Riveria closeout

[VGCgroupie]

I think the coffee in the lobby will be the game changer!

You know me too well ️

 

[tidefan]

I think the coffee in the lobby will be the game changer!

On a completely different note...

One of the bigger downgrades IMHO is the removal during COVID of the free Nespresso machine in the VGF1 lobby. I used it every time!

 

[Brian Noble]

opinion content does matter on YouTube

...except that that opinion is more likely to be "this makes me SO ANGRY," because it turns out rage fuels engagement better than any other emotion, and engagement is money.

https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/12/rage-bait-explained-oxford-word-year

 

[AstroBlasters]

On a completely different note...

One of the bigger downgrades IMHO is the removal during COVID of the free Nespresso machine in the VGF1 lobby. I used it every time!

It would be cool if they made the “Perch” a real coffee bar in the morning…. that only Grand Flo guests could access

Stay away you value resort tik tockers…..

 

[walt34]

...except that that opinion is more likely to be "this makes me SO ANGRY," because it turns out rage fuels engagement better than any other emotion, and engagement is money.

https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2025/12/rage-bait-explained-oxford-word-year

Absolutely. And people here also seem to react more strongly to "why I dislike RIV" than to "why it's my favorite". Emotions drive human interaction.

 

[davidhr]

Just wait until Lakeshore Lodge opens and Riviera will be loved. Loved!

The hate for Riviera is nothing compared to the hate for LSL.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Just wait until Lakeshore Lodge opens and Riviera will be loved. Loved!

The hate for Riviera is nothing compared to the hate for LSL.

My 10 yo son says to me last night… “mom why don’t you tell me all this about lakeshore lodge”. I’m like “what”? He says “it is totally ruining the vibe at ft wilderness”. I said “well I like that DVC is building new hotels”. He says “they could’ve built it somewhere not so close”

He watched a you tube hate for LSL video.

 

[VGCgroupie]

Just wait until Lakeshore Lodge opens and Riviera will be loved. Loved!

The hate for Riviera is nothing compared to the hate for LSL.

Oh yeah VDH is up there with the hate because of TOT

 

[airjay75]

And people here also seem to react more strongly to "why I dislike RIV" than to "why it's my favorite".

Might be part of it, but I also think people show up to offer negative opinions of RIV for no real reason more regularly than other resorts.

Imagine we start a new thread, entitled “When will PIT sell out?” I’ve been around the board long enough to know that, while there is plenty of love for Poly and the Island Tower, that feeling is not shared by all people. I just don’t see people showing up in the same way with a non sequitur response that, “You know, I just don’t get the Poly. Not for me. Lobby’s a zoo, the pool is filled with wild kids, and don’t get me started on the outdoor walk to that big, bland Marriott-like monstrosity they put up with a points chart that is just ridiculous.”

And, to reiterate, I don’t really care and I welcome anyone’s opinion even if it’s out of context. But, personally, when I pull up to the fast food drive-thru window and am asked what I’d like to order, I don’t say, you know, I really don’t like that disgusting burger with the special sauce you guys sell.

 

[walt34]

Might be part of it, but I also think people show up to offer negative opinions of RIV for no real reason more regularly than other resorts.

Imagine we start a new thread, entitled “When will PIT sell out?” I’ve been around the board long enough to know that, while there is plenty of love for Poly and the Island Tower, that feeling is not shared by all people. I just don’t see people showing up in the same way with a non sequitur response that, “You know, I just don’t get the Poly. Not for me. Lobby’s a zoo, the pool is filled with wild kids, and don’t get me started on the outdoor walk to that big, bland Marriott-like monstrosity they put up with a points chart that is just ridiculous.”

And, to reiterate, I don’t really care and I welcome anyone’s opinion even if it’s out of context. But, personally, when I pull up to the fast food drive-thru window and am asked what I’d like to order, I don’t say, you know, I really don’t like that disgusting burger with the special sauce you guys sell.

Maybe, but it's not the only topic that invites repetitions of preciously stated opinions. VGF (should have bought more, cheap flip), SSR (bus loop), BWV (walking) come to mind. Isn't it a little bit like a family that tells each other the same stories again and again?

I'm addition to that, many of us here have gone through a should I buy or not decision with RIV in the last few years. So I guess everyone needs to validate their decision.

 

[supercarrie]

My 10 yo son says to me last night… “mom why don’t you tell me all this about lakeshore lodge”. I’m like “what”? He says “it is totally ruining the vibe at ft wilderness”. I said “well I like that DVC is building new hotels”. He says “they could’ve built it somewhere not so close”

He watched a you tube hate for LSL video.

My 9.5 year old ranted for a solid 15 minutes about Lakeshore Lodge last week. Bedtime delay tactic or sincere feelings, who can tell? I recorded a portion of it for posterity. Watch, it opens and he will end up begging me to buy points there.

I think they would get along.

 

[airjay75]

Isn't it a little bit like a family that tells each other the same stories again and again?

Without a doubt, this also plays a role, and I’ll be the first to concede one is more likely to notice negative comments about something you like and own than negative comments about something you don’t.

 

[VGCgroupie]

My 9.5 year old ranted for a solid 15 minutes about Lakeshore Lodge last week. Bedtime delay tactic or sincere feelings, who can tell? I recorded a portion of it for posterity. Watch, it opens and he will end up begging me to buy points there.

