Author: Staff Contributor

Part II of a two part series:

Saturday’s The Timeshare Authority blog looked at Disney’s Vacation Club’s expansion at the Disney Tree House Timeshares at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa Timeshares and at Kidani Village Timeshares at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Today’s blog post focuses on the new Bay Lake Tower timeshares.

Bay Lake Tower Timeshares Overlooking Disney’s Magic Kingdom at the Contemporary Resort

When Disney’s Contemporary Resort hotel opened, it was met with a great deal of excitement surrounding this modernistic resort property, where the monorail runs right through the hotel lobby. Not quite the Jetsons, but certainly futuristic in feel for 1971.

In 2007, Disney began construction on the new Bay Lake Tower Disney timeshare resort that is adjacent to and part of the Contemporary Hotel, now known as the Contemporary Resort.

Offering the most dramatic views of the Magic Kingdom, some Bay Lake Tower timeshare units even have a screen you can pull aside to permit viewing the Disney fireworks while you enjoy a relaxing soak in an oversize bathtub. Another perk of this timeshare resort property is the rooftop lounge that affords some of the best views available anywhere on the Disney World property of the nightly firework displays.

Many people consider the new Disney Bay Lake Tower timeshare to offer the most spectacular timeshare accommodations among all the Disney Vacation Club resorts. With vaulted ceilings in the larger units (and all units offering a very spacious feel), the designers of these Disney timeshares take particular pride in the granite counter tops and other luxury finishes. These special touches can be found in every Bay Lake Tower timeshare unit, whether it is a studio unit (sleeping up to four), or one of the two-story grand villas designed to accommodate up to twelve happy Disney timeshare vacationers.

The Sky Way Bridge is an elevated covered walkway connecting the timeshares of Bay Lake Tower to Disney’s Contemporary Resort and from there, the rest of the park is as close as a monorail ride.

As with all Disney timeshares, one can expect these three new (or newly renovated) Disney Vacation Club resorts to remain popular destinations. Look for affordable Disney timeshare resales and Disney timeshare rental options available through Sell My Timeshare NOW.

Here’s a fun YouTube look at the new Bay Lake Tower timeshares that are part of Disney Vacation Club’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa Timeshares.

More news from The Timeshare Authority on Bay Lake Tower Timeshare:

Part I of a two part series:

Read anything about Disney vacations these days and you will find lots of excitement surrounding Disney Vacation Club’s three new or newly-renovated timeshare properties: The Disney Tree House Timeshares, Kidani Village Timeshares, (which is part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom), and Bay Lake Tower Timeshare Resorts.

All three resort areas offer the amenities and comfort you expect in Disney timeshares at Disney Vacation Club, but with individual new features that give them added personality.

Disney Tree House Timeshares at Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa Timeshares

Talks of renovation at Disney’s famous “tree house” villas (now part of the Disney Vacation Club) stalled for years, as environmental engineers struggled to comply with updated watershed laws. If you remember the look of the original tree houses, the accommodations were built on pedestals in order to provide a tree house-like feel with elevated vistas. A clever new design that reduces the circumference of the pedestal while adding additional support columns has enabled Disney to make the timeshare renovations without increasing the environmental footprint of each unit.

The tree houses, now part of Disney Vacation Club’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa Timeshares, even include four handicap-accessible timeshare units. Rather than incorporating an elevator into selected timeshare units, the architects have used long—long— ramps to allow access to these Disney timeshares that sit some ten feet above the ground.

The Disney Tree House Villas are definitely the Disney timeshare property to choose if you want proximity to all areas of the Walt Disney World Vacation Kingdom, yet serene feelings of seclusion in a wooded glen that will make you swear you are miles away from the energy and excitement of a Disney vacation. The interiors have been updated with a woodsy décor, but don’t expect your Tree House Villas timeshare vacation to feel like camping—instead you’ll find upscale comfort, right down to the Tuscan bronze details in the baths. The frog fountains in and around the newly renovated pool area offer another fun touch at the Disney Tree House Timeshare Villas.

Disney Vacation Club’s Kidani Village Timeshares at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Sometimes bigger is not better. Kidani Village timeshares create an intimate-feeling resort property located in the heart of Animal Kingdom’s savanna, meaning that you can get up-close views of the animals from many of the balconies or timeshare unit windows.

All of the rooms have the fun feel of a Lion King themed décor, with standard amenities, and while they are sufficiently spacious, they are cozier rooms than you find in Jambo House, which is also part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom timeshares. Because the entire back of the Kidani Village timeshare lodge is located directly adjacent to the wild animal savanna, the pool area is in the front of the resort. The Hakuna Matata playground is a 24-hour recreation area located beside the pool, overlooking the flamingo area and the wild animal savanna. Other recreational areas and basketball courts are directly across the street. This layout maximizes the use of the property’s proximity to the animal habitat and allows timeshare owners the best views possible of the animals in a natural environment.

Be sure to check in on Monday’s The Timeshare Authority blog post, where I’ll fill you in on the timeshare resort many feel offers Disney’s most luxurious timeshare accommodations yet.

