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Why does everyone want out of Vacation Village in Orlando, FL? What am I missing?

GLobbins57

TUG Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2021
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Location
Germantown, TN
Resorts Owned
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I see a flood of listings for Vacation Village in Orlando, FL. for $1. It is central to Disney Springs and ESPN. I believe it is RCI points. What am I missing?
 
I've wondered about this also. I've stayed there for a couple of days and I thought it was a nice resort if your just looking for a place to stay and close to the parks. Granted I was able to stay in one of the new buildings too.
 
It's not the newest resort. People age and theme parks are not as attractive to older people. Folks get tired of paying annual fees for something they don't use. If they don't have or charge too much to deed your week(s) back to the resort, the only option is to sell, and if there are dozens for sale for $1, the market says that's what they are worth.

I don't think you're missing anything.
 
It's a perfectly adequate resort with a location that is surprisingly convenient in practice; I think there is only one traffic light between it and the Disney campus. But, it is a HUGE resort---and lots of owners means lots of units for sale. There is zero brand name recognition in an area with tons of brand-name resorts. The units are fine, but there is nothing special about them, and the last time I was there they felt distinctly "cheaper" in terms of fit and finish compared to other resorts, and the immediately surrounding commercial area left a lot to be desired.

Given the many other high-quality resorts in the area available for only a few dollars more, this is a hard sell. It's better if the unit has been converted to Points, but I bet a lot of those haven't been.
 
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It's also that time of the year when people want to divest before maintenance fees are due.

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To survive in Orlando a timeshare resort must keep up with many other timeshare resorts and hotels.
 
Let me just say that if you get one of the older units in the rear, some are awful. I joined friends there back in June and was so disgusted. The last 3 times I stayed previously, we were in the new buildings. I think we were in 18 and it faced the highway. The noise was terrible and we never used the balcony. There were problems in the unit that should have been addressed some time ago. I gave up complaining and decided to enjoy my time with friends, but I really dislike that setup in the back. And, there was a bad odor. I don't understand why the owners don't complain about that $25 amenities fee. I never used any of the facilities, but that fee is mandatory. Also, the maintenance fees are pretty steep. One thing I've noticed is that they tend to split those A/B or C units into one bedrooms. You rarely find a two bedroom unit on RCI. They make more money by having you purchase two units when vacationing. I used to enjoy staying here, but not anymore.
 
We've stayed at VV at Pkwy a number of times with our granddaughters in the buildings 1-6 section where the playground is. We never had any complaints about our units. Earlier this year was our first time staying there without either granddaughter. They put us in building 20, where the main pool is, which we enjoyed.

The amenities fee is now $30 and I hope to see all the activities come back. We and our granddaughters so enjoyed the face painting, sno-cones, movie nights at the pools and the games and activities at the pools.

When I didn't have a two bedroom booked I usually got the requested free upgrade to a two bedroom within 14 days of check in. I pay to have the platinum benefits on our RCI points account.

This is what I've observed. A number of owners wanting out at this resort are fixed week owners. Over and over I've seen owners saying they aren't using their week, or in some cases haven't ever used their week. They don't seem to know that they can deposit their week and get TPUs, Trading Power Units, to go to other places.

With any timeshare system, be It fixed weeks or points, failing to learn the system and how to make the best use of what they own is the single biggest cause of owners being unhappy with what they own.
 
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Vacation Village Resorts in Weston was nice enough but not really what I call a resort. We had thought about adding Vacation Village to our timeshare portfolio because they are a multi-destination ownership is what we were told at a presentation years ago. As far as it selling for $1 on ebay, isn't that common. I haven't been watching any V V for years.

Bill
 
I saw the number of listings on TUG nearly double after the talking timeshares episode "selling" it....its really a nice resort especially considering its free!

hope folks are finding buyers for those giveaway units! There are currently more than 50 active listings!

 
grandview has two dozen active giveaways...dont think anything is happening there either!

will be a fun test, because im going to make the same video for grandview as I did for VVP. might bump that up to next week to start the test early!
 
We've stayed at VV at Pkwy a number of times with our granddaughters in the buildings 1-6 section where the playground is. We never had any complaints about our units. Earlier this year was our first time staying there without either granddaughter. They put us in building 20, where the main pool is, which we enjoyed.

The amenities fee is now $30 and I hope to see all the activities come back. We and our granddaughters so enjoyed the face painting, sno-cones, movie nights at the pools and the games and activities at the pools.

When I didn't have a two bedroom booked I usually got the requested free upgrade to a two bedroom within 14 days of check in. I pay to have the platinum benefits on our RCI points account.

This is what I've observed. A number of owners wanting out at this resort are fixed week owners. Over and over I've seen owners saying they aren't using their week, or in some cases haven't ever used their week. They don't seem to know that they can deposit their week and get TPUs, Trading Power Units, to go to other places.

With any timeshare system, be It fixed weeks or points, failing to learn the system and how to make the best use of what they own is the single biggest cause of owners being unhappy with what they own.
The 2 times after going Platinum with RCI that we requested unit upgrades at Vacation Village At Parkway, the requests came through, once for A+C units & the other time A+B.

The value of the upgraded 2nd room -- actually, a week in a 2nd full stand-alone condo at that resort -- was worth lots more than the cost of a year of RCI Platinum status.

