Disneyland expands hotel, adds timeshares for increased demand

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Disneyland will add 250 units -- including time-shares -- to its Grand Californian Hotel & Spa in response to increased demand from tourists, The Orange County Register reported.

The 50 time-share offerings, the first to be built on the West Coast, will be a part of the Disney Vacation Club, which already has 350,000 members. Sales, profit and membership have doubled for the club since 2003, said Jim Lewis, president of Disney Vacation Club.

Still, 86 percent of members live on the East Coast and "we believe we should be going West," he said.

In Florida, the company offers more than 2,000 units at seven resorts Ã¢â‚¬â€ť six at Walt Disney World and one in Vero Beach. An eighth vacation club is in Hilton Head, S.C.

The units are set to be completed in 2009.

In research by San Rafael, Calif.-based Market Metrix, which surveys 35,000 North American travelers quarterly, Disney Vacation Club consistently scores as the top time-share choice, ranking first in eight of the last 10 quarters.