Timeshare deals

[EcbLovesMickey]

There are so many timeshare deal out there that offer discounted stays and free tickets and loads of other perks. We are thinking of trying one of these out for a trip later in the year and I am wondering if anyone has any experience with these, specifically with kids involved.

Any recommendations or links to great deals you have seen would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[kidsister]

Although you can find deals that may be worthwhile, plan on spending a minimum of 3 hours to get your two tickets.
What might work better is to book a stay at say Bonnet Creek and then take their $$$$offer (I think my sister got $125) to take their onsite tour...she only spent 30 minutes but then she was walking with a cane!
Parkway Resorts offered me over $150 to do their tour.
I kinda like it better than getting tickets and staying in a 'discount' hotel room .

With kids, its a little harder, esp if you are trying to spend as much time as you can in the parks. But of course, unruly kids might make the spiel shorter!

 

[Brian Noble]

I would not wish a timeshare presentation on my worst enemy. They are awful. And if you really sit down and figure out what you are getting for your time, it's not a huge amount per hour.

Orlando is so over-built with rental/timeshare/hotel properties, you should be able to find a decent deal that doesn't require a presentation.

 

[LadySiren]

Meh, I'd disagree with the absent-minded professor there. The deal really depends on the property and to an extent, you.

Some properties are going to off you more right off the bat; it just depends on what their unsold inventory is like and how badly they need the sales revenue. The higher the inventory, the more likely they are to cut you a better deal with incentives. In terms of the tour part, if you don't mind blowing anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours or so, and you have a cast-iron stomach backed by the ability to say "NO!" until you're blue in the face (unless you're really interested in buying, that is), you can probably escape in a decent amount of time with the base-level freebies / incentives. If you lack the willpower to say no to a hungry salesman or you don't want to lose the time in the parks, I'd say this isn't an option for you.

My own TS experience (full disclosure: I'm a TS owner) is that if you're interested in purchasing, hold out for the best deal you can. The first ex-Mr. Siren was one of those hardcases...he really, really put the poor TS sales guy through the ringer. Our base offer was a 4-day / 3-night vacation in Las Vegas. By the time we'd signed the final paperwork, we had the free Vegas stay, no closing costs, $150 in casino chips, tickets to the Rockettes (LOL), more free buffets than we could eat, taxi vouchers, two round-trip airline tickets anywhere in the continental U.S., and a 7-night stay in any Hilton hotel worldwide. When we left, the sales staff looked sort of dazed. It was funny, in a pathetic sort of way (I felt a little bad about taking them for so much, which is probably why he did all the talking).

Anyway, you have to decide what your time is worth and whether you can withstand the vigorous (read: pushy) sales pitch you'll be hit with. If the incentives aren't worth the pain of sitting through the final sales pitch, I'd say skip it.

EDIT: funny note on the Rockette tickets - the big-name guest star for their Vegas revue at the time was none other than Paige O'Hara, the voice of Belle from Beauty and the Beast. She was great!

 

[spiceycat]

here are the prom special from tug.

http://www.tug2.net/ads/mpromo.shtml

really surprised at the small number of them - the list use to be alot longer.

 

[Southerndisney]

I have never done one, but a friend used saveonresorts. I have seen some other timeshare previews on Ebay. The seller always has a rating.

 

[Purseval]

Here is a link, with another link inside it, to timeshares we have toured in the Orlando area. You will see what rewards we received, actual time spent and how hard they pushed you to buy.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2312540

All of the timeshare resorts have play areas with supervisors to watch the children while you go on your presentation. Remember, they want you all to be happy and in a good mood so they go out of their way to make the children comfortable.

No matter what they say, no matter what they offer, even if you absolutely adore the place DO NOT BUY ANYTHING You can always do better buying resale, far better than anything they could offer you. If you are interested take good notes then head over to a board like Timeshare Users Group and find out what the going rate for resales are.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Here is a link, with another link inside it, to timeshares we have toured in the Orlando area. You will see what rewards we received, actual time spent and how hard they pushed you to buy.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2312540

All of the timeshare resorts have play areas with supervisors to watch the children while you go on your presentation. Remember, they want you all to be happy and in a good mood so they go out of their way to make the children comfortable.

No matter what they say, no matter what they offer, even if you absolutely adore the place DO NOT BUY ANYTHING You can always do better buying resale, far better than anything they could offer you. If you are interested take good notes then head over to a board like Timeshare Users Group and find out what the going rate for resales are.

Just wanted to elaborate on this idea a bit. When toured a TS 1st time, our ds was 3 and did pretty good sitting through the whole thing. "Luckily" dh had just been laid off just prior to the trip, which was already paid for, so we still took it, and had a great excuse to not buy. Once they heard that, they backed off.

I do recall reading another poster's story about how they take the children to a different area from the touring parents. When the 90 mins was up, they said no and asked for their kids back. The salespeople stalled for a long time until the parents threatened to call 911. That is really sad that they expect to hold people's children hostage to coax them to buy.

btw, we are ts owners and bought resale. Whatever #s they throw at you, remember you can buy resale for probably 20% of the price they offer to you. If they try to guilt you that you're "buying used" instead of new, keep in mind "your" unit is being used by other owner or renters for the other 51 weeks per year. They are all "used".

We've had our ts for 5 years now and enjoy it. We've traded it for Sedona, Williamsburg, and this summer western VA, Shenandoah Valley. We've gotten our $$ worth but wouldn't have felt that way if we bought from developers at their prices.

If you just want to tour for the freebies, do your homework and arrive prepared. Know what they go for resale so it will be easy to say no.
http://www.timesharestogo.com/
http://www.holidaygroup.com/

good luck!!