Frank Talk About Orange Lake

[lawgs Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawgs]

judy this is only one review

just one review ......but it does happen ......not like the people who posted were making things up just to interrupt their trip....of course when people see these reviews they must wonder if it it the same resort ....

We dropped our bags and went to play, came back to the room around 11:30 at night. As I was unpacking, my eye's started to tear & my stomach went in knots. My hiusband and son were finding it harder & harder to breath. The place was filthy and the smell of mold was overwhelming. Did not sleep that whole evening. Went to customer care after a time share presentation first thing in the morning, they said the best they could do was see if they had a cancellation in another part of the resort and they would call us by morning. We had to avoid the room all day, second night no one was able to sleep, the room was making us physically ill. They did call by 8am to advise us there were no other openings in any other part of the resort, they could move us to another room in the same section. Being very leary, if one had mold what is the likelyhood that the rest in that section were the same. Did not want to waste my vaca moving from one room to another. Called RCI, they were great, found us another resort in Orlando that took us in immediately. Had to move once but to accommodations I could be comfortable to have my family stay in. In packing up I was disgusted when I noticed stains all over the boxspring of the bed where one of my sons had slept, (looked like blood or iodine, I took pictures and plan on a formal complaint to better business bureau and department of health) had seen that before I never would have stayed as long as I did to allow them time to service us as guests, I am sickened my son slept in that bed and that the matressed has not been replaced. There is no way housekeeping has not seen that. . They have the nerve to put you in thise rooms and then ask you to purchase an expensive timeshare? Never in a place were it is so blatent money comes before customer HEALTH & comfort. As for the rest of the resort, offered many nice amenities, Kemmons buffet was great, it could have been a great time.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

I knew that some people liked OLCC and that some people didn't, but until I read this thread, I really didn't know many of the details.

I had been considering staying at OLCC for a trip this fall, but now I'm wondering if that's a good idea. Just how bad are the units that they give exchangers? And are bedbugs a common problem, or was there just one case?

Judy the units for the most part are not bad at all. They just arent anything to write home about ( if you happen to get an older plain ol vanilla 2 bedroom golf villa in the West Village; which is EXACTLY where they will put you as an exchanger ). The resort is so big that you stand a high probabiliity of having to drive to the closest pool or amenity.

If you are bringing children they will enjoy it. There are more amenities in the resort ( some which must be paid for ) than any other than Disney.

The whole OLCC mystique thing wasn't there for us.

We are happier in a smaller resort.

BTW if you manage a 3 bedroom it pretty much guarantees you the newer more lux units and villages.

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

Judy, I wouldn't cancel and exchange that is already made

If I made an exchange today, I would grab a three bedroom. They are newer and nicer, though that is from someone else. I have not been in one of the nicer units. I was in an old two bedroom.

It was not nice and with all the great resorts out there, why bother going to OLCC? I had a three bedroom reserved for my son but lost it because of the one in three rule. We stayed there January of 2003, they flagged it and now my poor son is going to have to stay at another resort. He wanted that River Island amenity. Too bad. But honestly, I think he will be happier elsewhere, like Cypress Pointe or Grand Beach.......

I want a large, jetted tub, I have one at home that fits both of us, so I want that same thing on vacation. I don't want to "rough it" on vacation!

We had roaches and ants everywhere in our unit #2624. There were loose ceramic tiles that were also very stained, a broken oven handle, dirty bathtub, filthy furniture and carpet, and an annoying light on the patio that made us think that it was morning when it wasn't. We also had no hair dryer and supplies were very limited. They shut the elevator off the morning we checked out, so we had to walk down FOUR flights of stairs with our stuff. We weren't just heading to the airport, we had another week at Cypress Pointe, so we had lots of groceries to take with us. Poor Rick had to make so many treks up and down those stairs.

My very first post on TUG was about Orange Lake and I was harassed beyond belief by a major supporter for that resort, probably a relative of Kemmons himself. I just described our unit and received a really nasty reply. Since then, my opinion of the resort has not faded with time but has become more crystal clear, as I constantly remember the experience when passing on some tidbit to a potential exchanger.

That is why I tend to be fixated on OLCC. We have stayed at other resorts that RCI, II and others would consider to be less desirable that are much better than OLCC. I think it is overrated and the points program they are putting in place will only serve to make more money for the developer, at the expense of the owners. I believe OLCC will still be available on RCI, all the time. Josh will get his three bedroom. I don't see owners falling for the spiel again. They were already sold a piece of goods that has little value.

