Please help me decide VGF or RIV add-on

[TraderStitch]

DVC brothers and sisters please gather round.

In light of recent deals going on, I'm buying between 225-250 more pts; however, I don't know which resort to purchase at. My wife and I bought 225 at Riviera in 2021 and the addon-itis has hit HARD and fast. (current contract has been paid off already)

That being said, we love Riviera and love Grand Floridian so that would be our two options. The new contract will be paid it off immediately. The resale restrictions do not bother us as we plan on holding for the life of the contract. Over the last week or so I've been taking samplings of what booking looks like at the 7 month mark and for our planned 450-475 pts; it shouldn't be a problem getting a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom at VGF or RIV... possibly other resorts as well.

Currently I need some guidance and opinions as far as what having two home resorts is like for owners with more experience. I'm a person who likes to keep things simple, but I do realize that rule needs to be bent from time to time. Having everything at Riviera would make things a whole lot simpler in my book but I got VGF acting like a sea siren. My biggest question is does everyone book their home resorts at 11 month mark just so they know they will be going to Disney and then switch to one resort at the 7 month mark or do you hold off for 7 months and hope for the best? I just want to make sure I'm not missing something here that more seasoned owners do that I probably haven't thought of. At most we would go twice a year... I'd personally prefer one stay that is longer.

Also, I love the idea of the monorail loop because even when staying previously at RIV, we spent a lot of time at VGF, Poly, and Contemporary. I'd rather wait for Poly Tower, but who knows where prices will be by then so ya really can't beat this deal at the moment. One last bit of info, we have two little ones under 3 at the moment so being close to MK is a big plus as well.

I really just need a nudge in one direction or the other as after doing the calculations it is only about $1k difference give or take.
Thank you for the input as always!

 

[Rex1993]

I'm not sure if my experience will be particularly helpful since we have a VGC and VGF, so just one on each coast. We bought VGC resale a few years ago and just added on VGF a few weeks ago when we were in Orlando for the first time. We added VGF because of the proximity to Magic Kingdom and the lack of resale restrictions. We absolutely make sure we get in before 7 months at VGC because of the tiny number of units. With VGF we've only made one reservation which was 10 months out. Personally, I'd add on the one you really like. If that's Riviera, you're not going to regret having more home resort points.

The flip side of this is that the delta between resale and direct on VGF is still basically nothing on 150pts+. It seems to be a different story with Riviera. If you know you only want to stay at Riviera, maybe buy resale.

 

[MsChristy12]

I'm not a seasoned owner, but I agreed that you should buy where you love to stay.
From your post though, it sounds like VGF would be a great addition to your family since you'll be going to MK more with your little ones and you spend a great amount of time around all the monorail resorts anyways. I guess one of the main questions is, how will you use the points? Split stay? Or You would rather stay at just one resort, and use the 2nd membership to book it at 7 month?

With the VGF incentives, I personally think that's a better deal than buying RIV resale. I might be just a tad biased because I like VGF a whole lot more than RIV. Besides the #s though, I feel like a big part of DVC is an emotional purchase. At the end, where you buy depends on where your heart is! Will owning VGF makes you smile more than adding points at RIV? Or vice versa?

Good luck and keep us posted which one you end up getting!

 

[tidefan]

I'm not sure if my experience will be particularly helpful since we have a VGC and VGF, so just one on each coast. We bought VGC resale a few years ago and just added on VGF a few weeks ago when we were in Orlando for the first time. We added VGF because of the proximity to Magic Kingdom and the lack of resale restrictions. We absolutely make sure we get in before 7 months at VGC because of the tiny number of units. With VGF we've only made one reservation which was 10 months out. Personally, I'd add on the one you really like. If that's Riviera, you're not going to regret having more home resort points.

The flip side of this is that the delta between resale and direct on VGF is still basically nothing on 150pts+. It seems to be a different story with Riviera. If you know you only want to stay at Riviera, maybe buy resale.

Actually, there is a delta there. I don’t know why you couldn’t buy a resale contract with current points (or even better, loaded points) and then do your own “version” of Magical Beginnings by renting them out. That would put the resale delta back in…

 

[DanCali]

Actually, there is a delta there. I don’t know why you couldn’t buy a resale contract with current points (or even better, loaded points) and then do your own “version” of Magical Beginnings by renting them out. That would put the resale delta back in…

The issue with resale contract is that OP will not be able to use at Riviera with existing points. Buying at a resale-restricted resorts also makes you more likely to add-on direct as well. Given some of the preferences for monorail, MK, 1BRs etc, I was going to suggest also looking possibly at a BLT resale (can save $30-$40/pt) vs. the options under consideration, but that would encounter the same issue - can't book RIV.

 

[intamin]

I think I’d recommend trying to figure out would you rather own at VGF or Poly tower? Do you care? If you’re impartial VGF makes a strong argument for it just because of how good the incentives are and I’m not the biggest proponent of VGF personally just based on my own taste.