BTW, Vacation Village At Parkway is where we caught the timeshare bug in 2002. (At the time, when the timeshare sellers were showing us Vacation Village At Parkway, I thought they were selling what turned out to be Parkway International Resort. Who knew?) On the sales tour, we were shown an exact, detailed, fully furnished & complete stand-alone mock-up of a Vacation Village At Parkway A+B 2BR lock-off unit, housed in a temporary building. We were not shown an actual unit in a resort tower, possibly because construction was still underway & no finished units were ready, I don't know. Regardless, we were beyond impressed -- wowed actually. We did not buy because of the price ($18,500) & because we are resistant to sales pressure aimed at getting us to buy now-now-now. But the seed had been planted. We soon discovered the resale timeshare market & bought a nice 3BR lock-off floating-week unit at Cypress Pointe (Orlando). The rest is history.

Part of that history is getting to stay at Vacation Village At Parkway a few times as non-owners via RCI. Later, we actually bought a Vacation Village At Parkway points unit via eBay. Even then, when we stayed at Vacation Village At Parkway we went via last call, etc., rather than using our own paid-for time. Our last & likely final buy/sell timeshare transaction was to sell off our Vacation Village At Parkway 2BR points unit & buy (resale) an equivalent 1BR Grandview At Las Vegas points unit -- roughly half the points for about 1/2 the maintenance fee. We still enjoy Vacation Village At Parkway greatly & hope to keep on getting bargain reservations for future timeshare vacations there with our daughter-in-law & granddaughters.

Added Note: When RCI Platinum Unit Upgrade comes through on a Vacation Village At Parkway 1BR reservation, the upgrade actually gets us 2 complete stand-alone adjoining 1BR condos instead of 1 condo with 2 bedrooms & 2 bathrooms. When the upgrade comes through (as it has both times we put in requests for it), we get 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, 2 dining areas, 2 kitchens, 2 washer-dryers, 2 balconies, 2 sleep-sofas, 2 everything. It was ideal when we were there with our son & daughter-in-law & 2 granddaughters, & has been just right when we've stayed there with 2 granddaughters plus 2 friends. The kids love the units & specially love the pools. Our older granddaughter (13) said that of all the nice places we've taken them in Orlando & Kissimmee, she likes Vacation Village At Parkway the best.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​
 
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In a sea of Orlando timeshares, Parkview is in the "OK" class, but the amount of competition in that category is endless.

I found the Grandview, where I own, a bit nicer and I like the location a bit away from the main part of The Strip but next door to a casino.

I think Vacation Villages is positioned a step below the luxury market, and that segment is getting squeezed more than ever.

For owners who want to pick up a cheap resale, use it for a while, then sell, I think the Grandview is a good fit, especially in points.
 
I think Vacation Villages is positioned a step below the luxury market
I think this is right. We have been to their Palm Beach Shores location many many times, usually in February. It's not going to win any fit-and-finish awards, but it is in a super location right on the beach, it is comfortable, and has some nice amenities. I suspect if we hadn't taken an exchange there, we'd never have given it a second glance, but now that we've stayed there it's on our "that's a place we'd go back to" list. But, it's also between two super nice Marriotts, both also on the beach, and both much swankier.
 
The amenities fee of $25 or $30 is actually not payable by owners not even if you come in through RCI At least not for Grandview owners.

im a grandview owner too and are part of a Facebook group and they tell that the resort try to charge you the fee and if you can’t convince them they shouldn’t as you are an owner then you should ask to talk to the manager as he is informed.

I assume that this policy is in place for all dailymanagement resort hotels so it might be worth a try.
 
It's also that time of the year when people want to divest before maintenance fees are due.

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I‘ve owned there over 10 years and my total maintenance fees are now exceeding the original purchase price. Aggghhh!
while the location is good, the property is aging fairly well but after spending 2 weeks there in January, I’ll exchange rather than return.
As is the case with other huge resorts, the supply far exceeds the demands for ownership. The annual budget shows millions of $$ for bad debt which I suspect is foreclosures that lawyers haven’t successfully retrieved.
 
I own a lot of points there... and am embarrassed I have never been.
 
I think time sharing has come to a tipping point where many people are wanting out. 2020 did not do the industry any favors. It's gotten to where big management companies have milked the owners to the point that they are about to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs through greed and mismanagement. Who wants to be the last owner out?
 
I think time sharing has come to a tipping point where many people are wanting out. 2020 did not do the industry any favors. It's gotten to where big management companies have milked the owners to the point that they are about to kill the goose that laid the golden eggs through greed and mismanagement. Who wants to be the last owner out?

That why I like member-controlled resorts with active hands-on HOA boards.
 
I assume that this policy is in place for all dailymanagement resort hotels so it might be worth a try.

This reflects my experience at the Colonies (CWQ) in Williamsburg.

I would humbly suggest that a moderator @TUGBrian move this thread to the VV forum as it is principally a discussion of a VV property.
 
I am actually am hoping to stay there on an "bonus" exchange this year- I appreciate that daily management has some pet friendly resorts...
 
I own a lot of points there... and am embarrassed I have never been.

Don't be. We owned at Grandview at Law Vegas for 5 or 6 years before we ever stayed there. This year will be 11 years of owning there and we've still only stayed there 3 times. It would likely have been more but Vegas has been greatly impacted by Covid and since then it's the cost of rental cars.

We've made excellent use of our points from owning there.
 
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