Well, the answer to that question can be compared to many other things:  Do you shop for your clothes at more than one store?  Do you watch more than one TV program?  Do you go to several different restaurants when you eat out?  Do you go to more than one casino in Las Vegas?  (Well, some might never get out of one casino, but that’s the exception—it’s probably the same person who thinks that Orlando  is synonymous with Disney!)

The answer is YES, there is PLENTY to do in Orlando besides Disney!!!  In fact, you could probably vacation there for at least a month and never go to Disney World because there are so many other things to do!  We are not necessarily advocating this approach, especially for a family that includes young children.  However, every time we end up in Orlando, we discover more and more options, many that are much cheaper than a day in the Disney Parks.  (A family of 4 can easily drop $500-600 a day there, to include tickets, parking, food and souvenirs.)

So, when planning your vacation, make sure that you look into the non-Disneyfied activities that are available and choose wisely, depending on the ages of people in your party, their mobility and your budget.  And, it goes without saying that you need to consider everyone’s interests as well.

One of our last Orlando trips included John and myself, our children (all 30-something), grandkids and my 88-year old mother.  Obviously, we had a wide range of ages and interests.  We planned 2 days for the grandkids at the parks (ages 3 and 7) under the supervision of various adults.  We stayed at Disney’s Old Key West Resort and took advantage of numerous amenities and activities right onsite.  We only stayed for 7 days, but had so much to do that we would have been hard-pressed to add another Disney day. Our off site activities included seeing Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba, visiting Downtown Disney and the outlet malls.  You can read about our trip in more detail here, if you wish.

So, what else can you do in Orlando besides Disney?  Take a look at these lists—and this is just a sampling and is by no means all-inclusive.

IF YOU ENJOY SHOPPING:

Millenium Mall

Old Town

Florida Mall

Downtown Disney

Premium Outlet

Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores

IF YOU ENJOY THEME PARKS:

Universal Studios (same price range as Disney)

Sea World

Wet & Wild

Old Town Amusement Park

IF YOU ENJOY HISTORICAL/CULTURAL THINGS:

Orlando Science Center

Kennedy Space Center

The Titanic Experience

Harry P.Leu Gardens

Jurassic Park Discovery Center

Cirque du Soleil La Nouba

Fort Christmas Historical Park

Mennello Museumof American Folk Art

Orange County Historical Museum

National Vietnam War Museum

Motor Sports Museum

The Holy Land Experience

IF YOU ENJOY ANIMALS AND THEIR HABITATS:

Gatorland

Discovery Cove

Florida Dolphin Tours

Manatee Tours(Crystal River, FL)

Amazing Exotics

Orlando Zoo Adventure

Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens

AND IF YOU ENJOY JUST PLAIN FUN:

Ripley’s Believe It or Not

Sak Comedy Lab

Disney Quest

Haunted Grimm House

Medieval Times (dinner show)

Arabian Nights (dinner show)

Sleuths Mystery Dinner Theater

Orlando Ghost Tours

Hot Air Balloon Rides

There are always special events happening in Orlando, so be sure to check local listings as well.  Depending on your time frame, there could be any number of plays, guest entertainer appearances, exhibitions, dance performances, etc. etc.

If you are into sports, you may want to check the home schedules of all those Florida teams—the Miami Marlins and Tampa Bay Rays (baseball), the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic (basketball), the Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (football), the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning (ice hockey) and the Jacksonville Sharks, Orlando Predators and Tampa Bay Storm (arena football). Florida is also home to many major league baseball teams during spring training season.  Check here for a listing.

And, of course, there are over 25 golf courses in the Orlando area as well as numerous parks and spas.  And don’t forget the famous Florida beaches, on both the gulf and the Atlantic coasts. One of the closest is about an hour from Orlando) and is also a favorite: Cocoa Beach.

Should you want to venture a bit farther, the Tampa area would be excellent for a day trip.  The area offers many options, including the famous Busch Gardens Theme Park. Sarasota is also a great place for a day trip, where you will find over 35 miles of beautiful beaches and the Ringling Museum of Art (free on Mondays).

So, tuck your mouse ears away, at least for a day or two, and experience some of the other wonderful and fun activities that the Orlando area offers—you just might save some money, and you’ll have a great time, too!

2012, the start of the New Year!  We think it’s helpful to take a look at what we have done with our “Timeshare Tidbits” blog for the year and to project where we are headed in the New Year.  Also, as you know if you read our posts, we love to timeshare.  We think it is important to summarize our timeshare trips during 2011 and look forward to another year of great vacations.

First let’s take a look at “Timeshare Tidbits”.  We have written over 50 posts during the year.  We usually write one a week and post every Sunday evening, or as close to that as possible.  We write about issues in the timeshare world, share our experiences, do resort reviews and try to give helpful tips to make your timeshare vacations great. We also added a button for you to enter your email and get our posts delivered to your inbox every week.  If you have not signed up, we recommend that you do, so you will not miss out on any new info.

Some of more popular posts of the year:

Can you enjoy a Timeshare Vacation on a Shoestring Budget?

Timeshare Scams and How to Avoid Them

Wyndham Timeshares and Trading in RCI-Times are a Changing!

RCI Trading Power: a New System

The What, Why, and How of Timeshare Maintenance Fees

The Ten Secrets of Successful Timesharing

Some basic posts you might have missed that we think are good:

Timeshare Cooking-Take a look at the category, some great cooking ideas

What to take on a Timeshare Vacation

The Definitive Guide to Selling your Timeshare

A number of posts on the Wyndham Timeshare System

We look forward to continuing to write interesting and informative articles for you.  We think the one post a week works well for us and our readers.  Look ahead to more great information to include the following:

Basic principles of buying a timeshare

Update on the Hilton timeshare system

A timeshare cost calculator

Buying a timeshare vs. a vacation home or condo

Update the guide to selling your timeshare

If I had it to do it over again

The good, bad, ugly of timeshare sales people

Do you really want to buy a timeshare?

