According to several sources, redweek.com has released their newest list of the top 25 timeshare resort destinations (for rent). The previous list had the Manhattan Club NY NY at the top of the list. Their newest #1 timeshare resort is now Disney's Beach Club Villas. How did they arrive at top 25 list? Apparently, redweek's some 1 million users can set email alerts for their most sought after timeshare rentals. From that they derived the following top 25 timeshare resorts:

1. Disney's Beach Club Villas - Lake Buena Vista
2. Disney's BoardWalk Villas - Lake Buena Vista
3. The Manhattan Club - NY NY
4. Harborside Resort at Atlantis - Paradise Island, Bahamas
5. HGVC at Hilton Hawaiian Village - Honolulu
6. Marriott's Maui Ocean Club - Lahaina, Hawaii
7. Disney's Old Key West Resort - Lake Buena Vista
8. Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge - Lake Buena Vista
9. Costa Linda Beach Resort - Aruba
10. Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas - Lahaina, Hawaii
11. Royal Sands - Cancun
12. Marriott's Ko Olina Beach Club - Kapolei, Hawaii
13. Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club - Koloa (Poipou), Hawaii
14. Orange Lake Country Club West Village - Kissimmee
15. Marriott's Newport Coast Villas - Newport Coast, California
16. Marriott's Ocean Pointe - Palm Beach Shores, Florida
17. Kaanapali Beach Club - Lahaina, Hawaii
18. Marriott's Aruba Ocean Club - Aruba
19. The Galleon Resort - Key West
20. Aruba Beach Club - Aruba
21. Sheraton Vistana Resort - Orlando
22. Westin St. John Resort and Villas - St. John
23. Smugglers' Notch Resort - Smugglers' Notch, Vermont
24. Playa Linda Beach Resort - Aruba
25. Marriott's Grande Ocean - Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

Regions in the top 25 list most commonly included Orlando/Kissimmee, Hawaii, and Aruba. Resort families most often included Marriott and Disney Resorts. So based on the way they gathered the information, the list represents the resorts most in demand. It would be interesting to see which ones had the most completed transactions in both rentals and sales.

Marriott's Waiohai Beach Club timeshare in Hawaii

Coming from www.DVCMember.com website (Disney's members only website) comes the news: Disney Vacation Club will be shifting points requirements to make weekend stays less expensive. For 2009 weekends cost 47 points and in 2010 a weekend will cost 38 points. Sunday through Thursday nights will now cost 27 points. This is only the second time in 18 years that DVC has made a change to the points allocation.

Disney does have the right to reassign values within a week as long as the total week value remains the same. Most owners have a fear that their points will get devalued. Whether you own DVC, RCI points, or others, you should familiarize yourself with the by-laws and covenants that spell out how often and/or by how much points values may be changed. Same goes for special assessments. Find out how to contact the management company or property owners' association to get the most current advice and information.

It also would help to consult with a timeshare specialist who sells timeshares on the secondary market. They will be familiar with all the points systems, families of resorts and the pros and cons of each.

Stay informed, do your homework, but most of all, enjoy your timeshare! Take a vacation. You probably deserve and need it!

Walt Disney World - Cinderella's Castle (source)

Today's edition of the Orlando Business Journal had a story with this headline "Disney Profits Down 32%". While the article seemed to focus on the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) losses in the Studio Division and Media Networks there is some good news from Disney's Interactive Media and Parks & Resorts. The Interactive Media division showed a gain of 13% for the first quarter compared to a year ago. The Parks and Resorts division showed a decline of 4% in revenue.

Parks and Resorts showing a 4% decline over the last quarter is still $2.67 billion in revenue. People are still going to Disney's parks and buying timeshares with Disney Vacation Club. To show only a decline of 4% suggests the confidence we have to go to see Mickey Mouse (for a pricey ticket) while many say the sky is falling. Even if the sky is falling, I know I still would like to go to Orlando, take my daughter to see "It's a small world after all" and stay in one of their magnificent resorts on the Disney campus. The experience of Walt Disney World is probably just what some of those economic curmudgeons are needing.

