Is Riviera an upgrade from Beach Club?

[sleepymouse]

If you stick with BC, it is not much trouble to take the skyliner over to Riviera and sample the restaurants.

 

[Anchored]

Depending on where your room is, I find the walk to be cumbersome. I would rather take the skyliner.
The room is bigger at the Riviera
The pool is nicer at BCV
The murphy beds are very comfortable and they fold up so you have more space in your room

I would try Riviera

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Well, this forum is heavily biased against the Riviera due to the controversy over the resale restrictions, so take that with a grain of salt.

There are great perks to both. You just have to decide which perks are more useful to your family.

On the Beach Club standard room side, Walking to Epcot and Hollywood Studios from Beach Club is definitely a huge perk. However, that will be walking rain or shine. Easy to get to HS early for Boarding Groups, great for quick, easy trips into Epcot (though you said you weren’t getting park hopper, so that’s not of much use to you). The Pool area looks amazing. The Boardwalk is fun and Ample Hills and Flying Fish are amazing. Flying Fish is one of the best signature restaurants on property.

On the Riviera Deluxe Studio side, the room is extremely smart and well appointed with drawers and storage and data ports everywhere. The room is larger at 423 sq ft versus 380 sq ft in the Beach Club standard, plus the balcony is larger and the views are better. We found the murphy beds to be very comfortable.....just as comfortable as regular beds, actually, and closing them up when not in use creates more space for hanging out. We found the skyliner to be fun to ride and extremely efficient, and the resort has dedicated busses to the other parks. Also, the split bathroom with two showers is very handy. The pools are really good and large. The food options are all amazing, including the quick serve. Toppolinos is top quality, one of the best signature restaurants in WDW.

I am not a DVC owner, nor do I ever intend to be one. I've stayed at both resorts and gave my opinion based on my actual experiences there. I could not care less about the woes of DVC ownership and resale.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

I am not a DVC owner, nor do I ever intend to be one. I've stayed at both resorts and gave my opinion based on my actual experiences there. I could not care less about the woes of DVC ownership and resale.

I was thinking the same thing. I didn’t see 1 comment on this thread bashing Rivera or even hinting about the restrictions. My suggestion had nothing to do with the resale restrictions either.

I do feel that Disney is overreaching with the pricing at Rivera. They plopped this hotel in between 2 values & a moderate are pretending like it’s a deluxe location and IMO, it’s not. If Disney had called and priced Rivera a moderate resort (the hotel is very similar to the Grand Destino which Disney is calling a mod) I think there would be a lot more move towards it.

 

[Deploraboo]

Pitching a tent is an upgrade from Beach Club. Other than the pool, which itself is highly overrated, would avoid beach club like the plague at all costs. Will say that the pool at Riviera looks poorly thought out, but will know more next week.

 

[nkereina]

4. Transportation: This seems like a bit of a wash between the two resorts. Would be nice to walk to Epcot and HS, but the skyliner seems just as convenient, and DHS is scheduled to open at 9 during our stay so seems like we could use the skyliner and still be there in time for boarding passes. Bus transportation seems like it would be better at Riviera since Beach Club sometimes shares with the crescent lake resorts.

It might not be a wash. Being able to walk leaves you in control of when you can arrive at DHS or Epcot, which is particularly important if you want to obtain a ROTR boarding group. As much as I love the Skyliner, it does have downtime and doesn't operate all that early, which may pose a challenge depending on park hours and your ADRs. I would still give the edge to Beach Club in the transportation category.

I've not visited Riviera yet but am planning on doing so during our April stay at CBR. I am certain many other CBR guests do the same, since its a quick walk over. I have to wonder if it makes the Riviera restaurants and common areas feel busier, with so many checking out the resort. By the same token, being in walking distance to CBR opens up more dining options for Riviera guests as well. Riviera looks like a beautiful resort from the photos I have seen, but something about the Beach Club feels more vacation-y to me.

