Sheraton Vistana Resort

[spiceycat]

melanie - you won't be disappointed. This is a very nice - big - but nice resort. We got one of the older sections and LOVED it. Springs!

they even put us next to the service shack - where all the maids would meet and get their instructions - got woken up almost every morning at 7:15 to 7:30 - but I still love it and would happily take that unit again.

Epcot is around 5 minutes away.

 

[pamlet]

Happy anniversary Pamlet ! Have a wonderful time.

Thank you!! I am SO excited about this trip.

Last night for my birthday my husband and kids gave me a photo shopped picture of the castle with the 3 of them in the castle - it was just TOO cute... (The also have their faces as "clouds" in the sky)...

The picture is sitting on my desk to remind me of our vacation coming up.. Like I need reminding!

 

[JaxCon]

I am glad to hear so many positive comments. DH booked this and I was a little leery, but now I getting excited, haha, I am about equal distance from when we retuned from last trip to Disney and when we go again.

 

[VacationDad]

I am an owner at Vistana. The older units have been remodeled with new kitchens. Most people on these boards are cramming to get into the newer units, such as Cascades or Lakes. But, the older units are bigger! Don't worry. It's a lovely resort. Very close to Disney. You turn left, go two signal lights, turn left again and you're at the entrance to Downtown Disney hotels and at the end of that road is Downtown Disney. If you turn right leaving Vistana, turn right again at the signal light and go straight following the signs for Disney entrance. How's that for close?

I have thought about owning a timeshare but when I looked into it, it seemed that the annual maintenance fee wasn't much less than what I would pay to rent a unit for a week from any of the online travel sites. Is there any benefit to actually owning? I think I would be more apt to do it if the maintenance fees weren't so high or if there was no way you could stay there unless you were an owner.

 

[spiceycat]

if you are talking Orlando - then no.

for several years I try to trade my Westgate to the Panhandle - no luck.

So the same year I brought my PCB one - I also brought my first RCI - South Africia - and found why there was none in II - RCI had them all.....

Anyway I am still happy with that buy - the maintence fees is $428 and the place rents for $200 per night. this is the one I traded to get a DVC resort - SSR for this May and I also got a AC.

My SA was cheap - but they have gone up in price.

I guess it depends - timeshares sell for $500 to $2,500 in the resale market maintence fees will run $200 to $600 on these. Marriott and DVC are more also these days Hilton and Hyatt - these all have a buy back program.

Most people try to rent for twice their maintence fees - other rent for their maintence fees. DVC is the only one I know that is generally rented for more than the maintence fees.

the problem is that in the last couple of years - RCI and II have entered the business - with skyauction and conodirect - so now if you want to rent your timeshare you also need to match their prices. And since RCI and II don't own these properties they can go cheap - really cheap. There is surpose to be a lawsuit over this now. and they need to decide if they are exchange company or a rental company....

 

[pamlet]

I have thought about owning a timeshare but when I looked into it, it seemed that the annual maintenance fee wasn't much less than what I would pay to rent a unit for a week from any of the online travel sites. Is there any benefit to actually owning? I think I would be more apt to do it if the maintenance fees weren't so high or if there was no way you could stay there unless you were an owner.

You know while I was in the travel business we never even considered it. That was mostly due to the fact that I could get tremendous discounts - we also did a lot more "driving vacations" ... "happy wandering" so to speak.

But now - I'm a SAHM .. and suddenly miss those discounts... and basically would do ANYTHING to get away from home sometimes.. laugh...

We're looking at some resales of "Silverleaf" resorts - which have a number of resorts w/in driving distance to home in South Texas... a few just a day or so away. They do offer what I think they call "bonus time" at their resorts.. basically you can stay for free ... Mon-Thu for I think 3 nites at a time... or something like 40.00 a night Fri - Sun.. something like that.. with a few other restrictions. I also believe you can belong to RCI or II one of the "trading companies". I'm just in the research stage now - but we are seriously talking about it. We don't do the wandering as much any more as some health problems with my son prevent it - so staying in one spot seems like a good option.

From what I understand resales are difinately the way to go - buying from the developer is just outrageously expensive...

 

[Del]

We went in Dec and stayed in the Lakes section. It was wonderful. 2 bed, 2 bath, large kitchen/living areas. Close to the parks. Easy to get to rest. My kids loved it!!! They thought they were on-site. The rate was like $149!!

You can't beat that. It makes me think that why would I spend to stay onsite again. I still felt magic there, and yes I've stayed at CR, POFQ and Poly before so I've done the onsite thing----but i love the extra bedroom for the kids and they sleep better in their own bed and we still have privacy. They can sleep and we can stay up and watch tv and relax!

Have a great Trip!!!!!

Del

 

[d4est]

I am thinking about staying here or at the villages for our next trip (Feb 06). I am looking into the deal where you get a deeply discounted rate in exchange for doing the 90min tour. Have also found a website where I can get 4 nights in a one bedroom AND a rental car for $741.36 for either place. Is it worth it? Sounds like it is not far from Disney and they seem very nice compared to a standard hotel room. TIA!

 

[MiaSRN62]

VacationDad states : I have thought about owning a timeshare but when I looked into it, it seemed that the annual maintenance fee wasn't much less than what I would pay to rent a unit for a week from any of the online travel sites.

