California Timeshare

Today’s post is the third in a series The Timeshare Authority blog has shared on the proactive, environmentally responsible actions being taken by timeshare resorts and branded hospitality providers who offer vacation ownership options. Although we’ve already looked at actions in place by Holiday Inn Club Vacations, RCI, and Marriott Vacation Club, there are still many other timeshare resorts with innovative practices that are helping keep our environment greener and cleaner.

Grand Pacific Resort Management (GPRM), is a California-based vacation ownership management company, with 15 timeshare resorts and more than 50,000 owner families in the US and Canada. GPRM has created a group that is dedicated to a culture of environmental responsibility.

With the support of this group known as the “Going Green Squad,” several of the Grand Pacific Resort Management timeshare resorts have not only made very environmentally conscious efforts, but they have done so in creative ways. The Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort timeshare collected a thousand plastic bottles destined for landfills and contributed them to artists who created a ten foot by ten foot portrait of Marilyn Monroe.

Following a fire at the Grand Pacific Resort Management Mountain Retreat resort that damaged the property’s clubhouse, GPRM made a commitment to restore the space using environmentally friendly updates such as double pane windows and motion sensors to control lights, heating, and cooling use.

Wyndham Vacation Ownership Timeshare Resorts

In an ongoing commitment known as, Wyndham Green, Wyndham Vacation Ownership timeshare resorts supports the Arbor Day Foundation. Committed to serving Arbor Day Coffee, which is organically grown under the canopy of the rainforest, each cup preserves precious resources and ensures indigenous farmers earn a fair wage and have access to healthcare and education. Wyndham Vacation Ownership timeshare resorts have purchased 280,000 pounds of Arbor Day Coffee and as a result, have saved over 28 million square feet of rainforest.

Other initiatives by Wyndham Vacation Ownership timeshare resorts include the use of
Eartherapy brand soaps and shampoo amenities, an environmentally responsible company that uses packaging that fully biodegrades into water and dust when it comes in contact with soil for a period of three to five years, taking less than four percent of the time to degrade than does traditional plastic packaging.

Bluegreen Vacations Timeshare Resorts

Bluegreen Wilderness Club at Big Cedar is a participating property in the Clean the World effort (learn more about Clean the World in Thursday’s blog: Marriott Vacation Club Timeshare is Leading the Way on Green Initiatives).In addition to the Bluegreen Hammocks at Marathon timeshare having monthly employee meetings to emphasize environmental policies, Bluegreen Vacations timeshare resorts use recycled materials in many of their properties and offer guest rooms equipped with a master switch to cut a timeshare unit’s power when not in use.

To read more about these and other proactive, environmentally friendly endeavors of timeshare resorts, go to the ARDA Insights Blog.

Earlier this month, Yahoo Travel ran an interesting article called, Are You an Ugly American? In it, the writer offered 10 insightful tips for how to avoid offending others and blend in better with local cultures when you travel. Among the points covered was one that had to do with expectations about your sleeping arrangements, mattress, and bedding. If you seriously look at the differences in how Americans view the necessities for a good night’s sleep, vs. the viewpoints of people in many other cultures, you may find that a California timeshare sounds more appealing to you than a dream vacation to Europe.

When it comes to travel, it seems, no one really does bedding the way Americans like to sleep quite as well as do American resorts. In many parts of the world, beds are smaller than American mattress sizes, with hotel rooms often offering either separated twin beds or twin beds pushed together.

As the Yahoo Travel article explains so well:

“So here’s a dose of reality in travel: If you favor a king-sized mattress topped with a feather mattress and a down-filled duvet, plus a deep-soaking Jacuzzi tub big enough for two, a separate, glassed-in shower with a marble bench seat and a second shower in the garden, there’s a great country you can visit: California.”

European Holiday or a California Timeshare?

We are not suggesting you forgo a European holiday in favor of a California timeshare vacation. Nothing beats the experience of the history, art, architecture, food, and vibrant culture of each distinctive country in Europe. And with many US-based timeshare brands well represented among European vacation ownership, there are certainly great accommodations throughout Europe that parallel their US counterparts.

But the point made by Yahoo Travel is well taken. If you are looking for a relaxing holiday that offers both a change of pace and all the creature comforts you expect presented in a way that looks and feels like the American ideal of luxury and relaxing comfort… well, for a vacation like that, you might be happiest to simply choose a California timeshare or any other spacious, amenity-loaded timeshare resort here in the USA.

How much do you know about the vacation resort options with Disney timeshare? Do you know, for example, that not all Disney Vacation Club timeshares are located at a theme park? Or that each Disney timeshare resort is designed with its own themed personality that makes it unique among all the other DVC timeshare resorts?

Disney Vacation Club timeshare currently offers eleven beautiful, fun, and totally Disney-distinctive timeshare resorts, and there are more DVC resorts opening soon. Because each Disney timeshare resort has its own features and own personality, a DVC member can choose vacations that are totally Disney, yet are distinct vacation experiences depending upon the resort they select.