[lawgs Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawgs]

cindy

when i called today to find out who my personal rep was as suggested by a LOL ....never did find out since that part of the program is for Global Access owners and not all OL owners

in addition this program is not even scheduled to roll in until september 01 2006

anyhoiw, duing the course of the converstion with the owner support personnel i finally ended up talking to ......one of the strongest points he made was that OLCC was wrestling back the inventory from RCI and that in the new year, OLCC will not show up as much in RCI......

of course, time will tell......but the new points program is definately an attempt to regain control of OLCC inventory

he said a common complaint of owners was the inability to be able to exchange back into OL as RCI was showing nothing ........all the while there were units sitting empty at the resort for the same time periods they were looking for.....

on a second note.....

sorry to hear you lost that instant exchange, wonder if the new computer program they have introduced for managing the resort had any effect, or was it a RCI computer that flagged the exchange

[JudyS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JudyS]

Thanks for the replies! I haven't made an reservation yet, so I don't have to stay at OLCC. I love water parks and was interested in staying at OLCC to try the water park out. I'm still quite curious about a place that provokes such strong responses, but given some of the issues with cleanliness, I'm not sure that I want to risk it.

I probably won't be able to get a 3 bedroom -- I'm actually only going to be able to stay for four nights, so I'm looking for a 7500 point trade in RCI Points or some other "cheap" way in, rather than using my best week or paying full points.

Anyway, thanks again for the insights!

[JudyS Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close JudyS]

...he said a common complaint of owners was the inability to be able to exchange back into OL as RCI was showing nothing ........all the while there were units sitting empty at the resort for the same time periods they were looking for......

Now, that's odd! Why wouldn't OLCC owners be able to trade back in?

I forgot to add in my last post -- I don't think OLCC is the easiest trade in Orlando. There are a lot of (mostly older) Orlando resorts than show up in SkyAuction's cheap auctions. OLCC usually isn't one of them, although Vacation Village at Parkway shows up almost all the time, and Cypress Pointe shows up a lot.

[lawgs Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawgs]

judy

i think he was sayng that rci did not have any more "inventory" available for straight trades/exchanges, not saying they did not have other inventory but it might have been used for a myriad of other purposes as written within the terms of agreement in an RCI membership.....either weeks or points

your observation about orange lake on sky auction is true ......they and HGVC have not appear there in ages.....2 years at least

the best siting that i ever saw on skyauction was in the Ready Set Go inventory .....it was Fairfield BONNET CREEK but this was just when they were opening.....it was probably spaced banked developer inventory

the 7500 orange lake gems will probably disappear after the new year .......OL is committed to inventory with RCI right now but once the USE years begin supposedly in January that will all change ..



caveat

now you have to take what is posted by me with a grin of salt since "much of what i post is considered as being mis information over yonder. i seem to go out of my way to post in that manner....smilawgs

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

anyhoiw, duing the course of the converstion with the owner support personnel i finally ended up talking to ......one of the strongest points he made was that OLCC was wrestling back the inventory from RCI and that in the new year, OLCC will not show up as much in RCI......

and in which New Year would that be? I see bulk OLCC all the way thru first quarter 2008 ( I'd post the sighting but RCI is down tonight...again)

Anyway I will share what I HAVE noticed about the weeks being deposited during school vacation periods; NO 3 BDRMS unless you look 2 years out

So the West Village rumor is definately an attainable goal at least during busy periods as you can get 3BDRM unit with som eforward planning at any other time easily.

and FWIW OLCC has been putting exchangers into the West Village units for YEARS. This is nothing new just more official than in the past.

[lawgs Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawgs]

lawren

please read my caveat.....i tend to exaggerate according to over yonder....

so what i glean from OLCC owner support service maybe in error

never thought about checking the availability that far out.....wonder if OL can "take back" what they have given to RCI through this new deal they are starting with Global Access/RCI points....maybe there was some arm twisting going on as orange lake was "sticking" it to RCI in negotiations

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

I've decided to do a search for my one post on Orange Lake that detailed our experience. I posted on TUG, but eventually it will get deleted because of age, and it will more likely be preserved here.

I would like to remember it for myself too.

