Riviera more expensive than Boardwalk Inn?

[VAfamily1998]

Wow! I have a trip coming up in mid August and was just searching to see what's still available in case I wanted to switch resorts. For my dates/party size (1 adult, two teens) I saw that two of the options (there were many others) were:

--Standard view studio at Riviera for $452/night
or
--Garden view room at Boardwalk Inn (not villas) for $395/night

What am I missing here? I mean, I know Riviera has the skyliner--but the destinations the skyliner goes to are Epcot (5 minute walk from BWI!) and Hollywood Studios (20 minute walk or a nice boat ride!)
and the fact that the Garden view should be nicer than "standard view"

Is it just the "new-ness" of Riviera that makes it more?

 

[Kevin42565]

I think so. Riviera is very nice and is being marketed as a Grand Floridian equivalent.

But I agree—location is probably equal!

 

[VAfamily1998]

I think so. Riviera is very nice and is being marketed as a Grand Floridian equivalent.

But I agree—location is probably equal!

Wow! I didn't know that (about being marketed like Grand Floridian!) Maybe I will try to check it out and have drinks or something.
Thanks!

 

[Marionnette]

Wow! I have a trip coming up in mid August and was just searching to see what's still available in case I wanted to switch resorts. For my dates/party size (1 adult, two teens) I saw that two of the options (there were many others) were:

--Standard view studio at Riviera for $452/night
or
--Garden view room at Boardwalk Inn (not villas) for $395/night

What am I missing here? I mean, I know Riviera has the skyliner--but the destinations the skyliner goes to are Epcot (5 minute walk from BWI!) and Hollywood Studios (20 minute walk or a nice boat ride!)
and the fact that the Garden view should be nicer than "standard view"

Is it just the "new-ness" of Riviera that makes it more?

You’re comparing a hotel room to a studio villa. It’s not apples to apples. For a more fair comparison, you should compare the RIV studio cost to that of a BWV studio.

 

[lotsohugginbear]

I agree OP. Riviera is overpriced. Nothing beats being able to walk into two parks.

 

[westie55]

You’re comparing a hotel room to a studio villa. It’s not apples to apples. For a more fair comparison, you should compare the RIV studio cost to that of a BWV studio.

To me, the Riviera studios look so much nicer than BWV. I have stayed at GFV but have yet to stay at BWV or Riviera. I am booked at Riviera if we end up keeping our August trip.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

I agree that it's overhyped. No form of Disney transportation is better than being able to walk to a park, because the other forms can get backed up or break down. The Skyliner has had some notorious breakdowns within its short span of service, and its not something I'd want to be stuck on for an hour on a hot day at all.

 

[VAfamily1998]

You’re comparing a hotel room to a studio villa. It’s not apples to apples. For a more fair comparison, you should compare the RIV studio cost to that of a BWV studio.

Right....the BWV appear to not be available (with the basic online search, at least) for my dates.) But personally, I would rate a hotel room higher than a studios villa for a party of more than two (or even for two people who will not be sharing a bed.) Two Queen beds would be more comfortable for my family than One queen and a sofa bed, and a microwave isn't that big of a perk for us...obviously other people might feel different...

 

[kylenne]

I considered Riviera for a hot second back when Chase had the crazy discount on it for Disney Visa cardholders (I have the debit card), and that would have been the only price I was comfortable paying. They’re insane charging as much as they do for that place imo, the Skyliner doesn’t justify those prices to me. You might as well stay at Crescent Lake and walk to the parks.

 

[RivShore]

The BWV location is certainly better if you prefer walking but the studios at Riviera are significantly larger, have 2 real queen beds plus a single pull down. Also two showers. So you do get something tangible roomwise for those extra dollars.

 

[Marionnette]

Right....the BWV appear to not be available (with the basic online search, at least) for my dates.) But personally, I would rate a hotel room higher than a studios villa for a party of more than two (or even for two people who will not be sharing a bed.) Two Queen beds would be more comfortable for my family than One queen and a sofa bed, and a microwave isn't that big of a perk for us...obviously other people might feel different...

Well, that’s totally subjective. But if you want to make a fair comparison, you don’t compare apples to grapes and then ask why the grapes cost more per pound, especially if you prefer apples to begin with.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Wow! I have a trip coming up in mid August and was just searching to see what's still available in case I wanted to switch resorts. For my dates/party size (1 adult, two teens) I saw that two of the options (there were many others) were:

--Standard view studio at Riviera for $452/night
or
--Garden view room at Boardwalk Inn (not villas) for $395/night

What am I missing here? I mean, I know Riviera has the skyliner--but the destinations the skyliner goes to are Epcot (5 minute walk from BWI!) and Hollywood Studios (20 minute walk or a nice boat ride!)
and the fact that the Garden view should be nicer than "standard view"

Is it just the "new-ness" of Riviera that makes it more?

