AKL or Riviera to balance out split-stay at Poly?

[Jlo85]

This board has been so helpful, and sorry for so many questions. We are currently buying a Poly contract and then quickly decided we wanted more and that split-stays appeal to us. I was originally leaning towards Animal Kingdom Lodge but the ROFR situation has me a little nervous since I always shop for a deal. We'd like to travel in the fall of 2023, so we want to get the contract wrapped-up rather quickly.

I was dead-set against Riviera, but the reviews are really good. And I'm starting to question whether I really need the flexibility of the legacy resorts... We plan to travel in November each year, so 7 month availability is pretty low anyways it appears. And I thought we could do some summer trips to AUL, HHI, or VB but now I'm questioning whether we'd even do that. I see a lot of longtime members that never make it out to those resorts.

Anyone have any feedback on this? We're a family of 4 with an 7yo and 4yo. We would like to do trips every other year with friends or do a trip every 3rd year with a big reunion (might need more points for that).

 

[Sandisw]

I voted for Riviera because it’s my favorite. But I do have some reasons as well.

We split stay between VGF and RIV ever trip. Occasionally the VGF has been BLT.

We love having proximate and ease to 3 of the 4 parks as we do not enjoy the buses and avoid them when we can.

The studios are really nice and have the split bath like Poly. SV rooms go fast and if you want to stay in those regularly, you have to own there. Even owning they will go fast in November.

We love being in walking distance to CBR which does open options for additional food when hanging at the resort. The Skyliner can be a cool fun thing to for little ones to ride and take to Pop or AOA to open even more food.

I personally don’t like AKV but will say it’s a great resort for young kids But, those rooms do tend to last longer than the n RIV will.

We own both direct and resale points at RIV. We bought our resale points in such a way that we never have left overs or if we do it’s very little. This way, we can’t strand points. But they are also in a membership with VGF points that can be used there as well so that helps.

Good luck!

 

[Jlo85]

I voted for Riviera because it’s my favorite. But I do have some reasons as well.

We split stay between VGF and RIV ever trip. Occasionally the VGF has been BLT.

We love having proximate and ease to 3 of the 4 parks as we do not enjoy the buses and avoid them when we can.

The studios are really nice and have the split bath like Poly. SV rooms go fast and if you want to stay in those regularly, you have to own there. Even owning they will go fast in November.

We love being in walking distance to CBR which does open options for additional food when hanging at the resort. The Skyliner can be a cool fun thing to for little ones to ride and take to Pop or AOA to open even more food.

I personally don’t like AKV but will say it’s a great resort for young kids But, those rooms do tend to last longer than the n RIV will.

We own both direct and resale points at RIV. We bought our resale points in such a way that we never have left overs or if we do it’s very little. This way, we can’t strand points. But they are also in a membership with VGF points that can be used there as well so that helps.

Good luck!

Thank you! We just had an offer accepted on AKV, but I think if it gets ROFR’d I’m going to buy at RIV.

 

[supersnoop]

Poly has good access to MK (boat, monorail, walk) and Epcot (walk to TTC for Monorail). With Riviera, you get Skyliner access to Hollywood Studios (with a transfer). With Animal Kingdom Villas, you'll be much closer to Animal Kingdom park, and you'll have animals outside your balcony (or nearby).

Personally, my split stays are typically BLT and BWV which covers Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. These are two resorts where I own. Alternatively, I do enjoy PVB and AKV, which gives me easy access to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. I can typically get these two resorts at 7 months with my SSR points.

Therefore, I personally don't see value in owning both PVB and RIV together. If I was set on RIV, I'd pair it with BLT or VGF. Since you've already got PVB, I'd go with AKV.