I am a fan of diversifying your DVC portfolio. Owning at both would give you consistent access to a MK/Epcot resort at 11 months and would make for some nice split stays or you can alternate resorts each year. So that’s my stance regarding whether or not you should add more to Riviera vs. VGF. Now if you planned to add more points later on after you bought more Riviera then you could make the argument to buy more Riviera now and then down the line add poly tower which is what I’m planning to do.

That being said if you feel like you’re going to be missing out if you don’t own at poly tower then I’d just wait to add on.

 

[TraderStitch]

In all honesty I haven't done a split stay yet, but packing up our stuff mid vacation sounds like a hassle ... maybe not but in theory yes lol. We have not stayed at VGF but LOVE the rooms from what we have seen on tours as well as the whole resort. We usually have at least 2-3 meals a vacation at GF Cafe. My wife LOVES the Tea Room prior to covid... it seriously needs to re-open.. plus ya just can't beat that lobby. The compactness of Riviera is a huge plus for us as everything is under one roof. Topolinos is awesome, but with kids it isn't worth it for us at this point in time.

Regarding Poly Tower, I know it will be fantastic once it opens, but I really love the retro theming feel of the Poly resort... my wife not so much as she thinks everything is too dark. Could I wait for Poly Tower... I suppose but Lord know what price point we will be at by then and I have a feeling it will be more of a modern take on the Poly theme. I keep thinking of what everyone said on DVC Fan about a month ago, GF is the "crown jewel" and quintessential Disney and I kinda feel the same way.

Regarding diversifying my DVC, I do think that would be helpful. Looking down the road, I am a bit concerned where resale Riviera owners will be locked-in to only Riviera and that could make booking an issue.

It's a pain in the butt problem to have... but at least it is a fun one. lol

 

[intamin]

In all honesty I haven't done a split stay yet, but packing up our stuff mid vacation sounds like a hassle ... maybe not but in theory yes lol. We have not stayed at VGF but LOVE the rooms from what we have seen on tours as well as the whole resort. We usually have at least 2-3 meals a vacation at GF Cafe. My wife LOVES the Tea Room prior to covid... it seriously needs to re-open.. plus ya just can't beat that lobby. The compactness of Riviera is a huge plus for us as everything is under one roof. Topolinos is awesome, but with kids it isn't worth it for us at this point in time.

Maybe just alternate annually then? 450 points at VGF can you get you a 2BR most times of the year, 500 would get you a 2BR at VGF for a week except for Christmas/Spring break. Since you’re banking you’d only need half of that obviously but could be a good way to change things up.

 

[TraderStitch]

OHHHHH I didn't even think about that, bank each resort every other year!

 

[PolyRob]

When do you typically vacation? I wouldn't expect a 1-bedroom to be easy at VGF during the holiday season because they are all lock-offs with deluxe studios. This also cuts the 2-bedroom inventory in half. The larger accommodations have been advertised with VGF2 sales and there's only so many compared to the new resort studios. I think it would be nice to have VGF points to book at the 11-month window, but I may be biased as a VGF owner

 

[TraderStitch]

When do you typically vacation? I wouldn't expect a 1-bedroom to be easy at VGF during the holiday season because they are all lock-offs with deluxe studios. This also cuts the 2-bedroom inventory in half. The larger accommodations have been advertised with VGF2 sales and there's only so many compared to the new resort studios. I think it would be nice to have VGF points to book at the 11-month window, but I may be biased as a VGF owner

Typically we go late Jan/early Feb and/or right before or after Labor day. I'd love to do October or December but other family obligations make those times difficult.

 

[Sammie]

No question for me, it would be VGF. Having an Epcot quick access and a MK resort would be a dream come true.

 

[NVDISFamily]

We purchased 600 points at Riviera as we feel like long term EPCOT and HS will be the parks we'll want to visit more over the years and CCV was the MK area resort we fell in love with (more for the resort and less for MK as we visit Disneyland a lot and it sort of scratches the castle park itch for us... not that we don't love MK...

If the other EPCOT area DVC resorts had more life in the contracts they might be tempting, but we are fairly young DVC owners and we wanted something that goes well past 42.

The main benefit to having so many points at a specific resort is being able to book rooms at 11 months and also gives you a very large pool if you bank/borrow to host family which is one of our main goals with DVC. It's also nice to know that if we ever want to just do 12 straight nights in a 2BR, we almost have enough with minimal borrowing (we think 12 nights is a good stay for us to make the trip and we try and do the Sunday to Friday so we only have 2 weekend days to really max out the value. For now we do split stays and we also bring family or friends on our trips. We got a solid deal on our Riviera points and consider them our direct SAP points too.

With 250 ish at each resort, then the bank/borrow every other year is a great option. We are kind of in that mode with some of the other resorts we own where we have less points.

I also agree with others who have said to consider waiting for Poly tower. That might have more rooms than VGF which is another benefit of Riviera vs VGF.

 

[MyDogTink]

Typically we go late Jan/early Feb and/or right before or after Labor day. I'd love to do October or December but other family obligations make those times difficult.

Keep in mind, as your kids get older your travel times may change as you may be stuck traveling during school breaks. The point charts are high for the spring break and Easter period. Point charts (and I think availability) are decent right before Labor Day.

