Riviera Resale-Wow?

[Aussie RJ]

I'm with you. Artist Point was our absolute favorite restaurant, though admittedly I haven't been since they turned it into a character meal. I've heard it has changed for the worse, which does make me sad.

I’ll give you another view, we like Artist Point better now (food and experience) than previously. Like you say everyone has their own tastes.
We like WL food options as much as any WDW hotel. Whispering Canyon, Gyser Point are both a great time!

 

[Sandisw]

Great reviews of WL food options but let’s get the thread back to RIV resale!

 

[Sammie]

WL has the “worst selection of restaurants”.....put me down as strong disagree but respect your opinion.

Would you be willing to only eat at WL for every meal? To me a great resort has a variety of food choices and I find theirs to be very limited which is why I think that RIV is a better choice.

 

[TwoHeartsBeat]

Would you be willing to only eat at WL for every meal? To me a great resort has a variety of food choices and I find theirs to be very limited which is why I think that RIV is a better choice.

I don't know any resort I would want to eat every meal at.

 

[Cabius]

I don't know any resort I would want to eat every meal at.

Obviously the variety across WDW is great, but if forced to stay in one place I’d be perfectly happy spending a week eating at AKL, PVB, or RIV (once they bring back the monte cristo!)

 

[vinmar4]

I think that's GREAT! I am really looking forward to checking it out in January.
OMG - I need to get an Rx for this add-on-itis!!!

Hello,
Just to add my 2 cents, If I may.

We own at AK and bought direct RIV after touring with the family. We used to always split our stay between AK and BW to be close to Epcot and HS, sometimes we would stay at BC for the same reasons plus the pool. Not that we don't like those resorts anymore, but we also now love RIV , and the fact that we can book at 11 months is great!
We have stayed 3 times there already.

Our kids are 18 and 23 , the ones that still travel with us, we all loved RIV, we asked each one of them what they liked. They told us that they loved the food , the gondolas to Epcot and HS, my son and us love Bar Reba and the short walk to CB, to enjoy their restaurants and pool bar, and just a different atmosphere in general, my DD loves the CS food and the Gelato cart by the main pool.

My son told me that he likes the running path around the lake and CB.

I hope it helps.

 

[chalee94]

Yes, it is sad that DVC is leaning this way, but there is no denying it. Regardless, it is still the very best timeshare on the market. But where would the second place trophy go to in regards of worthy timeshares? Which other brand comes in right behind Disney?

Not sure about ownership, but I very much enjoy staying in Marriott timeshares. Very high quality but I'm sure ownership is also pretty expensive. If my nonbranded timeshare decides to close in a few years, I would look into owning a Marriott.

In terms of locations, they have options in Newport Coast CA, Vegas, Williamsburg, St Kitts, Kauai, beachfront in HHI, and several near WDW (and those are just ones I have tried). Also several locations on the Costa del Sol in Spain; St Thomas; Aruba; Utah and CO for skiing; Maui, Oahu and the Big Island; Marco Island and a location in France near Disneyland Paris. They have more locations than that but those are the ones I mostly keep an eye on...

I don't know that I would even say "behind Disney" at this point but it depends on what you are looking for.

 

[CarolynFH]

Not sure about ownership, but I very much enjoy staying in Marriott timeshares. Very high quality but I'm sure ownership is also pretty expensive. If my nonbranded timeshare decides to close in a few years, I would look into owning a Marriott.

In terms of locations, they have options in Newport Coast CA, Vegas, Williamsburg, St Kitts, Kauai, beachfront in HHI, and several near WDW (and those are just ones I have tried). Also several locations on the Costa del Sol in Spain; St Thomas; Aruba; Utah and CO for skiing; Maui, Oahu and the Big Island; Marco Island and a location in France near Disneyland Paris. They have more locations than that but those are the ones I mostly keep an eye on...

I don't know that I would even say "behind Disney" at this point but it depends on what you are looking for.

I think Marriott TS resorts are often nicer than DVC resorts. In general, the rooms are larger, the dining area can seat as many people as the unit sleeps, and the finishes are just as high-end as RIV and VGF. My parents used to own Marriott, and I wish I had been financially in position to pay the MFs (which are lower than DVC) to take their ownership over when they were ready to divest themselves of it.

 

[tuckymom]

I have 2 very close friends who bought at Riviera prior to it opening (late 2018-early 2019). Both were just ready to do DVC and didn't really consider resale. It was/is the only DVC property in WDW being offered.

