I don’t know if they always do it but to the left of the skyliner at IG, there’s a gate that opens and you can wait there and they will take you backstage on the bus to get to RIV so you don’t have to walk to the front.
We've gotten spectacular NYW fireworks views from Riviera - also of both Epcot and MK. While we usually use our RIV points there, we are now (after a few years of ownership) starting to use our points elsewhere. We have other points that can be used outside the O14 (bought resale pre 2019). While I'd say that MOST of the time we use our points at our home resorts, we don't always - it's probably 1/4 or 1/3 of the times we will switch at 7 months. We've stated at BCV 2-3x and BWV 2-3x on other points, and while I do like each of them for different reasons, the rooms are much nicer at Riviera. I do encourage you to take a tour. The bath layouts in studios are especially good at Riviera, and the studios and 1BR sleep 5. There are no sofa beds at Riviera (this may be the case at BWV after the refurb, too, but the 1br only sleep 4).
This is good to know. We bought Riviera before opening and have gone many times over the years, and we've still never had to take the bus. We've been in the skyliner line when it snaked around that area, and it's not been a terrible wait - about 10 minutes? We also did extended evening hours at Epcot last summer (when we were staying at BWV) and were happy to just walk back, but the line was not too bad as we passed.
That’s not correct.
technically, yes, but who would by BCV or BWV direct?
Yes agreed no one should buy those direct. I just wanted to make it clear, comparing apples to apples.
), then waited to pack like sardines on a bus that went to EVERY LAST RESORT before finally letting us off more than an hour later at Riviera. I know it's been beat like a dead horse, but the Riviera is in a terrible location without the skyliner and way too many times, we've had to do without the skyliner. We usually travel late August through Food and Wine, so it's prime hurricane/rainy season. If you don't plan to travel during that time, maybe it won't be a biggie but we have started staying at Beachclub and Boardwalk instead for Food and wine. Also didn't care about restrictions at all when we bought cause we weren't never going to sell, but starting to feel a little differently now that were seriously thinking about selling and buying something else instead that gets us off the skyliner. When it works it is the best location as good as any monorail resort, but when it's not working its actually worse than animal kingdom and saratoga which don't share the bus with other resorts. We'll uber to Topolinos (still one of the best restaurants at WDW), but staying at the Riviera has been a gambling game I don't want to play no more.
That's fair. That sucks they didn't open up the bus path for you guys near IG! But yeah it sort of is a gamble at times staying at Riviera, when everything is working the resort is amazing. But if the skyliner is down its a huge negative. I wish there was a way for them to utilize boat transportation at the resort to the parks. To be fair though, it really is only most prominent when you're coming back from Epcot to your resort at least for us anyways. If the skyliner is down, we probably wouldn't walk the 20 minutes from HS to BCV/BWV in the rain and would have taken the bus although others might walk. That being said I hope you at least broke up your 300 points into multiple contracts!We bought 300 Riviera pts direct back in 2020 when incentives put the price pretty darn close to some resale places that couldn't book the Riviera. Me and hubby loved what we saw from the resort and the skyliner looked amaaaaazing. After buying there we stayed there 5 times and every single visit we've been stranded more than once by the skyliner shutting down. Most of the time it wasn't even raining, and the cast members just said there was lightening some miles away, the worst time was when we had to run in the rain from the back entrace to Epcot all the way to Boardwalk (insult to injury, I tell you
I hear you on this - this is the exact time of year we’d be using our RIV points too - so I could see it being especially problematic. Curious - how has it been getting BWV/BCV at 7 month? I own GFV (partially to stay but partially as SAP) and hoping August is a bit easier to land rooms at Crescent Lake.We bought 300 Riviera pts direct back in 2020 when incentives put the price pretty darn close to some resale places that couldn't book the Riviera. Me and hubby loved what we saw from the resort and the skyliner looked amaaaaazing. After buying there we stayed there 5 times and every single visit we've been stranded more than once by the skyliner shutting down. Most of the time it wasn't even raining, and the cast members just said there was lightening some miles away, the worst time was when we had to run in the rain from the back entrace to Epcot all the way to Boardwalk (insult to injury, I tell you
Riviera owner here who also loves BWV/BCV. We often go that last week in August.
This is super helpful, THANK YOU! (And weather is so hit or miss...we used to go every October and of course we were stuck in WDW for Hurricane Matthew so you never know...)
Did you recently buy into RIV? For some reason I don't remember that being in your sig
Did you recently buy into RIV? For some reason I don't remember that being in your sig
