Timeshare tour at Westgate for Universal tix

Tbella

DIS Veteran
Joined
Oct 12, 2004
I booked a timeshare tour at Westgate Town Center. For 90 minutes of our time they are giving me discounted Universal Studios tickets. The tickets seem like an amazing deal and are tickets that I can't find anywhere else. They are 7-day park-to-park tickets with early admission to Islands of adventures.
I gave a $100 deposit and the remainder is due in 30 days. Our vacation is in September so I would have paid in full for the tickets almost 2 months out till we actually go to the timeshare presentation.
They told me that these tickets sell out fast so I would need to give them the deposit in order to hold them. The tickets are given to us at the end of the 90 minute presentation.
Has anyone ever done this and does this seem safe? BTW I can still get the $100 deposit back within 14 days.
 
Westgate is very high pressure. They have been known to make that 90 minute presentation last for 4 hours.
 
yep, they tend to be called "wastegate" by timeshare experts. budget extra time for the presentation (and i'm not optimistic about the tickets turning out to be as-advertised.)

i own 2 timeshares but don't have enough vacation time (and i don't enjoy conflict enough) to sit through one of those sorts of presentations. i would run from that offer...
 
I went to a Westgate timeshare tour in Myrtle Beach, SC and they are very high pressure. The tour lasted a lot longer than 90 minutes. We went at 8:30 am on our checkout morning from a different resort and our checkout time was 11am. I had to call the resort and ask for a late checkout and we didn't get out until 11:30 even though we kept saying no to purchasing and that we had to checkout of our resort. They wanted us to walk out without the gift of $100 cash and a few other small items. We got the gifts but I won't do a Westgate tour again. I've done others that weren't nearly as painful.

Of course, if you are willing to bank on spending at least 2.5-3 hrs (maybe 4) in order to get your discount tickets and you can stand up to the pressure, I say go for it. I've never gone on a tour and not gotten what was promised to me. For me, the gift has to be worth the time and aggravation of the tour. We are doing disney next month but would love to do Universal as well. I doubt if we can swing it unless we get a good deal on tickets so I understand wanting those tickets! Good luck!
 


Thank you for all your replies!
I used the search function on this site to research timeshare presentation information but didn't find to much resent information. If I do the timeshare presentation, I will report back here to help fellow DISers with the same dilemma.

My husband comes off as a pretty intimidating guy, although he is the most level headed, fairest person I know. I have no problems letting someone know if I am not getting what was promised. It will be interesting to see what happens.
 
That's not the way I would want to spend part of my vacation.

As the PPs mentioned - it's not really 90 minutes of your time, it's a 90 minute presentation, usually more time for a 'nice' continental breakfast or lunch with the salesperson, time for a tour of the resort facilities and a model unit, additional time for the sales pitch, additional sales discussion with the salespersons' boss and possibly with that boss's boss. And Westgate sales are purported to be at the top end of high pressure within the timeshare industry, potentially making for an unpleasant experience. Of course, if you have time to kill and weigh the savings on the tickets to be more valuable than your vacation time then you should go ahead with it. But, if it were me, I'd run - not walk - to the nearest exit.

Dick Taylor
 
Westgate is very high pressure. They have been known to make that 90 minute presentation last for 4 hours.
This is typical Westgate -- NOT a random Westgate sales pitch that went bad.

And Westgate probably has the worst reputation in the industry for high pressure and unethical sales personnel. Last year or the year before, there was a post on this forum about a family having to take a cab back to their hotel because the sales manager refused the promised transportation back when they declined to buy.
 


Also, you should know that you can buy numerous Westgate timeshare contracts on eBay for $1, often with free closing.

And anything a timeshare salesman tells you about downsides of purchasing a timeshare resale is either a lie or a huge exaggeration.
 
My Dad owns there and has for a very long time, I've had at least a dozen stays. It will be passed on to me and though I really enjoy staying at the towne center location, \I will urge you to NOT go to these presentations. They are long. Very long. We were there 2 weeks ago and my stepmom agreed to do one to possibly upgrade and get a gift card and we spent THREE HOURS there. The food for lunch was boiled hot dogs, chili, and white rice. It was yucky. They are extremely high pressure, and you will talk to at least 3 or 4 people. They will guilt trip you. I am convinced they'd sell their own right arm if it made you buy a timeshare. Overall, it is a very nice and reasonably priced place to stay and I enjoy it very much, but STAY AWAY from the presentations. Not worth it at all. Also, never let them take you out in the golf cart for a 'tour' because then you are at their mercy until they will bring you back to the main building. We have had that take over an hour, never again.

