# Timshares located inside Disney World?



## Carta (Apr 1, 2007)

I'll start by saying I have never been to DW.
Are there any t/s located inside DW w/ lots to do for kids? i don't want to travel from a hotel or t/s to get to the park. I don't mind taking a tram or bus; as long as the t/s is within DW. Can you help? Thank-you


----------



## Transit (Apr 1, 2007)

Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is the only T/S officialy "inside" Disney.Bonnet Creek is within Disney Bounderies.There are others that are very close some providing trasportation.


----------



## littlestar (Apr 1, 2007)

Yes, it's called the Disney Vacation Club (DVC). The Walt Disneyworld DVC resorts are:

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort
Disney's Villas at Wilderness Lodge
Disney's Boardwalk Villas
Disney's Beach Club Villas
Disney's Old Key West
and coming soon . . . Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas

All the DVC resorts have scheduled activities for kids. Plus, the main pools all have slides.

If you can't get one of the above, Wyndham's Bonnet Creek is very close to MGM/Epcot. It has a lazy river pool. Mystic Dunes is pretty close, too (only took us about 5 minutes to get to Disney's Boardwalk area from Mystic Dunes by car). Mystic Dunes has a slide at one of their pools. 

Depending on the age of your kids (I'd say from 2 up to 13), we also adore Marriott's Horizon resort in Orlando. If it didn't have Marriott on the sign, I'd swear I was at a Disney resort. It's by Seaworld. It has two themed pools - both zero entry - with slides. It also has a mini water park/splash play area and a miniature golf course on site. It's a wonderful resort for kids.


----------



## hopetotimeshare (Apr 1, 2007)

DVC's are great, lots of perks, lots of $$! But IMHO a lot of timeshares in the Disney area (i.e., Lake Buena Vista, Kissimmee) are closer to the parks than some of the DVC's.


----------



## kapish (Apr 1, 2007)

Take a look at this recent thread: What is the draw of DVC?. It may be of interest to you as well...


----------



## Carl D (Apr 1, 2007)

hopetotimeshare said:


> DVC's are great, lots of perks, lots of $$! But IMHO a lot of timeshares in the Disney area (i.e., Lake Buena Vista, Kissimmee) are closer to the parks than some of the DVC's.


hopetotimeshare is correct, but I think this needs some clarification:

There is no timeshare closer to Epcot & Disney MGM Studios than Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas. 
(5 minute walk to Epcot, 15 minute walk to the Studios.)

There is no timeshare closer to Downtown Disney than Saratoga Springs and Old Key West. 
(10 minute walk from Saratoga, 15 minute walk from Key West.)

There is no timeshare closer to the Magic Kingdom than Villas at Wilderness Lodge.
(10 minute boat ride.)

There is no timeshare closer to Animal Kingdom than Animal Kingdom Villas.
(5 minute bus ride- Walkable distance, but no path as of yet.)

Disney is so large that a close off site timeshare Can be closer to a particular section of WDW than a Disney timeshare on the other side of the property. 
For example, it is several miles from Magic Kingdom to Downtown Disney. Downtown is on the edge of the property, so an off site timeshare close to that property edge would be closer to Downtown than either Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom Villas.
The same can be said about the other parts of WDW.


----------



## Carl D (Apr 1, 2007)

Transit said:


> Bonnet Creek is within Disney Bounderies.


Not really. The Bonnet Creek PROPERTY (the large chunk of land in which the actual resort is only a part of) is adjacent to Disney on about 2 1/2 sides. It is on the edge of Disney property, but not bound by it. It is bound by Interstate 4 on the other side.
Because it's landlock by the highway, you must first drive onto Disney property to get to the resort. Once you turn into the Bonnet Creek property, you are no longer within "Disney boundries". 
If they ever got permission to build an exit ramp, bridge, tunnel, whatever, there would be no need to enter Disney property to get to this resort.


----------



## Mel (Apr 1, 2007)

Disney World is a very large property.  Yes, if you stay onsite, you can use disney transportation to get back and forth between your room and the parks.  But that comes at a price, as the Disney timeshares are expensive, and if you're trying to exchange in, often a difficult trade to get.  Since you're looking for activities for kids, I will assume you are taking yours.

If they are school age, and you need an exchange during school vacations, it will be that much more difficult, as everyone else wants to go then too!

Then there is the issue alluded to by others - location within the property.  If you will only be visiting one park, you can stay at a property near that one park, and Disney transporatation will be fine.  Otherwise, remember that you will be at the mercy of that transportation for the other parks - in some cases, needing to change buses along the way.

Then there's the issue of kids activities.  I'm not sure what Disney offers in their parks, but the bigger non-Disney resorts offer good kids programs as well.  If you want to "live" Disnay your entire stay, on-site is good, but if you are not going into the parks each day, it may serve as a reminded to your kids that you are in fact no in the parks.  Obviously, it depends on the kids - some would prefer to spend the day in the pool anyway!

