So I go in to get my X-mas ornament...kind of over by the Flooded Mine. I've been to SDC on 5 trips now -- on 10 days total. Apparently I can't get the ornament because we only went to 4 festivals. It has to be 5 separate festivals, so I'm SOL. Not happy about that.
Anyway, in that room, there's a lady who wants us to go listen to a spiel for 90 minutes about some hotels or something. If we did, we'd get a free Vegas vacation (there were other available destinations).
It sounds promising. But it also sounded a little fishy to me. I'd of had to have paid $30 (which would have been refunded) to make sure I'd attend the spiel.
Anyone do it? Was it legit?
I don't know anything about the spiel you are talking about, but my Grandma and I went to Branson for her & my bday (only 10 days apart) a few years ago. Every restaraunt we went to, Grandma said, "Watch this, we'll get free stuff." She talked to the people at the desks that give away show tickets and discounts on things. So I would go get a table while she was 'getting free stuff'. She also did this when we went shopping. Pretty much anywhere there was a person 'giving away free stuff', she would stop and 'get free stuff'. We got almost the whole trip for free. I was thinking "Maybe I should travel with her more often!"
One of my friends said "Isn't it embarassing hanging out with your grandma?" I said, "It's Branson. Its probably more embarassing for her to be hanging out with a teenager." No offense, but I do have a point.
that's funny tiff and i wouldn't think you grandma would be embarrassed too be seen with you, she loves you and probably enjoys every minute of your company. and as far as the spiel i have a buddy whom i work with that does that all the time, he recently went through a divorce and has no credit so too make a long story short they run his credit and then tell him sorry we cant help you.
I know she's likes to be with me. It was a joke. There are a lot of older people that visit Branson, so I was saying how teens don't like to be seen with other age groups, so maybe older people don't like to be seen with other age groups either.
That spiel thing sounds like a timeshare thing. As long as you're strong-willed enough to get up and leave the second 90 minutes has been reached, I'd say go for it. My mom and stepdad did a timeshare thing in Branson, but they're way too nice so instead of getting up as soon as 90 minutes hit, they stayed for the entire spiel, which lasted some 3 hours and ended up cutting into the time we got to spend at SDC with tix we'd gotten free for going to the spiel. We also got stuck in the rundown Boxcar Willie motel instead of one of the timeshare condos they'd promised we'd get to stay at because "they weren't finished."
You also have to be very firm when they try to get you to buy the timeshare. Unless you know 100% for sure you can afford a timeshare and will actually use it, don't get one and don't let them convince you otherwise with payment plans or whatever they may throw at you to try to convince you to get it. And if you get one and want to sell it? Please be VERY careful, 'cause my mom & stepdad got duped by a fake company offering to sell their timeshare for them and they lost nearly $6,000 in the deal when the company suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth. That's what put us behind in our mortgage payments and ended up with the house going into foreclosure and us having to move to a rental.
Oh, and the people trying to sell to you will be UBER-nice and will tell you their life story to try to get you to open up. They're really friendly; overly friendly. The guy who worked with my mom & stepdad through the process was this huge blond ex-wrestler guy who was really nice and even paid for our family to have a breakfast buffet with him. But as nice as he was, it all ended with my mom & stepdad being convinced to buy something they really couldn't afford and put us on a bad path financially.
So yeah... with forewarning and a strong will, you can get some good free trips out of timeshare spiel offers.
I have been on the Bass Pro time share deal. Used this in Pigeon FOrge to pay for my rooms. it was worth while but yes as mentioned you HAVE to be a strong willed person and just say no.
I must chime in that it really turns me off to think that SDC is letting these people in there gates.
That is expected in Branson at the Golden Coralle but not when I am visiting the city.
even so it sounds like you will still be paying for something or other. My husband and I won a trip to somewhere (we didnt take) due to having had read the fine print and we would of had to pay out the tail feathers for our "free" vacay
I would love to go on these...I am a tightwad, and very stubborn when it comes to spending my money...but my wife doesn't like the spur of the moment easy going trips, nor does she like wasting time on the timeshaere if she in fact will not be buying it. She is a planner, and would feel guilty about not buying or wasting their time.
we picked up our passes and ornamnets 2 weeks ago and their was noone their doing the "spiel",,, BUT that does no belong in the city!
I also agree that it doesn't belong in the City!
Is this for real? Sponsored by or allowed by SDC? Can anyone confirm? If it has to be, then keep it out by the front gate. Really?? Very disappointing to hear about this!
Oh gosh.. 1 of our worst trips EVER to Branson & SDC had to do with a timeshare thingy. All we wanted was to see the show Spirit of the Dance. We got 2 tickets for free & was 3-4 rows from the stage. We went thru the whole timeshare thing, & by the end my wife was almost in tears. We kept saying no, & then he went & got his boss. Bad mistake!! That was it!! I took out my last bit of $$$$ & asked the boss -- you really think i'm gunna give you my last bit of $$$$??!! We walked out.... And will never do anything like that again. Period.
600+ posts! I'm a Blacksmith now. :D
Yes they have a little dek setup where you get your season pass and where you can enter to win the boat out front. After I had gotten my pass they were asking me about a timeshare I told did not need one because we have a condo already. Well the they wanted to offer me a free meal which I thought I could sit through one of these things but the issue was I have to bring my wife and she would not go and sit through one so after that they thanked me and walked away.
I have never understood why these people expect both spouses to be there, except I guess to try to convince one and then wear the other down.
Oh yeah, I remember seeing the boat during 3 or 4 of our visits, and everytime we walked passed it, Dad would say "Boy, that would be nice to have!" but he wouldn't fill out the ticket for the drawing.
the boat drawing was inside the building when i was there last weekend... :-\
Yeah, just to confirm...
