All Things Being Equal: VGF OR RIV

[Bjaiken77]

Throw out contract price, length, restrictions, point charts, etc. Just a simple gut reaction. Which one do you prefer and why?

 

[BillPA]

The rooms at RIV are set up better, IMHO. I would not pick either as my 1st, 2nd or 8th choice.

 

[cgodzyk]

Ooh tough one for me. First gut - VGF always. For me it might be a little bit of sentimentality, as we've already had so many wonderful family trips at both the Grand Floridan and VGF. We love to be able to walk to Poly for dinner at 'Ohana or jump on the monorail for a drink and some fireworks at TOTTW.

And we've recently had one of the best trips ever at RR, with two of our little grands. And it was amazing to hop on the Skyliner for a stroll around Epcot in the evenings.

As we now own at both, so I'm probably not the best judge!

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

VGF is walking distance to MK/Poly and is on the monorail loop. VGF is one of my least favorites (not my style) but those factors put it above Riv for me.

 

[NoTime42]

VGF. (Although I’m still remembering walking through the GF lobby while the orchestra played)
You can get the advantages of the RIV location for a lot less staying at CBR.

 

[Sandisw]

Both. My trips are all a split between those two if I can’t get VGF, then I book BLT.

Next week I’m doing two nights at VGF and one at RIV

 

[Matty B13]

We own at VGF, so that is my preference, however I've never stayed at RIV. We would have bought at Poly if it had 1 or 2 bedrooms because we are a family of 5, and it would have just be going on sale when we started purchasing DVC points. The location with the new bridge is awesome, especially with young kids. Also, it has some of the best restaurants and we are huge fans of 1900 Park for the character breakfast (one of the mad haters is awesome with the kids). The pools are nice, nothing to get super excited about, but the one by the villas has a water slide and kids play area.

 

[Thumper99]

We just stayed at BCV and hopped the skyline to RIV. Was not impressed with the pool sizes. There is no way those two resorts could be considered equal really just based on location. The skyliner is a nice option but i can do that by staying at pop century. I can’t watch the fireworks or walk into MK at RIV. I think Riv is better than Saratoga and AKV but even though VGF is not my style I don’t think you can beat the location other than at Poly or BLT.

 

[Matty B13]

We are heading down in August this summer, and plan on watching the Electric Water Pageant from the new bridge, can't wait!

 

[Brett Wyman]

Both for me too. VGF is my favorite MK area resort and Riviera is my favorite Epcot area resort.

 

[Marionnette]

I'm partial to VGF but after touring RIV, it's high on my bucket list. If I had the opportunity to stay there, I would grab it. I think that being able to book there after the resort is sold out will be nearly impossible for quite a while.

 

[mamaofsix]

VGF. Would be a dream if I could own there! Style, location, restaurants, walk-ability. It's the whole package.

 

[aokeefe]

Love them both! Stayed at RR in November and VGF in February. I love the grounds and whole vibe of VGF; we prefer Epcot area so RR is the only reason we would pick RR over VGF.

 

[kboo]

Love both; own both ... at the end of the day it’s RIV by a hair. But my 9yo prefers VGF, so reasonable mind could differ.

Reasons:
RIV “quiet” pool is actually large enough and calm enough to do laps.
Topolino’s. - love it. It’s a must for dinner at least once (!!) each trip whether or not we are staying there. It is up there with California Grill (last trip, CG edged out T’s) and V&A, but V&A isn’t a once-every-trip-place.
We love the skyliner - it’s fun and we’ve been mostly lucky with breakdowns, etc.
The rooms: smarter TVs, the Murphy beds, the size/niceness/newness generally.
I think the shopping at VGF is better.
But it’s close.

We just stayed at BCV and hopped the skyline to RIV. Was not impressed with the pool sizes. There is no way those two resorts could be considered equal really just based on location. The skyliner is a nice option but i can do that by staying at pop century. I can’t watch the fireworks or walk into MK at RIV. I think Riv is better than Saratoga and AKV but even though VGF is not my style I don’t think you can beat the location other than at Poly or BLT.

We are at BCV now and - no joke - I was thinking to myself that the bathroom layout is strange and non-intuitive here (so many doors, and I keep walking in to the closet while looking for the toilet).
It’s true SAB has a great slide, and I very much like the feature pool and kids’ play area at VGF, but ... I’m a swimmer and the only pool on property (other than Swolphin) where I can do real laps is at Riviera. The QS and Breakfast and casual food options at RIV are better than VGF and you don’t have to walk so far to get them. (True, GF has many more signature restaurants, but I have tried them all and while they are good, they are not only a DVC resort. The kids’ pasta at the QS is really, really good.

As for fireworks - it’s not an accident that most high floor standard rooms have a view of MK fireworks with the Epcot ball in the foreground. I’ve seen Epcot and maybe HS fireworks from Topolino’s as well.

 

[DVC Doctor]

VGF for me....for sure

 

[Donna M]

We love VGF, and have stayed there a few times. We had reservations for our first stay at RIV, but covid got in the way. We toured Riviera, and the rooms look great. Resort wise, VGF wins, but losing the orchestra was sad; we really enjoyed them.

 

[Wakey]

I’ve only visited RIV but wasn‘t very impressed. Moderate land, reliance on oft out of order Skyliner (got stuck on it for 30 mins going, this was Xmas 2019), underwhelming lobby, big grey box of a building (we went on an overcast day and the building looked awful without sunshine) clashing theming, big car park with no real landscaping on the standard view (BLT gets away with a similar car park due to the MK view). I haven’t stayed and would like to, to see if I changed opinion, but to top it all the points are way too high for the offer.
The rooms look great and I like those murals as you go through the tunnels.
VGF apparently needs a refurb but it’s supposed to be getting soft goods still this year I think.

 

[DVCsloth]

VGF is my home resort and my favorite. I would rank Riviera as my 3rd favorite right after Wilderness Lodge/CCV. We have 7 nights in September coming up at Riviera and I actually used my VGF and CCV points to trade in. We stayed 3 nights last july and loved it.

 

[jbh275]

VGF hands down.