More great timeshare cooking posts

The usual trip reports and reviews of new timeshares we visit

Next let’s do a quick review of our timeshare vacations.  We own 15 timeshares and this year we were able to use those to vacation 19 weeks.  We had numerous great vacations, some with family and friends, and many just by ourselves.  We went to most of our favorite places like Traverse City, Smoky Mountains, Wisconsin Dells, Myrtle Beach, Marco Island, Orlando, Nashville, Las Vegas and Sedona.  We also like to go on a couple of vacations to new areas that we have not been to in the past. This year we did trips to Washington State, Whistler, Canada and Alaska. We have written posts on most of our trips and if you are interested, you can read them on our site.

If we do a review of the costs of all those vacations, we have to conclude that timesharing is a great way to travel. Adding the costs of our maintenance fees, dues to RCI and booking fees, then dividing by the number of vacations, we get a cost per week of $427.00.  If we further break this down by the day, we come up with $61.00 per day for lodging.  We think this is excellent, considering the level of accommodations and amenities we get at timeshare resorts.

We are busy planning vacations for the coming year and already have three weeks booked in Florida, a Hawaii trip plan (where we have two weeks booked and looking for another), a trip out east to Rhode Island  and Cape Cod, a week with the family in Wisconsin Dells, and several weeks up north in Michigan at Traverse City.

We hope you are working on your own timeshare vacations– enjoy!

A calendar is a somewhat necessary and useful tool that we use in varying degrees to plan almost every aspect of our lives.  In the timeshare world, it is essential to consult a calendar for planning purposes—in fact, it is often the very first step in the vacation process.

We frequently meet people who complain that they can’t seem to trade into resorts that they want at the time of year that they want to vacation.  In fact, this is probably one of the most common complaints of timesharers everywhere!  This problem will most likely always exist, as many people want to go to the same most desirable places during the most popular seasons.  Thus, certain places like Hawaii, Sanibel Island, and San Francisco are difficult trades to get, while some of the more overbuilt places like Branson and Orlando are relatively easy to book into.

Understanding and using the timeshare calendar will not solve all these problems, but it will go a long way toward easing your frustration in planning your trip.  We will attempt to explain some things about the calendar, and point out some other things that you need to be aware of.

When timesharing started they needed a system to keep the weeks of the year in line with the actual days of the year.  It is unclear as to how, or who, set up the first timeshare calendar, but every resort, resort system and exchange company uses a calendar showing the weeks of the year along with the current year’s dates.  They usually also show the dates and weeks for  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday check-in days.

Lets take a look at a calendar from the Wyndham system for the year 2012.  Any calendar that you look at cautions you to check with your resort to make sure they agree with the calendar you are using.  We have found some differences, so check carefully.

If we look at the chart, we can make some observations:

The timeshare calendar shows the starting dates of weeks for the next 10 years. They are listed in three sections: weeks that are for Friday to Friday, Saturday to Saturday, and Sunday to Sunday. An extra week occurs in some years when Week 1 begins on January 1 or 2 and Week 53 begins on December 30 or 31. Check with your resort to see how they handle Week 53. If your timeshare starts on a different day of the week, then you can subtract or add the numbers of days needed to get the correct dates. Be sure to confirm the exact dates with the resort or the owner of the week.

If you own a fixed week, say Week 36, you’ll want to check the RCI calendar every year to see when that week falls.  Our Week 36 at Pinestead Reef in Traverse City often begins the day before Labor Day—but not always.  Sometimes we miss the holiday altogether.  This can be a little tricky for planning  purposes. As mentioned earlier, every few years, a Week 53 pops up on the calendar.  When this occurs, folks who own Week 52 get an extra week to trade or use at their resort. They were made aware of this when they purchased, and may have paid extra for it.

Okay, so far this is all pretty uncomplicated.  Now, we’ll muddy the waters.  In addition to consulting the RCI calendar, you also need to be aware of the “seasons” that are assigned by RCI and those assigned by the individual resorts.  These “seasons” determine the varying numbers of points needed to book the vacation (trading power), and the initial purchase price of the timeshare.  RCI designates red, white and blue time, with red being the most desirable, prime time. To illustrate:  let’s say you own at a ski resort in Colorado in January.  RCI would designate this week as red, because it’s the most desirable season in that location.

That means that if you owned this week, you would get the maximum in trading power points.  If you did not own the week, and wanted to trade in, you would need the maximum number of points to do so. If you owned a July week at this resort, it would be designated blue, because July is off-season for skiing.  You would get a minimum number of trading points for this week.  If you wanted to trade in, it would be much easier than snagging a red week and wouldn’t require a lot of points.  But you wouldn’t be able to ski! To complicate further, many individual resorts and/or systems have created their own point and season calendars, which may be somewhat different from that of RCI.

For example, Wyndham uses the terms Prime, High, Value, etc. to designate seasons.  The problem here is that every Wyndham resort designates different weeks within the categories, requiring varying amounts of points. Disney Vacation Club operates in much the same way, only their categories are Premier, Adventure, Magic, Dream, etc.  Most timeshare systems have similar kinds of categories and point amounts.  It might be helpful to know that if you are trading within RCI, Hawaii is Red all the time, as is Orlando.

So that, in a nutshell, is the Timeshare Calendar.  If you’d like some tips on how to apply all of this to real-life vacation planning, tune in to our next post:  Timeshare Calendar—How WE Plan OUR Vacations!

In our last post, we began a discussion titled “The Top Ten Timeshare Mistakes That You Have Probably Made and What to do about Them.” We discussed the Big 3: buying directly from the developer, not understanding the timeshare system you own, and not looking carefully at those maintenance fee amounts before you purchase.

