How the "must haves" in a timeshare change as you age :)

[missyrcrews]

When we first started timesharing, I needed 1) laundry in the unit. 2) Full kitchen 3) Enough beds for everyone. We are at Village of Loon Mountain in NH this week. I have 2 of those 3 boxes checked, and we're fine. The kids and I were talking this evening, and our list has definitely changed now that they are older. We're going to Samoset Resort for April break...and it will actually not check ANY of those boxes. We won't have laundry in the unit, we'll have a partial kitchen, and the couch bed will be in use. And we'll be fine! It's so nice to be able to branch out and try some different places!

Now that I'm traveling with 3 teens, our list looks like this:
1) At least a partial kitchen, because we really prefer doing our own cooking 2) A decent gym and a pool for laps (I travel with a track kiddo) 3) A place for Audrey to run outdoors 4) Somewhere for everyone to sleep, but couch beds/murphy beds are just fine. 5) Two bathrooms are a BIG PLUS 6) Laundry somewhere nearby

How have your wants/needs changed as you've grown into timeshares?

 

[Paumavista]

We have also changed & are back looking at timeshares much more for our vacations.....one of our biggest changes is the size of our family....over the years between our young sons (now both in their 20s) and however many foster children we had, we absolutely needed at least 2-4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen and laundry. But we just spent 3 weeks in Captiva without a laundry in the unit and for the two of us it wasn't an issue to go downstairs and use the laundry. I still want a full kitchen & I don't like studio's even though it's just the two of us. But we can now come back to using timeshares much more often......for many years timesharing just didn't meet our needs (so we used airbnb, vrbo, booking....much more frequently for larger units).

 

[AwayWeGo]

We were already retired when we caught the timeshare bug. But we were new grandparents, & that became a factor. Our daughter-in-law & grandson were (& still are) major serious Disney fans, so the proximity to WDW of our non-Disney Orlando & Kissimmee timeshares was & is a big plus.

A major extended family highlight was a Thanksgiving holiday when our grandson & his parents & his other set of grandparents all stayed together in our newly acquired & outstanding 3BR timeshare 1 mile from the entrance to Downtown Disney (later renamed Disney Springs). That weekend, The Chief Of Staff's sister & husband were at the Fort Wilderness Disney campground in their Class B motorhome. Their son & granddaughters were at a Disney on-site resort. Our whole crowd got together for Thanksgiving Dinner at an extremely crowded & noisy Disney dining hall -- & had a fabulous time, never to be forgotten.

The Chief Of Staff & I have had a great time at all the fabulous & semi-fabulous & not-so-fabulous timeshares where we've stayed by ourselves, just the 2 of us. But we have specially enjoyed sharing the timeshare experience with family & friends -- including TUG acquaintances with whom we formed friendships over the years.

For several years, an extremely congenial TUG crowd got together every January in Orlando, at somebody's timeshare unit at 1st, then in later years at a popular restaurant. Cancellation of that event last month was part of the unfortunate fallout from the big covid-19 pandemic. Here's hoping the TUG meet-up gets scheduled again for January 2022.

Some years our January timeshare vacations in Orlando coincided with our grandson's Martin Luther King Jr. school holidays, providing an opportunity for our grandson to go to Disney with Papa & Grandma over a 3-day weekend. We'd meet him at MCO Friday night, go to our timeshare for the night, & hit the parks early Saturday & again Sunday & once more Monday before taking him back to MCO for his flight home. Our grandson was OK with sleeping on the pull-out sofa if we were in a 1BR timeshare unit, but everybody was happier when we were in 2BA-2BR units.

One January, not only our grandson flew to Orlando, but so did 2 of his girl 2nd cousins also, each girl with a friend -- 5 kids traveling together, with the oldest (a 17-year-old girl) in charge. (Our grandson was the youngest of the bunch.) With us in Orlando that time were The Chief Of Staff's sister & her husband, grandparents of the 2 cousins. They had their own timeshare reservation that time.

