GF direct over Riviera direct is a no brainer

[DVCsloth]

Skyliner is a nice relaxing ride with a nice breeze blowing through for the most part, awesome transportation option IMO. Busses at Riviera are probably one of the best if not the best for DVC resorts as well, IMO.

 

[scoobdoo]

Skyliner is a nice relaxing ride with a nice breeze blowing through for the most part, awesome transportation option IMO. Busses at Riviera are probably one of the best if not the best for DVC resorts as well, IMO.

best resort is best

 

[flipflopmom]

Hang with me here…. last year my girls and I did our first girls trip to WDW and they flew for the first time. Oldest, then 21, was in a state of panic most of the flight. Youngest, then 14, loved every minute. She laughed her way through ToT at 3, and loves ALL the coasters. We were staying at AOA in a little mermaid room to fulfill a childhood dream for her- obsessed with Ariel for years. She cried when she went in the room. Then, we got on the skyliner…

The kid who is never scared had a complete surprise, full blown, unable to breathe panic attack. She. Was. Terrified. For the rest of the week, she’d pray for bad weather so it would be down, silently crying. All I have to do is say “if you don’t hush we’ll only stay at skyliner resorts for the rest of your trips” and the teenage sass is GONE.

All this to say, in my personal opinion, don’t just buy where you want to stay, buy where you’ve actually been/stayed. When we first looked at DVC we tried BLT and it was just too small and couldn’t see paying $$ for our kids to sleep on a pull out. Location was great, pool was fun, but it just didn’t make sense for us. Stayed in a Poly studio in June for one night, fell absolutely in love, and currently have a contract there in ROFR. It fit US. I’ll always be a MK girl. We’ll eventually add on direct, and I have no idea if it will be poly2, VGF, or where. But it can’t be Riviera, or any future skyliner dependent resorts. As gorgeous as we think it is and loved our two visits there, it can’t be a home base for every trip.

To me, the only no-brainer, is basing an expensive luxury purchase with anything other than your own individual /family’s likes, preferences, and needs/wants in mind. And I’m grateful that DVC has something for just about everyone.

 

[NVDISFamily]

best resort is best

I didn't know this thread was about VGC

 

[jason423]

If you plan on sticking with a purchase for 10+ years I think you just buy whichever you like better. Riviera takes a bit more work to get to Epcot and HS but is the longest lasting resort that is in that area. GF has an easy way to get to MK if thats your thing, but there are other options.

If you are more into having a safety net via resale it probably would push me to GFV if the two are about equal in what you value. Since March, when ROFR basically went away on GFV, the average resale price dropped from $194 to $176. Riviera is about $145. That $30/pt spread is probably pretty indicative of the cost of the resale restrictions and I would guess would remain even when both are sold out. That probably gives me a better chance to recover more of my initial investment if I think I may need to sell.

 

[havoc315]

Skyliner is a nice relaxing ride with a nice breeze blowing through for the most part, awesome transportation option IMO. Busses at Riviera are probably one of the best if not the best for DVC resorts as well, IMO.

This is very true -- A fairly small resort with dedicated bus service, so you never encounter a full bus. You always go directly to/from the theme parks.

BUT -- I admit to a lingering concern that some day Disney could reassign the bus routes and make RIV share with another resort.

For now though, RIV probably has the best bus service of any DVC, in regard to parks that require buses.

 

[Nursemanit]

This is very true -- A fairly small resort with dedicated bus service, so you never encounter a full bus. You always go directly to/from the theme parks.

BUT -- I admit to a lingering concern that some day Disney could reassign the bus routes and make RIV share with another resort.

For now though, RIV probably has the best bus service of any DVC, in regard to parks that require buses.

I agree with your concerns- I could see it being added to the CBR routes once it is sold out.

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

Everyone exits the Skyliner to get into the HS line.

…

We have never waited at RIV to get on to the cars to CBR transfer station.

... But they do radio for empty cars coming from CBR to RIV heading to Epcot when the line is longer first thing.

This is what I was asking. I know everyone exits the skyliner to transfer between Epcot and HS. But only people getting off at Riviera also exit at that station. So what happens when there is a long line at the transfer station between Epcot and HS (or a line at Epcot) and also a line at Riviera trying to get on (so transfer to Epcot and riviera people also going to Epcot or the reverse). Because presumably more people would want to get on there than would want to get off, so the number of empty/available cars to load would be less. But if they run empty cars from the transfer station (or Epcot) to Riviera in order to fill them at Riviera that answers my question.

Thanks for the clarification. Otherwise I could see a huge backup at certain times of the day.

 

[Sandisw]

This is what I was asking. I know everyone exits the skyliner to transfer between Epcot and HS. But only people getting off at Riviera also exit at that station. So what happens when there is a long line at the transfer station between Epcot and HS (or a line at Epcot) and also a line at Riviera trying to get on (so transfer to Epcot and riviera people also going to Epcot or the reverse). Because presumably more people would want to get on there than would want to get off, so the number of empty/available cars to load would be less. But if they run empty cars from the transfer station (or Epcot) to Riviera in order to fill them at Riviera that answers my question.

Thanks for the clarification. Otherwise I could see a huge backup at certain times of the day.

If you are at RIV, waiting in line to go to Epcot, and it becomes backed up, they will call to the CBR transfer station and ask them to send some empty cars so those at RIV can load. I was there once close to opening time, and as soon as there were about 10 to 15 people behind our group, the CM called and asked them to send some more empty.