Get your deposit back, and just use Westgate for the great accommodations. When you check in and they offer the same thing again for a lower deposit and a "free" breakfast/lunch/dinner or whathaveyou, decline.
 
yep, they tend to be called "wastegate" by timeshare experts. budget extra time for the presentation (and i'm not optimistic about the tickets turning out to be as-advertised.)

i own 2 timeshares but don't have enough vacation time (and i don't enjoy conflict enough) to sit through one of those sorts of presentations. i would run from that offer...

+1 ::yes::

OP, we have personally sat through a Westgate timeshare presentation (in August 2012 at Westgate Lakes) and take my word for it.....its as bad as everyone has made it out to be. If you are still within the window of opportunity to get your deposit back, do it.
 
The 90 minute claim is a lie.

Expect 3-4 hours.

If you are assertive and aggressive you *may* be able to force your way out at 90 minutes, but they will pass you along to several "managers" before giving you your items and letting you be on your way.

Think about how much your time is worth vs. the discount you will get on Universal tickets. I can't speak for your situation, but for myself, being in an Engineering field for the past twenty years I have a keen sense of how much my time is worth and whatever free or discounted tickets they offered didn't match how much money I was wasting by spending time there.

Despite all that, I did a Westgate presentation once even though we had a unit in the family and typically stayed as owners. Biggest mistake ever.

I don't have hard financial data for Westgate, but I suspect they have been taking a hit over the past 8 years or so due to recession and housing bust. I know of more than one person who simply returned their timeshare back to Westgate in exchange for wiping the slate clean on accrued taxes, maintenance fees, etc.
 
I don't have hard financial data for Westgate, but I suspect they have been taking a hit over the past 8 years or so due to recession and housing bust. I know of more than one person who simply returned their timeshare back to Westgate in exchange for wiping the slate clean on accrued taxes, maintenance fees, etc.

Check out this movie about the family that owns them. Its on tv sometimes.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125666/
 
I booked a timeshare tour at Westgate Town Center. For 90 minutes of our time they are giving me discounted Universal Studios tickets. The tickets seem like an amazing deal and are tickets that I can't find anywhere else. They are 7-day park-to-park tickets with early admission to Islands of adventures.
I gave a $100 deposit and the remainder is due in 30 days. Our vacation is in September so I would have paid in full for the tickets almost 2 months out till we actually go to the timeshare presentation.
They told me that these tickets sell out fast so I would need to give them the deposit in order to hold them. The tickets are given to us at the end of the 90 minute presentation.
Has anyone ever done this and does this seem safe? BTW I can still get the $100 deposit back within 14 days.


I just booked one too for discounted Disney tickets but now I'm thinking I'll cancel after reading all of these. It says I can cancel for a full refund of my $150 deposit if I cancel within 14 days. I'm going to do it tomorrow. Just wondering if anyone had trouble getting their deposit back? I'm nervous. This trip is expensive for us and our 2 kids. Can't lose $150. It just sounds like Westgate is difficult and I don't want to deal with it or waste a day.
 
To exit quickly after presentation tell them you have an enormous medical bill or any bill, like $3 million that you're paying. Just keep repeating the $3 million medical bill to the sales person, their mgr, the next mgr, etc.
 
Obviously do whatever you want to do. Many people do timeshare presentations for the freebies. // Personally attending one of those would be the absolute last thing in the world I would want to do on a precious vacation. // I would choose to take a shorter or more modest vacation that I could afford before subjecting myself to the presentation for the amazing deal.

Even worse, a certain percentage of the people that attend will buy an overpriced timeshare week. If you are actually interested in buying a timeshare week, I would suggest joining TUG2.net, a timeshare users group. And definitely if you do purchase, buy a resale week with a much lower price. Many people just want to get rid of these to get our of paying annual maintenance fees.

Some people have posted that they attend these regularly. They bring a book a long and start reading these after 90 minutes and ignore anything people say and say my time is up. They bring along listings from ebay for the timeshare that is being sold (lots of copies) and start handing them out to everyone if the people don't let them go, etc. // It is kind of funny. But why not avoid the situation all together and stay in situations where you can be kind, other people can be kind, and you can all have a magical time.
 

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