Disney Riviera Resort

[sachilles]

In theory, the upgrade to Center town benefits Riviera as well. So the combined amenities of the two gets you there. It's still stretch. Now if there were a star wars resort somewhat close, does that give you a little something extra?
The corner station in the boardwark lot, can't help but wonder if that could be a loading station for a yet to be announced(or located) project.
I feel like the the Epcot DHS corridor is at the start of a build up. It already has a lot going for it.
We joke about the "prime" location of the CBR/Riviera but it need not connect with that hypothetical bridge to Germany. If you start to fill in the real estate around the gondola line with lodging and services, combined with the existing boardwalk, you start to create something that rivals or surpasses the springs. Of course it would be tough to support both. However, I think the boardwalk area could become the adult playground that downtown disney once was.

Tooooo far?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I doubt the Star Wars resort is going to be especially open for hopping or dining if it's an immersion experience with storylines for guests.

 

[jade1]

What have they done recently to suggest dvc isn't being done on the cheap?

The WL cabins looked great (as did the new Lodge rooms)-they opened this week.

G Point and the new pool are huge upgrades-neither were mandatory to add cabins.

The new pool and grill at POLY wasn't mandatory either. Bungalows don't appear cheap from what I saw, neither do the VGF rooms.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Bungalows don't appear cheap from what I saw, neither do the VGF rooms.

Agree re bungalows. We stayed in one last Nov and nothing felt "on the cheap" about it. We've booked it again for W&D -- using our good old SSR points.

 

[jade1]

The wdw clientele have awful tastes in food...this we know.

Agreed. 75 entrees coming soon at F&W, 5 min gondola ride.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Agreed. 75 entrees coming soon at F&W, 5 min gondola ride.

We might agree here...but I was commenting on complaints that the Mara wasnt good because they have "some fancy sauce"...I might have gotten crossed up with your mental straying...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Agree re bungalows. We stayed in one last Nov and nothing felt "on the cheap" about it. We've booked it again for W&D -- using our good old SSR points.

Good god...we're talking about bungalows? Places that fit a total 150 a night and were built to flood the pool with points.

Nobody was talking about rooms...it was about AMENITIES

 

[lockedoutlogic]

The point...and this is specificlaly important to caribbean...is that vacation club has been adding one dvc template pool with corkscrew slide, and one quick serve grill or bar...more or less (don't play the fool and parse and act like a slightly different pool at poly changes anything) for the last 15 years of development...longer actually...as the last dvc built will a full range of amenities is actually boardwalk not counting the begrudging partial retrofit at Saratoga.

That's fine if you have the right thing to mooch. The Caribbean food court ain't it. Sorry...no way to explain this one away. Gondola or not.

Now if they add more and sink cash into it...opinion can change.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

The point...and this is specificlaly important to caribbean...is that vacation club has been adding one dvc template pool with corkscrew slide, and one quick serve grill or bar...more or less (don't play the fool and parse and act like a slightly different pool at poly changes anything) for the last 15 years of development...longer actually...as the last dvc built will a full range of amenities is actually boardwalk not counting the begrudging partial retrofit at Saratoga.

That's fine if you have the right thing to mooch. The Caribbean food court ain't it. Sorry...no way to explain this one away. Gondola or not.

Now if they add more and sink cash into it...opinion can change.

Curious what you want in a pool at a theme park that has two water parks? I keep hearing pools mentioned. We couldn't possibly care less about the uniqueness or size of the pool. If people cared so much about that, presumably they'd do more here.

 

[jade1]

The point...and this is specificlaly important to caribbean...is that vacation club has been adding one dvc template pool with corkscrew slide, and one quick serve grill or bar...more or less (don't play the fool and parse and act like a slightly different pool at poly changes anything) for the last 15 years of development...longer actually...as the last dvc built will a full range of amenities is actually boardwalk not counting the begrudging partial retrofit at Saratoga.

That's fine if you have the right thing to mooch. The Caribbean food court ain't it. Sorry...no way to explain this one away. Gondola or not.

Now if they add more and sink cash into it...opinion can change.

POLY and WL DVC pools and bar/grill (esp G Point) did not have to change. That would have been done on the cheap IMO-but not what they added.

AKV also had very good amenities.

Either way the money seems to be flowing down there, so will see how it turns out.

No need for any of us to ever buy or stay there regardless. So what.

 

[MJ6987]

Is it possible that Disney are planning to upgrade Caribbean Beach itself (and Coronado for that matter) to a Deluxe resort?

 

[dlavender]

Is it possible that Disney are planning to upgrade Caribbean Beach itself (and Coronado for that matter) to a Deluxe resort?

If they sell out CBR Villas Rivierra, then why not?

Then move down the gondola line and get that Pop tower built......

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Curious what you want in a pool at a theme park that has two water parks? I keep hearing pools mentioned. We couldn't possibly care less about the uniqueness or size of the pool. If people cared so much about that, presumably they'd do more here.

Pools are just the standard go to amenity and they get a lot of use. The waterparks do not.

I'm ok with other amenities

But let's take it a step further:

Poly:
2 restaurants and a dinner show, themed bar, character meal.

Contemporary:
3 onsite restaurants, character meal, that rooftop stuff

Grand:
4 restaurants, character meal, shops and lounges.

Boardwalk:
4 onsite restaurants, character meal, multiple amenities on boardwalk

Beach:
4 total restaurants, multiple lounges, character meal...and the pool "thing"

Dak lodge:
3 onsite meals, two pretty large pool areas...and something else I'm sure I'm missing...

Wilderness:
2 restaurants onsite...best overall theming at any hotel..:nice complimentary facilities.

Now here's the tricky part:

Saratoga has way more food options in range than anywhere...and while it stunk at first...had come along on-site. And on site golf.