It wasn't at the front gate. It was in that building over by the Flooded Mine where you get new passes and the ornament (which I'm still bummed I didn't get. We made 4 festivals...missed our fifth -- the kids fest -- by a day.)
next door to the woodcarvers.... across from the magic show
Unfortunatley they are everywhere now.....worse thing to happen to Branson I think. Some hotels now have in their lobby to get the rooms rented if they allow these companies to put a desk in. So you stay at "the hotel they provide & get cheap tickets" at your expense and then try to sell you time share? It's one thing to have in restaurants, malls, and now SDC & hotels? It's a sad thing, if it was one or two places that sold them okay but there are too many these days. In speaking with many people, it is becoming a major turn off and they don't want to come back if "this is what it's going to".
My all time favorite time share story was one I read on another forum. This fellow got tired of saying, "No", they pretty much had him hijacked in a small room, and he had had enough, so he pulled out his phone and reported to 911 that he was being held hostage. Apparently, that did the trick, and they let him leave - quickly!
Haha! That is awesome! I would never think of calling the cops, but if that's what it takes! Lol
I was at the IMAX Mall one day over the summer and I was waiting for my mom to get done paying for something (I wasn't allowed in the store with her because she was buying for Christmas) and my dad and sister had wandered off somewhere. I was talking to a lady at a timeshare booth. We started conversation and she mentioned that the timeshare place was hiring. I thought about it for a few days because I wanna work in the tourism/hospitality business. I decided against doing something like that. I'm not pushy enough and I don't wanna get the cops called on me. Lol
Quote from: tiffanylynnt on November 15, 2011, 09:34:57 PM
Haha! That is awesome! I would never think of calling the cops, but if that's what it takes! Lol
I was at the IMAX Mall one day over the summer and I was waiting for my mom to get done paying for something (I wasn't allowed in the store with her because she was buying for Christmas) and my dad and sister had wandered off somewhere. I was talking to a lady at a timeshare booth. We started conversation and she mentioned that the timeshare place was hiring. I thought about it for a few days because I wanna work in the tourism/hospitality business. I decided against doing something like that. I'm not pushy enough and I don't wanna get the cops called on me. Lol
Hey Tiffany, if you want to work in Branson, come by and fill out an app here; may be able to hire you. You "sound" great on the posts and your personality would fit right in! :D
The spiel has been going on at least a couple of months now. It is something in conjunction with Welk resorts. During the Fall festival we went to check out what was going on about registering for the boat. In reading the fine print on the registration form we saw that it was affiliated with Welk.
that reminds me of a trip too cabo san lucas Mexico, but first i would like too say sdc should be ashamed because these company's are ruining the theme of sdc and they have already taken hold of branson. anyway as soon as we got through customs in cabo we were told too go too this desk too arrange for our ride too the hotel. and it was a big push too get you to buy a timeshare there and like everyone has said they wouldn't let you leave until we said yes but we kinda outsmarted them the wife and i steped back pretending too talk about it and when we went back too tell them no she acted too get sick and asked for the bathroom. and after a couple minutes i said i wouldn't make a decision with out her so i went too see if she was OK and she was waiting for me right outside the door. i hate too be like that and lie too them but it was the last resort, the way i look at it was they were stealing time from me on my vacation, and i try and enjoy every minute i can away from home and that trip was only 4 days long. they are sharks man they don't care if you get ruined financially or who they ruin.
I have managed to avoid talking to them at all, so they haven't been a problem--other than aesthetically--for me. They do NOT want to try to corner me and get pushy. I grew up the son of an Air Force Chief Master Sgt, Chief of Flightline Maintenance. I am not an abrasive or abusive fellow, but I know how to act like one if I need to. . . .
Quote from: eagle1 on November 15, 2011, 09:51:08 PM
Hey Tiffany, if you want to work in Branson, come by and fill out an app here; may be able to hire you. You "sound" great on the posts and your personality would fit right in! :D
I gotta get done with this college thing first. I'm going to a 2yr community college. Maybe I can transfer to somewhere in Branson!
What's your major? have you considered online classes so that you aren't tied to a specific geographic area? How about a non-traditional format?
Right now, I'm doing general studies but when I tranfser, its going to be hospitality management. I have one online class, but I would rather sit in class. Its easier if I need help or need to talk to the teacher. It was nice tho when I spent an entire week out of town because I was on break from school. I got ahead on my english (online class) while I was winding down in the hotel room before going to bed. The next week when break was over, I had more time to do homework from the other classes.
Coalesce....sorry you didn't get your ornament.....we only went to 3 festivals and got ours when we got passes for next year......but we went to SDC 26 days during those 3 visits.
you must have hit some "events" during your 26 days...
This year there were 10 festivals/events that counted towards earning the ornament.
I sent an email to SDC this week about the overcharge on the souvenir cup refills (see my trip review in the 2011 trip thread) and I also mentioned in the email that I didn't think SDC should be allowing Welk on the property for the spiel. I did receive a response that apologized for the overcharge but there was no comment in the email about my concerns about Welk.
I am just speculating here, but I'm sure Welk brings in money for Silver Dollar City, so their presence isn't going to vanish anytime soon. :-X
Heck,
Welk has set up shop pitching weekend stays and free shows in exchange for a time share pitch inside Bud Walton Arena at Razorback basketball games. The Welk time share units are nice, I've seen one but not on a sales pitch, It's got a long way to go to close to fully developed. We stayed at the hotel last winter to let the kids use the indoor waterpark.