This post, and subsequent ones, will cover some of those lesser, but significant, mistakes that people often make when venturing into the timeshare world. Even if you have avoided these mistakes, it’s good to be aware of them and it’s definitely a good thing to be aware of the solutions so that you can pass your knowledge on to others you may meet.

# 4. Not Using Your Timeshare Every Year

This mistake is far more common than what you would think.  You are reading this site, and probably are fairly timeshare savvy—thus, you would probably be aware that not using your timeshare is kind of like buying a new car and letting it sit in the garage.

We know a couple who bought a timeshare from the developer and then let TEN years go buy before they finally used it!  We were so shocked that we didn’t ask why—it was so hard to fathom that anyone would do that.  After all, if the average maintenance fee is $700 a year, that alone would account for $7000 wasted. If you add in the original cost of the timeshare—well, you do the math.

Some people who follow this same course of action say that timeshare salesmen led them to believe that they were buying the timeshare as a real estate investment and it would appreciate in value—thus they could recoup their money when they sold it, even if they didn’t use it every year.

Unfortunately, this is untrue.  Timeshares depreciate in value and should never be considered an investment. Timeshares provide wonderful vacation opportunities, but if you manage to sell them, you will recoup only a small percentage of what you paid if you bought from the developer.

Obviously, life sometimes intrudes on the best of our intentions—sickness, death, a change in work situations and numerous other things can occur that make going on a vacation unimportant or impossible. We have had 3 or 4 situations like that in 15 years, which is a very small percentage when you consider that we do an average of 15 timeshare weeks every year.  These can be classified more in the “emergency” category, as opposed to the previously-mentioned couple who just didn’t use their timeshare for a decade.

There’s really not much you can do if your emergency occurs at the last minute, but it’s a good idea to check the policy of your particular timeshare system.  RCI does offer some type of insurance, but we’ve never found it to be effective in covering our costs, especially for the number of weeks that we travel.

If you have to cancel your plans and still have a little time, you can look into renting your unit through the resort, or possibly on eBay.  Be sure that you check any policies regarding guest certificates.  You might also consider renting a timeshare week to friends or family, or even giving it as a gift.  Sometimes worthy organizations auction off timeshare weeks as prizes.

Just remember—an unused timeshare week is a lost week, as is the money that paid for it.

#5 Neglecting to Network with Other Timeshare Owners

You can learn so much by talking to people and listening to people.  After all, that’s probably why you’re reading this right now—you want to learn more about timesharing and/or you want to express yourself in regard to timesharing.  How foolish it would be not to take advantage of  networking opportunities.

Talking to people at a timeshare resort is extremely easy, because most of them have common ground—they own timeshares. It’s amazing how many long conversations we have had with other guests that began simply by asking, “Do you own here?”  Friendships usually develop, and while they may be only transitory ones, we have learned a lot from them.

If you are new to a timeshare system, speaking with other owners at your resort can be an invaluable source of information.  Often, this can also clue you in to the best units to request and what activities are fun and worthwhile.  You can also amass a wealth of information about restaurants and places to sightsee in the area. Many of our conversations have led to discussions about other resorts that are outstanding, as well as lists of “must-dos” when we get to them.

When we speak with other guests at resorts, they often pick up on the fact that we know a little bit about timesharing.  Initially, I’m sure they think we are selling something, but we try to reassure them by giving them one of our business cards in hopes of introducing them to this website.  Many of these folks seem almost starved for knowledge about their timeshares, and we truly feel that the internet offers some great sites to help people learn.  Although we mention them frequently, here is a partial list.  Please feel free to contact us if you have some to add.

• Red Week
• Timeshare Forums
• Timeshare User Group
• Wyndham Resorts Forums
• Disney Discussion Forums

I once heard it said that no one ever learns anything by talking.  (I used to tell my students this, but unfortunately, some of them didn’t get the implication that “listening” is how you learn!)  Anyway, listening is good, but INTERACTION is better—so work on or use your networking skills to better your timeshare knowledge.

# 6. Bypassing the Amenities and Activities of the Resort.

Another frequent mistake we see timeshare folks make all the time is not taking part in the activities that the resort provides and not using all the great amenities.

Let’s take a look at some of those activities.  We have found that about 90% of the resorts we have stayed at provide some activities for their guests. A few provide only a few while others have a large list with 5 to 7 activities a day for all ages.  The important thing to remember is that those activities are being paid for with your maintenance fees, so you should be taking advantage of them.

We always go to a welcome breakfast and orientation, if they have one.  It is a great time to organize your week, find out about the area, network with other guests and get a free breakfast. We always go through the list of activities and circle the ones that we are interested in or that fit the age level of the guests we have with us.

Several resorts do a potluck or cookout for the guests and we always have a great time meeting folks and enjoying good food.  Along the same line, many do a wine and cheese party which again is great fun. Check out our post about resorts that have great activities.

Along with the activities of the resort, you also need to look closely at the amenities they provide and make sure you take advantage of them.  Almost all resorts have a swimming pool. Many of them have several pools with slides, hot tubs, etc.  We have spent a good part of the day using the pools, and the grandkids just love them. Recently, at a stay at Old Key West in Orlando with our whole family, we made extensive use of all the fantastic activities and pool.  It was a weeklong stay, but we only went to the parks on 2 days because we were having so much fun at the resort! It helped, too that our grandkids are only 3 and 7 years old.

Also many of the resorts have a lot of other facilities that you or your family might enjoy such as tennis, mini golf, shuffle board, basketball, etc. If you or someone in your party enjoys these, make sure you don’t pass them up.  A lot of the resorts have indoor equipment which we enjoy using when the weather conditions force us indoors.  They have pool tables, ping-pong, air hockey, video games, etc

The important thing is to closely check out what the resorts provide in the way of activities and amenities and enjoy them.  Most are free or available at a nominal cost. The amenities and activities of timeshares definitely surpass those available at hotels, so enjoy this perk that you paid for when you bought your timeshare!

