New to club Wyndham

[ShawnH]

My husband and I are in a similar situation. We spent so long building our business that we needed to be forced to take vacations. We have reprioritized our life and now take a long weekend at the very least every other month. With this holiday weekend we will be at 22 days on vacation this year (counting weekends) and we will have prob another 33 or so additional days through the rest of the year. Our kids love it and it helps us get through the burn out of owning a business by always having something to look forward to.

Well this is the plan though I’m not sure we will take that many weekends, at least not anytime soon.

 

[cbyrne1174]

I don’t know, maybe you’re right, but I know I’m going to see how well what we have works for us, plus we have 300k bonus points that don’t expire until 2025. So I think for the next couple of years anyways we might be fine, plus we have temporary vip silver which could save us some points booking inside the vip window. We contemplated a trip in a month of so but have highly limited free time and nothing is available within the time frame we have to work with but the savings I points seems significant if it did pan out.

It looks like we will try a bonnet creek trip for 7 nights and so far the weeks we are looking at only will take a bit over 150k points meaning we could roll those remaining points over and use them next use year or find a small 2-3 night stay before use year end.

Like I said we tend to do a small vacation for one or 2 years then a big one, but that didn’t happen like we thought for about a decade. We did manage to finally take our Disney vacation last September that we originally were going to take in 2020, and for what I spent on that I, embarrassingly, could have paid for this contract in cash and had change.

Try using the points to stay in a "Presidential Reserve" unit when staying at Bonnet Creek. You are guarenteed to be on the 16-19th floor in Tower 6 with a view of either Hollywood Studios, Epcot or Disney Springs. It's worth the point difference in my opinion. The price of a 1 bedroom presidential is the same cost as a 2 bedroom deluxe. I just never get the chance to use the rooms because I always book Bonnet Creek less than 30 days out since I live an hour away.

Truth be told, I like using Wyndham resale points to stay at BC over using resale DVC points to stay DVC. Last week, I paid $78 per night to stay in a 1 bedroom deluxe at Bonnet Creek (it was discounted 35%) and I spent $248 to stay in a studio at the Poly using DVC points (calculated as buy in cost + dues). Was the room worth over 3x the price? No. Obviously the math isn't the same for you because you paid retail, but it still is a huge difference in price. DVC loses its magic after the first few times you stay at a resort. After that, you start thinking of the economics. I can stay in a 2 bedroom Presidential Reserve unit at Bonnet Creek for less per night than that Poly studio. I only will stay at the Poly for a single night just to get the vibes for a day or two then go home or hop over to Bonnet Creek. I also takes 10 mins to get anywhere on Disney property from your room. I actually calculated how much time I saved staying a night at the Poly vs Bonnet Creek after an extending evening hours event. Walking to my longhouse at the Poly from the TTC was 14 minutes faster than going to my car from the TTC and driving to BC and getting back to my room.

 

[lotus921v]

Well this is the plan though I’m not sure we will take that many weekends, at least not anytime soon.

We just started taking a vacation a year and a half ago. I now check TUG daily and am constantly thinking of where to go next. I also check the interval getaways and RCI last calls daily . It gets addicting!

 

[ShawnH]

Try using the points to stay in a "Presidential Reserve" unit when staying at Bonnet Creek. You are guarenteed to be on the 16-19th floor in Tower 6 with a view of either Hollywood Studios, Epcot or Disney Springs. It's worth the point difference in my opinion. The price of a 1 bedroom presidential is the same cost as a 2 bedroom deluxe. I just never get the chance to use the rooms because I always book Bonnet Creek less than 30 days out since I live an hour away.

Truth be told, I like using Wyndham resale points to stay at BC over using resale DVC points to stay DVC. Last week, I paid $78 per night to stay in a 1 bedroom deluxe at Bonnet Creek (it was discounted 35%) and I spent $248 to stay in a studio at the Poly using DVC points (calculated as buy in cost + dues). Was the room worth over 3x the price? No. Obviously the math isn't the same for you because you paid retail, but it still is a huge difference in price. DVC loses its magic after the first few times you stay at a resort. After that, you start thinking of the economics. I can stay in a 2 bedroom Presidential Reserve unit at Bonnet Creek for less per night than that Poly studio. I only will stay at the Poly for a single night just to get the vibes for a day or two then go home or hop over to Bonnet Creek. I also takes 10 mins to get anywhere on Disney property from your room. I actually calculated how much time I saved staying a night at the Poly vs Bonnet Creek after an extending evening hours event. Walking to my longhouse at the Poly from the TTC was 14 minutes faster than going to my car from the TTC and driving to BC and getting back to my room.

True way I figure it disneyworld is a new frontier for me, and there are lots of resorts there that are attractive for different reasons. I’m not sure if I bought retail what the sunset date on the contract would be but it’s likely I’d visit a Disney property 7-8 times, assuming I buy retail, and some of those visits would be to Disneyland. I just mentioned the Polynesian because when I was growing up looking at magazines of those resorts getting built and dreaming of getting to go, then later in life knowing people that have stayed and how happy they were.

