1 or 2 Bedroom availability at Riviera - 11 months?

[Sydnerella]

We are researching a DVC purchase at Riviera and I’m seeing that studios generally seem to be gone quickly - perhaps more quickly at most other resorts though? Is this also true of Riviera? My primary interest is How quickly are the Preferred View 1 and 2 Bedrooms booking? These are the rooms we would prefer or likely book most often. Not the studios.

I’m afraid of buying and being unable to use it when we want with the room we want as I educate myself more about this product and read more of these threads. We may buy direct, resale or not at all. We do see ourselves wanting to stay at Riviera. And possibly being OK with the inability to stay elsewhere if we could save money buying resale. **** Unless availability is terrible or will be in the future with these restrictions on where resale contracts can stay.

The likely travel times of year for us are below, How likely are the preferred one and two bedrooms to be available at 11 months during these booking windows? And do they book up really quickly at 11 or would I be able to still find them at six months out or two months out?

MLK week in January - Period 2/7
Last week of March - Period 6/7
Third week of June - Period 4/7
Second week of July - Period 4/7
Third week of October - Period 4/7
Thanksgiving week - Period 4/7 and 6/7
First week of December - Period 2/7

THANKS FOR HELPING!

 

[Sydnerella]

It would be amazing to have DVC at Rivera! I dream of staying in the grand Villa someday! I am sure those have way more availability because they are such a heavy lift in terms of points HA!

 

[Marionnette]

Thanksgiving week and the first week of December are extremely busy for DVC. October and MLK week are very busy. Spring breaks, school holidays are moderately busy. Summer is not terribly busy.

Booking a 1BR or 2BR at RIV at 11 months should not be difficult most of the time. At 7 months you may have trouble getting anything during the most busy periods. At 2 months, getting any of the more popular resorts is a crap shoot.

Also, keep in mind that RIV is not sold out yet. When that happens, availability will change from what we see now. DVD declares rooms into DVC inventory before they sell the points so there are more rooms available to book than there are points owned by RIV members. Now is actually the best time for DVC members who don't own at RIV to be able to book there.

 

[Sandisw]

I deleted posts that showed real time availability. We do not allow that here on the DIS as it changes so often.

If you are booking right at 11 months for the times you list you should be fine with getting what you want as an owner.

It is SV rooms that go fast so as long as you are ready right on the dot, getting something at RIV should be fine.

I own there and while I have worked to get SV certain times, PV was always available without an issue.

Some of your times may become difficult if you wait into the window so if you buy RIV resale, you will want to book right at 11 months because you won’t be trading anywhere else as those points can’t.

If you don’t think you can do the 11 month booking regularly, you may want to think about direct for that resort.

I do have both resale and direct at RIV but I always go on exactly at 11 months to use my resale points.

 

[CarolMN]

Please do not post availability here. If we allowed these types of posts, the boards would be inundated with them. Availability changes so often that any "snapshot" really isn't worth much until the instant you are actually booking, anyway.

General statements / trends are welcome.

@Sydnerella, this link may be of some use to you as you consider your purchase:

DVC Availability

 

[SleeplessInTO]

You could consider buying a fixed week.

 

[drusba]

For reservations, Riviera has developed a distinct difference between preferred rooms and the combination of standard and Tower rooms. At 11 months out, the preferred rooms (all sizes) have generally been readily available, and, at least as to preferred dedicated 2BRs and 1BRs also available even at 7-months out during most times outside of the high to extremely high demand season from late Sep to marathon weekend The standard studios (and as result 2BR lock-offs) and Tower studios, however, both can disappear quickly at 11-months out during that high demand season and sometimes even other times of year and are generally difficult at 7-months out; standard 1BRs and dedicated 2BRs generally last somewhat beyond 11-months out and during the mid-Jan to late Sep period can many times be open at 7-months out.

 

[Sydnerella]

You could consider buying a fixed week.

I do not know what this entails - nor had any awareness that it was a thing.

 

[Her Dotness]

A fixed week is called a guaranteed week by Disney. It'll be Sunday to Sunday--a full week, 7 nights. You buy it direct from Disney--if the one you prefer is available. Disney decides which and how many they'll sell, so the one you'd like may not be sold that way.

If you know you'll want to go the week before Christmas most years, for example, you can lock in that week by purchasing it as a guaranteed week. You'll have it each year without the need to check back often if a few days of the week you want aren't available when you try to book.

It has to be a specific villa-type and view, such as a preferred view studio, in a certain resort. So, there's a danger of buying a pretty pricey one that you realize doesn't work for your family very well after staying in it.

The big benefit of doing that with DVC is that when you can't or don't want to go then, you can cancel your week. The number of points it has become like regular points which you can use to book another time of the year, a different resort, larger or smaller villa, etc. You become like everybody else, scrambling to book where you can find availability for when you'd rather go.

The catch, you ask? A guaranteed week costs around 10% more than the direct buy price. Since you're paying for a specific villa type and view, the cost can be a lot more than you can afford, because direct-buy points are Disney-expensive. (And we all know how that goes.)

Details here on DISboards: https://www.disboards.com/threads/all-about-fixed-weeks-riv-ccv-aul-vgf-poly-charts.3806985/