If you are considering buying a timeshare vacation property, but can’t decide if timesharing is right for you, here are some interesting new facts that may help you with your decision.

According to industry statistics recently released by ARDA, the American Resort Development Association, 80.3 percent of all timeshare owners express satisfaction with their purchase. Even more significant is the fact that among those who have purchased a timeshare, only 4.4 percent say they are highly dissatisfied with their timeshare deal. When you consider how difficult it is to please all of the people, all of the time, the timeshare vacation industry is creating some amazing success.

One in four owners of Interval timeshare or a timeshare vacation club membership indicate they are interested in purchasing additional timeshares. Nearly 76 percent of current owners also say that timesharing has enhanced their anticipation of vacation time. Among those who own timeshare, only 9.5 percent of all properties went unused during the last twelve months, with over 83 percent of owners either personally enjoying their timeshare or banking it for future use.

While you can’t gauge your personal satisfaction on the happiness of others, the low incidence of dissatisfaction among timeshare vacation property owners is worth noting. And of course, the most cost-effective way to become a timeshare vacation owner is to purchase your timeshare directly from the current owner. Timeshare resales offer the best values and the most hassle-free way to join the more than four million people in the US alone who own and enjoy timeshares.

The rumor mill about new projects at Disney is always churning. But it probably doesn’t require inside connections or a crystal ball to predict that the next new development in Orlando will involve the vacant land on the west side of the theme park property.

In the Orlando-Kissimmee vacation destination of central Florida, the Disney folks have already given us the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom and a host of other entertainment venues including Downtown Disney, Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon and Pleasure Island. All of this fun and activity is surrounded by Disney’s themed hotels and the vacation villas (Disney timeshare) of the Disney Yacht and Beach Club, Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa, the Disney Beach Club Villas, the Villas at Wilderness Lodge, the Old Key West Resort, and the 450-plus new Disney World timeshare villas already under development at Animal Kingdom. But as we all know, enough is never enough at the “Happiest Place on Earth,” and no one really thought that Disney would sit on those hundreds and hundreds of acres of undeveloped land it currently owns.

So while there’s nothing official yet, we’ll take it as a big clue that the Walt Disney corporation was not likely to build a highway to nowhere. With traffic now moving on the four-lane road known as the Western Way, (which Disney kindly shouldered much of the bill to construct) many believe that new Disney development is imminent.

To put the location in perspective, the Walt Disney parks are situated south and west of the city of Orlando and the Orlando International Airport. They are west of the smaller city of Kissimmee. Everything around the parks and to the north or east toward Orlando and the airport is high-dollar real estate. While there is some budget-friendly lodging scattered throughout this area, most tourists looking for a Disney vacation without the big price tag currently head south and southwest of the parks. Along Highway 192, one can find a motel, hotel, timeshare deal or timeshare promotion. Vacation accommodations and fast food restaurants abound in a high-traffic triangle created by the Disney parks, Kissimmee and State Road 27.

Some forecasters say that Disney will construct a new theme park in this area and more accommodations in keeping with their other properties and Disney timeshare. Other sources speculate that they will go head to head with the budget properties that already surround the area, and build Disney timeshare units, economy hotel rooms, quick-serve restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores and budget-conscious retailers.

Either way, here’s my prediction: whatever the people behind the Mouse decide, it will include more Disney timeshare resorts and Disney World timeshare vacation villas. Central Florida is consistently a top family-favorite vacation destination. With more timeshare units and timeshare promotion in Orlando than anywhere else in the world, vacation ownership in Central Florida is a proven triumph. Whether Disney goes upscale or budget-friendly, you can bet on the fact that future development in Orlando will prominently feature Disney World timeshare.

The publishers of The Old Farmer’s Almanac have been predicting the weather since 1818. Despite writing their weather predictions not months but years in advance, the Almanac is one of the most reliable sources available for weather forecasting. Although their formula is a well-kept secret, their forecasts have a legendary 80-85 percent accuracy rate. So what does the 2007 Old Farmer’s Almanac, released this past August, predict for the upcoming winter?

One very long, very cold season.

Which leads me to predict that this will be a great winter for a timeshare vacation!

According to Almanac predictions, Montana, North and South Dakota and parts of Wyoming can expect temperatures as much as 20 degrees below their seasonal norms. The mountain regions of the Pacific Northwest should plan for heavy snowfalls, and residents of the New England states should brace themselves for both atypical cold and unusually heavy snow.

Now, if you love to hit the ski slopes, this forecast is all good news to you. Those who enjoy winter sports should start waxing their skis and scheduling their timeshare vacations. You may want to head to the northeast and enjoy a great timeshare deal at resorts like Stowe and Sugarbush. You can buy or rent Vermont timeshares there. And a timeshare condo in Vail, Telluride, Snowmass or Grand Junction will be a perfect Colorado timeshare ski getaway.

On the other hand, if the news of an unusually cold and snowy season makes you shiver, then start today planning a Caribbean timeshare vacation that includes sun baked sands and warm tropical waters, perhaps in Aruba, Barbados or Cozumel. That’s the great thing about timesharing. When you make a smart timeshare deal and buy a timeshare resale, you are not only buying vacation ownership at the right price, but you are guaranteeing yourself the ultimate in vacation flexibility.

Overlooking the Dubai Marina and the Arabian Gulf in the United Arab Emirates is the seventy-four story Dubai Torch Tower. When completed in 2008, the building will house between 200 and 500 apartment units, as well as numerous indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a health club, gymnasium, restaurants, aerobics room, shops and parking garages.

Dubai Select has recently announced that they will sell timeshare condo units in the prestigious Torch Tower. The units will be available for exchange through Interval International’s worldwide interval timeshare network and will be sold in two-week increments.

The entire Marina project is an amazing undertaking. It is billed as the world’s largest man-made marina and the world’s largest master planned waterfront development. The design objective has been to create a city within a city, with the marina area offering the best and most luxurious in a city already known for opulent luxury.

The first phase of the Dubai Marina in Al Marsa was completed in 2003 at a cost of roughly $200 million US dollars. Built to be a modern interpretation of Venice, this waterside community occupies valuable real estate on the Persian Gulf. Man-made lakes on both sides of the community connect the land with the sea. A 700-berth marina, already completed, accommodates ships and yachts of all sizes.

The Torch Tower is among the tallest skyscrapers which will be in the community, although a few of the buildings rise about it with roughly 100 stories.