I was also told that first thing in the morning for early entry, they automatically send every other...or every third empty...however, I have not yet experienced that first hand because we don't ever get to Epcot for early morning hours...usually arrive closer to actual opening time instead so we have not yet run into any lines at the RIV station on our way to Epcot.

 

[havoc315]

If you are at RIV, waiting in line to go to Epcot, and it becomes backed up, they will call to the CBR transfer station and ask them to send some empty cars so those at RIV can load. I was there once close to opening time, and as soon as there were about 10 to 15 people behind our group, the CM called and asked them to send some more empty.

I was also told that first thing in the morning for early entry, they automatically send every other...or every third empty...however, I have not yet experienced that first hand because we don't ever get to Epcot for early morning hours...usually arrive closer to actual opening time instead so we have not yet run into any lines at the RIV station on our way to Epcot.

I did early opening during the 10/10 crowds of President's Weekend. And to my surprise, the Skyliner was still not an issue. Practically no line at Riviera, waited just a couple of minutes total.
Granted, we were there bright and early. I suspect the lines may be worst right around early opening time, as many visitors wait till the "last minute" or don't appreciate the value of getting to the park 30+ minutes before rope drop.

 

[UofMGuy423]

We did Early Entry for Epcot during spring break and didn't even wait in a line. Walked right up and got a cabin to ourselves.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

We haven't had any waits to/from Riviera, several trips regular Skyliner lines, and the last trip using an ECV. No waits for that trip, either. The ECV trip was Easter/spring vacation week, too, and it was fine. Buses have been great coming back from parks, did have a little wait heading to AK one time, maybe 10 minutes? Nothing terrible, for sure. Leaving AK/MK on buses back to Riviera, no waits longer than 5 minutes, even after hours for Boo party last year and after hours at MK late Wednesday night. The bus was idling waiting for us at 1 a.m.ish.

 

[Jenna Caron]

Buying Riviera over GFV direct is a foolish decision. There are too many advantages in buying GFV over Riviera.
No resale restrictions which means that if you have to sell at some point GFV will probably be twice the value of Riviera.
GFV dues are about $1.30 per point less.
Rooms are comparable / almost identical.
Views are much better at GFV.
GFV is walking distance to a park and a valuable Monorail resort.
Dining options and Shopping options far overtake Riviera.
You can always use your Direct points to stay at Riviera if you want.

Can anyone come up with a reason to buy Riviera over GFV ? Please dont say its on the skyliner .

I have stayed at the Riviera and its nice . But Im not giving DVC any money to condone the ridiculous and unnecessary restrictions they have put on that resort. If they are successful with selling out that resort quickly then whats to stop them from doing this to every resort in the future. It just devalues the whole product to current owners.

I hope it takes them 20 years to sell that resort out !

My goodness! You really don't like Riviera lol!

My wife and I were trying to decide on GF or the Riv and Riviera won for us. #1 - GF is too fancy for us. #2 tower studio points are more economical for us (it's just us two). #3 it's quieter than the GF. #4 it's on the skyliner lmao I don't care I love it!

I am not sure why resale restrictions are a factor when you love the resort you bought in at. I don't look at the resale value. I look at it based on where I wanna stay for the next 50 years. And it's the Riv. I don't like the GF.

Basically it's to each their own. Glad you didn't buy there because you don't want to. It won't stop others from doing what is best for them!

 

[Nabas]

We stayed at RIV for 2 nights in September and twice were screwed by the Skyliner being down for weather.

It thunders a lot in the late afternoon in the summer, exactly the time we like to head to Epcot or DHS for the evening.

Waited 40 and 60 minutes for a bus, respectively. We got to the bus stop at 5:30 but because it took so long for a bus to show us, we almost missed Baseline Taphouse since it closes at 8 pm!

I can think of no greater tragedy at WDW!

 

[Cfabar1]

Yes, I have no interest in doing anything other than walking to and from the parks of my choices….

I think DVC will remain a great value, so long as the parks are popular. On a recent visit to Epcot (1/2 day) we rode 3 caballeros and spaceship earth. Both broke down on the ride, Spaceship earth, repeated number of times. Things like that really really detract from the magic. On a previous visit in September, the seas with Nemo broke down.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I agree with your concerns- I could see it being added to the CBR routes once it is sold out.

I also have thought they will eventually share with CBR - once sold out. Just like Y&BC share buses.

 

[CarolMN]

I also have thought they will eventually share with CBR - once sold out. Just like Y&BC share buses.

Are there any deluxe resorts that share buses with a moderate or value? I don't think so.

I suppose they could always start that, but AFAIK, they haven't so far.

 

[SLThomas318]

I'd be shocked if they shared with CBR... it has so many stops as it is!

 

[ncgator]

I just finalized a direct add on purchase at Riviera (own at several other resorts) today. Since we started discussions before October 12th, they honored the earlier incentives. As others have said, while I don’t like the resale restrictions, it wasn’t enough to offset how much we LOVE this resort. We want to have the ability to ensure we can book the room types we want at the times of year we want, so it’s worth it to us to own there. We also really like the Skyliner, although we haven’t yet encountered the situation where it was closed (I’m sure we will one day and my thoughts might change!). This is what I love about the variety of resorts DVC offers and reading everyone’s likes and dislikes - there’s something for everybody!

 

[DebbieB]

I also have thought they will eventually share with CBR - once sold out. Just like Y&BC share buses.

In a way they already do. I belong to a CBR Facebook group and many people post that they request Aruba and use the Riviera busses. CBR busses are a nightmare.