Our next post will deal with more Timeshare Mistakes.  We welcome any comments or feedback that you may have.

One of the greatest advantages to timesharing is the availability of activities at most resorts. When you compare your “downtime” at a motel to your “downtime” at a timeshare resort, there is simply no comparison—the timeshare wins, hands down, because of the organized, family-friendly activities that are offered. In fact, many families plan their sightseeing around the activities at the resort, because they are so appealing.

Most timeshare resorts have an Activities Director, and some larger resorts will also employ an Activities Staff.  One of the criterion that RCI uses to rate resorts is whether or not activities are offered. Your Gold and Silver Crown Resorts will almost always have them.  If they don’t, it’s probably because they rate so highly in other areas that those areas offset the lack of activities.

Sometimes the location of a resort will determine whether or not there are many organized events for guests.  In some cases, if there is a lot to do in the area, or lots to see, the resort almost uses it as an excuse not to have many activities.  For example, we recently visited 2 different Wyndham resorts in Washington DC—Alexandria, and National Harbor. Both are great resorts, but National Harbor definitely catered more to families, had more kid-friendly amenities, and lots of activities for all ages. Alexandria offered very little, supposedly because of the abundance of things to see in the Capitol City, and the easier access to the Metro System. We’re not finding fault with this—actually, maybe their owners prefer it this way—but the comparison points out that reading reviews before you book a resort can let you know what to expect.

Most of the larger resort companies like Hilton, Disney, Wyndham, etc. usually have good activity programs, making exceptions for some individual resorts within those systems.  If you own Wyndham you can go to the member home page, bring up the different resorts, and click on Activities.  Most staffs will also willingly share information over the phone.

Occasionally we have visited a resort that is fantastic in every way, but cries out for a lack of activities. Obviously, we don’t know the budget constraints or the inclinations of the owners, but we do fill out survey forms and RCI rating forms to make suggestions.  If it is actually YOUR resort, then your written wishes probably have a lot more clout, and you can possibly be instrumental in changing the situation.  Chatting with the resort director is probably a good idea, too.

In our 14 years of timesharing, we have stayed at close to 80 resorts.  Some, we have stayed at several times.  The following 2 lists are subjective, as they are our opinion, only. Of course, if you have any questions, or would like to add to these lists, please feel free to email us.

SOME RESORTS THAT HAVE OUTSTANDING ACTIVITIES (in no particular order)

Wyndham Branson at the Meadows

Wyndham Nashville

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Village

Disney’s Old Key West Resort (probably all the Disney resorts are great–we’ve just stayed at two of them)

Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Village

Wyndham Grand Desert

The Rushes

Massanutten Resorts (somewhat costly–see our previous post)

Eagle’s Nest (Marco Island)

RESORTS THAT HAVE SOME UNIQUE ACTIVITIES

Treetops, Gatlinburg, TN—Potluck dinner and country band

Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Village, Kailua-Kona, HI—Nature walk, lei-making, ukulele lessons, Hawaiian h’ors d’oeuvre party, other cultural activities

Surf Club, Marco Island, FL—potluck wine and cheese appetizer party

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Village, Buena Vista, FL—African restaurant tour, with samples, Fireside storytelling, African craft-making, many cultural activities, especially for kids

Disney’s Old Key West Resort, Buena Vista, FL—Name That Tune in the Pool, Downtown Disney cruise, many crafts for kids

Wyndham Ocean Blvd., Myrtle Beach, SC—Pottery making, Murder Mystery Snack Party

Ram’s Horn, Estes Park, CO—welcome heavy appetizer party the first night, nature trip to see elk-mating

Wyndham Branson, Branson, MO—Simple, inexpensive meals with local entertainment

Wyndham Nashville, Nashville, TN—Free concert by Joanne Cash Yates (sister of Johnny Cash).  She and her husband are also Wyndham owners.

Pinestead Reef, Traverse City, MI—Free Hamburg/hot dog cookout in the summer, pizza party in the winter

Many resorts vary their activities periodically or seasonally, so the ones that we’ve mentioned might not always be happening.  Also, these are just some that we, personally, have found to be enjoyable.  We would be interested in hearing from you if you would like to share some of YOUR favorites!

There is absolutely no question that there are many, many outstanding resorts within the RCI system. When you take a timeshare vacation, your opinion of the resort is probably based on many different aspects of your resort experience.

For example, you may have thoroughly enjoyed the activities at your resort, and thus, that particular resort stands out in your mind as being one of the nicest ones.  Or the resort that you visit may have great amenities—swimming pools, hot tubs, basketball courts, walking paths, etc.  Because you frequently used and enjoyed the amenities, you might label the resort as one of your favorites.

This article deals with the best timeshare resorts that we have stayed at, but we will not deal with activities or amenities. We’ll save those aspects for later posts.  This article will deal solely with the actual units that we stayed in. Obviously, the “best resorts” will have fantastic units, fantastic amenities, fantastic activities, fantastic staff, etc.—the whole package.  But this post will talk about amazing rooms or units that we enjoyed so much, we didn’t want to leave!  In fact, the operative phrase was, “I could live here!”

Ram’s Horn, Estes Park, CO Hands down, this unit wins the prize for superlative décor! Quality furnishings are everywhere within the 2-story unit.  The theme is kind of a Mountain/Native American/Western one, and even the bedspreads and furniture reflect this.  Complete with fireplace and outdoor deck, some units are duplexes, some are stand-alones.  They sleep 6-8, with full kitchen.  The only downside is that there is no laundry within the unit, but there is one located by the activities room and it is free.  Rocky Mountain National Park is in the backyard.  You could not find a cozier, more welcoming, cabin-like atmosphere than this!

