TS newbie starting my research on Marriott

[VEGASZIP]

I joined TUG a few days ago and I have been researching several resorts. I seem to be most interested in Marriott and Cypress Harbor in Orlando. My wife is a teacher and we usually take trips on the holidays, spring break, easter and xmas time. I saw an ad for Gold Season and one for Special Season. Special season seems appealing because it could be used during those vacation times. How does a special season stack up in terms of trading power and what's the odds of actually being able to get a resort during those peak times. Thanks in advance.

eliot

 

[m61376]

Eliot-
Welcome to Tug !
You're in the right place and doing thing in the right order; research, read and feel free to ask lots of questions before buying.

You are obviously going in the right direction: buy where you'd like to go most years and during the time frame you want to travel. Owners at Cypress Harbor will have to chime in wrt how easy or hard it is to book those vacation weeks. I would venture to guess that you will have to call at 9AM on the first day to reserve those weeks and have some luck. If you are flexible (as in not counting on getting only Christmas week, for example) then you should have a good chance of getting one of them. Even if you really want Christmas week, I would try earlier in the year when reservations open for one of the other weeks, and then try to change it for Christmas week when reservations open up at the end of the year. There are two disadvantages to that- one is minor (Marriott charges a $29 fee to change the reservation, but if you can get it, that's money well spent) and the other is that, if you really don't want to go during the other holiday periods that year, your trade value will be much less with a later deposit if you deposit it into II for trading. However, if it is a year you want to go to Orlando regardless of which vacation week you can get, it is an option to consider.

 

[rthib]

Do you want to go to Orlando Every year 5-10 years from now.

With any timeshare purchase, that is the first question I ask myself.
"Will I want to go to this location every year (or every other year) 5-10 years from now."

Yes, you can trade your timeshare (and I have had great trades) but in the end, I bought in a places that I would be happy going to every year.

For some, the answer is yes on Orlando.
Then the question is do I want Marriott or Disney. Some love the Disney experience and want to stay on property, for me when I trade in to Orlando I try and stay off-site so Marriott works.