Thinking of adding on at Riviera…..questions for those that own there.

[edk35]

We are here at Disney now. We have been thinking of adding on some points the past few months. For those that own here are you happy with your choice? Any regrets? There is a promotion going on right now so that is a plus, however resale would be cheaper. Did you buy direct or resale? Any other advice or tips would be appreciated!! Thanks!

 

[Bo1203]

We bought direct. First contract and we wanted the blue card benefits. Zero regrets.

With two little ones the splash pad, restaurant options, convenance of a tower, size & quality of the studios and skyliner to two parks are amazing. Also, the long contract.

Before I bought resale there, I would stay there and make sure you love it. We're considering adding on resale points there.

 

[RuntheMouse]

We just added on at Riviera on Sunday. Was planning on waiting until summer but ……. Anyway we went direct, I think I mentioned that in your older post. We now have 150 direct at Riviera for the blue card and everything else is resale. No regrets whatsoever. We wanted some unrestricted points to ride off into the sunset with.

 

[edk35]

We just added on at Riviera on Sunday. Was planning on waiting until summer but ……. Anyway we went direct, I think I mentioned that in your older post. We now have 150 direct at Riviera for the blue card and everything else is resale. No regrets whatsoever. We wanted some unrestricted points to ride off into the sunset with.

Did you get any of the incentives?

 

[kanerf]

I own 100 direct and 50 resale. No regrets at all. Keep in mind that the per night point rates are quite a bit higher than those at some of the older resorts, but other than that it is a wonderful resort with nice rooms and the added benefit of the Skyliner access.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Did you get any of the incentives?

We added 100 so we only got the $8/pt off.

ETA: and 2023 points, Aug UY

 

[UrsulaWantsYourSoul]

It was our first DVC purchase and no regrets. Such a lovely property. Just know that in the summer the Skyliner will go down in the afternoons due to lightning. We just plan for it and are fine.

 

[lowlight]

No regrets. It’s my favorite Epcot resort, just in front of Boardwalk, which I feel has a better “area”, but worse accommodations. Best food, compact resort, no sharing of buses, and yes, while walking to HS and Epcot is nice, sometimes it’s nicer to take a sweet gondola ride after a few miles in the parks. It’s not gonna blow your socks off at Christmas time like WL or GF, but I don’t care about that much anyhow. Sitting down at the QS Primo and having actual plates and utensils and people delivering your food for QS costs, and the food doesn’t suck like many resort QS, it’s pretty good. Only negatives are point charts and what they consider preferred views. I bought direct, but my direct buying days are done forever.

 

[tx911]

We stayed here last month, and loved it.

I plan on adding on somewhere in the 50-100 point range. I'll do direct because I want my points to be able to pool with my VGF at 7 months.

Just waiting to see if incentives get any better next round.

 

[Pongo111]

It’s like a 4 Seasons with Disney flare - I mean that in a good way. It’s luxe, it’s super clean, I love the lobby background music I play it all the time, even the smell of the resort is amazing. Topolinos is best character breakfast. But yeah I reiterate that as an owner I likely won’t stay here as often as I want due to heavy point costs! But it’s bellisimo!

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Zero regrets.



Other than the signature item (to me, anyways) - the Tomahawk Veal Chop - no longer being on the dinner menu at Topolino’s

 

[edk35]

It was our first DVC purchase and no regrets. Such a lovely property. Just know that in the summer the Skyliner will go down in the afternoons due to lightning. We just plan for it and are fine.

Thanks!!! We usually travel in late winter/early spring and late fall..

 

[edk35]

Zero regrets.



Other than the signature item (to me, anyways) - the Tomahawk Veal Chop - no longer being on the dinner menu at Topolino’s

I just hate when something we love goes away at our fave Disney restaurant.

 

[Sandisw]

We fell in love and have no regrets in buying both resale and direct.

My goal is to add on 100 more in the next few year. We stay here every trip as part of a split stay! There really is nothing about it we don’t like.

I find having coffee in the morning out near the waters edge overlooking CBR makes me feel relaxed to start my day!!

 

[pineapplepalms]

No regrets. Love it whenever we stay there. The Boardwalk area is my favorite and we love Epcot and HS, but we wanted to add on at RIV since BWV (which we also own) has a much shorter contract. Bought direct since we wanted to be able to combine with our other points. The Skyliner is better than the monorail with a double inline stroller and we typically get our own gondola. We also like the food options there and our kids love the splash pad. Plus we love resorts like RIV that have both Murphy beds in the 1BR, since we can stay in a 1BR for longer until our kids are older and save some points.

 

[jcolvin5]

We purchased our first contract direct, 150pts at RIV. We love it. It’s new, it’s bright. Great food. Great access with the skyliner. It’s hard not to like honestly, but everyone has their likes and dislikes.