Old key west is inadequate by current standards...but it was sold way cheap and has a lot of charm still...largest rooms by far...onsite golf

Now here's caribbean:
Food court and one very mundane dinner only restaurant.

I'm not saying it's impossible...but they need to put a lot more work in here than the gondolas...that's not cutting it onsite. And I think they are gonna build bay lake without the attached amenities...I really do. Just a hunch.

 

[tjkraz]

Is it possible that Disney are planning to upgrade Caribbean Beach itself (and Coronado for that matter) to a Deluxe resort?

The guest rooms will still be 250-ish sq ft, no balcony, no interior hallways, etc. But they could improve the Centertown amenities. Disney has been quiet on that so far.

The lines between value/moderate/deluxe get fuzzier by the day. You could go back at least to WL and AK which had smaller rooms than the likes of CR, Poly, GF. More recently, Art of Animation took a Value footprint but really doesn't fit the Value mold...or moderate, for that matter.

Disney demolished 30% of the rooms at CBR. As always, supply and demand will take over. With the gondola and other amenities, they'll push the envelope as far as they can on pricing and discount when necessary.

 

[dlavender]

My only interest in this project is that while it may seem harmless (just don't stay there), it can at least in the near future make it difficult to stay on site.

If they can convince people to buy a DVC that is lesser than what's been offered in the past, for more money, then it doesn't bode well for pricing for the rest of us.

Good bye $170/night mods (pretty much already happened).

Hello $200/value!

Great for some peoples resale, not great for my vacation.

 

[Andrew015]

POLY and WL DVC pools and bar/grill (esp G Point) did not have to change. That would have been done on the cheap IMO-but not what they added.

AKV also had very good amenities.

Either way the money seems to be flowing down there, so will see how it turns out.

No need for any of us to ever buy or stay there regardless. So what.

I paid $50/point for VWL resale back in 2010/11. In order to hawk the revamped "copper creek" at $176/point - which isn't much more than refreshed rooms, some newly-converted WL rooms and new over-the-swamp cabins (that 90% of people can't afford and will never stay in...much like the Poly bungalows)... Tell me how they would sell that if they didn't revamp the pool or add new ammenities? To say that they didn't "cheap out" is a bit of a stretch. They put a nice shade of lipstick on an existing property and rebrand it as if it's a brand new commodity. Don't get me wrong - WL is my favorite and I'm sure the upgrades are nice. Would I ever in my wildest dreams pay their current asking price? Only if someone roofied my Pina Colava at Trout Pass.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Is it possible that Disney are planning to upgrade Caribbean Beach itself (and Coronado for that matter) to a Deluxe resort?

If that means knocking down to the ground and rebuilding...sure.

But anything short of that is inadequate. It was built as a motor lodge...plain and simple. Just a nicer one (actually like Polynesian...but during the new "here's what you paid" resort philosophy).

The Caribbean buildings don't have elevators...they have more condenstion on the outer windows than an econo lodge...the food court and main pools are a meat market worse than any of the larger properties...it IS what it is.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I paid $50/point for VWL resale back in 2010/11. In order to hawk the revamped "copper creek" at $176/point - which isn't much more than refreshed rooms, some newly-converted WL rooms and new over-the-swamp cabins (that 90% of people can't afford and will never stay in...much like the Poly bungalows)... Tell me how they would sell that if they didn't revamp the pool or add new ammenities? To say that they didn't "cheap out" is a bit of a stretch. They put a nice shade of lipstick on an existing property and rebrand it as if it's a brand new commodity. Don't get me wrong - WL is my favorite and I'm sure the upgrades are nice. Would I ever in my wildest dreams pay their current asking price? Only if someone roofied my Pina Colava at Trout Pass.

Right...I was gonna go there and you beat me to the treasure...

The poly old pool was like 1979/80...it had to go to handle anyone...let alone DVC.

The other examples of "overbuilt" are actually Saratoga and AKL...

Now...what is the correlation there?

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Pools are just the standard go to amenity and they get a lot of use. The waterparks do not.

I'm ok with other amenities

But let's take it a step further:

Poly:
2 restaurants and a dinner show, themed bar, character meal.

Contemporary:
3 onsite restaurants, character meal, that rooftop stuff

Grand:
4 restaurants, character meal, shops and lounges.

Boardwalk:
4 onsite restaurants, character meal, multiple amenities on boardwalk

Beach:
4 total restaurants, multiple lounges, character meal...and the pool "thing"

Dak lodge:
3 onsite meals, two pretty large pool areas...and something else I'm sure I'm missing...

Wilderness:
2 restaurants onsite...best overall theming at any hotel..:nice complimentary facilities.

Now here's the tricky part:

Saratoga has way more food options in range than anywhere...and while it stunk at first...had come along on-site. And on site golf.

Old key west is inadequate by current standards...but it was sold way cheap and has a lot of charm still...largest rooms by far...onsite golf

Now here's caribbean:
Food court and one very mundane dinner only restaurant.

I'm not saying it's impossible...but they need to put a lot more work in here than the gondolas...that's not cutting it onsite. And I think they are gonna build bay lake without the attached amenities...I really do. Just a hunch.

I don't disagree with your overall premise re: amenities. I just wonder how much people care about the pools in particular -- how much the demand is there for something BIG AND UNIQUE -- if Disney isn't building wiz-bang-fantastic pools everywhere.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

My only interest in this project is that while it may seem harmless (just don't stay there), it can at least in the near future make it difficult to stay on site.

If they can convince people to buy a DVC that is lesser than what's been offered in the past, for more money, then it doesn't bode well for pricing for the rest of us.

Good bye $170/night mods (pretty much already happened).

Hello $200/value!

Great for some peoples resale, not great for my vacation.

And this is the whole ball game