I have a lot of family history at Disneyland, and since my grandparents and parents are both gone, as corny as it sounds, I really feel a bit of a connection with them and remember those vacations from when I was quite young. My grandfather was even a member of club 33 at one point in my youth and I recall sitting at a table in club 33 while my grandpa ordered margaritas for the table and I made my dad mad for ordering lobster, to which my grandpa said “he needs try it to see if he likes it”, I did btw.

Those vacations are among the most memorable times from my very young years, and my kids remember those vacations far more then some of the others we’ve taken, though I’ve tried to give my kids a lot of different experiences beyond Disney vacations.

However, my wife has enjoyed those vacations, she’s a bigger woman and has a lot of fear about not being able to fit on rides so she didn’t try as much as she’d have liked to. And while she did try more then I’ve ever seen her try out last trip she was far outside her comfort zone and fears a dvc ownership means constant Disneyland or Disney world trips, which is a valid concern, and why she choose to go with Wyndham, and I didn’t buck her on it. But now she’s upset that the salesman lied about trading into DVC properties and feels guilty. Me being optimistic believe we can still make club Wyndham work, maybe it’s better we have it and can add dvc later.

Though i will say bonnet creek looks like a very nice resort. I’m actually really looking forward to visiting that resort. I’ve already
Looked at reviews online and most seem very positive and the photos look as nice as what Wyndham has provided so that good. Also thanks for the tip on the presidential reserve room. Maybe getting that room will make my wife feel important, because that was one thing she really was impressed by in the San Antonio resort, the ability to afford a nice suite like that made her feel like she had accomplished a goal and was able to actually sit in the room and relax, unlike a regular motel or hotel room. Plus I’ve been looking at resorts assorted around the country and found quite a few that I’d like to visit with my wife and little one, kinda like the wife and I used to take before we started our businesses, the older kids are working now and only want to go on a few trips.

Im seriously soaking up and considering all the advice everyone is giving me. And honestly I’ve felt as but better about our purchase talking this out with experienced people on here. Yeah I regret I bought direct and didn’t meet the minimum requirement for bronze and could have saved a ton going resale but I’m not going to let that spur the experience since we basically spent what we already were prepared to spend, and hopefully my wife enjoys the choices we have available.

 

[cbyrne1174]

True way I figure it disneyworld is a new frontier for me, and there are lots of resorts there that are attractive for different reasons. I’m not sure if I bought retail what the sunset date on the contract would be but it’s likely I’d visit a Disney property 7-8 times, assuming I buy retail, and some of those visits would be to Disneyland. I just mentioned the Polynesian because when I was growing up looking at magazines of those resorts getting built and dreaming of getting to go, then later in life knowing people that have stayed and how happy they were.

I have a lot of family history at Disneyland, and since my grandparents and parents are both gone, as corny as it sounds, I really feel a bit of a connection with them and remember those vacations from when I was quite young. My grandfather was even a member of club 33 at one point in my youth and I recall sitting at a table in club 33 while my grandpa ordered margaritas for the table and I made my dad mad for ordering lobster, to which my grandpa said “he needs try it to see if he likes it”, I did btw.

Those vacations are among the most memorable times from my very young years, and my kids remember those vacations far more then some of the others we’ve taken, though I’ve tried to give my kids a lot of different experiences beyond Disney vacations.

However, my wife has enjoyed those vacations, she’s a bigger woman and has a lot of fear about not being able to fit on rides so she didn’t try as much as she’d have liked to. And while she did try more then I’ve ever seen her try out last trip she was far outside her comfort zone and fears a dvc ownership means constant Disneyland or Disney world trips, which is a valid concern, and why she choose to go with Wyndham, and I didn’t buck her on it. But now she’s upset that the salesman lied about trading into DVC properties and feels guilty. Me being optimistic believe we can still make club Wyndham work, maybe it’s better we have it and can add dvc later.

Though i will say bonnet creek looks like a very nice resort. I’m actually really looking forward to visiting that resort. I’ve already
Looked at reviews online and most seem very positive and the photos look as nice as what Wyndham has provided so that good. Also thanks for the tip on the presidential reserve room. Maybe getting that room will make my wife feel important, because that was one thing she really was impressed by in the San Antonio resort, the ability to afford a nice suite like that made her feel like she had accomplished a goal and was able to actually sit in the room and relax, unlike a regular motel or hotel room. Plus I’ve been looking at resorts assorted around the country and found quite a few that I’d like to visit with my wife and little one, kinda like the wife and I used to take before we started our businesses, the older kids are working now and only want to go on a few trips.

Im seriously soaking up and considering all the advice everyone is giving me. And honestly I’ve felt as but better about our purchase talking this out with experienced people on here. Yeah I regret I bought direct and didn’t meet the minimum requirement for bronze and could have saved a ton going resale but I’m not going to let that spur the experience since we basically spent what we already were prepared to spend, and hopefully my wife enjoys the choices we have available.

My advice would honestly be to add a Marriott resale week on later before DVC. You can always exchange your week for DVC or use it to stay at a Marriott. The trick is to buy a lock off deed at a low MF location, split the lockoff into 2 units and trade both units individually to get 2 weeks. Marriott does have every other year deeds, so it can work out to be 1 week a year if you buy an every other year deed.

