sales, then buy and regret it.

Even for someone who attends a presentation whenever they go on vacation, they are still only doing 2-3 per year. The sales agent does several per day, every day.

The sales agent is better at this than you are. Don't push it.

 

[elaine amj]

You have to pay for tubes in the lazy river, but swimming in it is free. They do check for wristbands at several locations throughout the lazy river. It’s a long lazy river (took me 15 mins to swim one lap) so really nice.

The grounds are beautiful and so lush and very serene.

Just be aware of the upcharges. If you want to play tennis, the racquets are free but you have to pay for tennis balls.

It’s spread out but there is a free shuttle that loops around the resort.

My gym rat DS approved of the gym saying they had good equipment.

We stayed there through a hurricane and the resort handled it very well.

 

[CinderellaDream]

My children still remember the timeshare presentation at Orange Lake from five years ago because that's how terrible it was. We had reservations for four hours after the "90 minute" presentation began and we almost missed our reservations because they would not let us leave. They drive you in a golf cart about 2 miles away from the parking area so that you cannot just get up and leave when you are ready. We were also told that they would pay us $249 after we attended the reservation so we didn't just want to give up on those funds. Let's just say it was the first and last timeshare presentation I will ever attend.

EDITED TO ADD: The room and resort itself was very nice but I would not consider staying here again if I had to attend the presentation.

 

[Upatnoon]

The timeshare tour playbook is that the 90 minutes won't include the property tour, the meal time if offered, and the other stuff that makes 90 minutes turn into multiple hours. They wear you down to get you to sign anything to leave.

 

[SwanVT2]

We are not going to stay there. Thanks for the info!

 

[Ronaldo17]

You've made the right decision IMO..
We went to the presentation a few years back and it was relentless. We didn't buy but we had 4 different sales people trying to wear us down.

 

[DundasValleyDude]

My children still remember the timeshare presentation at Orange Lake from five years ago because that's how terrible it was. We had reservations for four hours after the "90 minute" presentation began and we almost missed our reservations because they would not let us leave. They drive you in a golf cart about 2 miles away from the parking area so that you cannot just get up and leave when you are ready. We were also told that they would pay us $249 after we attended the reservation so we didn't just want to give up on those funds. Let's just say it was the first and last timeshare presentation I will ever attend.

EDITED TO ADD: The room and resort itself was very nice but I would not consider staying here again if I had to attend the presentation.

The timeshare tour playbook is that the 90 minutes won't include the property tour, the meal time if offered, and the other stuff that makes 90 minutes turn into multiple hours. They wear you down to get you to sign anything to leave.

You've made the right decision IMO..
We went to the presentation a few years back and it was relentless. We didn't buy but we had 4 different sales people trying to wear us down.

Any advise for surviving the time share presentation?

 

[elaine amj]

Any advise for surviving the time share presentation?

We’ve done a bunch. We’re always polite but don’t say much. I bite my tongue a lot as I’m chatty. I answer personal questions shortly and stay as quiet as possible. DON’T ask questions either.

Then we just say no thanks and keep it on repeat. Sometimes I point out if life circumstances don’t make it a good time to buy.

They usually let us outta there pretty quick. We haven’t yet been driven off property or given a tour though. I think we did the one at Orange Lake when we stayed there but I honestly can’t remember. They’re all so similar.

 

[DundasValleyDude]

Update:
Wow all the drama for nothing!
Had an epic 6 night 7 day trip staying in a two bedroom villa in the West Village.
Paid $280 USD before the trip and received $280 in cash after the presentation.
Presentation was easy, 2 hours, one good cop salesmen, and one bad cop salesman (obviously did not sign)
Paid $10 a day for parking and had some coffee from the marketplace ($5.50 each!) and a pint of beer ($10.50) at the pool
11/10 would recommend

 

[teawar]

Update:
Wow all the drama for nothing!
Had an epic 6 night 7 day trip staying in a two bedroom villa in the West Village.
Paid $280 USD before the trip and received $280 in cash after the presentation.
Presentation was easy, 2 hours, one good cop salesmen, and one bad cop salesman (obviously did not sign)
Paid $10 a day for parking and had some coffee from the marketplace ($5.50 each!) and a pint of beer ($10.50) at the pool
11/10 would recommend

Glad to hear you had a great experience. It can be hard to separate the timeshare sale from the vacation.

 

[_19disnA]

Most timeshares are simply pre-paid vacation expenses and eventually have ZERO value. There is no active resale market and you are stuck with the annual maintenance fees when you can't find a way to get rid of it. Parents used to own a timeshare through RCI. We got to the point whenever we traveled using that timeshare to NEVER answer the room phone and NEVER agree to attend any sales pitches to buy more timeshares. Most timeshare operators have a sleazy reputation for good reason. They make their money on the initial sales and promise all kinds of things that turn out to be false. Then they take the money they got from initial sales and move down the road to continue their scheme at the next development. Industry seems poorly regulated and a LOT of sketchy people are involved.

There is a reason they now use names like 'vacation club' or 'fractional ownership' to try to distance themselves from the bad rap of 'timeshares'. Disney is probably one of the few that are legit, but who knows if down the road they decide to exit the timeshare business and dump it off on one of the less reputable companies? Based on our prior experience, I would NEVER recommend a timeshare to anyone no matter how good it sounds on paper.

 

[elaine amj]

Update:
Wow all the drama for nothing!
Had an epic 6 night 7 day trip staying in a two bedroom villa in the West Village.
Paid $280 USD before the trip and received $280 in cash after the presentation.
Presentation was easy, 2 hours, one good cop salesmen, and one bad cop salesman (obviously did not sign)
Paid $10 a day for parking and had some coffee from the marketplace ($5.50 each!) and a pint of beer ($10.50) at the pool
11/10 would recommend

Glad to hear u had such a great experience.

How did u get a 6 night trip though? I’m usually offered max of 4 nights. I would totally bite if I was offered what you got. Well worth it!

 

[BusterBluth]

I'm surprised you paid for parking at Orange Lake. We're owners, have stayed at this resort several times since 2011, and have never paid for parking. It sounds like if renting, they charge for parking. Have I got that right?