I noticed this also.....back in '94 when we purchased our Vistana timeshare it wasn't like this. At least not that I could find. Over the years, the internet has become more and more popular for finding great deals.

Spiceycat says: the problem is that in the last couple of years - RCI and II have entered the business - with skyauction and conodirect - so now if you want to rent your timeshare you also need to match their prices.

So true Pat. You mentioned a lawsuit. I'd love to see changes from an owner's perspective. I totally agree skyauction and other sites like this are terrific for renters, but as an owner I feel what I purchased is sort of worthless now. And to add insult, I could probably stay at Vistana as a renter for less than what I do as an owner using this skyauction and other similar sites ! Del mentioned getting the Lakes for $149 !!! Was this direct from the resort or other source I'm curious ? Wonderful for her, but not so good from the perspective of an owner. I paid off my initial investment awhile ago.....but my yearly maintenance fee at Vistana is $535/year (we own 7 nights prime/floating in the Fountains). So I still can stay for cheaper than Del, but I've seen skyauction bids win at under $300-$400 for a WEEK and, yes, I can't help but question my investment. When we bought Vistana (and we ended up buying a resale thank goodness), they always used the selling point that room rates would only climb in the future. Now I see that's hogwash. In '99, we rented an extra "add-on" night and got an owner's rate of $160/night in the older Spas section. When I hear Del getting the newer Lakes for less than that so recently, it sort of steams me. Nothing against Del or any other renter....just a frustrating spot to be in as an owner. Anywhere I can find info on this lawsuit Pat ? I'd be interested to hear what's going on with that.
Thanks.

 

[DEff]

We owned two timeshares until about last year when we basically gave one away on eBay. They came with my marriage, LOL. The one we've kept is Williamsburg and since we enjoy Wburg a lot, it makes sense for us. However, we've exchanged it the last couple of years and one of the trades was for our trip this past week, to the Vistana. We were in the Cascades section, which is really lovely. Everything is very clean and crisp and new. Elevators are nice as well, since we come in dead at the end of the evening.

That said, the other sections may have better views of the fireworks at the parks. We were on the 4th floor and at an odd angle so we couldn't see anything.

We also spent next to no time in the resort. However, a lot of people swam despite the not-so-warm weather and there were always people all over the resort. If we had two weeks, I could see spending a lot of time there.

As someone mentioned earlier, getting in and out of the parks couldn't be easier. I mean, minutes to the parks. The only way it could have been faster would have been to be on the monorail line or at one of the closer Epcot resorts. (That is, if you arrive early and park close by.)

At check-in, they have these nice young people making balloon shapes for the kids, which was a nice touch. They have various activities during the day and a place to leave your kids if you need to spend some adult alone time.

All-in-all, we were quite pleased with our exchange.

We've stayed in Wales and in England (Yorkshire) with exchanges also. Those were the best bang-for-the-buck if you ask me. You really have to play the game to make timeshares pay.

 

[darlene9947]

I'm booked at Vistana May 22 - 29. I am following TGM's recommendations for getting to the parks at opening time and taking breaks in the afternoon. I have a couple of early dinner PS made and now I'm wondering how long it will take us to get from Vistana, drive to whatever park we have PS for dinner and actually get to the restaurant. If anyone who has stayed there recently can give me estimated times to get to MK, MGM & EPCOT I would really appreciate it. I'd hate to be late for my PS and then have to wait longer for a table!
TIA

 

[DEff]

I think it took us about 15-20 mins to the parking lot of everything except for the MK. That took longer because you have to drive the farthest, park, take the monorail or ferry/boat. If you have MK resort seatings, you can drive to the resort and do valet parking, and save time and effort. I'd put a good 30 minutes in the schedule for driving to the resorts. Worst case, you have extra time to kill in the shops.

If you are having dinner in the back of a park, you'll have to leave time for walking as well. For parks I'd schedule an hour of travel time.

The above assumes light crowds, which is what we had Feb 25-March 4th. We took about 20 minutes to get from the Vistana to our breakfast at the Polynesian the last day and used valet parking. We had a few minutes to check in and then look at the shops and enjoy the ambiance. I think it took us about an 40 mins to drive from the MK to MGM, park, and walk to H&V. Probably an hour between MK and Epcot to eat in England.

Have fun!

D.

 

[MiaSRN62]

I have a couple of early dinner PS made and now I'm wondering how long it will take us to get from Vistana, drive to whatever park we have PS for dinner and actually get to the restaurant. If anyone who has stayed there recently can give me estimated times to get to MK, MGM & EPCOT I would really appreciate it. I'd hate to be late for my PS and then have to wait longer for a table!

Darlene,
DEff is about right with his times. It usually takes us anywhere from 10-20 min depending on traffic to get to the parking lot of the parks. Especially with the MK...allow at least 60-90 min to get to the restaurant after that. If you have a PS in the World Showcase at Epcot, give yourself about 15 min to get to the parking lot, but AT LEAST another 30-45 min to walk to the restaurant. I'm including time to wait for a tram if you don't get a close spot in the lot, plus the time to walk all the way across the park to the restaurant. Oh....and let's not forget the security checks. Add another 5 min for that.
Usually, we only eat inside the parks if we're there anyway for the day. If I'm just leaving Vistana to go for dinner I try and make PS for the resorts because it's so much easier to just valet park at whatever resort and go in and have your dinner. Most resorts allow a min of a 3 hour parking pass for PS.
Hope this helps some.