I also have a family member who is already DVC at Vero Beach and wanted a WDW option. They just wanted to add on. They chose it because they liked the newness, the theming and the Skyliner. Plus they bought Vero on the resale market and wanted a direct contract.

 

[JustABru]

Riviera is such a beautiful resort! The problem is and always will be the restrictions! We temporarily cure our add-on-itis in a heartbeat if it wasn't for that!

 

[Sandisw]

I have 2 very close friends who bought at Riviera prior to it opening (late 2018-early 2019). Both were just ready to do DVC and didn't really consider resale. It was/is the only DVC property in WDW being offered.

I also have a family member who is already DVC at Vero Beach and wanted a WDW option. They just wanted to add on. They chose it because they liked the newness, the theming and the Skyliner. Plus they bought Vero on the resale market and wanted a direct contract.

Actually, DVD will sell a buyer any resort if they want it and DVD has the points,

So, while RIV was the current one being promoted, your friends could have pushed for a different resort and most likely would have been able to get.

 

[DVC BLT]

We really enjoyed RIV when we checked it out during new years week and picked up 250 pts. I can see us picking up a resale contract there. From a "newness" perspective, i dont see anything else coming up with that access to world showcase. We have 460 other direct points with which we can use at other resorts, so a resale RIV contract to only be used at RIV is not a problem. It will be our go-to EPCOT resort for a long time...or until they build new at BC or BWV...

I've posted our review on disboards as soon as we returned, forget the threat but you can probably search for it. 10 out of 10 resort for us...

 

[kanerf]

I own a small direct package and will probably add-on resale at some point. I just got back from WDW on 1 Nov and spent 3 nights at RIV in a studio. I liked it very much. The closer for me is the shower. I do not care for bathtubs and never use them. I wish they would add dedicated showers to some of the other resorts when they are updating them.

 

[kboo]

the reason that sealed the deal for us to take the tour was the fact that it ends in 50 years. even if it was a disaster, we could tread water renting points to cover the annual dues and be no worse for the wear. now, we so wish that a dvc purchase was forever! haha.

Until this pandemic, I would have agreed with you. We canceled so many trips this year, I haven't even bothered to update my signature. Most recently I was at risk of losing soon-expiring points because I had rolled them forward, and while I did get them rented, it was a little more stressful than I would have liked. But I *do* agree that the 50-year expiration was a much bigger sell when we were comparing to BCV and BWV.

I fall into this category. I own points at Poly and BLT and prioritize easy, quick, and direct access to the parks, but were missing similar access to the other parks. When Riviera opened, it was a no brainer for us to buy there. We have stayed several times now and have zero regrets. Super easy access to both HS and Epcot and the vibe at the resort is also super. With all that said, I own my points direct, but if the need arises for more, the resale restrictions would not deter us (for the right price), as we love it there.

Same here. We have enough for 1BR and the occasional 2BR in a split stay with our MK home resorts, but if we ever wanted to stay at RIV longer, in a 2BR of GV reliably, we'd have to get more points. If we used RIV and knew we'd use exclusively for RIV, I would buy resale points for sure.

I don't know any resort I would want to eat every meal at.

If all restaurants were open, I think I could say VGF is one. We've tried every restaurant there, and 1900 PF is our usual arrival night dinner. V&A for special occasions, everything else is terrific too, including the QS and the pool bar.
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We were primarily resale owners at VGF and BLT but had most blue card perks because of when we bought in. I was in the "only resale" camp as RIV came online and I wasn't a huge fan of the concept art. I'd thought I would wait and see, and maybe pick up a resale contract around $100-$110pp to use exclusively for split stays. We were also at the time (early 2019) thinking of an add-on to our BLT to be able to get into larger units to bring family and friends (VGF being too expensive pointswise for adding on). RIV was only about $5000 more for the points we wanted to add, and had the added benefit of being able to trade everywhere (if we'd added on BLT, our old points could have traded in to RIV but not the add on), and we would have to wait for listings, go through ROFR, etc. Plus home resort in HS/EP area. We took the tour, got ice cream and FPs, and had points in our account days (hours?) later, and made a home-resort-priority booking for New Year's in a standard room that had glorious views of Epcot and fireworks at MK. With a little craning we could see some of the EP fireworks too, but for those we went to the patio at Topolino's. It is very close to tied with VGF for our favorite resort - the kids like VGF for the pool and proximity to MK, I prefer RIV for the rooms (murphy beds rule; smarter TVs, more device-friendly) and the vibe of the resort. I feel like we already got our $5000 extra value from that stay.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I own a small direct package and will probably add-on resale at some point. I just got back from WDW on 1 Nov and spent 3 nights at RIV in a studio. I liked it very much. The closer for me is the shower. I do not care for bathtubs and never use them. I wish they would add dedicated showers to some of the other resorts when they are updating them.

