What did my BIL do! Tickets through HotelsCorp.com?

[Chim Chiminy]

I am afraid he made a huge mistake.

We had talked on the phone and he said he thought he had found a Travel Agent who could get him a better price on 7 day park hoppers than we could get through SOG.

I said, if you know the TA and think they are reputable then fine. But be sure it is the correct park hopper and that it doesn't expire.
He assured me that it was.

Now, he calls me tonight to ask me where Westgate Villas are, or something like that.

He has to go pick up his park hoppers there and the person he talked with on the phone assured him that he can get a shuttle to Westgate from any of the parks or resorts to go pick them up.

This all sounds fishy to me, so I ask if he bought his tickets through a timeshare.

No, he doesn't think so. Nobody said anything to him about a timeshare.

He emailed me his confirmation number and I said I would check on it for him.

How can a guy who is so smart be so dense sometimes?????

The confirmation he sent me is three pages long and at the bottom of the first page it says, this is being used for the sole purpose of soliciting sales for timeshare periods.
Then, proceeds to give two pages of timeshare exchange info on resorts etc.

I went to the hotelscorp website and it says right there these special prices are available

all you need to do is attend a scrumptious buffet breakfast, followed by a lively 90-minute VIP presentation of a 5-star Westgate Resorts property. It's that easy!

The ticket deals are on a seperate page and you have to call a special phone number to get the special price on tickets.

They will not ship the tickets, you have to pick them up in person.

They arrive around 7pm and the next day we are supposed to meet BIL's partners best friend and her family at MK (so our kiddies can all play together). So there will be no time to run around and pick up these tickets at Westgate!

I am afraid he has gotten himself screwed.

Anyone ever buy tickets from this group?????
The website gives no info on refunds for tickets, just for package deals.

 

[crl]

We bought one day tickets through them over Christmas. Once you sit through their presentation, you will get the tickets. But you must sit through the whole presentation. Oterwise you will lose your deposit money that's been paid.

They are less than 5 miles off property. And I'm sure they have shuttles running to Disney all the time. They are a reputable company, but like I said, you must sit through their presentation to get the special price on tickets and your deposit back.

Good luck!

 

[LMC]

We did this a couple of years ago w/ our then 6yo and 3yo. It was an excruciatingly long morning. Our 90 minute presentation turned into hours. The last 1/2 hour was our trying to CONVINCE the sales person that we had had enough and were ready to leave and wanted our promised gift. At that point we were basically dropped like hot potatoes (since we didn't buy a time share) and were pretty much left to our own devices to get back to our car. This is a huge complex and it takes a long time to get from their point A (where you started out) and their point B (where you end up the the sales pitch). I will never do a timeshare tour again this was such a bad experience! Sure some of their places are nice but we decided to buy a travel trailer and we can vacation when/where we want alot cheaper than buying into their program. I would advise that he go without children because they get very bored. And as soon as they sit down for the sales pitch at the end (after the grounds tour) to say "your 90 minutes is up and I have other things to do so I need to get my tickets and be on my way).

We got there about 7am and left around 10:30 so it was very long (alot longer than the 90 minutes they promised!!!) I just felt totally deceived because I asked repeatedly that it was only a 90 minute committment since we had a two kids w/ us and knew they would be ready to get to the parks!

 

[Lewisc]

I'm sure your BIL will have no trouble getting a shuttle TO the resort. I wouldn't count on getting a free shuttle back to Disney without a long wait. Price a cab back to Disney, if it's expensive they may want to just write off the deposit.

They might complain and say they weren't told about the timeshare requirement. After reviewing the voucher they don't agree to the terms and want their deposit refunded. Do a credit card dispute if necessary. Keep in mind the sales pitch may have been recorded making getting out harder.

 

[DRU2L8]

I had just posted a question about getting hotels at hotelscorp.com while I waited for the search to find anything. Thanks to the DIS and all of you for saving me 3 hours plus of valuable vacation time!

 

[kilee]

Ugh-- the good and the bad of timeshare presentations. If he can't get it refunded-- the best he can do then is to be firm at 90 minutes. It's going to be hit or miss. There are equally good and bad reports on timeshare presentations. The one thing though is many companies have the reputation for not being very accomodating once you don't buy-- so make alternative transportation plans out of there, as they make keep him waiting another 90 minutes for a ride.

 

[jgates]

I believe that there is a Florida law that caps the amount of time they can keep you there at about 2 hours. Find that law and make sure he has a copy of it printed out.

 

[CheapMom]

I have done these timeshare things many times- never at Disney, but at Williamsburg and other places- If he makes it clear 100% that he has no interest and he can not to spend more than 90 minutes- he should be fine. I have always done that and although the sales person once was pretty rude- "If you have no interest - then why are you here wasting my time?" one asked me- (for the tickets- duh) That same rude guy had us signed off in just under an hour- he wanted to move on to someone he had a chance with.
What is the deal he is getting for attending the presentation? You mentioned 7 day hoppers- what is the price and how many can he buy if you don't mind me asking?
Unless it is an EXTREME bargain I would try to get my deposit back and join HSC for a month just for tix or something like that.
Not how I would like to spend 1/2 day of my precious vacation time.