 

[Punkrockbebop]

I am not a DVC owner, nor do I ever intend to be one. I've stayed at both resorts and gave my opinion based on my actual experiences there. I could not care less about the woes of DVC ownership and resale.

Fair enough. Sorry about that.

 

[Punkrockbebop]

It might not be a wash. Being able to walk leaves you in control of when you can arrive at DHS or Epcot, which is particularly important if you want to obtain a ROTR boarding group. As much as I love the Skyliner, it does have downtime and doesn't operate all that early, which may pose a challenge depending on park hours and your ADRs. I would still give the edge to Beach Club in the transportation category.

I've not visited Riviera yet but am planning on doing so during our April stay at CBR. I am certain many other CBR guests do the same, since its a quick walk over. I have to wonder if it makes the Riviera restaurants and common areas feel busier, with so many checking out the resort. By the same token, being in walking distance to CBR opens up more dining options for Riviera guests as well. Riviera looks like a beautiful resort from the photos I have seen, but something about the Beach Club feels more vacation-y to me.

We seriously considered an Uber to DHS during our stay at Riviera, because we were running a bit later than we wanted, but the bus got us there just in time.

 

[DeluxePrincess]

Just based on location, I would say no. Beach Club is prime real estate for Epcot, Hollywood Studios and the Boardwalk area in general. Plus, they have a much better pool for the kids.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Fair enough. Sorry about that.

No worries!

 

[nkereina]

Pitching a tent is an upgrade from Beach Club. Other than the pool, which itself is highly overrated, would avoid beach club like the plague at all costs. Will say that the pool at Riviera looks poorly thought out, but will know more next week.

Why? Some context would be helpful for those considering a stay here.

 

[Deploraboo]

It’s a moderate billed as a luxury. The pool is nicer than most yes, but the bridges and chairs everywhere and the nooks and crannies. Just confusing. And the fact that the slide, although great, and the kiddie pool have to be entered across the walkway is a huge PITA. Have to like navigate the pool area with the bridges etc then walk through the bar area then across the walkway to get to the slide entrance. Major pain. Pool slide themed great and good overall I guess but coupled with the resort itself not being that nice and zero good food in that hotel, for me it’s a pass.

 

[Punkrockbebop]

It’s a moderate billed as a luxury. The pool is nicer than most yes, but the bridges and chairs everywhere and the nooks and crannies. Just confusing. And the fact that the slide, although great, and the kiddie pool have to be entered across the walkway is a huge PITA. Have to like navigate the pool area with the bridges etc then walk through the bar area then across the walkway to get to the slide entrance. Major pain. Pool slide themed great and good overall I guess but coupled with the resort itself not being that nice and zero good food in that hotel, for me it’s a pass.

Must disagree, having stayed there recently, and having stayed in every moderate on property, and a few of the luxury resorts, too. It’s in the details, and the quality. You can tell they spent a lot on sound proofing under the floor, alone. We couldn’t even hear each other from the next room. All the fixtures are high end luxury fixtures, the soaking tub & shower are high end, and the marble. Just to name a few details. It’s not moderate by any means, nor are the restaurants.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Pitching a tent is an upgrade from Beach Club. Other than the pool, which itself is highly overrated, would avoid beach club like the plague at all costs. Will say that the pool at Riviera looks poorly thought out, but will know more next week.

Wow. Why such vitriol for the Beach Club? What did they do to you there?
What did you think of the Riviera when you stayed there? Were you in a Tower Room? It sure looks pretty in pictures.

 

[Sue M]

As I haven’t stayed at Riviera I can’t comment on it, but I love BC. And if I stayed at an EPcot resort or Skyliner I think upgrading to hoppers would be worth it to take full advantage of staying in that area.

Your comment about giving up Beaches & Cream because you don’t have hoppers I didn’t understand. You don’t need park hoppers to take the Skyliner to EPcot to get to B&C. The Skyliner doesn’t drop you off inside EPcot.

 

[hungryjack]

Considering these two resorts as well for October for a 2br. We have a family of 8 (5 adults, 2 kids, 1 infant)...thoughts?