Maybe if our Congress, Cabinet, and other lawmakers would ride Splash Mountain, wear a silly balloon hat, and put on some clown face paint, they would be in a better state of mind to get our economy turned around.

(Source)

Today the Orlando Business Journal reported December's Orlando Metro Hotel Occupancy rate rose 1.2% over last December's. While that may not sound like a significant percentage increase, it is still an increase! This news also comes the day after Walt Disney Parks and Resorts announced offering some 600 exec's voluntary buyout packages. Even though companies seem to be laying off at a high rate (today's Microsoft layoff of 1,400 and 3,600 more to come) it is possible that travel and vacation spending is going to start turning around.

That would be great news for the hundreds of timeshare industry folks in and around Orlando laid off in the last few months. As people start coming back to Orlando, Kissimmee, and Lake Buena Vista timeshare sales will start gearing back up to speed (as long as the developers can find buyers for their timeshare loan paper). Hopefully, credit and cash will become more available soon and all our economic machines will start to run again!

In the mean time, make plans for your 2009 vacation. Take that dream trip to Hawaii, Las Vegas, Orlando, or any other place. Money spent on a great vacation is money well spent. And you will spend less if you incorporate a timeshare into your plans.

Grand Beach Vacation Resort Timeshare in Lake Buena Vista Florida

On Monday, Disney announced their "Armed Forces Salute" with a free five day park hopper pass for active duty and retired military members. Also, military members may purchase up to 5 additional 5 day passes for $99 each. Walt Disney World in Orlando - Kissimmee is one of the greatest theme parks and attractions in North America. This offer of free and discounted tickets for military members is generous and very appreciated! Also, Busch Entertainment Corp is offering free tickets to most of their parks for active duty military and their dependents. Busch runs the Sea World and Busch Gardens.

With most families keeping an eye on their budgets it might be easy to justify cutting out vacations. But with these incentives at least our veterans and their families can afford to relax on vacation.

Combine free and discounted park passes with an affordable timeshare rental for the family and you will have a terrific vacation! I have used timeshares all around Orlando and have had great experiences with all of them. They're affordable, roomy, well located, and offer so many amenities that you would never find in the local hotels. You could also consider buying a timeshare on the secondary market. You'll pay much less, get all the benefits, and save over time as you use your timeshare.

It's not just about cutting costs. It's about giving you and your family the break they need. Just do it. Go on vacation!

Grand Beach Vacation Resort, Orlando

Announced by the Orlando Sentinel, as of January 1st, 2009 Disney timeshare owners will be exchanging their DVC points with RCI. They will be able to use their DVC points for exchanges within RCI and RCI's 3.6 million members will now be able to trade into a Disney timeshare.

This is huge news, especially for those who are members of RCI. Sure reservations may be tough to get, but the possibilities are great. And, as you can imagine, owning a Disney Vacation Club timeshare will carry significant exchanging abilities with other RCI resorts.

Disney Vacation Club presently offers the following resorts:

Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort

Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge

Disney's Beach Club Villas

Disney's BoardWalk Villas

Disney's Old Key West Resort

Disney's Vero Beach Resort

Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort

But, whatever you do, don't run out and pay a retail price for a DVC timeshare. Buy your lifetime of dream Disney vacations at a significant discount through the timeshare pro's at www.rpmls.com .  They have the experience, size, and systems to get the job done - and with a personal touch.

Disney's Beach Club Villas timeshare

Despite economic trembling, Disney Resorts is pressing ahead with their $800 million resort project. During the ground breaking ceremony recently, Hawaii's Lt Gov Duke Aiona pointed out the huge economic impact of construction jobs. Others who spoke at the ground breaking ceremony described the significant impact of the enlarged tax base and staff jobs. The Disney resort, including 480 Disney Vacation Club timeshare villas, will be located on the west coast of the island of Oahu.

As the scale model below shows, the area will be transformed into a tropical oasis of winding rivers, lush garden lagoons, palms, and even a volcano. Not only will Oahu be the featured destination, but the Disney resort will become a feature all on its own.

