If you're going on vacation in Orlando soon and will have some time to spare while you are down there, it might be worth your while to go on some timeshare tours. With so many timeshares in Orlando competing for sales, you can often get some pretty good freebies for touring a new timeshare resort for a few hours.

On my last trip to Florida, I picked up free tickets to Universal Studios and Sea World and a few cash bonuses as well by doing a couple of different tours. This saved me quite a bit of money during my vacation, but if I'd thought to negotiate better I probably could have received even more free goodies. So if you are in a position to negotiate, do so! Usually all you need to do to get a better offer is sound less than enthusiastic about doing it.

Once you are down in Orlando, you'll probably find that you won't even have to look all that hard for a timeshare tour offer because they'll find you. But if you want to speed things up or get the tours out of the way before you move on to the rest of your vacation, then take a drive up and down Rte. 192 near Walt Disney World for a bit. You should see plenty of signs offering "free" or "discounted" theme park tickets. Virtually all of those tickets will be in exchange for doing a tour of a nearby timeshare.

Do not do a tour for just a discount. You want free tickets or cash at the end of the presentation. A timeshare presentation is far too grueling to bother with just for a discount, so think freebies only. Keep in mind, you will need to fork over $20 to reserve your tour. You'll get that money back after the presentation is over. The deposit is designed to cut back on the number of no shows.

Other places to find vendors working with the timeshare resorts to book a tour are at various 7-Elevens, some of the Howard Johnson motels (check the lobby for a desk) and the "See and Do" tourist info centers. There's one on Rte. 192 in Kissimmee. If you are driving to Orlando from the Northeast, there's actually a "See and Do" info center in South Carolina right on Interstate 95 as you head south. There will be signs for miles letting you know it's there, so don't worry about missing it.

If you decide you are going to go on more than one timeshare tour while you are in Orlando, just make sure that you don't book the same resort twice. They usually require six months between tours, so ask which timeshare the tour is for before signing yourself up to go. Also, many timeshare developers have multiple resorts in Orlando. The every six months rule will apply to all their properties. So if you aren't sure, ask to confirm who the developer /owner is before booking.