Riviera first time stay

[DisneyAgainSam]

Hi all,

My family of four (two adults, our 18 year old son and 15 year old daughter) are off to WDW in July for the first time since Christmas 2019. We've never stayed at a deluxe resort before and have booked a deluxe studio room. My son will sleep on the double pull down and my daughter on the single pull down under the TV.
What has been your experiences of staying at the Riviera?
How are the buses/monorail - are they super busy?
Where is the best place to get breakfast?
Any tips much appreciated!

 

[sponica]

I LOVED the Riviera, skyliner to Epcot or to DHS via Caribbean Beach is right there.

I didn't think the busses were bad, and it's nice because they have their own bus.

We had a full kitchen so we just made breakfast some mornings, but other mornings I would put in a mobile order at primo piatto (FYI the syrup is in a dispenser that is easy to overlook)

Bar Riva (the pool bar) is amazing, I had the tuna nicoise salad 2 days in a row for lunch.

 

[kittylady1972]

We LOVE Riviera, mostly for the convenience of the Skyliner but we have used buses also and super easy. We usually do breakfast in the parks or have something in the room, so I don't have a lot to say about that. ENJOY!

 

[Her Dotness]

I hope your daughter's not tall, or she'll possibly find the under-tv pulldown cramped.

I'm 5'4' and found the one in VGF just barely long enough for me to lie on my back comfortably. I think those are all the same length.

You might consider taking/buying a twin air mattress if she's taller than I am. You'll have extra bedding in the closet other than the bottom sheet that's on the pulldown and could make her a more comfortable bed on the air mattress with that.

 

[loves to dive]

Never stayed there but have visited a few times and have eaten at Topp. I'm not a fan of the resort but just because I think it's a tad over priced and I'm not a fan of the sky liner. Weather in Florida is iffy at best and if it's lightening or too windy, they will shut it down.

As far as the buses, the buses are the buses are the buses no matter where you stay. You are going to have good and bad service at every resort, and I've stayed at just about all of them.

As previous posters said, unless your daughter is small, she might not fit on that pull down. Sometimes you can get a cot brought to the room but I'm not sure if there would be room with the couch pulled down.

Deluxe resorts are great and I almost always stay at one for at least part of every trip. Lately, I've been staying at the Dolphin since HS and Epcot are my favorite parks and it is within walking distance.

 

[stranger706]

We just stayed there over spring break. Also in a deluxe studio; with 3 boys aged 3, 5, 11. We thought the room and bathroom were well laid out and never felt crowded. Overall we loved the resort and had a wonderful stay. The resort music, the art and property grounds were all beautiful.

For breakfast most days we used the quick service place on the 1st floor. We would mobile order from the room while everyone was getting ready and go downstairs to eat. Then hop on the skyliner or bus to the parks.

We never had any wait going to the parks, but most nights coming back around park closing the skyliner station does back up a bit, mainly at Epcot. HS park closing did not have a wait.

 

[LRdismom]

Myself and 2 teenagers just stayed in a studio. The "bedroom" portion was a little smaller than I was expecting and there is no large dresser to store your things. Try not to bring too much luggage and utilize the space under the bed for storage luggage. Having 2 showers is a lifesaver.

 

[BridgetR3]

We LOVE Riviera! For us the convenience of hopping on the skyliner and being in the parks in no time is so so nice. We also love the divided bathroom (they have a tub in one section with the shower in the other). This means that two of us can be getting ready at the same time.

We do not feel that the buses take very long at all when you have to ride them and thankfully the bus stops are closer to the parks usually than most other resorts.

We also love the fact that there is more to enjoy here than at the moderate or value resorts. We all learned how to play bocce on our last trip. I hope you have a fabulous trip!

 

[KateMW]

We loved our stay in March. Actually was just on the website trying to switch from Poly to Riviera for Thanksgiving but it's sold out now. Loved the Skyliner and the pool area. We didn't do buses, we just ubered to AK and the TTC. My only complaint about Riviera is the food options. They're just OK.

 

[gottalovepluto]

I love Riv but that studio room is smalll if you are large people or have large luggage. Make sure you’re cool with the size.

Breakfast can be at the coffee shop, quick service or table service so it has nice breakfast options.

 

[nw6675]

Hopefully we won't be disappointed. Staying BRV 1 bed 2 nights. Then RIV deluxe studio 3 nights before 7 night VGF 1 br.

 

[sneedo24]

Love the Riviera! We stay there any opportunity we can. Even bought our own Bocci ball set so we could play during Covid. For the close distance to almost everything, it can’t be beat.

 

[kanerf]

Love it there and own there. Just spent 3 nights in a one bedroom on the ninth floor (highest room floor) and while it was a standard view, I had no problem seeing the fireworks from Epcot.