All was well, except that the kids' flight from DCA was delayed, bigtime. By the time of the flight's scheduled arrival at MCO, the plane was still on the ground at DCA. That naturally caused a certain level of anxiety among the older generation. But when the plane finally got there, the kids were bouncy & happy as could be striding down the hallway to the place where we old folks had been waiting for hours & hours. We went straight to our resort with our grandson. Because of the late night, we suspected he would sleep in next morning. Wrong. Bright & early, he was up & ready to go.

In the years since, our grandson has joined us for a few more January long weekends, but not this year. (Shux, we didn't even go to Orlando ourselves in January 2021 -- gave away our timeshare reservation & everything.) Our grandson is a high school senior now, & what he'll be doing in January 2022 & beyond is a complete unknown.

Meanwhile, our younger son & daughter in law, who formerly lived in California, now live in Florida. That means we get to see them & their 2 daughters when we go to Florida. In 2020, that was in January. This year, it's going to be March.

Our granddaughters had sleepovers with us in our timeshare units last year, & there will be more timeshare sleepovers with them when we go back to Florida next month. Sure, the kids would be OK with sleep-sofas. But 2BR units with more beds & more bathrooms are a big convenience for everybody.

Our timeshare focus still centers on Orlando & Kissimmee FL. But as the kids grow, we put more emphasis on units suitable for family groups than just for ourselves as a couple.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[missyrcrews]

Alan, that is what I look forward to someday! Still many years off. Hosting my adult children and their kids will be a treat someday.

And Paumavista, I'm starting to think about what it might be like to travel by myself. Not having to constantly look for "sleeps 6" will take some adjusting, but I'll do it. Just think how far my tpu's will go when I can book a studio or 1 BR.

I think that one of the great things about timesharing is how they can change to suit where one is in life. From traveling with babies, to traveling with teens, to traveling alone...I think they will work for me for quite some time.

 

[moonstone]

When we travelled with our 3 kids I always tried to get at least a 2 bedroom, 3 or 2 with a loft was even better. In those days (pre-computer) when calling RCI to book an Extra or Last Call a friend told me to say there were 7 (instead of 5) of us travelling which usually resulted in getting at least a 2 bedroom unit. A washer and dryer in the unit was always important, as was 2 bathrooms. The kids would say a place with cable tv and a heated pool were most important to them since we lived in a rural area and could only get 3 channels.
Now that we are empty nesters a 1 bedroom is just fine but 2 bathrooms (or 1 1/2) are really nice. I always look for a full kitchen but have made do with a partial or mini since we drive and I can bring an electric skillet and slow cooker. If we are travelling with our adult kids and the grandkids I look for a lockout unit so the kids can have their own space and TV.

~Diane

 

[sun starved Gayle]

When our girls were teens, the unit needed to have 3 beds as they hated sharing a bed. Now we need only one bed, preferably a king.

 

[vacationtime1]

When our girls were teens, the unit needed to have 3 beds as they hated sharing a bed. Now we need only one bed, preferably a king.

Exactly. Although we still "need" a kitchen and like having laundry.

 

[CPNY]

I require no demand kitchens, balconies, and washer dryers in unit. I won’t book studios and rarely 1 bedroom deluxe units.

 

[geist1223]

We tend to like 2 bedrooms even if it is only the 2 of us. We like the 2 bathrooms that normally come with 2 bedrooms and above. The spare bedroom stores all gear. Hate 1 bedrooms where the only access to the bathroom is through the bedroom. I wake up much earlier than Patti.

 

[klpca]

I'm good with almost anything but AC is a must have and a full kitchen is a close second.

 

[geekette]

Alan, that is what I look forward to someday! Still many years off. Hosting my adult children and their kids will be a treat someday.

And Paumavista, I'm starting to think about what it might be like to travel by myself. Not having to constantly look for "sleeps 6" will take some adjusting, but I'll do it. Just think how far my tpu's will go when I can book a studio or 1 BR.

I think that one of the great things about timesharing is how they can change to suit where one is in life. From traveling with babies, to traveling with teens, to traveling alone...I think they will work for me for quite some time.

