With jobs and the economy on the forefront of many people’s minds, President Barack Obama picked a beautiful sunshiny day in Central Florida to stand in front of Cinderella’s castle in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and explain his vision and plans for boosting international tourism to the US.

The President’s midday press conference on Thursday began with a few jokes about Mickey Mouse and included his acknowledgement that the weather couldn’t be more perfect. He then touched on a variety of topics related to tourism job growth, focusing on the country’s current stringent policy for screening international tourists. The fact that the US makes it remarkably difficult for tourists from all but 36 countries to visit the US is an issue we have addressed here repeatedly on The Timeshare Authority blog. (see:Marriott Timeshare and Hotel Icon, Bill Marriott Criticizes Government Policy)

Stressing that it was possible to both keep America safe and make it easier for international tourists to visit the US, President Obama discussed specific options to make this happen. In the works are plans for how:

·         America can expand the current list of 36 preferred countries whose visitors are not required to obtain a visa in order to visit.
·         We can create a type of frequent visitor pass for those international tourists who would be willing to undergo an intense one-time background check but could then return more easily upon frequent visits; and
·         To dramatically ease the process for visitors from two target countries: Brazil and China, which both have rapidly growing economies, and emerging middle class that desires to travel, and have a demonstrated history of interest in vacationing in the US.

President Obama plans to sign an executive order to support these and other tourism enhancing initiatives.

You may not have realized it yet, but 2012 is a leap year. Meaning, of course, that the calendars we commonly use in the world today will insert (it is properly called intercalate) an extra day in the month of February to ensure that the calendar, over time, stays in sync with the solar year.

But what does a leap year really mean for you?

Well, if you work for yourself, you have one extra day to earn income in the month of February, while if you work for a salary, your boss or your company picks up an extra day of your labor. But perhaps a better way of thinking about Leap Year is that it means, in this 366-day year we all have an extra day to live life to its fullest and an extra day to show our friends and family how much they matter to us.

Which for anyone vacationing in the Magic Kingdom® Park in Florida or Disneyland® Park in California, Leap Year 2012 is being translated into a never-before celebrated, 24-hour Leap Day. For the first time ever in the history of the parks, they will be open to guests for 24 straight hours of fun. Beginning at 6 AM on February 29, 2012, select attractions and entertainment within the parks will operate—for one magical day—around the clock!

What better reason do you need to plan a Disney Vacation Club, California timeshare or Orlando timeshare vacation right now?

Leap Day 2012, make plans and make it count for something extra special!

This past week, Walt Disney World Orlando, Florida, officially broke ground on its new partnership property Four Seasons Hotel and Resort.

Planned as a 444 room hotel, the upscale resort will feature a rooftop restaurant, spacious spa, three pools and a lazy river, and meeting and event areas. When complete, it will include 40 Four Seasons Residence Club units and approximately 90 Four Seasons Private Residences.

This is the first Four Seasons Resort to be built in Orlando and the first partnership project between the Walt Disney Company and Four Seasons.

Four Seasons President and Chief Executive Officer Kathleen Taylor issued a statement, saying, “Each of us is dedicated to creating a product of the highest quality and standards, something that will become a landmark here in Orlando and a destination unto itself for travelers from all over the world.”

Meg Crofton, president Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Operations US & France says, “Travelers around the world know and trust Four Seasons, and Walt Disney World is the world’s premiere family vacation destination. Together, our two companies offer a brand-new reason to visit and experience Central Florida.”

Scheduled to open in 2012, the new Disney Four Seasons Hotel and Resort is part of Disney World’s high-end Golden Oak residential subdivision.

Last week, the Walt Disney Company announced it is expanding its timeshare accommodations at its Orlando, Florida Disney World resort.

The planned addition will add some 147 Disney Vacation Club timeshare units in a separate building, adjacent to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.  The new construction will include exclusively timeshare units, plus related amenities such as a children’s water play area.

Expected to open in 2013, the new Disney timeshare at the Grand Floridian will be the second timeshare property Disney has constructed along its Magic Kingdom monorail. Bay Lake Tower, which opened in 2009 and is an addition to the Contemporary Resort, was the first timeshare expansion along the monorail route. (see: Disney Vacation Club Timeshare will Include New Bay Lake Tower Resort)

The Orlando Sentinel quoted Claire Bilby, senior vice president and general manager of Disney Vacation Club as releasing a prepared statement in which she said, “We continually look for ways to expand Disney Vacation Club by creating resort experiences that our members will love. With the continued popularity of Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, we are thrilled to offer our members and guests a new resort option along the monorail system with easy access to the Magic Kingdom Park, as well as a variety of shopping, dining and recreation experiences.”