Look at the Marriott locations vs the Wyndham ones. They're a step up. Also, there is a Wyndham within 15 mins of most Marriott locations, so if you're looking to stay more than 7 nights, you add a few nights at the Wyndham. I did a St Thomas trip last year that way. I stayed at the Marriott, which is the best resort on the island and paid about $1100 for a 2 bedroom for the week and added on 5 nights at the Wyndham Limetree for a total of 12 nights.

I have 50 DVC points and don't really have addonitis because of the buy in cost. I'm okay with the exchange inventory in Interval International (mostly Saratoga Springs and Old Key West). I also can exchange into Marriott's Lakeshore Reserve, which is my favorite Orlando resort (more than any DVC location). It's connected to the JW and Ritz Carleton and you can access those hotels with a 5 min walk.

 

[ShawnH]

My advice would honestly be to add a Marriott resale week on later before DVC. You can always exchange your week for DVC or use it to stay at a Marriott. The trick is to buy a lock off deed at a low MF location, split the lockoff into 2 units and trade both units individually to get 2 weeks. Marriott does have every other year deeds, so it can work out to be 1 week a year if you buy an every other year deed.

Look at the Marriott locations vs the Wyndham ones. They're a step up. Also, there is a Wyndham within 15 mins of most Marriott locations, so if you're looking to stay more than 7 nights, you add a few nights at the Wyndham. I did a St Thomas trip last year that way. I stayed at the Marriott, which is the best resort on the island and paid about $1100 for a 2 bedroom for the week and added on 5 nights at the Wyndham Limetree for a total of 12 nights.

I have 50 DVC points and don't really have addonitis because of the buy in cost. I'm okay with the exchange inventory in Interval International (mostly Saratoga Springs and Old Key West). I also can exchange into Marriott's Lakeshore Reserve, which is my favorite Orlando resort (more than any DVC location). It's connected to the JW and Ritz Carleton and you can access those hotels with a 5 min walk.

This is some good information to consider, thank you. I’ve also heard that the Marriott in Hawaii is pretty nice too. I think we may know someone that had a Marriott timeshare so next time I get a chance I might visit with them about it.

I shared a lot of what I learned today with the wife, and she’s frustrated that there isnt some thing that offered everything lol. But as I sit back and really think about it while I didn’t get the best deal on what we did buy it’s still better then what others have got retail and we did t get as much of the sales pitch woes as others. Plus my wife has a lot of other resorts to choose from. We just were looking at all of the ones within reasonable driving distance and figured we’d like to try most of the Colorado resorts, a few in New Mexico, maybe try the Vegas one as we used to try for 4 days in Vegas in the old days, Sedona, Branson, and maybe a few more of the Texas resorts. I also showed her the bonnet creek resort and she thought it was pretty nice, and we talked about if our friends really did want to go together getting one of those bigger rooms and having them show us around Disney world since they know their way around and maybe in a few years doing it again at Disneyland and showing them around there since that’s our area we know and they have never been.

So I guess we are feeling a little better over all and have a plan for now and are building a future plan. Which is better than we’ve done for the last 10 years or so so I guess that’s a positive. Actually it was kinda nice to talk about something that wasn’t related to either one of our businesses tonight.

 

[cbyrne1174]

This is some good information to consider, thank you. I’ve also heard that the Marriott in Hawaii is pretty nice too. I think we may know someone that had a Marriott timeshare so next time I get a chance I might visit with them about it.

I shared a lot of what I learned today with the wife, and she’s frustrated that there isnt some thing that offered everything lol. But as I sit back and really think about it while I didn’t get the best deal on what we did buy it’s still better then what others have got retail and we did t get as much of the sales pitch woes as others. Plus my wife has a lot of other resorts to choose from. We just were looking at all of the ones within reasonable driving distance and figured we’d like to try most of the Colorado resorts, a few in New Mexico, maybe try the Vegas one as we used to try for 4 days in Vegas in the old days, Sedona, Branson, and maybe a few more of the Texas resorts. I also showed her the bonnet creek resort and she thought it was pretty nice, and we talked about if our friends really did want to go together getting one of those bigger rooms and having them show us around Disney world since they know their way around and maybe in a few years doing it again at Disneyland and showing them around there since that’s our area we know and they have never been.

So I guess we are feeling a little better over all and have a plan for now and are building a future plan. Which is better than we’ve done for the last 10 years or so so I guess that’s a positive. Actually it was kinda nice to talk about something that wasn’t related to either one of our businesses tonight.

One thing I want to point out that you can do but I can't is book the Worldmark resorts. If you live on the West coast, then that might be more of a benefit for you. You can always buy Worldmark credits resale as well, but it would require managing 2 accounts. Also, having a Marriott week gives you access to Interval International affiliated locations. There are a lot more high end resorts affiliated with Interval. RCI inventory is mostly 3 star with the exception of Hilton. Most of the 4 star exchange locations are affiliated with Interval International. An example of this would be the Vidanta locations.

https://www.vidanta.com/

 

[ShawnH]

One thing I want to point out that you can do but I can't is book the Worldmark resorts. If you live on the West coast, then that might be more of a benefit for you. You can always buy Worldmark credits resale as well, but it would require managing 2 accounts. Also, having a Marriott week gives you access to Interval International affiliated locations. There are a lot more high end resorts affiliated with Interval. RCI inventory is mostly 3 star with the exception of Hilton. Most of the 4 star exchange locations are affiliated with Interval International. An example of this would be the Vidanta locations.

https://www.vidanta.com/

Well I live basically right in the middle of the country, so it boils down to just figuring out where we wanna go. I was wondering about all the worldmark properties I’ve been seeing. So since I bought direct I have access to those as well? There were a couple I was interested in. I’ve been looking at several properties in the southwest to visit. Though I’m not familiar with most of the areas or what there is to do in most of them though I’m sure my wife would be content to sit and look at the scenery, I can do that for a day or so and I start to get antsy. But surely there are things to go see around most of those places. I guess the problem is we aren’t fishermen or hunters really. But I’m open to seeing what’s out there. I was looking at the Yellowstone resort but seems like the times you’d want to be there it’s all booked up and I can’t imagine going in the middle of winter.