I travel solo a lot more now, and totally dig it. Now that I'm divorced, it's also a lot easier to invite whoever I want without someone whining about it. I can come and go as I please. If I feel like I need some beach time, I can just go do it.

I am calling myself semi-retired, and retirement was really going to be the timeshare prize. So far, oh yeah, this is working for me!!!

I do want to have some larger group trips, whether that is family or convincing friends to finally do that whitewater rafting trip.

I finally close on my house and move Wednesday. For me, the fun has only begun, 20 or so years into timesharing...

 

[pedro47]

Now it Is just the two of us and sometime my spouse sister. We still need a two bedrooms villa , full kitchen, two bathrooms , a washer and dryer in the unit, internet and a balcony.

The new must now, we must stay two consecutive weeks at the same resort or two consecutive weeks in Williamsburg, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Orlando, Vegas or San Diego.

 

[geekette]

Now it Is just the two of us and sometime my spouse sister. We still need a two bedrooms villa , full kitchen, two bathrooms , a washer and dryer in the unit, internet and a balcony.

The new must now, we must stay two consecutive weeks at the same resort or two consecutive weeks in Williamsburg, Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Orlando, Vegas or San Diego.

Oooh, a 2 week stay! Yeah, I have not done that throughout my career, I was not allowed to be gone that long.

 

[pedro47]

Oooh, a 2 week stay! Yeah, I have not done that throughout my career, I was not allowed to be gone that long.

Before, I retired twenty years ago. I never had a two consecutive week vacation.

I even worked the day of and the night before when the Year 2000 came in.

 

[geist1223]

When I was still working if I only went for 1 week I found my Desk piled high when I got back and lots of unanswered emails/Fones calls. Even though I turned on the Out of office and forwarded them to the person watching my Desk. I think the attitude was oh Tom will be back in a week. If I was gone 2 weeks the person watching my Desk had to do most of the work.

 

[bogey21]

After I retired and the kids were gone I changed my portfolio to Fixed Weeks/Fixed Units in places I wanted to visit annually. The important thing to me was location and assured availability. As an aside, this was a heck of a lot less expensive both in acquisition costs and MFs...

George

 

[beejaybeeohio]

Downsizing....
When we first became t/s owners we wanted to exchange for a similar type unit: 2 bedrooms/2+baths/in-unit laundry, outdoor space, etc. expecially since RCI was week for week back then. Now that we can get up to 45 TPUs for our week at the Peek, we book primarily for location. This year we have 3 exchanges with 1 TPU leftover for those 45 TPUs: a three bedroom at Crown Point Condos in Ruidoso, NM, a studio at Wyndham Taos and a 2 bedroom at Tanglwood Resort in PA's Poconos.

Even though it is just DH and I, 2 bedrooms/2 baths are our unit configuration of choice because we can invite another couple to join us. In unit laundry is a plus, but we can survive without that feature, especially if the resort has facilities onsite. Studios are acceptable (Inn at Bethel & Club Dobogomajor) if there is at least a partial kitchen and an outdoor space- not sure if the Wyndham Taos has this in our unit, but that part of NM has been on my bucket list.

For our current OGS for Portugal and France, I've requested 1 bedroom sleeps 4, although there is one resort in Portugal with studios only I would love to find a way to include!

 

[geekette]

Before, I retired twenty years ago. I never had a two consecutive week vacation.

I even worked the day of and the night before when the Year 2000 came in.

I was IT, the run up was crazy, then I was 'critical' the first few days into 2000. Crazy days, weren't they?

I never found one week off to be especially refreshing. To me, it does take 2 weeks to melt the stress, get real rest, and feel anywhere near "ready" to jump back into the rat race. Never got to hit the point of Ahhhhh during career.

 

[geekette]

When I was still working if I only went for 1 week I found my Desk piled high when I got back and lots of unanswered emails/Fones calls. Even though I turned on the Out of office and forwarded them to the person watching my Desk. I think the attitude was oh Tom will be back in a week. If I was gone 2 weeks the person watching my Desk had to do most of the work.