Maybe you are already a Disney Vacation Club timeshare member. Maybe you are thinking about the opportunities and vacation fun DVC membership can mean for you and your family … or perhaps you are a full-fledged Disney-guru. Whatever your knowledge of Disney, see if you know the answer to these DVC questions:

1.  How many Disney Vacation Club resorts are located at destinations where there is NOT a Disney theme park, and which resorts are they?

The answer is 3.  Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort is a classic resort in the popular coastal vacation destination of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, is the newest resort in the DVC family and is located in Ko Olina, Hawaii. And Disney’s Vero Beach Resort is a little over a one-hour drive from Orlando’s Disney World Park, but is definitely located beachside on the Atlantic Ocean.

2.  Okay, let’s try an easy one. Which Disney Vacation Club timeshare offers some units from which you can view the wild beasts of Africa from your timeshare’s balcony?

That would, of course, be Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas, in Orlando, Florida, where some timeshare units afford you a view of the animal grazing area of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park.

3. At which Disney Vacation Club Resort can you sleep in a modern-day tree house?

Surprise! Although Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa has all the charm and luxury of an 1800’s resort and spa, another option for DVC owners there is vacationing in Disney’s Treehouse Villas, which offer elevated villas with rustic but luxurious ammenities in a serene, wooded glade.

4. We identified in the first question, which Disney Vacation Club resort destinations are located on beautiful beaches (Disney’s Hilton Head Island; Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas; and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort). If those are all beach destinations, where will you find Disney’s Beach Club Villas?

Disney’s Beach Club Villas offer the styling of a 1900’s Mid-Atlantic coastal home, but are an easy walk to Epcot theme park, within the Disney World Resort destination in Orlando.

5.  Which DVC resort has the ambiance and style of a classic National Park resort?

Ahh, trick question! The answer is the Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, located near Disneyland California’s newest attraction, the Disney California Adventure Park. But the correct answer is also the Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, where despite the fact that you are vacationing in Orlando, you will have the feeling of being in a rustic lodge in the Great Northwest.

6.  Now, last question, and this one is an important one. Where will you find the best values in becoming a Disney Vacation Club member or renting a DVC timeshare for your next getaway?

Easy answer: When you buy or rent DVC timeshare points through a current DVC owner, you enjoy all the fun and luxuries of a Disney timeshare vacation, along with most of the benefits of DVC membership, yet you will have saved thousands of dollars on each vacation. Explore your options and your savings with Sell My Timeshare NOW and VacationOwnership.com, so that you can start enjoying all the fun and magic of Disney timeshare at a price you can easily afford.

Last week, I was reading comments on a message board that is for Disney Vacation Club Owners or as DVC calls them, “Club Members”. The Disney timeshare message board was not part of Disney Vacation Club’s website nor was it a part of our company’s network of websites and we have no affiliation with it. I was just there reading the comments like any other website visitor.

One person posted a question, asking, “What are the pros and cons of buying Disney timeshare?” Interestingly, many members of the forum replied but all said more or less the same thing: there is no downside to owning Disney timeshare.

Here at SellMyTimeshareNOW.com and VacationOwnership.com, we have had a similar experience with Disney timeshare owners. While members may sometimes need to resell their DVC timeshare, it is rarely because they are dissatisfied with it. More often than not, these DVC owners have simply had a lifestyle change, such as illness, divorce, job relocation, or other similar reason that motivates them to sell their Disney timeshare.

Your Disney Timeshare Fall Vacation

While there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of reasons to love Disney timeshare, here are 5 of those reasons to enjoy a Disney timeshare vacation right now:

• All of the Disney Vacation Club resorts are year-round destinations, with events and activities to entertain you and your family in every season of the year.
• September is typically one of the slowest months for tourism travel. Families are often just getting the kids back into the swing of school and organized sports activities and are less likely to take their children out of school for a vacation early in the school year. Also, since most of the Disney timeshare resorts are located in Florida or coastal South Carolina, many travelers have apprehensions about vacationing in a month when hurricanes—if they are going to happen—are more likely to impact the weather. The good news is that crowds are smaller and lines are shorter when you vacation in September, almost anywhere you choose to go.
• Whether you are vacationing at Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort; Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas; Disney’s Vero Beach Resort; The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa; or any of the Disney Orlando timeshares, you’ll find the summer temperatures beginning to cool down, especially as the calendar gets closer to October. Yet in all of those destinations you will still be enjoying weather that feels like a summer vacation.
• Fun seasonal activities abound in the Disney theme parks. Both Disneyland in Anaheim, California and Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida celebrate Halloween with Mickey’s Halloween Party (in Orlando, it is called Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party) with events starting in September, although the Orlando celebration begins Sept 11, while in Anaheim the Halloween fun doesn’t get underway until September 28. In Orlando, you can also enjoy “Night of Joy,” a contemporary Christian music festival and the Epcot® International Food & Wine Festival.
• And reason five, might be the most important reason of all to enjoy a Disney timeshare vacation right now. If you are reading this list, then we already know that a little more summer vacation time sounds good to you. If you missed out on vacationing in Summer 2012 or you just need one more vacation “fix” before the cold weather starts to creep in, then why not spend it at the timeshare vacation destination where the owners say, “There are no negatives to being a Disney Vacation Club member.”