Future of Riveria

[tom1944]

Thats fine. I just wish it was a resort that others would want to stay in. Its always available because few want to stay there.

Is Old Key West similar?

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Is Old Key West similar?

At times, somewhat similar, but usually to a lesser degree of availability - at least with our experience.

 

[Yankee626]

At Least OKW is in the Epcot area. SSR is almost off site. OKW is special in the fact it is the Original DVC resort. Its more likable than SSR. At least in my opinion. I did the original tour there back in 92.

 

[Bo1203]

Could Disney remove resale restrictions for DVC Y members? For example, you're grandfathered in or just bought 150 points direct, you then buy RIV resale, boom no restrictions on those points. Talk about direct perks... and its just confusing enough!

 

[Sandisw]

At Least OKW is in the Epcot area. SSR is almost off site. OKW is special in the fact it is the Original DVC resort. Its more likable than SSR. At least in my opinion. I did the original tour there back in 92.

I don’t think the space between OKW and SSR is that different. It certainly doesn’t seem it when we drive to SSR and go by OKW on that one road.

 

[Yankee626]

OKW is an Epcot resort . Its right across the street from Epcot , right off of Epcot world drive. SSR is right across the street from the Hilton.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Thats fine. I just wish it was a resort that others would want to stay in. Its always available because few want to stay there.

It has tons of availability because it is huge, and unlike most other locations, it is all DVC.

 

[Einstein509]

I did the RIV tour twice as the first time I was distracted because it was our departure day so I decided to go again to see what I was missing. The CM did a wonderful job but I just couldn’t for the life of me grasp the value proposition of RIV. The location stinks, the rooms are just ok, the property reminds me of a souped up Moderate, and the price per point made me laugh out loud. Add in the resale restrictions and I didn’t even bother to follow up for my information.

I totally understand those that wonder about the future of RIV. It seems to have a cult following but otherwise most are underwhelmed.

Yeah, I don't get the appeal either. People claim it's directly connected to two theme parks, uhhh, no. You could say all the resorts are "directly connected" because you still have to take some transportation. To me, it's directly connected if you can walk there and not have to rely on Disney transportation that at times is unreliable. The long lines for the skyliner are horrendous at times. I've been on the receiving end of waiting to take busses because the thing went down for some reason.

Also, it's modeled after Walt's European travels. Been to Europe many times, lived there even, and the Riviera is a bit of a cheaper knockoff of the European vibe. For the casual American, that doesn't matter, but to me it does. The lobby is extremely underwhelming. When compared to the grand lobbies of Wilderness Lodge, AKL, it just doesn't compare. Even the OG VGF is better.

And ultimately, the resale restrictions dissuaded me from buying here.

I guess I'm a Riviera hater, but that's ok.

 

[DVCsloth]

OKW is an Epcot resort . Its right across the street from Epcot , right off of Epcot world drive.

We only stayed at OKW one time and really liked it. Even though it is very close to Epcot it seemed like the bus route was kind of long and the entrance is around the other side. We own at Riviera and the access to Epcot is 95% of the time awesome IMO.

 

[tom1944]

I was going to make a resale purchase at Riviera with the intention of only booking there. I did not solely based on the point chart.

I may change my mind after we go in August but right now, we have the following resorts we plan to book.

SSR
OKW
BLT
AKV
BRV

Boardwalk or Beach Club- but not overly concerned if we cannot book there

 

[Yankee626]

We only stayed at OKW one time and really liked it. Even though it is very close to Epcot it seemed like the bus route was kind of long and the entrance is around the other side. We own at Riviera and the access to Epcot is 95% of the time awesome IMO.

The bus route is even longer from the Riv when the Skyliner is down. If you put a Skyliner station in SSR that would entirely make me want to stay there instead of the Riv.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

The bus route is even longer from the Riv when the Skyliner is down. If you put a Skyliner station in SSR that would entirely make me want to stay there instead of the Riv.

I do hope that when Disney’s cash problems ease they go back to investing in and expanding the skyliner. Long term it just makes so much sense. Cheaper and better than the buses.

 

[Yankee626]

I was going to make a resale purchase at Riviera with the intention of only booking there. I did not solely based on the point chart.

I may change my mind after we go in August but right now, we have the following resorts we plan to book.

SSR
OKW
BLT
AKV
BRV

I think the point charts for the 1BR, 2 BR and GV are ridiculous

 

[Brian Noble]

Its always available because few want to stay there.

It's at least partly because the resort is huge. Even if every DVC Member preferred every resort equally, SSR would be the last at WDW to fill, because it is the largest---and the largest by a lot.

SSR's "problem" is not necessarily that it is less popular than others; it is that it isn't more popular than others.

At Least OKW is in the Epcot area. SSR is almost off site.

I've stayed in both, many times. I don't believe there is any material difference in their location relative to the theme parks. Yes, you can hear (and infrequently see) some of the Epcot fireworks at OKW. SSR's proximity to Disney Springs is a strong plus, because (a) the restaurant scene is much better post-re-Imagineering, and (b) walking there is so much easier than either driving or taking a bus.

But both are basically in BFE, and I can't count the number of times I've driven past Wyndham Bonnet Creek to get to/from either of them. Nearly each time we do on the way back, someone in the car invariably pipes up with "If we were staying there, we'd be home by now."

Finally, if Disney's own categorization matters at all: OKW and SSR are both in the "Disney Springs Resort Area." Here's that list. In comparison, these are the ones Disney believes are in the Epcot area.

 

[DVCsloth]

I think the point charts for the 1BR, 2 BR and GV are ridiculous

We own VGF and CCV as well and it seems like the times we have been booking lately that Riviera is lower than VGF.

 

[DVCsloth]

I do think that the resale restrictions have kept the price of Riviera resales lower than what it would be without. But this can also be a good thing because it potentially allows you to be able to pick up a newer awesome resort at a lower price.

 

[tom1944]

We own VGF and CCV as well and it seems like the times we have been booking lately that Riviera is lower than VGF.

I took VGF out of consideration because of the point chart also.

I have a fixed amount I was willing to spend on my purchase and depending on where it was that would lead to a certain number of points.

My allocation was around $32,000 for the total spent on contracts. Paying the dues was not a factor but we had around $32,000 coming from deferred vacation that we considered free money to use. At the time we started looking that amount would be a stretch to cover the points needed at certain resorts based on their point charts so we discussed if we would be okay with the resorts I listed above.

 

[Brian Noble]

Nearly each time we do on the way back, someone in the car invariably pipes up with "If we were staying there, we'd be home by now."

As an addendum: I'm not sure if the traffic patterns have changed, or I've just started taking a different route, but anyone who has been in a car back to OKW has probably heard the following exclamation from the driver at least once:

"Oh, that's Overpass Drive, over there!"

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I've stayed in both, many times. I don't believe there is any material difference in their location relative to the theme parks. Yes, you can hear (and infrequently see) some of the Epcot fireworks at OKW. SSR's proximity to Disney Springs is a strong plus, because (a) the restaurant scene is much better post-re-Imagineering, and (b) walking there is so much easier than either driving or taking a bus.

You're right, there really isn't much of a difference in location. We enjoy OKW often - just there in Jan. I walked the < 1-mile path from the back of OKW to DS each morning. I'm not saying SSR isn't more convenient to DS (we cannot walk that path after dark from OKW), but their locations are pretty close.

 

[Brian Noble]

True, and the OKW-DS boat is extraordinarily pleasant. I'm not sure this is still possible, but back in the day you were welcome to stop off at Gurgling Suitcase before boarding, and bring your beverage along with you.