This is still all great news for anyone who owns a Disney (DVC) timeshare. It is also great news if you are thinking of selling your DVC timeshare ownership. Now it will be even more flexible, offer significant options to their owners, and look that much more attractive. This will also help its resales value.

If you are thinking of buying a Disney Vacation Club timeshare ownership, the timeshare pros at www.rpmls.com is the place to start. With nearly 30 years of timeshare resales brokering, co brokering, advertising, closing, and more - they have the experience to get any deal closed.

Scale Model of Disney's Ko Olina Resort

From the Orlando Sentinel comes this Disney (DVC) update: Sales have now begun for the newest Disney Vacation Club project: Bay Lake Tower. Entry level prices for the timeshares will begin at $18,000 making it the most expensive of any DVC timeshare resort. Disney's Bay Lake Tower will feature 300 timeshare units and be linked to the Contemporary Resort by a pedestrian bridge. Another appealing feature will be that it will be the first timeshare within walking distance to Disney Magic Kingdom.

Disney has begun their sales by targeting their 350,000 DVC members. They sent an email to their existing members announcing the sales with a link to a video on www.youtube.com. This video, Deevy See's Revealing Report, has had 59,000 views!  DVC got a lot of views - I wonder how many sales so far?

On the same day they launched their email campaign, our Disney Vacation Club video spiked with 380 views in one day.

So here comes yet another great addition to the DVC inventory - we will have to wait and see how this pans out with the current credit crunch going on.

Other stories related to Disney - Note to Self - Buy Disney Vacation Club Timeshares for Less! and Disney and Hawaii - Selling a Timeshare Dream

Here's how the Bay Lake Tower will look:

Yesterday's announcement from Disney that they will give free admission to one theme park on your birthday, brings up one important thing on my "to do list" - buy a Disney Vacation Club timeshare on the secondary market. After all, why should I pay the going rate at the resort when there are owners who would be willing to sell me their DVC for much much less?  I'd get the same product but for thousands less!

But how would I find the right resort, make sure the owner knows exactly what they own, and get the deal closed? What about escrow, closing companies, and transfer of ownership at Disney?

If you are really serious about buying or selling Disney Vacation Club timeshares, then you should utilize the services of timeshare resales specialists like those at www.rpmls.com. They have the size, experience, and systems to get the right deal and do it right the first time! With thousands of timeshare properties sold and closed, their experience would be the "steak" you need - with none of the "sizzle" so many seem to offer.

Disney Vacation Club's proximity to Walt Disney World, their amenities, and attention to detail would make any timeshare owner confident that they made the right decision - especially when you buy your DVC timeshare from another owner.

Today from www.MousePlanet.com comes this charming story: "The Disney Company recently purchased 21 acres of oceanfront property on Hawaii's island of Oahu to be home to Disney's first mixed-use family resort outside of its theme park developments. The expansive resort, scheduled to open in 2011, will have more than 800 units including hotel rooms and villas for Disney Vacation Club (DVC), which is Disney's rapidly growing timeshare business."

So, how is this a charming story? The rest of the story is the history of Hawaii and Disney.

Beyond the story of a 1937 cartoon with Minnie Mouse in a hula skirt (Hawaiian Holiday) is a magnificent accession of Oahu property destined to be one of the finest resorts within the Disney Vacation Club timeshare enterprise, or any other for that matter. Hawaii has long been a source of inspiration and imagination of the most desirable vacation destination of all time. And, the combination of travel and tourism will forever be the driving force of the economy of Hawaii.

Disney Vacation Club timeshares include:

Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas

Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa

Disney Villas at Wilderness Lodge

Disney's Beach Club Villas

Disney's BoardWalk Villas

Disney's Old Key West Resort

Disney's Vero Beach Resort

Disney's Hilton Head Resort

If you are thinking of buying a Disney Vacation Club timeshare, buy resale - don't pay retail. You can save thousands that way. If you want to sell your Disney Vacation Club timeshare, we have buyers waiting with standing requests! Give the timeshare pros at www.rpmls.com a call - 1.800.200.9857.

From Hawaiian Holiday, 1937