The project is seen as a way to add high-demand timeshare inventory to the Disney Vacation Club.The Grand Floridian is Disney’s highest-priced company-owned resort property and one of its most popular.

The popular new HGTV series, “My Yard Goes Disney” is back for another year. This season, the show will air 11 makeovers, which means 11 lucky families will get a chance to bring amazing Disney magic to their home’s landscape.

Here’s how the show works:

Families that love Disney, feel a special connection with all things Disney, and would like to feel a little more Disney magic in their lives can apply for a backyard transformation.

For this season’s selections, applicants must live in the Orlando, Florida area.

Applying is as easy as completing this application; including a photo of your family and a wide photo of your backyard. But if you really want a Disney-fied landscape, you must act soon. All applications are due by January 30, 2012.

But what about everyone who doesn’t own their own home, get selected for the show, live in Orlando, or for whatever reason, does not make the cut at the My Yard Goes Disney casting call?

You can still have plenty of Disney magic in your “backyard” with a Disney Vacation Club timeshare. When you buy or rent Disney Vacation Club timeshares, you can enjoy the grandest Disney backyard ever, and best of all, it’s one really big, really fun backyard, but you’ll never have to mow the grass there yourself.

Disney Vacation Club Timeshare for a Really Big Disney Backyard

Disney Vacation Club offers some of the most popular timeshares available today. A Disney timeshare means you own (or rent) your own little piece of Disney.

DVC is a points-based vacation ownership program through which Disney DVC Points can be redeemed at many different Disney resort destinations. As a Disney Vacation Club member, you can choose the destination and resort, how long to stay and the size of your accommodations. Disney timeshare owners are never locked-in at one resort or one scheduled week; it’s Disney park vacationing at its best.

And after all,  who wouldn’t like to claim a little bit of Disney’s backyard as their very own?

You may be preparing to eat your Thanksgiving turkey around your dining table this year and then take in a few hours of sports on your big screen TV. Sounds pretty good, but what if you were spending Thanksgiving somewhere warm and sunny, and the sports you were watching were courtside?

Many people will be doing exactly this, enjoying early season collegiate tournaments in NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball while soaking up some sun at a relaxing timeshare resort destination.

For example, fans of Chaminade, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas, Memphis, Michigan, Tennessee, or UCLA can be taking in the fun of Hawaii timeshare and enjoying the EA Sports Maui Invitational.

Fans who root for Arizona State, Dayton, DePaul, Fairfield, Indian State, Minnesota, Texas Tech or Wake Forest can enjoy the Old Spice Classic at Disney’s Wide World of Sports as well as all the amenities of Orlando timeshares, perhaps choosing Disney Vacation Club timeshares to be close to the sports action as well as the theme part fun.

UConn, Harvard, UMass, Charleston, UCF, FSU, UNC Ashville and Utah fans have the option to enjoy basketball at Harborside Resort during the Battle 4 Atlantis College Basketball Tournament, held for the second year at the amazing Atlantis Resort in Nassau, Bahamas.

Although the Maui Invitational has been a staple of college basketball’s Thanksgiving tournaments for more than 20 years, it’s only been in recent years that Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and other popular resort destinations have begun hosting collegiate tournaments. But based on the success of these events so far, maybe it’s time to start thinking about which fabulous timeshare resort you’d like to be roasting your turkey at next year.

If you are planning an Orlando timeshare vacation between now and Halloween, here’s a partial list of activities you will want to check out:

Universal Studios celebrates Halloween Horror Nights on select evenings, starting Sept 23 through October 31. Now an Orlando tradition for twenty-one years, Halloween Horror Nights is not for the faint at heart. Expect, a labyrinth of bloodcurdling chills in haunted house, scare zones and live shows, designed to haunt your long after Halloween is past.

Should your family prefer a tamer taste of Halloween fun, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween party is celebrated on select nights between September 13 and November 1. The “not-so-scary” festivities include Mickey’s “Boo-to-You” Halloween Parade and the bewitching Happy HalloWishes fireworks show.

The Central Florida Zoo is offering the Zoo Boo Bash on October 22, 23, 29, and 30. Zoo visitors are invited to come in costume or get your face painted at the park. The Zoo Boo Bash is another family-friendly way to enjoy your Orlando timeshare vacation, without missing out on the season fun of Halloween.

And of course, for Halloween, even Shamu gets in the act. Every weekend in October children at SeaWorld can enjoy the underwater “fantasea” which includes trick-or-treat, both silly and spooky shows, sea-themed arts and crafts, or dance with whimsical sea creatures.