I think the thing to do is after the few we have already decided to do is just look at places and let the wife pick one out and we will try it out, I suppose the worst that could happen is we sit around all day and do nothing, which is a first world problem at best.

 

[weems637]

The bonus points they "gave" you got you to temporary VIP. Once the bonus points period expires, your temporary VIP status goes away. They figure once you use the extra points you will buy more retail to maintain your new VIP life style.

Avoid the updates at all cost. Your blood pressure will thank you later.

 

[Rolltydr]

Avoid the updates at all cost. Your blood pressure will thank you later.

Tiny nit to pick. There are no costs if you avoid the updates. There will only be costs if you do attend. Financially and/or emotionally!

 

[ShawnH]

The bonus points they "gave" you got you to temporary VIP. Once the bonus points period expires, your temporary VIP status goes away. They figure once you use the extra points you will buy more retail to maintain your new VIP life style.

Avoid the updates at all cost. Your blood pressure will thank you later.

Yeah, been reading about “updates” and honestly I’ll just respectfully decline. My wife and I spent a fair amount of time just looking at what we could do with 200k points and currently feel we can be just fine with that amount of points. If I’m the event we decide we want more I think I might look at the Hilton points or dvc resale being aware that those will take a while to transfer and dvc specifically could get ROFRed.

And if we do decide to buy more club Wyndham we will seriously consider resale or will purchase outside of “updates”.

I kinda feel like the sales approach is bordering on illegal and is certainly deceptive. They tell you what you want to hear to get you to sign. Not only that but the “free” gifts no where near cover our time considering how much we potentially could make if we were working and isn’t worth the hassle.

 

[TheHolleys87]

I just want to chime in with a few points.

First, please join TUG. Once you do, you’ll have access to the Sightings forum, where the sticky thread for II and RCI DVC availability will probably be helpful to you.

I’ll echo others in saying that the Wyndham Bonnet Creek resort is wonderful. We only got to stay there once, but as long as you have a car it’s almost the same as staying in a Disney resort. You just don’t get the early morning/late evening access that DVC guests get. But you do get a much larger villa and access to multiple very nice pools and other on-site activities your family might enjoy. And you feel as if you’re at WDW because you have to pass the Welcome to WDW sign to get there.

We’ve owned DVC for 25+ years and now also own 2 deeded weeks on the Big Island of Hawaii, thanks to my dad, which we’ve been trading in RCI and are trying to switch to II. We used to own a tiny Shell point contract, which at first traded in II and later in RCI, before we gave it back to Wyndham. My parents previously owned several Marriott weeks as well, but sadly my dad sold them back to Marriott when Marriott was building their real estate trust. So we have stayed in many different timeshare resorts through the years, and I really, really am sorry that we weren’t in position to take over my parents’ Marriott ownership. The villas are consistently larger and nicer than DVC resorts. If you decide to expand your TS holdings, I agree with other suggestions to look into buying Marriott resale. Not only could you trade into DVC, you could stay at any of the Marriotts elsewhere, including the Ko Olina resort down the street from Aulani, and then move to another resort on another island. IOW, lots more options than if you stay with Wyndham exclusively.

 

[ShawnH]

Tiny nit to pick. There are no costs if you avoid the updates. There will only be costs if you do attend. Financially and/or emotionally!

Well it appears that every update you go to they pull a credit check, which I have an issue with. We have worked hard to improve our credit and protect that so in the event we need to use our credit we have access to the best rates. I’ve never had an 850, not sure anyone has, but we float between 790 and 810 usually, and we monitor all 3 at least monthly. We intend to check it again in a few more weeks to see what club Wyndham has done though it’s probably available now.

had a situation where we bought my wife a new vehicle a few years back at a high end dealer and they managed to do 6 hard inquiries which peeved me off to no end and I’m not sure why they did that.

 

[rickandcindy23]

It's a bit difficult to get Disney's Villas at Californian with DVC points deeded anywhere but there. Just FYI.

Now they are selling the new DVC in CA, and my interest was piqued, but I decided to forget it as a possibility. We own 250 points already at OKW, which expire when we are about 87 years old, so 2042, and I don't think Disney will offer to renew for a reasonable price, even though we have been paying pretty high fees to keep it updated regularly. We own 250 Saratoga Springs as well. I rarely actually use them ourselves. I rent them, mostly.

I see no reason to own DVC CA, even though we generally go a week or two a year, at most, and we stay at the Wyndham/ WorldMark/ Marriott resorts (Marriott's Newport Coast is a 35 minute drive to DL and is an awesome place to stay away from the madness near DL).