We bought direct for the perks. Thinking of adding on as we settled into each of our contracts and really see how much we need. I’d give resale a hard look for sure. Good luck!

 

[DVCsloth]

We bought direct a couple years ago. I don't think I would purchase my first contract resale because of the fact that its only good at Riviera. No regrets, excellent Disney property and another thing that we like about it is the access to Epcot for the dining options. Annual pass makes it easy to go to Epcot or HS just for dining even if we're just going for that reason. It works really well for us since we have a MK resort and with Riviera, a HS/Epcot resort. I do realize the HS/Epcot resort is not the same as BW/BCV but it is almost as good of a location Imo.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

We bought direct in 2019 100 points (minimum to get blue card at that time,) and then added another 200 direct in December, 2020, during our Welcome Home when we were pixie dusted from a studio to a 1B.

Zero regrets. I do think 200-400 is about what you're going to need because the point charts are high, so that's the only con, really. Well, the main pool is nothing special in terms of shape and theming, but the quiet pool has a really beautiful zen vibe we love.

I think Riviera is one of the best resorts for littles due to the positioning of the splash pad/main pool/hot tub/Bar Riva/bathrooms all being in a triangular positioning for optimal parental lounging/keeping an eye on kids of different ages.

The room layout, IMO, is THE most user friendly. I love the huge foyer for ECVs/shoes/strollers, wide entryways, alley kitchen, closet storage -- it's really well done.

On-site food options are great, and maybe we've just been lucky, but we've only had the Skyliner shut down due to weather twice on six trips. The first time I was panicked because I got a lot of conflicting information where to go at Epcot, but now we know where to just grab an Uber/Lyft, and for like $6 we're back at Riviera. NBD.

We LOVE the Skyliner. It's a ride in and of itself, and we take the kids in their jammies for a ride over to Pop/AoA to check out their gift shops at night to enjoy the sights. I anxiously check all the WDW rumor mills for expansion plans to the Skyliner. I do think it's only a matter of time before they expand out to Disney Springs/OKW/SS/TL and/or Coronado/GD/BB/AK/***/ASM area, and *possibly* to a rerouted TTC/MK in my fantasy life. If/when that happens, Riviera will be the only resort with direct Skyliner access and will become the Epcot's version of the Contemporary for transportation access.

Now the kids are older and are fine staying by themselves in the room if we want to go up one floor for dinner/drinks at Topolinos, and it's REALLY nice to have a great dining option right on site. The character breakfast is our favorite, too.

I've gotten over hearing the anti Riviera/resale restrictions rage. The resale prices have been pretty stable, IMO, and I don't think they're terrible, either, considering it's still being actively sold. I think when Riviera is sold out it will appreciate, albeit slowly. If the Skyliner is expanded though, I think it will skyrocket in price on resale. Once people STAY there, they seem to really like it.

We plan to pass the contracts down to the kids. They'll be 57 and 58 in 2070, and we'll be pushing up daisies or drooling in a bed somewhere. Plenty of time for us all to use the points as we see fit either in our retirement or when they're starting families of their own. Long contract length is a plus, to us.

 

[kboo]

I've gotten over hearing the anti Riviera/resale restrictions rage. The resale prices have been pretty stable, IMO, and I don't think they're terrible, either, considering it's still being actively sold. I think when Riviera is sold out it will appreciate, albeit slowly. If the Skyliner is expanded though, I think it will skyrocket in price on resale. Once people STAY there, they seem to really like it.

I agree with all you said! Just returned from a quick weekend there - although we have home resort (direct) points from 2019 there, the last time we stayed at Riviera was ... ? Either 2022 or 2021 - we used a ton of points for Aulani last year, and last two summers decided to sleep around (BWV/AKV) (BCV).If we are staying at BCV or BWV, which we do occasionally, then we'll split with a resort that's near AK or MK.

We bought direct in 2019 after already having blue card benefits, no regrets at all. Although it doesn't have the wow factor of VGF at Christmas, it is peaceful and beautiful nonetheless. No plans to sell, but it's good to see that resale prices aren't ridiculous considering it's still in active sales. We love the quiet pool there, and have only stayed in standard views because we can.

every time we stay, we try to eat at Topolino's or at least visit for drinks.

 

[NVDISFamily]

no sharing of buses

This is true but we noticed during busy times our enterprising neighbors at CBR will tend to see that the bus line for RVA was more accommodating than their line and on a few trips the bus was 75 percent CBR guests. This led to some fun discussions about Riviera with our neighbors who all thought we were fancy for staying there.

As for the OP question, no regrets at all. It was ranked very high between the three resorts we took the family to for our reunion in 2023.