|
Disney/Orlando Timeshares: The Magic Begins
Who hasn’t dreamt of a vacation in the Magical Kingdom, Disney World? Walt Disney World is a vacation destination few people can resist. As if that’s not enough, Disney World is located at a very convenient distance from other amusement and theme parks in Orlando.
There is the Kennedy Space Center to amaze you and your kids with the thrilling world of NASA. If movies are your thing, Universal Studios is easily accessible. If you like mammals of the marine sort, you should probably check out Sea World. If you want wild animals and roller coaster rides, go to Busch Gardens. Tired of trying out theme park rides and sightseeing? Go downtown, eat something to get your energy back and shop till you drop.
Orlando and Disney Vacations: Two Choices
Indeed, Orlando is a place filled with fun and packed with places that would keep you and your family enthralled for a very long time. It’s a place where there’s always something new to do and something good to repeat. It’s therefore very easy to get hooked and become a regular visitor of Orlando.
Once you get hooked, you have two main options. You can do what you have been doing on your vacations before and just book a travel or vacation package whenever you feel like going to Orlando, Florida; or you can buy an Orlando timeshare (say, a Disney timeshare) and get a guaranteed Disney/Orlando vacation every year. I urge you to take the latter option.
Disney/Orlando Timeshare Vacation Benefits
When you buy a timeshare on a property instead of making a new reservation for your vacation every month, you are bound to save money in the long run. Even after you add the processing fees, property taxes and annual maintenance fees to your timeshare purchase cost, you’re still going to come out ahead if you choose a timeshare vacation option over a conventional vacation. This savings become apparent over time, especially if your timeshare contract enables you to lock-in your future vacation prices at current applicable rates.
Furthermore, when you own a timeshare for any of the prime vacation properties in Orlando, you’re going to get lots of discounts on relevant recreational activities in Orlando and get perks like free theme park tickets.
After you have decided to buy a timeshare so you can save money even as you have regular and guaranteed vacations in Walt Disney World and in the greater Orlando area, you have to decide on which timeshare to buy.
Disney Timeshare Options
Disney timeshares are being offered by the Disney Vacation Club. This company has a total of eight timeshare resorts for you to choose from. These are Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas, Disney’s BoardWalk Villas, Disney’s Beach Club Villas, Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, Disney’s Old Key West Resort, The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, and Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort. Aside from these resorts, you actually have the option to use your Disney Vacation Club membership to spend vacations abroad – say, in Africa, United Kingdom or Mexico – in properties owned and operated by Disney Vacation Club.
To buy timeshare from Disney, you actually have to pay costs of around $15,000 or more. This would entitle you to a fixed number of points every year (points can be increased later on) which you can use to get a vacation in the destination and property of your choice. Just like ordinary timeshares, you have to pay maintenance fees around $800 or more every year.
Your points are depleted at a rate that depends on the destination you chose (in-demand properties use up more points), the time you chose to take your vacation (peak seasons use up more points), the number of days you stayed, and the type of property you picked (studio-type rooms with a not-so-desirable view costs less points than 3-bedroom villas with an ocean view).
This type of timeshare arrangement is very flexible as it lets you decide when and where to spend your vacation, how many rooms you need and how long it’s going to be. You just have to remember that Disney timeshare vacations require prior reservations. Moreover, you have to pay a fee every time you book a vacation. This means that the more short vacations you take in a year, the more you would have to spend in reservation fees than if you just take one long vacation in a year.
Other Orlando Timeshare Choices
Instead of buying a timeshare from Disney, you can choose to buy a timeshare from other timeshare resort operators, instead. Marriott timeshares are a particularly good choice because the Marriott Vacation Club owns a network of resorts worldwide. The Orlando timeshare they have include the Grande Vista and the Imperial Palms. Marriott timeshare in Cypress Harbour, Royal Palms and Horizons may also be availed of.
Alternatively, you can buy timeshares from the Hilton Grand Vacation Club or from Sheraton. The timeshare resort by HGVC at Sea World is particularly promising. There are also Fairfield timeshares for sale in Orlando.
Purchasing Disney / Orlando Timeshares
The most straightforward method of buying Disney/Orlando timeshares is by going directly to the resort developer to make your purchase. Just go to Orlando, find a hotel and approach the “guest services” desk. You’d even get perks for consenting to go with the timeshare agent for a tour of their timeshare resort.
Another route for buying timeshare is by visiting timeshare auction sites. In fact, eBay has listings for timeshare resale. If you are planning to buy an eBay timeshare, however, do a proper background check so you can avoid being a victim of timeshare resale scams.
If you have an existing timeshare, you should consider becoming a member of a timeshare exchange service like RCI. Membership with the RCI timeshare network can be a great move because you can swap your timeshare with other members’, at least for a time, so you can have a Disney or Orlando vacation even if you don’t own Disney or Orlando timeshare.
|