Wyndham Kona Hawaiian Village, Kailua-Kona, HI Located on the Big Island, these units look like traditional Hawaiian thatched huts, with an upper and lower unit in each hut.  But the “huts” are air-conditioned, and extremely comfortable.  Actually, the entire place reflects the 1950’s retro Hawaiian look, and has sacred burial grounds within the resort. The décor even travels to the bathroom, where a bamboo shower door and clawfoot tub (with Jacuzzi) greet you.  The 2 bedrooms and sleeper sofa can accommodate 6 guests and the large kitchen features a breakfast bar.  The highlight of the unit is the very large and beautiful lanai, complete with dining room table and chairs.  Tropical foliage is abundant, and offers a tranquil and pleasant ambiance so that you can rest up for exploring paradise!

The Rushes, Bailey’s Harbor (Door County) WI If you ever have a chance to trade into this resort, do it!  This place features cozy duplex homes set on Kangaroo Lake. Downstairs is a living room with fireplace, kitchen and dining area, guest bedroom and a full bath with laundry.  Upstairs is a HUGE master bedroom, balcony, and a full bath. There is a large deck off the dining room with a gas grill, and a one-car garage with door opener. The décor is beautiful, featuring local artwork.  The lake is only footsteps away, unless you have a woodsy view, which is also beautiful.

Door County is amazing during the summer months, but many of the stores and businesses are closed during the winter.  We’ve been lucky to pull a couple of June trades, but things don’t really start happening until July or August.

Disney’s Kidiani Animal Kingdom Village (Buena Vista, FL) This resort convinced us to buy a Disney timeshare—they just seem to do everything right! Here, you can take a trip into African culture without ever leaving Florida.  Is it perfect?  No.  But we felt so much more culturally aware for having stayed here. Many criticize the resort for being somewhat dark inside—it is—but they do a darn good job of convincing you that you are in an African tribal village with the lit torches and African artifacts and artwork.

The lobby is amazing, and the hallways are covered with African proverbs. The onsite restaurant, Boma, serves delicious African dishes.  Students from Africa, who are here on work/study programs, appear frequently in their native dress.  They sometimes do presentations for guests, or just answer questions.  And the animals on the safari outside are just too fantastic to describe.  When we sat on our balcony, we were virtually 30 feet away from giraffes, elands, zebras and ostriches, to name just a few. Our one bedroom unit had 2 baths—what a novel concept!

You can actually sleep 5 with a king bed, sleeper sofa and sleeper chair. The furnishings are gorgeous—the kind you are tempted to take home.  (Notice, I said “tempted.”)  The king bedspread was phenomenal—a thick, downy comforter in a Kente cloth pattern that I figured must have cost at least $350!  There was even a fold-up crib and high chair in the unit. The furniture and carpeting were African-inspired, and even the Jacuzzi in the bathroom/laundry area had classy African tiles.  The carpeting in the hallways looked African, and if you looked closely you could see a Mickey now and then. He certainly deserves a lot of credit for developing this wonderful resort!

Wyndham Flagstaff, Flagstaff,

AZ This jewel of a resort is the closest one to the Grand Canyon, which alone is a great reason to stay there.  It is much higher in elevation than Phoenix or Sedona, and thus it is not your typically warm Arizona town.  In fact, many who live in Arizona go there to escape the terrible summer temperatures. Anyway, Wyndham Flagstaff has many different styles of units, and we will only discuss the type that we stayed in.  It is a 2+ bedroom that sleeps 8-10.  The plus part is an upstairs loft that would be great for kids, but unfortunately there is no bathroom up there.  However, the main floor has 2 full baths, a huge kitchen and dining area, large living room with fireplace, laundry, and 2 bedrooms.

But the best part is outside, because you have a large deck with your own, private hot tub!  And most of these units have an absolutely spectacular view of Humphrey Mountain!

Regal Vistas at Massanutten, Massanutten, VA We recently wrote a post about this resort, and rather than repeating it, you can access a video tour right here. The resort is very similar to The Rushes, with side-by-side duplexes, only these units are in a regular-looking, gated community.  You’d never know these were timeshares!

The Miners’ Club (Raintree), Park City, Utah Somehow, we managed to acquire a 4 bedroom unit at this resort.  And yes, there were only 2 of us.  Usually we like getting a 2 bedroom, because then we have 2 baths, but we were feeling pretty guilty about 4 bedrooms and 4 baths.  We called ahead, and asked if they had a nice 2-bedroom that we could occupy instead, thinking that maybe they could let a larger family use the 4 bedroom unit.  They said that it was okay, this was a great unit, and we should just enjoy it—so we did!

Like some of the previous resorts, the décor was spectacular. This was a townhouse type unit (up and down) with the main floor housing the master bedroom (with fireplace) and a second bedroom.  There were 2 baths, living room with fireplace, dining area and kitchen. You could enter a balcony through the sliding glass door in the living room, where you could sit in the evening and watch torch lights come on next door at the Ritz Carlton. There was also a small deck. Upstairs there were 2 additional bedrooms, all beautifully decorated, and 2 baths.  There was also a “family room” type area outside of the bedrooms.We pretty much got lost in this place, and we almost never went upstairs!

What a gorgeous unit this would be for a family of, say, eight!  We’ll probably never have as nice and big a place again, unless we get one of those cool villas on Disney property. All of these timeshares provided amazing accommodations, and we strongly suggest that if you have an opportunity to trade into one, you do so.

However, a lot more goes into the making of an excellent timeshare than creating nice places to eat and sleep.  Most of these mentioned were also excellent in other ways—amenities, activities, and friendly and helpful staff.  (Notice, I said “most.”)   The important thing is to always check out the reviews because what matters most to you as far as a quality timeshare may be very different from someone else’s likes and dislikes. Generally speaking, we have found the TUG reviews to be much more comprehensive than the RCI ones, but also more critical—but personally, I’d rather have more information than not enough.

If you have a favorite timeshare, please share it with us! Stay tuned for future posts about some of the best RCI timeshares!

