Should we take the 4 free nights at Ramada Plaza Resorts or All-Stars at $55/night

[mom2boys]

We have 4 free nights at a Ramada Plaza Resort hotel. We also have ASsp ressies for $55 per night with tax. (Thanks to Mousesavers.) Of course, we will have to spend a morning listening to the timeshare presentation in order to save $220. This is a Budget (notice the capital "B") trip. My main concern is that I do not know anything aobut the Ramada property.

 

[robinb]

I've done a few timeshare presentations. They are always a ... challenge. It's a good thing that I like a challenge .

If you have a rental car, really can't afford the All Stars and you know that you can say no to the timeshare sharks and are prepared to waste 90 minutes to 3 hours on the presentation, then I would say you should go for the free hotel. It'll save you a bit of money.

If you don't have a car, IMO the Disney transportation and All-Star's food court have the advantage. Without a car you are at the mercy of the hotel's shuttle and local restaurants. Also, if you have a hard time saying "no" or feel bad about disappointing someone, then a timeshare presentation will be a nightmare. If you don't have an entire morning to devote to the presentation, then it also might not be worth it.

I think it's OK to take a timeshare tour for a free hotel room (and then not buy, LOL!). You should just be prepared for the hard sell.

 

[mom2boys]

Guess I should have provided a little more info. We will be driving down, so we will have our own transportation. Robin is absolutely correct about needing to be able to say no to the hard sell. My husband has no problem telling people no when it comes to his wallet. We have been to WDW 6x in the past 6 years, so we would hit our favorite attractions and skip the others. I am wondering how long they will insist that we stay. I am also concerned about the quality of the accomodations. I think that is my biggest concern. I'm not expecting the quality of a luxury Disney resort but do expect clean, comfortable, safe... Does anyone have personal experience with the Ramada Plaza Resorts?

 

[robinb]

Sorry ... I've never stayed at the Ramada Plaza Resort but here's a review of the place over at MousePlanet: MousePlanet Review of Ramada Plaza

I would make sure you know how long you are expected to stay for the presentation. They usually say 90 minutes, but attempt to keep you much longer. My advise is to tell them you are not interested in buying right away, not ask a lot of questions and keep them to their schedule of 90 minutes. They must be able to tell you about the system and then show you the property in their alloted amount of time. They can and will take longer if you're not careful.

Good luck!

 

[candyht]

I have friends that just came back from staying at this Ramada and they hated it. They said that their hotel room felt dirty. They felt that it was one of the worst hotels that they have ever stayed it. The timeshare presentation was much longer than 90 minutes, it was about 4 hours.

 

[Lewisc]

The value of the "free" stuff for attending a timeshare presentation is usually about $100. That translates to a $25/night hotel or probably a 1 to zero star property. You might want to stay elsewhere. You can still do a timeshare tour (if you like that sort of thing) and get tickets (most will give you cash if you tell them you already bought your tickets).

 

[mom2boys]

Thanks for the honest input. I guess DH is correct - we should just cut our losses and forget about it.

 

[dmen]

I can think of very few things worth spending a morning in a timeshare presentation! I've done three of them--one on purpose for the free trip; one by accident; and one for the DVC with no freebies even offered. Saying no to the first two was so easy! But I was horrified at what a bad deal it is and thinking about how many people who can't afford it get sucked in (not all timeshares, just these two in particular). As for the DVC, we didn't buy there, but are seriously considering it. Anyway, I know some of the timeshare presentations put you in nice places--like Marriott, Hilton, Starwood and maybe a few others and are reputable. But I cannot tell you how awful the others were. We were put up in one of the Ramada properties (can't remember which one) and it was YUCK. Plus the presentation was over 2 hours; and the sales people got very nasty when we said we were not interested. I will NEVER do it again unless I am truly interested in purchasing like we were with DVC and some of our friends were with Marriott. Otherwise stay away. It could ruin your vacation or at least a big chunk of it. (By the way, the presentation we went to was not Ramada, but they put us in a 1 or 2 star Ramada.)

 

[CapHook]

Think of it this way... The AS resort would normally cost you $105 per night with tax. You are already saving $50 per night because of mousesavers.com. I know what you are saying because we go on a budget too. Are you driving or flying? Staying on site lets you not have to rent a car. On our budget trips the first thing to go is the food budget. We ax sit down dining and Character Meals before moving to off site hotels.

 

[lvs_eeyore]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh mannnnnnnnnnnnn I wish I had checked this out before I booked a room at Ramada Gateway. Now Im scrambling to see if I can get a room within Disney. We are leaving Thursday night!! I just called Disney and they are not open for reservations at this hour. They say to check the Disney site but the site says you have to book six days in advance. Im having a panic attack!!!

 

[mom2boys]

Best of luck to you lvseeyore. Please keep us posted (no pun intended). If you do end up at the Ramada, please let us all know your experience.
Have a great trip!

 

[lvs_eeyore]

Im gonna do my best to get within Disney. I can tell this is gonna be a sleepless night for me. I normally check these things out very carefully and this time I didn't. I plan on being on the phone with Disney at 7:00 AM tomorrow morning. I will keep you all posted on what happens. I wouldnt be this upset but this place has gotten three bad reviews, one from Brian and two from posters here.

 

[pdzabe]

There are THREE Ramada properties within the area you are going. The posters and review, I believe, are referring to RAMADA PLAZA RESORT HOTEL AND INN GATEWAY. By the way, I stayed there and had a pleasant experience-no problems whatsoever, but if I'd had anything like what was noted above, I wouldn't have stayed either. Have fun on your trip!