I am actually pretty whiny about a trip our DIL planned for October in Disneyland during fall break. That is going to be a busy time to be in DL. I want to spend time with the grandkids, but we all have AP's for DW, so why are we going to DL in October. It's a waste of money IMO.

I cannot start buying AP's for Disneyland, which are overpriced for those of us who don't live in CA. We have kept AP's most years over the the last 26 years in Disney World. We just keep renewing and try to get at least 6 weeks in each year, and I don't feel that I have to stay onsite. We love a Marriott resort near there and own Marriott, and we also own a bunch of Wyndham points to use at Bonnet Creek.

 

[ShawnH]

I just want to chime in with a few points.

First, please join TUG. Once you do, you’ll have access to the Sightings forum, where the sticky thread for II and RCI DVC availability will probably be helpful to you.

I’ll echo others in saying that the Wyndham Bonnet Creek resort is wonderful. We only got to stay there once, but as long as you have a car it’s almost the same as staying in a Disney resort. You just don’t get the early morning/late evening access that DVC guests get. But you do get a much larger villa and access to multiple very nice pools and other on-site activities your family might enjoy. And you feel as if you’re at WDW because you have to pass the Welcome to WDW sign to get there.

We’ve owned DVC for 25+ years and now also own 2 deeded weeks on the Big Island of Hawaii, thanks to my dad, which we’ve been trading in RCI and are trying to switch to II. We used to own a tiny Shell point contract, which at first traded in II and later in RCI, before we gave it back to Wyndham. My parents previously owned several Marriott weeks as well, but sadly my dad sold them back to Marriott when Marriott was building their real estate trust. So we have stayed in many different timeshare resorts through the years, and I really, really am sorry that we weren’t in position to take over my parents’ Marriott ownership. The villas are consistently larger and nicer than DVC resorts. If you decide to expand your TS holdings, I agree with other suggestions to look into buying Marriott resale. Not only could you trade into DVC, you could stay at any of the Marriotts elsewhere, including the Ko Olina resort down the street from Aulani, and then move to another resort on another island. IOW, lots more options than if you stay with Wyndham exclusively.

I’m finding out that those that really enjoy timeshares have multiple options. So it’s a consideration we are taking seriously. However my wife is skeptical since we’ve discovered the sleight of hand they told us, which after reading many others experiences in various places really is kinda minor but still egregious.

We went ahead and financed 50% of our contract since we had 6 months 0% which I verified and we will roll it over to another lower interest loan at a later date. I estimate we will have it fully paid off in 2-3 years. After that I think we should have a firm grasp on how well we like it, how to use it and probably an idea what other resorts from others we like. I will say I’m liking the Hilton idea more and more as I think about it.

I will say typically when we travel to Disney we don’t get a car, we hire private car services. I used to drive in larger cities quite a bit in my younger days and since living in a small community in the mid west just can’t tolerate traffic anymore. I’m aware that bonnet creek offers a bus service that is extra, which I have opinions both ways about but at least I know going in it’s an extra cost. I will say I doubt I’ll rent a car, I’ll just pay extra for Uber/Lyft or private car services and or the bus service offered. I want to be able to look around and enjoy being on vacation. An example is on our trip we ultimately bought our club Wyndham account on we drove and Houston, Austin, and San Antonio were not pleasant with 6 of us in the vehicle. Matter of fact when we left Corpus Christi we took us 77 to avoid most of the traffic until Waco but it added a couple of hours to the trip. I guess this is a long way of saying there are some places I have no interest in driving.

Finally I think at some point joining tug probably will happen. I believe it will be a useful tool to have available in the future. At least my wife got to a point she was willing to get over the anger hump and choose a last minute getaway before we use a chunk of points for Florida again.

The last thing I’ll touch on is the early and late magic hours. Before when we were buying from Disney direct vacations we always felt obligated to make the most of our time there to squeeze the best value out of it, and it was stressful and wore us out. We bought season passes a few years ago to a local (sorta) theme theme park and found that it wasn’t as stressful to fit everything in since we had the ability to come back anytime thruout the year. If we missed something we just said well we will do it next time. I suspect that will be the mentality with this so early magic and late hours have less appeal and we can sleep in a bit and enjoy the resort more in the evenings.

I do want to ask what resort near Disneyland is recommended as we know at some point we want to go back there. It’s changed a lot since our last visit.

 

[ShawnH]

It's a bit difficult to get Disney's Villas at Californian with DVC points deeded anywhere but there. Just FYI.

Now they are selling the new DVC in CA, and my interest was piqued, but I decided to forget it as a possibility. We own 250 points already at OKW, which expire when we are about 87 years old, so 2042, and I don't think Disney will offer to renew for a reasonable price, even though we have been paying pretty high fees to keep it updated regularly. We own 250 Saratoga Springs as well. I rarely actually use them ourselves. I rent them, mostly.

I see no reason to own DVC CA, even though we generally go a week or two a year, at most, and we stay at the Wyndham/ WorldMark/ Marriott resorts (Marriott's Newport Coast is a 35 minute drive to DL and is an awesome place to stay away from the madness near DL).