We are often asked how we can afford to timeshare travel so often. We do own 14 timeshares, and usually vacation 18 weeks a year using those timeshare weeks.  We thought it might be helpful to go through some of the math on what it costs us for a timeshare vacation. Obviously, each and every timeshare vacation will come up with different costs, but we think it’s important to look at those costs and plan how to get the most vacation for your hard-earned dollars.

photo credit: TruffShuff

Many of the costs of a timeshare vacation are also costs that you have at home, so this makes doing the math a little more complicated.  For example, you need to pay for food, gas, heat, electricity, etc. at home that you would not be using while you are on your vacation. You also go out to eat at home; you spend money on some entertainment, and other activities.  This kind of trade-off makes it hard to figure what a timeshare vacation might cost, but we are going to give it a try, and we challenge you to do the same for your vacations.

First, let’s take a look at the initial cost of the timeshare. As we have indicated in numerous posts on this site, we have purchased all of our timeshares resale and have paid cash for them.  It should be clear that we have paid no interest for our timeshares and have received, we think, good value for our money.  We also feel that if we were to sell any of our timeshares, we could probably get close to what we paid for them because we bought resale. With this being said, we do not figure into our vacations the costs of the initial purchase of our timeshare weeks, as that money could be recouped if need be.

Next, we will look at the cost of maintenance fees as a part of the overall costs of a timeshare vacation.  We have written a couple of posts about maintenance fees that you might be interested in. (1) Those Malicious Maintenance Fees and (2) Timeshare-Maintenance Fees.  We can take a look at maintenance fees from three different angles. The first way is to take a given vacation, and to calculate the maintenance fee for a trip.  This would be the  actual fees you paid to your home resort.   Example (1) below illustrates this:

(1) We plan a trip to Pinestead Reef, a resort that we own in Michigan.  Our maintenance fees for the year are $411.00.  We decide to rent out a weekend night, thus getting 65% of the rental fee, which is around $80.00.  This would drop our costs for a six-day trip to $331.00 for maintenance fees. We have no booking fees, as we own at this resort

The second way would be to come up with the fees you paid at your home resort for the trade you made.  Example (2) illustrates the second approach:

(2)  We have a two-week trip planned for this spring to Myrtle Beach.  We were able to trade some of our Wyndham points for a three bedroom for the two weeks.  We used two 28,000 deposits to trade those two weeks.  For 28,000 points, we pay $142.00 in maintenance fees. In addition, we needed to pay an RCI booking fee of $189.00 per week, bringing the cost for each week to $331.00 for a three bedroom on the ocean.

The third way would be to take  the total maintenance fees we pay for the year and divide them by the number of weeks of timeshare vacation we take each year.  Doing the math this way, we find that our maintenance fee cost per week is about $350.00, so for figuring purposes, we will use this amount.

Along with maintenance fees are the booking fees, and annual dues to RCI. In some cases, it might cost a small fee of $25.00 or $50.00 to book in your resort system, but there is usually no fee if you are booking at your home resort.  As I am sure you are aware, if you book through RCI you pay a fee of $194.00 for your exchange. It is a little cheaper if you can do it online.   Because of the high exchange fees, we are finding that we are booking more trips through our home resorts, or through our timeshare systems, like Hilton or Wyndham.  For the last year, doing the math, we paid $97.00 on average for the 18 weeks of timesharing vacations for booking and dues.

Transportation:  Another cost that you need to consider is gas, if traveling by car. If we travel around 600 miles to get to our vacation spot and another 600 to get home, we travel about 1200 miles. (This would probably be an average mileage for one of our trips.)   We again do the math, using an average of 28 mpg and the cost of around $3.00 per gallon.  We come up with $64.00 for gas for getting to and back from our destination.

We usually figure that the gas we use during the week of vacation, once we get there, is about the same that we would use if we were at home, and shouldn’t be figured into the cost of the vacation. If you fly and get a rental car, that, of course, boosts the price of that vacation. We usually take only one or two flying timeshare vacations each year.  The costs vary a lot because of air fares and rental cars, so we are not including those into our costs.  Make sure you check out our post on how to get a good deal on a rental car.

The next area to take a look at is food costs. We always say that you have to eat, whether you’re on vacation or at home.  Some people say that you should not figure any food costs into your total vacation costs. Read one of our top ten secrets of timesharing about making use of the facilities of the timeshare. We suggest that you fix breakfasts in the unit and pack some lunches to keep costs down.  We also fix one or two dinners in the unit.

Probably, we should figure about $25.00 extra for food purchases and about $50.00 extra for eating out. These figures are in addition to what we would normally spend at home for food and restaurant meals.  Some people decide that when they go on a vacation they are going to eat out for every meal, and go to expensive places and have a couple of drinks, and maybe dessert.  If this is your pattern, that’s fine, but you need to realize that it’s going to up your costs.  We’ve always felt that we’d rather spend less, and go more often.  Then again, if you only take one or two vacations a year, why not splurge?!

Another area to consider is the costs for attractions and entertainment. Again, as with food, we suggest you read one of our top ten secrets of timesharing where we talk about the activities and the amenities at many of the timeshares.  We look over the list of activities at the resort and select ones we are interested in. We have had a great time with many of the resort activities.  The pool, mini golf, kids’ crafts, etc. have always been a big hit and usually cost very little, if at all. The resort also frequently has special prices to area attractions that you should check out. All of these help keep entertainment costs down.

The location frequently dictates what we end up doing. If we are at the ocean, we spend much of our time at no cost enjoying the sun, sand and surf.  On the other hand, if we are in an area of national parks, we use our Golden Age Pass and spend time enjoying the park with hiking, picnics, auto tours, etc.  In certain locations, like Myrtle Beach, Branson, Gatlinburg, etc., we see some shows.  On average, we probably spend around $100.00 on attractions and entertainment per trip.

