July Staycation 1 night or 2 night split stay?

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Hi!
My boyfriend and I are doing a staycation at the end of the month. Right now we have booked: CR (theme park), WL (CC), and Riviera (standard studio.)

For the same price I can do one night at POP AND one night at SSR (standard studio) instead of the one night at Riviera.

What would you do?

We are not going to the parks bc my seasonal cm admission is blocked so we are doing a true staycation with probably Disney Springs at some point and riding the gondolas. My boyfriend has never stayed at a WDW resort and I've stayed at them all except Riviera. We do not have kids but I do enjoy the trivia and games at the pools!

Thank you for any thoughts!!

 

[Marthasor]

If your goal is to just relax by the pool, ride the gondolas and go to DS, I would do RIV. It feels like a little deluxe oasis, IMHO. Really nice, relaxing pools and good QS. The rooms are gorgeous. You'll be right on the Skyliner.

 

[MomOTwins]

Would do Riviera. Much nicer resort for a staycation. All that hopping just sounds exhausting though--packing and unpacking, not having a room to go back to between 11am and 4pm each day if you go swimming etc. I would suggest dropping CR theme park review since it is a bit expensive to pay for the theme park view when you don't plan on visiting MK and there are no fireworks to watch from the room. Then stay three nights at WL or Riviera, or split just between those two, so you can really unwind and enjoy the resort.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I think you should stay with the Riviera Resort because it will eventually be harder to find availability for castmember discounts. You can get discounts at SSR and POP anytime.
Don’t forget to ask at the DVC Desk in lobby if they still have the scavenger hunt . If completed they offer a small token gift. It is fun because it includes taking the time to notice thedetails in all the artworkthroughout the resort and listen to the music because they will have some foreign language Disney Movie songs, etc... Plus lots of places to sit outdoors with many views to relax and you are welcome to go to the top of theroof balcony even if you don’t plan to eat at Topolinos. Don’t forget to buy s’mores for the evening campfire before the outdoor movie begins!
I would consider taking a DVC tour just to see the floor plans of the other rooms. The Tower Studio is so perfect design .
The DVC guides offer no pressure tours. I think they are happy to Welcome You. Don’t forget to ask about the cast discount! Haha

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I think you should stay with the Riviera Resort because it will eventually be harder to find availability for castmember discounts. You can get discounts at SSR and POP anytime.
Don’t forget to ask at the DVC Desk in lobby if they still have the scavenger hunt . If completed they offer a small token gift. It is fun because it includes taking the time to notice thedetails in all the artworkthroughout the resort and listen to the music because they will have some foreign language Disney Movie songs, etc... Plus lots of places to sit outdoors with many views to relax and you are welcome to go to the top of theroof balcony even if you don’t plan to eat at Topolinos. Don’t forget to buy s’mores for the evening campfire before the outdoor movie begins!
I would consider taking a DVC tour just to see the floor plans of the other rooms. The Tower Studio is so perfect design .
The DVC guides offer no pressure tours. I think they are happy to Welcome You. Don’t forget to ask about the cast discount! Haha

Thanks for the advice! We actually did a lot of the DVC tours a few weeks ago and was pretty dead set on buying into Riviera when boyfriend's furlough ends which is why we booked it to try it. Then reality set it with us getting married in the future and wanting a house + I read about the resale restrictions at Riviera so I think we will probably do the house thing and then see what's left after that for DVC. On our tour we went to Poly, BLT, WL (which is why we booked a night at CC,) Riviera, and Kidani. We figured if there's any left to tour we will go to those when we stay next week. I think BW and SSR are both open as well.
I think for now I will keep Riviera UNLESS Poly or Savanna Kidani open up as those are the next two on his "wish list."

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Would do Riviera. Much nicer resort for a staycation. All that hopping just sounds exhausting though--packing and unpacking, not having a room to go back to between 11am and 4pm each day if you go swimming etc. I would suggest dropping CR theme park review since it is a bit expensive to pay for the theme park view when you don't plan on visiting MK and there are no fireworks to watch from the room. Then stay three nights at WL or Riviera, or split just between those two, so you can really unwind and enjoy the resort.

Thanks for the advice. I was SHOCKED when boyfriend said he would rather hop around for 3 nights so he can experience more than 1 since he's never stayed. We have 3 nights booked at POP for February (Princess Marathon Weekend,) so if we don't catch it now, we will then!

 

[MomOTwins]

Thanks for the advice. I was SHOCKED when boyfriend said he would rather hop around for 3 nights so he can experience more than 1 since he's never stayed. We have 3 nights booked at POP for February (Princess Marathon Weekend,) so if we don't catch it now, we will then!

Yeah, I just think it is a little tricky now because they are no longer doing bell service luggage delivery to rooms and there are reports of rooms taking longer to be ready because of deep cleaning.

 

[sethschroeder]

Yeah, I just think it is a little tricky now because they are no longer doing bell service luggage delivery to rooms and there are reports of rooms taking longer to be ready because of deep cleaning.

From what I read they still are they just don't accompy you. You have to go to the room and then they drop off the luggage.

They also transfer luggage as well from what I read.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Yeah, I just think it is a little tricky now because they are no longer doing bell service luggage delivery to rooms and there are reports of rooms taking longer to be ready because of deep cleaning.

From what I read they still are they just don't accompy you. You have to go to the room and then they drop off the luggage.

They also transfer luggage as well from what I read.

Good to know! We live local, only 15 mins from the AK area so we will have a car and will do all the transfers and such ourselves. We plan to basically use the pool, maybe Disney Springs, gondolas, and I have dinner booked at Cali Grill for our first night. We will probably pack board games/card games in case we get afternoon showers and need to hid out if a room isn't ready.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Did you ask about castmember discount for DVC? My son was in CP in 2001 when I purchased DVC at VWL/BRV and cm discount plus having that amount of cash to splurge was perfect timing.

You are obviously local so the decision to do one night stays is probably A lot easier.
Have fun BLT Poly and Riviera and POP are my top choices along with Cabana Bay Family Suite at Universal. Wish DVC utilized the room design that CB Family Suite offers At Universal.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Did you ask about castmember discount for DVC? My son was in CP in 2001 when I purchased DVC at VWL/BRV and cm discount plus having that amount of cash to splurge was perfect timing.

You are obviously local so the decision to do one night stays is probably A lot easier.
Have fun BLT Poly and Riviera and POP are my top choices along with Cabana Bay Family Suite at Universal. Wish DVC utilized the room design that CB Family Suite offers At Universal.

I asked about the CM discount. The reason we considered fast forwarding in buying was if they eliminate seasonal CMs Jan. 1st then I would have gotten a deal but honestly, it's not that great of a deal unless you are getting A LOT of points which no front line CM could ever afford (sadly.) I think it was only $5 or $10 off a point unless you were over 200 points . The cheapest option is Riviera at no CM discount as the one they are giving on it is better but the resale stipulations worry me which is making us shy away from the possibility of that now. We also didn't get the "warm and fuzzy" feelings of the resort when we toured it which is why we booked a night to try it out. I really would have loved WL CC as that's the resort I grew up going to. Another poster also advised against major joint purchases until we are married so that's something to consider as well.

I've stayed at all the resorts you mentioned except Riviera. I do love the family suites at Cabana Bay but wish they had the two bathrooms like AOA but it's nice having the option of your room being in the main building or the external buildings like at Cabana Bay!