Of course all larger villas except at Jambo have walk in showers and have done so since day 1. VGF was the first studio to have a walk in shower followed by PVB so there are others that can provide it. And CCV did the walk in shower in some rooms which I actually consider a very poor decision. It breaks the small studio category into smaller pieces which means more difficulty booking. In a resort like SSR it maybe wouldn't have been so bad but not for a small resort like CCV. And the rest? The initial room designs are not set up for having a walk in shower in addition to a tub and having a mix creates more difficulty in booking. I already disagree with changing the occupancy studio layout and occupancy at VWL, BCV and BWV and would be very unhappy if they took the tub out of some rooms to make a walk in shower category.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

OMG - I need to get an Rx for this add-on-itis!!!

DVC will be distributing the "vaccine" next month.

 

[RebelScum]

DVC will be distributing the "vaccine" next month.

The problem is that the vaccine only lasts for a couple of months!

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

I hated RIV from the concept art. Absolutely one of those who complained that it was a generic luxury hotel, no Disney magic, etc. But man... the more I reflect on the hours spent there last January, the more I kinda like the place. Love it, even.

The concept art did absolutely nothing for me either. I didn't "hate" it, but it didn't "speak" to me at all. After visiting the premises in person, I have a 100% more positive opinion of the resort and would even consider buying there in the future.

 

[mustinjourney]

Until this pandemic, I would have agreed with you. We canceled so many trips this year, I haven't even bothered to update my signature. Most recently I was at risk of losing soon-expiring points because I had rolled them forward, and while I did get them rented, it was a little more stressful than I would have liked. But I *do* agree that the 50-year expiration was a much bigger sell when we were comparing to BCV and BWV.


Same here. We have enough for 1BR and the occasional 2BR in a split stay with our MK home resorts, but if we ever wanted to stay at RIV longer, in a 2BR of GV reliably, we'd have to get more points. If we used RIV and knew we'd use exclusively for RIV, I would buy resale points for sure.


If all restaurants were open, I think I could say VGF is one. We've tried every restaurant there, and 1900 PF is our usual arrival night dinner. V&A for special occasions, everything else is terrific too, including the QS and the pool bar.
....................................................
We were primarily resale owners at VGF and BLT but had most blue card perks because of when we bought in. I was in the "only resale" camp as RIV came online and I wasn't a huge fan of the concept art. I'd thought I would wait and see, and maybe pick up a resale contract around $100-$110pp to use exclusively for split stays. We were also at the time (early 2019) thinking of an add-on to our BLT to be able to get into larger units to bring family and friends (VGF being too expensive pointswise for adding on). RIV was only about $5000 more for the points we wanted to add, and had the added benefit of being able to trade everywhere (if we'd added on BLT, our old points could have traded in to RIV but not the add on), and we would have to wait for listings, go through ROFR, etc. Plus home resort in HS/EP area. We took the tour, got ice cream and FPs, and had points in our account days (hours?) later, and made a home-resort-priority booking for New Year's in a standard room that had glorious views of Epcot and fireworks at MK. With a little craning we could see some of the EP fireworks too, but for those we went to the patio at Topolino's. It is very close to tied with VGF for our favorite resort - the kids like VGF for the pool and proximity to MK, I prefer RIV for the rooms (murphy beds rule; smarter TVs, more device-friendly) and the vibe of the resort. I feel like we already got our $5000 extra value from that stay.

I find myself preferring RIV over VGF as well. I love the skyliner much more than the monorail, and I love that everything (pool, skyliner, restaurants) is so close at RIV. Plus two parks just 10 minutes away.

My biggest favorite at VGF is that lobby with the orchestra and piano -- and those are both nixed right now -- hopefully the piano guy (wes) will be back in the near future.

VGF rooms could use a little refreshing -- but that will come in due time. But you are right -- the murphy bed is a game changer for studios. So much better than the fold out couch.

 

[Spark65]

The problem is that the vaccine only lasts for a couple of months!

Only has to last for the week I am there