I think they would get along.

This is hilarious. Seems like they would get along well! And yes mine will for sure want to stay or buy once he sees the pool!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Without a doubt, this also plays a role, and I’ll be the first to concede one is more likely to notice negative comments about something you like and own than negative comments about something you don’t.

I love and own Aulani so for me Poly was super cringe whenever a cm said “aloha” to me. I probably don’t bring it up enough, I usually just dunk on the point charts.

 

[tx911]

I’ve visited but never stayed. My first stay is in April. Watch me start lowballing some RIV resale when I return. Cant say I don’t think it has a tiny chance of happening.

I was thinking before I bought CCV that maybe I would get more RIV before it sells out.

Then I realized that I'd be fine with some cheap resale RIV! It's great that it's so cheap, and doesn't expire until 2070!

 

[AstroBlasters]

Oh yeah VDH is up there with the hate because of TOT

My wife has several other reasons. Here are some of her thoughts from earlier today:

1. She strongly dislikes mid-century modern design.
2. She feels Downtown Disney has become too “generic” and has lost its former “whimsical” charm.
3. She’s upset that they “cheaped out” on the materials used for the “stupid new tower.”
4. She believes the tower disrupted the overall flow of the resort.
5. She thinks the new tower “sticks out like a sore thumb” compared to the other towers.

Notably, she’s completely unaware that TOT even exists. She’s just an OG SoCal girl who’s been visiting Disneyland and the Disneyland Hotel for nearly 50 years.

Some of her frustrations are also rooted in past experiences, including:

1. A dishwasher exploding on our first trip.
2. A sliding bathroom barn door decapitating charging cables in the main bedroom of a one-bedroom villa.
3. A sliding bathroom door in a studio that wouldn’t lock due to alignment issues.
4. The dishwasher at Broken Spell Lounge breaking, followed by being served drinks in a cracked plastic cup that spilled onto her leg—without being offered a replacement drink afterward.

 

[VGCgroupie]

My wife has several other reasons. Here are some of her thoughts from earlier today:

1. She strongly dislikes mid-century modern design.
2. She feels Downtown Disney has become too “generic” and has lost its former “whimsical” charm.
3. She’s upset that they “cheaped out” on the materials used for the “stupid new tower.”
4. She believes the tower disrupted the overall flow of the resort.
5. She thinks the new tower “sticks out like a sore thumb” compared to the other towers.

Notably, she’s completely unaware that TOT even exists. She’s just an OG SoCal girl who’s been visiting Disneyland and the Disneyland Hotel for nearly 50 years.

Some of her frustrations are also rooted in past experiences, including:

1. A dishwasher exploding on our first trip.
2. A sliding bathroom barn door decapitating charging cables in the main bedroom of a one-bedroom villa.
3. A sliding bathroom door in a studio that wouldn’t lock due to alignment issues.
4. The dishwasher at Broken Spell Lounge breaking, followed by being served drinks in a cracked plastic cup that spilled onto her leg—without being offered a replacement drink afterward.

She is right on alll of this. And that’s why I got my sn vgcgroupie because I used to be hardcore anti VDH for all of those reasons.

Most people hate on VDH without knowing anything about CA resorts or even DLR, it’s purely based off TOT (and maybe a little bit about it being restricted)

 

[AstroBlasters]

She is right on alll of this. And that’s why I got my sn vgcgroupie because I used to be hardcore anti VDH for all of those reasons.

Most people hate on VDH without knowing anything about CA resorts or even DLR, it’s purely based off TOT (and maybe a little bit about it being restricted)

For the record right after she said all this, I had no problem booking a garden duo for a weekend trip I’m going to make in September for the USC versus Oregon football game.

So it kind of works out well for me because if I was staying in a Grand Cal studio, I’m pretty sure she would not be happy.

 

[VGCgroupie]

For the record right after she said all this, I had no problem booking a garden duo for a weekend trip I’m going to make in September for the USC versus Oregon football game.

So it kind of works out well for me because if I was staying in a Grand Cal studio, I’m pretty sure she would not be happy.

Seems like a win win!

 

[intamin]

She is right on alll of this. And that’s why I got my sn vgcgroupie because I used to be hardcore anti VDH for all of those reasons.

Most people hate on VDH without knowing anything about CA resorts or even DLR, it’s purely based off TOT (and maybe a little bit about it being restricted)

I feel like it suffers by comparison because the only other DVC resort there is VGC and you can argue for superior location, no transient taxes and better theming at VGC. That doesn't make VDH a bad resort at all and of course VGC is also nearly impossible to get into without owning there. When walking around DL hotel before VDH was even built though I did actually like it. Like I said, it still makes me sad that they took out SH55 but I like the history the hotel has. I like the old autopia car they have in there, I like trader Sams and sitting by the fireplaces. Idk, I didn't feel that the new DVC tower took anything away from DL hotel. If anything I just wish maybe it had more of a lobby on it's own but it's a DVC resort and I get it, the real lobby is right next door anyways so there probably wasn't much reason to add one. I do kind of wish they had made the rooms more similar to Disneyland Hotel's though, I love the lightup headboard with the castle in the hotel rooms. Not sure how I feel quite yet about all the characters being in the rooms, kinda gives me Contemporary Resort cash side vibes with the incredibles but maybe my mind will change when I stay there in March.