A lot has changed in the 40 years since Disney first launched its Disney World theme park in Orlando. In October of 1971, Disney World opened for business with only 26 attractions and one park, the Magic Kingdom.

Back then, there were two Disney hotel properties and of course, no Disney Vacation Club for Disney timeshare. Disney moved into timeshares with the 1991 opening of its Old Key West Resort.

Today the Walt Disney World Resort features Epcot (added in 1982) and Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom (both added in 1989). Other popular attractions at Disney World include Typhoon Lagoon; Blizzard Beach; Downtown Disney; Disney’s BoardWalk; Disney’s Wedding Pavilion; the ESPN Wide World of Sports; and the Walt Disney World Speedway, not to mention the excitement surrounding Disney’s recent announcement of the addition of an attraction based on the movie, “Avatar”.

There are also more than thirty resorts located on the Disney property, with some 27,000 hotel rooms. Disney’s newest major hotel, the Art of Animation Resort, is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2012.

As one of the most visited vacation destinations in North America, millions of people have a special Disney World memory they recall, whether it’s from a family vacation, class trip, honeymoon or anniversary celebration. This year, as Disney World turns 40, isn’t it time you and your family experienced Disney magic all over again, enjoying a new adventure and making new memories?

Learn more about the opportunities in Orlando timeshare resales and rentals.

You know Disney … they would never settle for just celebrating Halloween one day a year. At the Anaheim, California, Disneyland Resort, the Halloween celebration starts today and runs through October 31.

For California timeshare families vacationing at Disney this time of year means the opportunity for a Halloween that is safe, outrageously fun and that will linger in your children’s memories for a lifetime. Of course, the park is decorated for the occasion with autumn leaves and smiling pumpkins at every turn.

Here’s more about the Disneyland fun and festivities you can expect when you vacation with Mickey during the boo-tiful Halloween season:

• In Disney’s own words, “All systems are GHOST for a spine-tingling journey through a haunted quadrant of the cosmos on Space Mountain: Ghost Galaxy!
• The Haunted Mansion has had an “ex-scream” makeover just in time for your Halloween vacation.
• The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is positively dying for you to drop in.
• The Disney characters are out and about for Meet ‘n Greets that include favorite Disney villains.
• And on select nights, and with purchase of an additional event admission ticket, you can be part of the extra special fun at Mickey’s Halloween Party.

California Timeshare Vacations All Year Long

California is a great state for a timeshare vacation whether you vacation in a San Diego timeshare, a San Francisco timeshare or perhaps head for Pebble Beach, the Baja or to ski the slopes in northern California. With California timeshare, you have so many options, that there’s bound to be a choice that is ideal for the way you and your family like to vacation, as well as many great resorts to enjoy during your Halloween holiday at Disneyland.

One of the many benefits of vacationing in a spacious timeshare rather than in a cramped hotel room is the kitchen and dining area many timeshares include.

Having a kitchen in your timeshare, (typically a full kitchen, stocked with cookware and dinnerware) makes it easy for you to accommodate special dietary needs, cook for picky eaters or even raid the fridge in the middle of the night should the notion strike you.

But for most of us, vacation fun also includes at least a little restaurant dining.
For the health conscious eater, here are some suggestions on where to dine during an Orlando Disney World vacation.

When Your Orlando Timeshare Vacation Includes Disney World

When at Walt Disney World, consider planning your daily schedule so that you can eat your meals at Epcot. Although there is healthful fare available at all of the Disney World parks, Epcot affords you perhaps the most choices for eating smart.

For sit-down dining, try the Restaurant Marrakesh in the Morocco area of the World Showcase where it easy to accommodate your low-fat or vegan food choices. Nine Dragons in the China area as well as the San Angel Inn in the Mexico section both offer vegetarian meal choices, too. If you are seeking gluten free options, ask to skip the Chinese noodles or, for Mexican dining, replace the flour tortillas with tortillas made from corn.

For café style dining in Epcot, you may want to consider the Yakitori House in the Japan section where you can enjoy veggie sushi rolls and veggie noodle bowls

For a more all-American menu, try The Garden Grill in the Land Pavilion. There you can choose from greenhouse fresh selections that include salads, veggies and a popular rice pilaf.

And since Disney is known for covering all the bases, they also provide you a helpful Dining Reservation Center where a Cast Member can answer all your menu related questions and assist you with special menu items. To contact the Dining Reservation Center call 1-407-WDW-DINE (that’s 1-407-939-3463).

For help in planning a timeshare resale or timeshare rental vacation at the Disney Vacation Club or in other Orlando timeshare resorts, call 1-877-815-4227