The last area we want to take a look at is shopping. It costs nothing to look and we frequently check out the local shops, malls and outlets in the area.   And, of course, we buy our fair share!   It’s hard to come up with a cost for this category, as we buy clothes, gifts, etc. at home, too.  So we will list $0.00 in this area.

Overview of Costs: (average for a one week timeshare vacation)

Maintenance fees:   $350.00

Booking fees and RCI dues that are not included in maintenance fees.  $97.00

Transportation:  $64.00

Food:  $75.00

Attractions and entertainment $100.00

Shopping-$0.00

TOTAL $686.00

What we feel is most important, is that you figure out what your vacations cost, and look at ways to reduce those costs. We think timesharing is a good way to travel and we would much rather keep our costs down, and go on more trips.  Enjoy your trips– we do!

Have you ever wanted to go to a very high-demand place where it is almost impossible to secure a timeshare week? And then, when you think it will never happen, a place pops up—BUT, it has a less-than-stellar reputation and downright lousy TUG and RCI ratings. So, what do you do?  Well, we have taken a chance twice now, doing just that kind of thing, and I honestly would have to say that we are glad we did it and we would stay at those places again.

The first time we did this was at a place called The Kuleana Club in Maui. The reviews were pretty negative, with good reason.  No air-conditioning, only 500 something square feet, old furniture and appliances, no activities, etc., etc.  But the very worst thing was actually the garbage truck that came every morning at 6:30 (our unit was close to the road) that sounded like a demolition derby amplified 50 times.  But, hey, this was MAUI, and we WERE on the ocean, and we could see whales from our balcony!  There was a nice pool, and the landscaping was beautiful.  Nothing is all bad, right??!

Fast forward 5 years to our recent trip to Yellowstone.  For 2 years we checked RCI, and couldn’t find a timeshare even close.  We considered staying in Jackson Hole for a few nights, then in the park for a few more, but that seemed so disjointed, and expensive.  Then, Yellowstone Village came up for mid-October, right at the West Yellowstone entrance to the park! The TUG rating was a 5 out of 10, the RCI reviews were terrible. We found one review that said it really wasn’t so bad, so we decided to go for it. After all, we had survived the Kuleana Club, so how bad could it be??!

What we found out was that attitude goes a long way toward making something acceptable.  First of all, we had to let go of the idea of “timeshare” as we know it.  We tried to think of it as an adventure, kind of like camping, only cushier and more comfortable.  After all, people don’t usually go to Yellowstone to relax at a pool or spa, eat in 5-star restaurants, and go to wine and cheese parties.  So why would those even be offered at a resort in that area?

Once you kind of adjust your thinking like this, then you’re kind of prepared for the worst (or, at least, the not-so-good).  When we arrived at Yellowstone Village, we discovered that our unit was one of the duplexes that had a carport in the middle. Great, we thought!  We like privacy, and this will be like having our own house.  And it was, but it was not at all like a timeshare.

The “house” consisted of living room, adjacent dining room and kitchen, a laundry room with ancient, rusty washer and dryer, one bathroom and 2 bedrooms with one queen bed each.  This was the breakdown, or the nitty gritty:

Living room: attractive, wood-burning fireplace, (wood could be purchased at the office) bentwood rocker, and sleeper sofa couch, all in good shape.  Coffee table was scuffed and marred, sofa table was okay, beige carpet was stained in several places (maybe fireplace burns?).

Dining area:  Large wooden table and 6 chairs, all very scratched and beat-up looking. Drapes were missing a couple of hooks, creating a tacky look. Sliding glass door had a nice vertical blind.

Kitchen:  Appliances were dated, but serviceable.  Dishes and utensils were not clean—don’t know if it was dishwasher residue, but we felt we had to wash everything before using.

Bathroom:  Basic.  Floor was kind of icky and shower curtain was “groaty.”  Everything in here needed cleaning.

Bedrooms:  Fairly large, lots of closet space and beds were comfy.

There were decks in the front and back of the place, which desperately needing staining or painting.  The TV in the living room had only 4 channels, which didn’t bother us, but would send some people into orbit.  The internet ($15 for the week) never did work, because I think we were too far away from the office.

Speaking of the office, my husband only saw the manager once during the week. This timeshare has sold off all but 9 of its units, making it one of the smallest in RCI.  There is an emergency number to call if you have a problem, and there are lots of homeowners nearby, as you are really plopped down in the middle of a regular neighborhood.

On the plus side, we did enjoy the privacy and the spaciousness of our quarters.  We had a lot more room than we would have had at a park hotel—and many of those don’t have private bathrooms!  We had a decent kitchen, and it was very quiet at night (did lots of reading!).  This was not the worst  place that we ever stayed, and we would stay again- but those illusions of timeshare grandeur have to go on the back burner!

So if that timeshare pops up in an impossible-to-get area, and you’re wondering what to do—our advice is to do your homework, read the reviews, and decide what you’re willing to live with for a week.  If you decide to go for it, adjust your attitude and forget about what a timeshare is supposed to be.  Keep telling yourself:  THIS IS BETTER THAN CAMPING!

This is a question we often get and we also see it posted on the internet.  We thought we would go over some of the issues and try to give folks an idea of what to take when headed for a timeshare vacation.

Our first post in reference to this topic was over a year ago:   “Timeshare Tips-What to take on a Timeshare Vacation.” You might like to read that for additional information.  In that post, we included a short video about our timeshare tub. This is a hard, plastic tub that we take with us on timeshare trips and we have found it to be most helpful.

About 9 months ago we wrote another post “Timeshare Vacations-What to Take on a Trip.” This post also has some good information that you might find helpful to read.  It includes two lists; one is our list of non- tub items that we usually take.  The other is a list of things we do before we leave on a trip.