I am actually pretty whiny about a trip our DIL planned for October in Disneyland during fall break. That is going to be a busy time to be in DL. I want to spend time with the grandkids, but we all have AP's for DW, so why are we going to DL in October. It's a waste of money IMO.

I cannot start buying AP's for Disneyland, which are overpriced for those of us who don't live in CA. We have kept AP's most years over the the last 26 years in Disney World. We just keep renewing and try to get at least 6 weeks in each year, and I don't feel that I have to stay onsite. We love a Marriott resort near there and own Marriott, and we also own a bunch of Wyndham points to use at Bonnet Creek.

Yeah I was aware that grand Californian villas were extremely difficult to get since they didn’t have a lot to start with. We were waiting for the Disney towers contracts to make a move, and I gotta be honest before we bought the Wyndham TS I was more contemplating a Rivera home resort over Disneyland.

But as I said in a previous post I have a pretty deep connection with Disneyland and in some aspects after having gone to Disney world prefer Disneyland over Disney world. But I also admit there’s a lot to explore at disney world too that I want to see. I’m not sure there is such a thing right now as “off peak” with all the pent up demand for travel but those are the times I prefer to travel to those parks. We thought we were going slightly off peak when we went at the end of September and I couldn’t have been more wrong. Both universal and Disney were virtually packed. Add to the fact we had to reserve what park we wanted each day was frustrating since we didn’t know much about the parks. We did consult with our friends that go often, but not being aware to check back to move days around meant there were days that there were the special evening events at MK and attendance was down that day but we were stuck in Hollywood studios, ect until 1. That would have been helpful to have realized at the time. But I’m also aware I’m complaining about a first world problem too.

Our next trip will be 2024 and it’s my understanding there will no longer be park reservations needed. And maybe ar the time of our travel it will be better then our last trip. The teenagers won’t be going this trip as they have critical classes they can’t miss these last 2 years of school so it will just be the the little one the wife and I and maybe our friends and their kids, which might be fun to experience the parks with someone we know. I wanted to take my in-laws but their health pretty much prevents them from that sort of travel and I’d have loved to have gone with my parents but unfortunately they aren’t with us anymore.

 

[Rolltydr]

Well it appears that every update you go to they pull a credit check, which I have an issue with. We have worked hard to improve our credit and protect that so in the event we need to use our credit we have access to the best rates. I’ve never had an 850, not sure anyone has, but we float between 790 and 810 usually, and we monitor all 3 at least monthly. We intend to check it again in a few more weeks to see what club Wyndham has done though it’s probably available now.

had a situation where we bought my wife a new vehicle a few years back at a high end dealer and they managed to do 6 hard inquiries which peeved me off to no end and I’m not sure why they did that.

Never give the sales people your credit card! NEVER! If you do go to an update, they will tell you they need it in order to verify your gift. It’s BS. Unless you are making a purchase, YOU don’t need THEM to have your card information. THEY only need YOUR card if they’re running a credit check. If you don’t need a credit check, they don’t need your card.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Yeah I was aware that grand Californian villas were extremely difficult to get since they didn’t have a lot to start with. We were waiting for the Disney towers contracts to make a move, and I gotta be honest before we bought the Wyndham TS I was more contemplating a Rivera home resort over Disneyland.

But as I said in a previous post I have a pretty deep connection with Disneyland and in some aspects after having gone to Disney world prefer Disneyland over Disney world. But I also admit there’s a lot to explore at disney world too that I want to see. I’m not sure there is such a thing right now as “off peak” with all the pent up demand for travel but those are the times I prefer to travel to those parks. We thought we were going slightly off peak when we went at the end of September and I couldn’t have been more wrong. Both universal and Disney were virtually packed. Add to the fact we had to reserve what park we wanted each day was frustrating since we didn’t know much about the parks. We did consult with our friends that go often, but not being aware to check back to move days around meant there were days that there were the special evening events at MK and attendance was down that day but we were stuck in Hollywood studios, ect until 1. That would have been helpful to have realized at the time. But I’m also aware I’m complaining about a first world problem too.

Our next trip will be 2024 and it’s my understanding there will no longer be park reservations needed. And maybe ar the time of our travel it will be better then our last trip. The teenagers won’t be going this trip as they have critical classes they can’t miss these last 2 years of school so it will just be the the little one the wife and I and maybe our friends and their kids, which might be fun to experience the parks with someone we know. I wanted to take my in-laws but their health pretty much prevents them from that sort of travel and I’d have loved to have gone with my parents but unfortunately they aren’t with us anymore.

I spend about 40 days a year in Orlando (half are day trips) and I can honestly tell you there are better places to go in Orlando that don't have the Disney name associated with it. I only have DVC because I use the points to stay 1 night and I use all of the onsite benefits for that 1 night. I only book nights that give me extended evening hours and I also use the 30 minute early admission. If I want to stay on Disney property for more than 1-2 nights, I exchange into it. It costs 30-40% of the price to exchange into DVC using a low maintenance fee week vs use DVC resale points. I think saving $1500/week is worth the effort of learning how to do it properly. Your responses seem like you want something easy to use, but it really is worth the savings to do it more efficiently.