I try not to get into the frey because it brings back so many bad memories!

Here it is:

Get ready for our Orange Lake story. I've kept pretty quiet about it for a long time, but it still makes me angry. Read to the end and you will see why.

First of all, we also had a very dirty unit at OLCC (Tennis Villas). It had hair in the jacuzzi and even in the sheets, and dead bugs in the kitchen.

They sent someone over to clean right away and they did clean everything and change the sheets. However, we also had several broken things that kept popping up as we would decide to use them...the phone in the bedroom didn't work, then we discovered the oven didn't work, then the tub didn't work properly.

For us, though, the worst part was that my daughter had a medical emergency and ended up in the hospital. We actually had to call an ambulance, and my husband went with her while I stayed behind with the other two kids. Now, at my home resort, if something like this ever happened (and it did with a friend of mine) they would bend backwards to help you. At Orange Lake, I first called the desk to ask if they knew of any babysitting so that I could join my husband and daughter in the hospital. They didn't, and really didn't seem to care too much. Then, when it appeared that she would have to stay and have surgery, I called to ask if they could find a place for us to stay for one extra night as we wouldn't be able to fly home on time. Our unit was scheduled for maintenance the next week and was going to be unoccupied, but they wouldn't let us stay there. Instead, they told us we could rent a night from them for $500 for the night. Considering we were there on a vacation escape of $199 for a week (it was off-season), we found this insulting, especially given our difficult circumstances.

Finally, we decided to fly her home for the surgery. We checked out, got medical clearance, and flew home. We drove directly from JFK to the hospital. In the car on the way to the hospital, my cel phone rang. It was Orange Lake, calling to find out when we would be paying them for the extra night. They had no idea that we had checked out, even though I did it personally at the front desk while explaining our situation.

Ick.

Sharon

For clarification, we were in the Tennis Villas (and we had requested that location based on TUGger advice) in fall of 2003.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Sharon

OMG...that was one ugly story.....I feel so badly that that happened to you, and your daughter.....

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I haven't read all of the OL discussions, but what I have appear to be about how this will affect OL owners.

How about the other 99.99999999% of timeshare owners, those who don't own at OL? And, specifically, how will this affect trading into OL?

My guess is it won't, or not much. We have been through one of these cash-producing manipulations at Mr. Seagull's vacation mill when he decided to disaffiliate with RCI in 1990 or 1991 or so. The end result of that is that we continued to be RCI members and trade through RCI for the remaining 12 years or so of our ownership.

Like when RCI introduced Global Points (you think OL would at least come up with a more dissimilar name for their replication of it ), an option, the option opted for by the overwhelming majority, was to do nothing, to not fork over more bucks to do what they had already been doing, only differently. RCI Weeks is a paid-for, profitable program that could stand alone today, with Weeks members trading for other Weeks members' weeks, without any help from outside, and there would even be excess inventory.

How many years has it been since Global Points was introduced?

So, extrapolating, most OL owners will do nothing except what they have always done, use their week at OL or deposit it with RCI Weeks. And exchanges will still be available. Why would OL enter into a long-term agreement with RCI (if my crystal ball is accurate) if that was not the case?

The way Go Global is being so poorly introduced would tend to discoiurage owners from buying in.

Let's face it, in timesharing the vast majority are satisfied and complacent, and doing nothing is easiest. OL would have to bombard their owners with hype in order to greatly affect the number of RCI Weeks members, IMO.

Let's meet back in five, ten years, and see? In fact, let's all trade into OL the same week and discuss it there.

[lawgs Member Find all posts View Profile Close lawgs]

oh no ....=(

the olbigatory email preceded this


You have been banned for the following reason:
Violation of the BBS "Be Courteous" rule - after having been warned

Date the ban will be lifted: August 16, 2006, 09:00 AM

looks like it is one way streets "over there"....smilawgs

at least they have not found post #63 in the Go Global which contains my response to LOL's disparaging remarks in another thread which have been censored

i will not misbehave here i promise....

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Oh Noooo! We have a parolee!!

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Gosh, Who Could See That Coming!



And a few ex-cons.
- - - - - -
Regarding my post #42, future exchanging into OL, both Lawren and I took a look and RCI will definitely be involved with OL at least until two years from now, as far out as you can search.

And there are 3 bedroom units available, although that ends the first of June, 2008.