Rci... :(

[natt]

Hi; I've been away from DISboards for a few years now and just today I've had the need to look into planning a potential exchange through RCI. I have to say, I'm very upset. Locations that would be great exchanges for us in our region, seem to have been taken away. Then when I look at other 'desirable' locations that are listed as nightly exchanges in the '09 book, they don't seem to be listed on RCI's site as 'points' options.

Maybe it's where I live, and what we consider 'fair value exchange' but what I've looked at today, our options have me feeling a little letdown this evening. There are more exchanges for the state of Missouri than there are in the state of Virginia. No offense to Missouri, but we have no desire to vacation there.. yet the VA Beach options have all been taken away.

Has anyone else seen this problem in their personal planning needs with this new exchange partner?

 

[Chuck S]

No one, except Disney/DVC knows what criteria they use to select the RCI resorts offered for exchange. It could be based on how popular the exchanges were before (with II as well as RCI), whether or not the exchange locatin want to participate in a "nightly" exchange vs a full week, and it would, for a nightly exchange, almost have to be a resort with a points based system similar to DVC that allows booking individual nights rather than full weeks.

 

[mouseclick1]

Yes! There were two properties that I had my eye on with II. One in Malta, and the other in Italy. With RCI, there are no exchanges to either country through Disney's partnership with them. Along the lines of your Missouri example, there are 15 places in Portugal on the list. Not that Portugal wouldn't be a fabulous place to visit, but I have never heard anyone say that their dream is to go to Portugal someday, though I know many who would love to visit Italy.

I am at the point where I would like a break from Disney, but cannot find anything in their RCI offers or the greatly reduced concierge collection that appeals to me. The exchanges in the registry collection look very nice, but 1200 points for one week - are you kidding me?

 

[Babsbeast]

When I bought into DVC I was given 160 sign on bonus points that could only be used at Saratoga Springs, one other place I think, or though II. We ended up banking them with RCI (after the change from II) and tried to exchange for ANYTHING in the Virginia Beach/Williamsburg area. We couldn't find a trade for a 4 person unit, which was what we could get for the 160 points. We wait listed for 6 different resorts, and took the only thing that (eventually) came through... A new resort across from Busch Gardens called Parkside Resort.
It was Sooooo new that the pool area was not open, and there was contstant construction throughout the resort which started at 9:30AM. This was not told to us upfront, and I was a bit upset that the only option they offered was to travel MILES in a car to a hotel in town to use their facilities.
The RCI process did allow us to go to VA, but it wasn't really that easy, there weren't as many choices, and we might have done much better renting a timeshare as opposed to using our (I feel) more valuable points.

 

[natt]

... A new resort across from Busch Gardens called Parkside Resort.

Parkside Resort is the resort I was refering to that is listed in the '09 book, but when I went to view it on the RCI site, there's no record of it! Maybe that's why? We've been to Williamsburg many times to know that we LOVE it, but not for 7 days with a 15y/o.. and certainly not at resorts that look like adult communities. Which is why the VA Beach thing appeals to us. We did get an exchange through II (the first and only exchange we've done) and were SO happy with the entire vacation (which included a day at Busch Gardens). Needless to say, my anger that the options have been taken away. I was more than happy to exchange for a full week for an exchange of that type.

 

[Babsbeast]

I never checked the RCI site to even see if Parkside was listed. We just got back on August 7, and the day we were checking out, we were told that the pool area was opening up. It looked wonderful, witha "lazy river" and slide, but it wasn't something a 15 yr old could love for long!
What was absolutely cool was that you can get what they call a "bounce pass" online, which for a great price, will alow you go hop between Colonial Williamsburg, Water Country USA, and Busch Gardens at will, and includes parking. (usually$12 at both parks). Kids under 6 are free, so it was great. For 2 adults and 1 kid, we paid $279 for a 7 day pass. There were a lot of teens at the water park, esp. later in the day. (And the beach is still an option, tho a bit of a drive).