Don't get me wrong. I realize that a lot of people pay money for convenience. That's how the DVC inventory ends up in Interval in the first place. People want a simple to understand product and don't want to learn another system, so exchanging $2500 worth of DVC points for an $1100 Marriott room (that can be exchanged into using the Marriot lockoff method for $1100) is how most of that DVC inventory winds up on Interval. A lot of people I have hot tub talks with at OKW and SSR will feel good about "how much money they saved buying resale" and are usually still oblivous to how stupidly cheap in comparison exchanging into that same DVC unit is. I will NEVER use a single DVC point to stay at OKW or SSR. Why pay $2500 (the resale cost) for something that can easily be had for $1000?

If you ABSOLULTELY have to spend your week at the Poly, Beach Club or the Grand Floridian, buy yourself some DVC points. Otherwise, they are an emotional purchase without much financial sense. If I lived elsewhere, I'd rent a car, stay 1-2 nights at the beginning or end of the trip to get the resorts "vibes", then go stay at Bonnet Creek or Lakeshore Reserve for the remainder of the trip. You can enjoy the DVC resorts without actually staying at them. I always go to the O'hana bar at the Poly after 4pm to get O'hana noodles and wings after a Magic Kingdom trip, or go to Trader Sam's Grotto if the wait time isn't 2+ hours. The only thing at the Poly that is off limits to a non resort guest is the pool. With the amount of money you will save staying at Lakeshore Reserve vs Grand Floridian will more than pay for a meal at Victoria and Albert's. I eat at DVC resorts at least 5x more often than I actually stay at them. I've "been to" the Polynesian for food and vibes at least 20x in my life and have only ever stayed 1 night there because the point cost isn't worth it IMO.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Never give the sales people your credit card! NEVER! If you do go to an update, they will tell you they need it in order to verify your gift. It’s BS. Unless you are making a purchase, YOU don’t need THEM to have your card information. THEY only need YOUR card if they’re running a credit check. If you don’t need a credit check, they don’t need your card.

They can only run a credit check if they have your SSN. Just never give them that number. Every time they ask me to "verify the last four of my social", I tell them 0000 and it works. The only rebutal I've gotten was that they needed it just to verify, to which I replied, "how can you verify something you were never given in the first place?" It works because there are no parameters to verify it against. I have NEVER given a single timeshare company that number and I never will.

 

[ShawnH]

I spend about 40 days a year in Orlando (half are day trips) and I can honestly tell you there are better places to go in Orlando that don't have the Disney name associated with it. I only have DVC because I use the points to stay 1 night and I use all of the onsite benefits for that 1 night. I only book nights that give me extended evening hours and I also use the 30 minute early admission. If I want to stay on Disney property for more than 1-2 nights, I exchange into it. It costs 30-40% of the price to exchange into DVC using a low maintenance fee week vs use DVC resale points. I think saving $1500/week is worth the effort of learning how to do it properly. Your responses seem like you want something easy to use, but it really is worth the savings to do it more efficiently.

Don't get me wrong. I realize that a lot of people pay money for convenience. That's how the DVC inventory ends up in Interval in the first place. People want a simple to understand product and don't want to learn another system, so exchanging $2500 worth of DVC points for an $1100 Marriott room (that can be exchanged into using the Marriot lockoff method for $1100) is how most of that DVC inventory winds up on Interval. A lot of people I have hot tub talks with at OKW and SSR will feel good about "how much money they saved buying resale" and are usually still oblivous to how stupidly cheap in comparison exchanging into that same DVC unit is. I will NEVER use a single DVC point to stay at OKW or SSR. Why pay $2500 (the resale cost) for something that can easily be had for $1000?

If you ABSOLULTELY have to spend your week at the Poly, Beach Club or the Grand Floridian, buy yourself some DVC points. Otherwise, they are an emotional purchase without much financial sense. If I lived elsewhere, I'd rent a car, stay 1-2 nights at the beginning or end of the trip to get the resorts "vibes", then go stay at Bonnet Creek or Lakeshore Reserve for the remainder of the trip. You can enjoy the DVC resorts without actually staying at them. I always go to the O'hana bar at the Poly after 4pm to get O'hana noodles and wings after a Magic Kingdom trip, or go to Trader Sam's Grotto if the wait time isn't 2+ hours. The only thing at the Poly that is off limits to a non resort guest is the pool. With the amount of money you will save staying at Lakeshore Reserve vs Grand Floridian will more than pay for a meal at Victoria and Albert's. I eat at DVC resorts at least 5x more often than I actually stay at them. I've "been to" the Polynesian for food and vibes at least 20x in my life and have only ever stayed 1 night there because the point cost isn't worth it IMO.

I’ve seen the value in having skipped the dvc purchase and the value in considering an additional timeshare with Hilton at a later date.

With all that said I kinda do want to stay at certain Disney resorts, well because I want to. I’ve considered doing a split stay even.

Grand Floridian isn’t of interest to me even though it’s presented as the premier disneyworld resort.

As I’ve looked over bonnet creek I can see that it’s a pretty nice resort. As such we’ve reduced the amount of days we will go to the parks to enjoy the resort and its amenities. I’m not a big swimmer but I do like lazy rivers so I look forward to floating around that for a bit while I’m there.

Thanks to everyone for their opinions and insight, it’s certainly made me realize what I don’t know, and given me a new perspective. I have a lot more positive feeling about the options available and to scrutinize future options and to ask more questions when I think I want to do more.