Follow these links to learn more about the affordable opportunities in Disney timeshare resales and Disney timeshare rentals:

• Disney’s Villas at Wilderness Lodge Timeshare Resales
• Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa Timeshare Resales
• Disney’s Old Key West Resort Timeshare Resales
• Disney’s BoardWalk Villas Timeshare Resales
• Disney’s Beach Club Villas Timeshare Resales

Past Timeshare Authority blog posts related to these Disney timeshare resorts:

• Disney Vacation Club Timeshare Is On Schedule with New Timeshare Addition
• Disney Vacation Club Timeshare to Affiliate with Group RCI

Hawaii tourism has a new reason to celebrate with the recent opening of the Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences at Kapalua Bay on Maui. Hawaii timeshare has been an important part of the timeshare and vacation ownership industry for a long time, and candidly, tourism in Hawaii has taken a hit with the depressed economy. So it is especially good news that this $355 million Hawaii timeshare resort and condo complex is open and operational. The Honolulu Advertiser quoted Ryan Churchill, senior vice president and lead project investor of Maui Land & Pineapple Company as saying, “We are delighted to welcome this stunning new property to Kapalua Resort’s portfolio of luxury living.”

The new Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences at Kapalua Bay is the first resort in Hawaii to introduce a fractional ownership condo development on such a large scale. The resort is built on 24 acres and it encompasses nine buildings, each three to six stories high. Included are 84 fee-simple condos and 62 timeshare units. The timeshare units are being sold as fractional ownership condos, in which 12 co-owners share ownership of a unit, each owning a minimum of three weeks apiece.

The Hawaii Timeshare Real Estate Market

Offsetting the challenge of selling timeshare real estate in this price range is the fact that many presales occurred as early as June 2006, before the Hawaii timeshare real estate market felt the worst of the current economic situation.

Jenny Ochtera, who is in charge of sales and marketing at the resort, notes that these are challenging times economically, but that the resort has been, “incredibly fortunate.” The Maui Land Company and Ritz-Carlton corporate say that the property continues to attract an impressive number of buyers.

Presently, 267 units of fractional ownership have sold for prices between $350,000 to $850,000. Twenty-five of those sales occurred in the first quarter of 2009. The resort plans for the sale of 744 timeshare intervals total, reserving 16 weeks per year for use at an additional cost by the member-owners.

The timeshare units (fractionals) are spacious, ranging in size from 1,912 square feet to 2,257 square feet, and offering a choice of two or three bedroom units. On-site amenities include a lagoon-style pool with a bar and grill and a private beach club. There is a second bar near the water’s edge. By late June of this year, a 30,000 square-foot spa is scheduled to open, followed by a Maui-themed general store.

The Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences at Kapalua Bay was developed by Kapalua Bay LLC, which is 51 percent owned by Maui Land; 34 percent owned by Ritz-Carlton: (a unit of Marriott International); and 15 percent owned by Exclusive Resorts.

Opportunities in Timeshare Resales at Ritz Carlton Timeshare or Fractional Resorts

• Ritz-Carlton Club and Residences, San Francisco Resales
• Ritz-Carlton Club Bachelor Gulch Resales
• Ritz-Carlton Club St. Thomas Resales
• Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa, Jupiter Resales

I can’t wait for a day when I can write about timeshare owners at the old Royal Oasis timeshare resort in the Bahamas who are leisurely relaxing poolside, enjoying their vacation ownership Bahamas timeshare property. Last June, The Timeshare Authority posted that after three years of bad news, followed by some hopeful-sounding news, all we could give timeshare owners at Royal Oasis was “no news”.

This week, in what is becoming an anniversary topic, The Freeport News posted their own story of “no new news” about happenings at this Caribbean timeshare property. Their article chronicled the events since 2004, when Hurricane Frances permanently closed the already struggling Bahamas timeshare resort. As the article concluded, “In an attempt to get an update on the Royal Oasis project yesterday, The Freeport News contacted Harcourt’s Grand Bahama office (Harcourt Development Company, the owners who purchased the property in 2007) and was told that Archer (reference to CEO Donald Archer) was out of office and, Minister of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace did not return our call up to press time.”

Will a Thriving Resort Return at this Caribbean Timeshare Property?

The failure of this once popular Caribbean timeshare is not a typical story in the world of vacation ownership. And despite the relational damage that has occurred between the former resort management, the property’s new owners, and the individual timeshare owners, I can’t help but think that at some point in the future, there will again be a luxurious Caribbean timeshare on this property. If for any reasonthe rebuilding of a successful Bahamas timeshare fails to happen here, it will not be because of lack of effort on the part of the owners association or of the Bahamian government. Both groups having put forth extensive efforts to support the return of a successful and thriving resort at this Caribbean timeshare property.

Archive of The Timeshare Authority Blog Updates on the Royal Oasis Caribbean timeshare:

• Dissent Continues Over the Royal Oasis Timeshare Resort
• Uncertain News about Royal Oasis Timeshare Resort
• Royal Oasis Timeshare Resort: A Litany of Problems
• Important Information for Royal Oasis Timeshare Owners
• Updates about Royal Oasis Timeshare
• Optimistic News about Bahamas Timeshare Resales
• Recent Announcement Regarding Royal Oasis Timeshare
• The Other Victims of the Royal Oasis Timeshare Owners Fiasco