Backup, what's that?? lol

I started travelling internationally to not be called on my vacation. Folks can open the darned book of documentation that I kept updated. Or, hey, corporate can commit to making sure they have a deep bench for critical systems. that doesn't happen in my experience.

 

[AwayWeGo]

When our girls were teens, the unit needed to have 3 beds as they hated sharing a bed. Now we need only one bed, preferably a king.

We got our nephew & his family (wife + 2 young teen daughters) a reservation into a fabulous 2BR Orlando timeshare unit that was super-deluxe, with 2 queen beds in the 2nd bedroom.

The resort was so nice with so much great stuff on site that the family canceled 1 of their planned Disney World park days just so they could stay at the timeshare & enjoy the outstanding pool & activities right there.

Each girl slept in her own queen-size bed.

Their dad said the only thing they had to fight over was the TV remote control.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[silentg]

Over the years, wehave stayed in many configurations of timeshares. Our first Timeshare was a one bedroom one bath tiny timeshare in rural Vermont. We enjoyed stays there when kids were small. We also traded to other timeshares thru RCI in similar sized timeshares in FL and PA. Later we bought a South Africa one bedroom to use for trades exclusively and got some really nice places, New England, Las Vegas, South Florida, Branson,
Now the kids are on their own and hardly travel with us. We have booked exchanges for them a few times, and I started acquiring a lot more weeks, having owned 10 different weeks. I have relinquished all but 3 timeshares now.
Because mostly traveling with my husband, and he has retired and is starting to be more content to stay home.
We enjoy our home, but I still have the travel bug. Plans in place now to start traveling in April.
Hoping for many more exciting and healthy Timeshare travels.

 

[nerodog]

Great and interesting thread. I do love
a washer /dryer in unit or premises. Sure helps with packing! I also like a restaurant right on grounds . A balcony is always nice and 2BR. Although, we have had many 1BR in Madeira and Austria which were perfectly fine and comfy. It really depends if we have friends /family joining us on the trip. For Vt , we have a 3 BR because there will 6 of us. I also like some resorts that offer day trips of the area.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Beach/Hawaii resort with family (2 college kids) 1) Lanai with view; 2) 2 bathrooms 3) separate rooms for children to sleep 4) (laundry can be down the hall but prefer in unit); 5) Pool/amenities

Ski (just us): 1) Studio fine but need kitchen 2) prefer washer dryer in unit 3) fireplace 4) view

As our kids leave college and age out, I can see locking off our Hawaii unit and needing less as we will eat out more. Still want at least small kitchen for am and lunch meals.

 

[pedro47]

I was IT, the run up was crazy, then I was 'critical' the first few days into 2000. Crazy days, weren't they?

I never found one week off to be especially refreshing. To me, it does take 2 weeks to melt the stress, get real rest, and feel anywhere near "ready" to jump back into the rat race. Never got to hit the point of Ahhhhh during career.

This is a weird question for geekette on January 1, 2020. I worked for a federal agency and we did not have one and again not one problem with YK2000.
Did you or your company have any computer problems? Yes! There were people problems.
There were individuals who wanted to find something wrong with the computer system hardware or software.
We had zero problems , and we could not find one problem.

 

[jmhpsu93]

When our daughter was young, we could just throw her onto any couch and we were good. As she grew into a teen and now adult (gasp!!!) she needs her own space so we don't do less than 2BR. In 2020 another non-negotiable attribute was good wifi for me working there, and a decent space to set up (so that effectively adds another bedroom to the requirement).

In Mexico where we own, don't care about a full kitchen as it's an all-inclusive. For Marriott/Vistana we cook so we need it. Ditto for laundry, though our two-week stay at the all-inclusive included a bus trip to a local lavanderia. Both my daughter and I swim competitively, so a lap pool or at least a resort pool we can make do are a must (and that wasn't the case ten years ago).

We're both around 50 so I don't see those needs changing anytime soon - we plan on using our TSs to "winter" a bit plus a couple of vacations a year, so it mostly depends on occupancy.