Hi everyone, sorry for not following up on this post. Someone drove their car into the back of mine, and I've been recuperating and dealing with insurance since.
Generally, I can confirm that they did at some point introduce what I consider to be bogus surcharges over and above the exchange fee, but have not looked into whether legally they can do this based on the date I purchased my unit. From my recollection, they only apply if you are going from "value" season to "high" season or an "event" week (such as Christmas). Here is a definition of the seasons from another user's post:
According to the 2006 owner's guide this is the chart for FIXED week season designation:
ALL (high) season weeks 5, 8-13, 22-25, 27-34, 47
Value season: 1-4,16-21, 35-46, 48-50
Fixed events weeks for Florida: 6,7,14,15,26, 51 and 52
If anyone is serious about taking this week and wants to know the actual costs to exchange internally within Westgate's family of resorts, PM me an example and I will call and ask them for the current rates for you. Otherwise, like others have suggested, use II or RCI. We used to have both II and RCI, and cancelled them because we never used them (we always traded into the Town Center because it was newer, and a different week).
I actually purchased this week as a resale, and can say that I have never felt like we were treated any differently from any other owner, and have full access to all amenities. After checking in, they will ask you to schedule your "free" breakfast - this is a sales opportunity for them to upsell you on a new unit. Either decline the breakfast, or attend and tell them up front you are not interested in buying anything, and be firm - they will pressure you...