By Bonnie and Bill Neely
Have you ever received the offer from a large hotel chain to come for three free nights at a lovely resort, with the stipulation you MUST attend the three-hour tour with a salesperson the first day, with no obligation to purchase? Many people we know have received something like this and really enjoyed the experience, and many have also been excited and pleased to make the investment in a timeshare. Others we know have regretted the purchase because the monthly and annual maintenance and tax fees mount up interminably, and these time-shares are difficult to resell. So, BEWARE! The well-trained sales staff are quite experienced in pointing out the favorable, thrilling aspects of being a timeshare owner and being able to enjoy leisure weeks throughout the year. But they also know how to turn up the pressure!
Recently, on a cold and rainy week (because we were avoiding holidays and crowded times in Florida) we had a really enjoyable time near Orlando, FL, at the Mystic Dunes Hilton Resort. We were given a 2 bedroom, 2 bath large apartment with living room, dining room, and large kitchen. And we could call anytime we needed to be taken by golfcart to an activity or restaurant in the very large, beautiful resort property. The impressive, heated swimming pool with a high waterfall was beautiful to watch while we relaxed day or night, but the weather was too cold for us to swim. The Tiki Bar at the pool served good light fare. During our time there the wind was high and temperatures cold, but we loved watching the palm trees blowing in the breezes.
Had we been physically fit we could have enjoyed on-site tennis, golf, pickleball, and craft activities. And there were fun things for children to do also. We just enjoyed relaxing in our quarters and prepared our lunches there, since it was well-equipped for any preparation needs. We had a lovely porch with table and chairs overlooking the golf course. And we enjoyed a delicious meal in the Clubhouse Restaurant.
Although it would be nice to own a timeshare because we could choose among the many different locations our purchase would have included, we did not succumb to the pressure. We used our days to go to several other attractions, new since we were last in Orlando. ICON Park is a very nice, centrally located group of attractions with a good parking building beside it. There are so many fun things to see and do, for all ages. Little ones could roll in the grass or ride the little train circling this area where families could sit and have a picnic or enjoy food purchased from the many food stands. A large Ferris wheel, which could be seen a long way away, drew many tourists and locals to take the thrilling ride to oversee so many attractions Orlando is known for. We loved the Pirates Bay miniature golf course.
We excitedly got tickets to spend one of our days at Kennedy Space Center, from which real space exploration occurs, including missions to the Moon and to Mars. We call it the BEST adult and family theme park! Every exhibit is fascinating, fun, interactive, educational. This was the peak experience of our time in Florida.
NOTE: We hope you will also order our travel book: Real Ventures: Did We Really Do That?!!by Bonnie Burgess Neely. With five stars everywhere online (AmazonBooks; Barnes&Noble; Google; ITunes and wherever books are sold) our true travel stories will give you MANY LAUGHS and some GASPS of things that happened to us as we drove mileage equivalent to 3 trips to the moon or around the earth’s equator 25 times, taking in 9 countries including all over the USA, Canada, and Central America. Give yourself and loved ones this gift of fun leisure time reading!
If You Go: Orlando, FL, ICON Park Mystic Dunes Hilton Resort Kennedy Space Center
Real Travel Adventures 