There are some benefits of staying on-site, but to me transportation isn't one of them.  If you're on an exchange, you will either pay an extra $100 fee to Disney for the benefit of that transporation (and other guest services), or you will stay off-site and pay for daily parking.  Cost-wise, it balances out.  Convenience-wise, it's pretty balanced too.


----------



## Transit (Apr 1, 2007)

*apples and oranges*



Carl D said:


> Not really. The Bonnet Creek PROPERTY (the large chunk of land in which the actual resort is only a part of) is adjacent to Disney on about 2 1/2 sides. It is on the edge of Disney property, but not bound by it. It is bound by Interstate 4 on the other side.
> Because it's landlock by the highway, you must first drive onto Disney property to get to the resort. Once you turn into the Bonnet Creek property, you are no longer within "Disney boundries".
> If they ever got permission to build an exit ramp, bridge, tunnel, whatever, there would be no need to enter Disney property to get to this resort.



Carl D ,check any map or google earth there is a good possibility that most people would look at it and say "its in there".You must admit that the proximity of that resort,the quality and the cost make this a very good alternitive to DVC...


----------



## Carl D (Apr 1, 2007)

Transit said:


> Carl D ,check any map or google earth there is a good possibility that most people would look at it and say "its in there".You must admit that the proximity of that resort,the quality and the cost make this a very good alternitive to DVC...


I think we're mostly in agreement here.

I have no doubt the quality is top notch. I also agree that many people would assume it's on property, simply because you must first enter the property to get to it.

With that said, I have seen the maps, and it does border Disney property. It's not on, or within Disney property.


----------



## Lisa P (Apr 1, 2007)

Carta, since you haven't been to WDW, you may be looking for an exchange rather than a purchase.  You also may not realize that the parks are located miles and miles apart from one another and from most of the Disney resorts.  There is no resort hotel or timeshare which is close to more than 2 of the 4 Disney parks.  So even if you are able to walk to one, the boat/bus ride to at least one of the other Disney parks can be a good 10-15 minutes plus wait time.  No trams (open air, multi-car, towed vehicles) run between any parks and the timeshare resorts or hotels.  Trams at WDW only travel between each park's turnstile gate area and its parking lots.  In FL, resorts are generally much farther from the WDW parks than they are at Disneyland in CA.  They are Disney-managed though, so they have certain benefits and theme.

All of the DVC (Disney Vacation Club) timeshares have plenty for kids to do and they have buses or boats to the parks at least every half hour.  These exchange only via II.  They can be a difficult exchange, more so in some seasons than others, expecially if you are unable to fit in a studio or 1BR.  Horizons and other Marriotts mentioned above offer larger units more readily, have plenty for kids and they also trade via II.  A car is recommended.

There are other nice options within the general WDW area that trade via RCI.  These may offer plenty for kids to do and less frequent transportation (usually at a fee, about 3-4 times per day).  Examples include Fairfield Bonnet Creek, the HGVCs and the Vistanas.  Again, a car is recommended.  HTH.


----------



## BocaBum99 (Apr 1, 2007)

Since I've stayed at various Orlando area resorts for dozens of trips and I've stayed both onsite and offsite, I can say from direct experience that Disney World is so large that if you intend to use a car, the proximity of many offsite resorts require about the same amount of travel time as a Disney resort depending on where you plan to go.  What matters more is if you get into a timeshare that has congested roads.  For instance, if you stay in Kissimmee, the traffic is horrible there whereas if you stay on International Drive, the congestion is a lot less.  And, international drive is a nicer area.  It has a lot fewer cheesy stores ala Las Vegas in the 1970s.

Bonnet Creek feels like you are on Disney property.  So, that is a nice balance between being in a DVC vs. not.  And, it's at a lot lower cost.

DVC is nice if you intend to use Disney Transportation.  And, the service is really great along with the integrated theme park experience.  But, there is a steep price for "magic"  The cost of the magic is greater than the cost of the timeshare.


----------



## hopetotimeshare (Apr 1, 2007)

Carl D said:


> hopetotimeshare is correct, but I think this needs some clarification:
> 
> There is no timeshare closer to Epcot & Disney MGM Studios than Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas.
> (5 minute walk to Epcot, 15 minute walk to the Studios.)
> ...



Thanks for the clarification.  Because WDW parks were built at different times they are all spread out in different locations.  Perhaps someone who hasn't been to WDW might think that the parks are all linked and/or close to one another and the resorts.  I really liked Vistana's location, we had everything nearby.  We have had the pleasure of staying on Disney grounds (and it truly is *magical*) but for several reasons,we prefer to stay outside.


----------



## littlestar (Apr 1, 2007)

Here are some links with pictures from Deb Will's All Ears site of the DVC resorts:

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/g_ss.htm

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/g_bcv.htm

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/g_bwv.htm

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/g_wlv.htm

http://www.allearsnet.com/acc/g_okw.htm

And here's some of my pictures from Marriott Horizon's resort from last April:

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0CbOGThs5YsXGA


----------