My wife just choose to do a weekend to club Wyndham Branson at the meadows soon. It too looks like it has a lot for the little one to do and enough for us to relax and wonder around if we so choose.

 

[Rolltydr]

They can only run a credit check if they have your SSN. Just never give them that number. Every time they ask me to "verify the last four of my social", I tell them 0000 and it works. The only rebutal I've gotten was that they needed it just to verify, to which I replied, "how can you verify something you were never given in the first place?" It works because there are no parameters to verify it against. I have NEVER given a single timeshare company that number and I never will.

Good point, but wouldn’t they have SSN on file if you’ve purchased developer points in the past? The last time I attended an update, the sales rep asked for my credit card and I absentmindedly gave it to her. I quickly realized what I had done and asked her to give it back. She actually refused, said she had to verify it for my gift and started out the door. I followed and demanded she give me the card back. She finally stopped, gave it to me and told me I should never attend another update. I have obliged. I don’t know why she wanted the card so bad if she wasn’t going to run a credit check. And I’m sure we didn’t give her the SSN. DW worked in federal law enforcement. We never give anyone our SSN unless it is absolutely required. And she knows who can legally require it.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Never give the sales people your credit card! NEVER! If you do go to an update, they will tell you they need it in order to verify your gift. It’s BS. Unless you are making a purchase, YOU don’t need THEM to have your card information. THEY only need YOUR card if they’re running a credit check. If you don’t need a credit check, they don’t need your card.

I agree never to give over any credit card during the sales update itself, but that's not when you're asked for your credit card typically. You're typically asked to put down a deposit when the concierge/parking pass desk has convinced you to attend a sales update - at which point they run a $25-50 dollar deposit - which is then refunded when you actually show up at the sales update. If you used the Wyndham credit card as a downpayment for your retail purchase - they already have your credit card data by design - and it's already registered in the payment portal typically. Now, if the people at the sales update ask for your credit card - there's no reason to give it over - but that is atypical - as the ask is typically made at the concierge desk to help ensure you actually attend the sales update itself. I've also literally never heard of a scenario where giving any credit card results in a hard credit pull - this is only possible by signing the document to check your credit - and requires you to provide them with your explicit permission and your SSN on that signed document that provides said explicit permission. Table below for ease of reference on the actual legal requirements for a soft vs hard credit pull:

Specific to the concierge/parking pass credit card ask - you should decline this ask as well - there's no reason to go through the deposit/refund process either - don't believe them when they say otherwise.

 

[cbyrne1174]

Good point, but wouldn’t they have SSN on file if you’ve purchased developer points in the past? The last time I attended an update, the sales rep asked for my credit card and I absentmindedly gave it to her. I quickly realized what I had done and asked her to give it back. She actually refused, said she had to verify it for my gift and started out the door. I followed and demanded she give me the card back. She finally stopped, gave it to me and told me I should never attend another update. I have obliged. I don’t know why she wanted the card so bad if she wasn’t going to run a credit check. And I’m sure we didn’t give her the SSN. DW worked in federal law enforcement. We never give anyone our SSN unless it is absolutely required. And she knows who can legally require it.

I thought you were a resale only owner. I may be confusing you with someone else. If you're resale, you never gave them your SSN, so they aren't your creditor and can't access your info.

 

[Rolltydr]

I thought you were a resale only owner. I may be confusing you with someone else. If you're resale, you never gave them your SSN, so they aren't your creditor and can't access your info.

I have both developer and resale points. My first purchase was a 450k CWA contract for Silver VIP. I financed it but paid it off when I got the first bill without incurring any interest.

 

[DouginSC]

We recently bought a club Wyndham access contract and am doing catchup to figure out how to maximize, to the best of my ability, the timeshare.

First I want to preface this on I understand how timeshares work mostly. The parts I’m having trouble navigating is all the terms associated with the timeshare and the web site.

I do have a bit of a sour taste in my mouth about the sales speak I got when we purchased, they virtually lied to me about the amount of points to have vip status, sure I have it for a couple of years then will have to buy more points to be bronze level. Had they told me that to begin with I might have bought the minimum required points, or opted to pass and go with DVC like I wanted however my wife liked this option better since it offered more choice without having to trade points. If I didn’t care about the vip status I’d just have bought (been given) a resale contract which would have met my needs just as well as the contract I ultimately ended up with. But that’s my fault for not taking the time to check.

One last thing, are owner updates required? I found out an acquaintance I have where we live claims that they were told they are “required” yet I didn’t see that requirement anywhere in my documents. And to be honest I’m not sure they want me to attend an update anytime soon since I have issue with a few of the sales “promises” that turned out to be not true or mostly false. If it’s not required I have no issue telling them no thanks. And even if I did buy more points to reach vip, do I have to do it at an owners update?

I think I’ll be ok with what we bought even if I have a slight bit of remorse. Mostly the product will serve me and my family well for the way we vacation assuming the MF don’t triple next year.

The so called "owner updates" are not required and we quit doing them years ago since they're only trying to up sell you, etc. and I definitely would have gone with DVC if I were currently in the purchasing a timeshare market. DVC was definitely the "best kept secret" at the time we purchased our timeshare in the year 2000 because we didn't know anything about it. Wish I had at that time.