The rack rates for RIV studios just tend to be higher than rack for standard rooms at the EP resorts. I've stayed at BWI and RIV and there are pros and cons, IMHO, to the two resorts. I found RIV to be much, much quieter than BWI. The rooms at RIV are also gorgeous and very well-designed. I think the "newness" factor definitely lends to the higher cost plus I feel WDW was really marking RIV as a "VGF Jr." kind of resort and the quality of the room construction certainly lends to that feeling (once they solved the Murphy bed issue - yikes). Standard view at RIV is actually one of my favorite views at all of the resorts - it's the side that faces EP, so if you are on a high floor (we were on 7 in a standard), I had a straight-on view of Spaceship Earth and the EP fireworks every evening. One other plus for a RIV studio, is you would be guaranteed three sleeping surfaces for your family (at BWI, the daybed will only be a request). We found the pull-downs at RIV to be very comfortable. I think it all comes down to what your family's priorities are when choosing a resort. If proximity to parks is a big factor, BWI would probably work better for you - walking is always more convenient than any other form of transport. Plus, the Boardwalk does have more of a "vibe" to it with the games and entertainment at night. It just comes down to preferences.

 

[VAfamily1998]

The BWV location is certainly better if you prefer walking but the studios at Riviera are significantly larger, have 2 real queen beds plus a single pull down. Also two showers. So you do get something tangible roomwise for those extra dollars.

Thanks! I didn't realize the studios at Riviera had 2 queens, instead of one queen and a sofa bed. That definitely would be a plus to me.

 

[Marionnette]

Thanks! I didn't realize the studios at Riviera had 2 queens, instead of one queen and a sofa bed. That definitely would be a plus to me.

The second bed is a Murphy bed of sorts. You can see it in operation at around 17 seconds into this video.

 

[Lynne M]

Some of this is due to the financial mechanics of DVC. The DVC studios and villas that you see available for cash reservations are generally priced higher than Disney resort rooms of comparable size.

The Riviera rooms you're seeing in the reservation system now are unsold inventory. When DVC begins selling contracts at a new resort, they own all of the inventory, and under the terms of the timeshare agreement, are responsible for covering the costs of that inventory (taxes, fees, etc), just like any owner. They recoup those costs by putting the rooms into Disney's reservation system and making them available to the general public. In a sense, it's like owners who can't use their points recouping their costs by renting points. As Riviera contracts are sold, more and more rooms are "declared into inventory" and belong to the membership, so over time, you'll see fewer Riviera rooms available for cash reservations.

I don't know how the rates are set for DVC studios and villas in the cash reservation system. If you're curious, that's a good question for our DVC boards. I've always assumed that DVC sets the per-night rate based on their own needs. If that's the case, that's why you really can't compare rates between DVC rooms and non-DVC rooms. Those room types are owned by different entities in the Disney company.

 

[Mainsail Minnie]

The BWV location is certainly better if you prefer walking but the studios at Riviera are significantly larger, have 2 real queen beds plus a single pull down.

The Riviera has one normal queen bed, and also a queen-sized pull-down bed. Describing them as having "2 real queen beds" and leaving out the fact that one of those is a pull-down is midleading.

 

[buzznina]

The Riviera has one normal queen bed, and also a queen-sized pull-down bed that takes up most of the space in the tiny 220 square foot studio. That's not the same as a room with two normal queen beds that are not pull-downs that fit comfortably into the rooms's space, like in Disney deluxe resort rooms.

Describing the 220 square foot Riviera studios as "significantly larger" than the 316 square foot BWV studios is inaccurate. Describing them as having "2 real queen beds" and leaving out the fact that one of those is a pull-down is midleading.

The pull down is a "real" queen mattress and not even close to the very uncomfortable sofa pullouts! So yes it really is 2 queen beds. I totally agree with you about the room size, especially since we found the BWV studio very cramped when we opened the sofa bed, can't imagine a room that's 100 Sq FT smaller

 

[RivShore]

The Riviera has one normal queen bed, and also a queen-sized pull-down bed. Describing them as having "2 real queen beds" and leaving out the fact that one of those is a pull-down is midleading.

I don't think it's misleading - it is the same queen mattress as the freestanding bed it just happens to pull out of the wall. With 423 sq ft, there's plenty of room for it and significantly more floor space than the BW room being compared here.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The pull-down queen at RIV was a game changer for us. We are a family of 3 and love the villas, however, my DS12 really could not stand sleeping on the pullouts anymore and for some trips we ended up booking 2-bedroom villas just so he could have a real bed - loved the villas, but not the price-tag! We tried the 1-bedroom at RIV in December to see if the pull-down bed was better than the pull-out and, oh boy, was it ever - so comfortable! I think they did an outstanding job with the design of the rooms at RIV and really wish they would replace the pull-outs in the other villas with the pull-down queen!

 

[cakebaker]

I considered Riviera for a hot second back when Chase had the crazy discount on it for Disney Visa cardholders (I have the debit card), and that would have been the only price I was comfortable paying. They’re insane charging as much as they do for that place imo, the Skyliner doesn’t justify those prices to me. You might as well stay at Crescent Lake and walk to the parks.

That's the discount we had for our cancelled March trip! We really wanted to try the Riviera, so super disappointed. But then, looked around at rescheduling and I have no idea why, but the rates we got for our June/July trip were even less with the AP. It may have been the time of year, I don't know, but we re-scheduled as soon as I saw them. Now just sitting back waiting to see if we're going to lose that reservation too.