The thing that concerns me with buying resale Riviera is holding. I know the goal is to book far out but if you have points in holding + resale Riviera, you are stuck looking only for Riviera 60 days or less out.

As suggested earlier, BLT resale could be an option. So easy to get to MK.

 

[Epcot Forever Forever]

It feels like from reading your post that what you really want is VGF and you’re trying to make sure it won’t be too big of a PITA to have two resorts. I don’t think it will be because you can bank and borrow; I’d buy what you really want (VGF).

Apologies if I misread.

 

[Cfabar1]

In your case unless 2064 vs. 2070 matters to you (it did for us but we bought VGF anyways), I would buy VGF.

 

[TraderStitch]

It feels like from reading your post that what you really want is VGF and you’re trying to make sure it won’t be too big of a PITA to have two resorts. I don’t think it will be because you can bank and borrow; I’d buy what you really want (VGF).

Apologies if I misread.

No misreading at all. Lol. You hit the nail on the head.

 

[Sandisw]

We have both as they are our top resorts! We pretty much split stay at both every trip, even when we only do 3 night trips.

We are happy we added on last year to VGF so we have it to book at 11 months! I think they are great resorts to have both!!

 

[AwfulWaffle]

In all honesty I haven't done a split stay yet, but packing up our stuff mid vacation sounds like a hassle ... maybe not but in theory yes lol. We have not stayed at VGF but LOVE the rooms from what we have seen on tours as well as the whole resort. We usually have at least 2-3 meals a vacation at GF Cafe. My wife LOVES the Tea Room prior to covid... it seriously needs to re-open.. plus ya just can't beat that lobby. The compactness of Riviera is a huge plus for us as everything is under one roof. Topolinos is awesome, but with kids it isn't worth it for us at this point in time.

Regarding Poly Tower, I know it will be fantastic once it opens, but I really love the retro theming feel of the Poly resort... my wife not so much as she thinks everything is too dark. Could I wait for Poly Tower... I suppose but Lord know what price point we will be at by then and I have a feeling it will be more of a modern take on the Poly theme. I keep thinking of what everyone said on DVC Fan about a month ago, GF is the "crown jewel" and quintessential Disney and I kinda feel the same way.

Regarding diversifying my DVC, I do think that would be helpful. Looking down the road, I am a bit concerned where resale Riviera owners will be locked-in to only Riviera and that could make booking an issue.

It's a pain in the butt problem to have... but at least it is a fun one. lol

One of my favorite options for a split stay is a 2 day weekend stay at a lower point per night resort and the remaining 5 nights at the higher point per night resort. For us, it is not the end of the world to live out of our suitcase at AKV and enjoy the savanna for a couple of nights while we visit animal kingdom and then switch to our final resort on Sunday. We drop off our luggage at the guest services counter early that morning, hit up the parks, and once we get alerted our new room is ready we head off to the new hotel to grab the luggage and actually unpack. Hit up the Walmart later that evening to stock up on some food for the rest of the week then go back to close off the park.
Given you have as many points as you do and are doubling up then it doesn’t sound like you need to be as much a point miser but for some it lets them stretch out their points as much as possible and possibly get in an extra stay at the parks later in the year. I have been doing this for cash stays for the past few years and it has helped keep our resort fees down. We look forward to our next trip when we can finally do it with our own points so I can possibly sneak in a trip to Aluani here and there

 

[intamin]

We purchased 600 points at Riviera as we feel like long term EPCOT and HS will be the parks we'll want to visit more over the years and CCV was the MK area resort we fell in love with (more for the resort and less for MK as we visit Disneyland a lot and it sort of scratches the castle park itch for us... not that we don't love MK...

If the other EPCOT area DVC resorts had more life in the contracts they might be tempting, but we are fairly young DVC owners and we wanted something that goes well past 42.

The main benefit to having so many points at a specific resort is being able to book rooms at 11 months and also gives you a very large pool if you bank/borrow to host family which is one of our main goals with DVC. It's also nice to know that if we ever want to just do 12 straight nights in a 2BR, we almost have enough with minimal borrowing (we think 12 nights is a good stay for us to make the trip and we try and do the Sunday to Friday so we only have 2 weekend days to really max out the value. For now we do split stays and we also bring family or friends on our trips. We got a solid deal on our Riviera points and consider them our direct SAP points too.

With 250 ish at each resort, then the bank/borrow every other year is a great option. We are kind of in that mode with some of the other resorts we own where we have less points.

I also agree with others who have said to consider waiting for Poly tower. That might have more rooms than VGF which is another benefit of Riviera vs VGF.

Something else to consider is if you plan to do grand villas regularly then having a larger amount of points at 1 resort would be more beneficial.

A downside to split stays is you won’t be able to reserve all of your dining from the start of your trip. You’ll be able to book however many days your first reservation is for once that 60 day window opens up and then you’ll have to do it again for the second reservation once that window opens up.

Overall though I’m team split stay, I like getting a clean room in the middle of my trips because they’re typically not 8+ nights. I also like trying out all the different resorts and seeing what each one has to offer while still visiting our home resort. Also if there’s a room you don’t like then it also gets you out of there faster .