When you begin to plan what to take, you can certainly use our lists as a starting point. Then, make a list, on the computer, of things you think you will need.  After you complete your trip, you should go over the list and add and delete items that you wish you had taken, or items you did not need. This way you can build your own personal list of things to take. We suggest you do this after each trip. Also include items for certain resorts that you should take if you return to that resort or the area.

You might also get a list from the resort before you go that will indicate what they will provide and what items you should bring. This is always helpful, and we adjust based on that information.  If we have a question or are not sure, we call the resort.  A good example would be pool towels–are they provided, or do you need to bring them?

It also makes a big difference if you are flying to the resort or driving. We make adjustments based on how much room we have.  Also, it depends on how many people are traveling and the ages of those people, as you will have to think about their needs.

Again, think about the area you are going to as well as the kinds of things you like to do. If you will be doing a lot of hiking, that should affect the kinds of things you take.  Or, if it is a beach vacation, adjust accordingly.

Another major area that people need to think about is eating and cooking. Some people we know design a complete menu for the week and bring everything they need for that menu.  Unless we’re in a really remote area, we tend to be flexible and do some cooking, and some eating out.  We also check on what stores are in the vicinity and how close they are to the resort. Often, if there is a Wal-Mart close by,we take less and do a major shopping trip after we get to the resort.

The important points here are to think about your vacation style, look at two other posts (with video and lists), see what the resort tells you, and start keeping your own personal list.

Most importantly– enjoy your timeshare vacation!

NOTE:  Much of the information included in this post is valid, but as of January, 2011, some major changes occurred within the Wyndham system concerning usage of points. To get the most current information, please click on this post.

Are you a Wyndham timeshare points owner? Or are you thinking of buying some Wyndham timeshare points? Do you want to better understand the points system for Wyndham or other timeshares which operate using points?  If you answered yes to any of these questions then this post is for you.  We will try to get you up to speed on using the points system for your greatest benefit.

Wyndham Vacation Resorts. We own 525,000 Wyndham points at four different resorts and use all of our points every year. We also use our points to trade in the RCI system.  The Wyndham timeshare resort company is the largest timeshare company in the world with over 150 resorts and affiliate resorts all over the United States and a few in other countries. All of the resorts we have stayed at are of high quality and provide excellent amenities and activities.  We have written the following posts about the Wyndham Vacation Resorts that you might find helpful to read.  Timeshare Vacations-an Overview of the Wyndham System, Timeshare Vacations-Using Wyndham Points in RCI, and Timeshare Vacations-Wyndham Wrap-up.

Example of point chart for Wyndham Nashville, Nashville, TN:

If you take a look at the point chart above, you can get an idea of how the system works.  You can see the weeks and the seasons along the left side of the chart, and if you look at the points you need, you can see how you can save points by traveling in off- seasons. Resorts have from one to four different levels of seasons.   Look at the above example to see the points needed for quiet, value, high and prime seasons.

Also, you can see the points needed for a Friday or Saturday stay, and the Sun-Thur nights.   Again, more points are needed for weekend days.  If you follow across the top you can see the room size and the point difference for the different sized units.  Some resorts will require different amounts of points based on the view.  You would need more points for an ocean view or for a high floor with an ocean view. In the example above, they have some presidential units which take more points.  You need to study the chart very closely for the resort you wish to travel to, and match what you want and need with the number of points you own or would like to buy.

Many people ask, “ how many points do I need?“  We suggest you start with around 105,000 to 154,000 points.  Use these for a couple of years to get an idea on how you like the system, and go on from there.  This number of points will not get you to some of the new higher points resorts, but it gives you a chance to get some nice timeshare vacations.

If you use the information on the chart, you can get more vacations for your points if you plan accordingly. Select the smallest unit you can for the number of people traveling, try to stay away from the weekends, and see if you can travel in one of the off- seasons.

Points chart using Wyndham points in RCI:

Season Demand Studio 1BR 2BR 3BR or more

RCI Red            Greater              70,000     105,000       154,000           254,000

RCI White        Average           42,000       77,000 128,000           189,000

RCI Blue           Lesser                 28,000      63,000         77,000             154,000

This chart shows how many Wyndham points you need to get an RCI unit to deposit into their system and use it to search for a vacation.

Another option you have with your Wyndham points is to take some points and make a deposit into the RCI System.  If you put them into RCI you can trade to resorts all over the United States and the world.  Also, when you deposit them, they will last for two years which gives  you a longer time to plan your vacation.  You can deposit a smaller amount, let’s say a studio in blue time, which only takes 28,000 points.  You can then search the RCI inventory and often get a 1 or 2 bedroom unit. You will need to pay the RCI exchange fee, but again you can get more vacation days for less Wyndham points. You can use these deposits with RCI to trade back into the Wyndham system, usually with far less points than if you would have booked directly with Wyndham.

RCI Points Chart: The RCI exchange company has developed a point system.  RCI has close to 4000 resorts and is the largest timeshare exchange company in the world.  Most of the resorts, about 78%, are of the week’s type, where you deposit your week and then you can search for another week at a different resort or a different time of the year.

About 22% of the resorts in RCI have decided to become points resorts. RCI has assigned so many points based on each resort, each area of the country, and the size of the unit you own.  You then get those points every year, which you can use in the RCI system.  You can still, if you wish, go to your own resort; you just need to let RCI know at least a year in advance of the week you own.  You can also save points for the following year or go ahead a year in points, giving you more flexibility. You can also use your points for partial weeks, or for things like cruises, rental cars, etc.

The following is a listing of the RCI points needed for a typical reservation: 1Bedroom in a Gold Crown resort runs from around 20,000 RCI points to 60,000 depending on time of year.  A 2-Bedroom is 50,000 to 100,000 points, again depending on the time of year. This varies a lot based on ranking of resort and location, so you must check with RCI for the exact number of points needed for each reservation.

This should give you a good overview of the Wyndham points system.  Keep reading this site as well as the Wyndham User Group site and enjoy many timeshare vacations.