Riviera Sales by the numbers (vs CCV) for 2019 - (December added 1/16/2020)

[Jiminy76]

I've taken a bus from BCV to MK too from EP, but it wasn't a hop, skip, and a jump away. Those bus stops are a pretty good hike compared to the monorail at the front of EP. We actually talked about it after the fact and said we should've just taken the monorail. The buses aren't moving very regularly at night (or ever???), and we ended up spending so much time walking and waiting that we decided we should've taken the monorail. Maybe it was just bad luck, but we didn't find taking the buses any faster.

Regarding restricting boarding gondolas at RIV station for RIV guests only, that is easy enough to do. Just make people scan their MBs at that station like they do for parking and EMH. Will they do this? I have no idea, but if it becomes a problem, then it's something to think about. If the time difference is minute with the CBR guests boarding at the RIV station, then I honestly don't care. I don't think they should have to walk further to their station if it really has very little impact on my travel time. However, this becomes tricky because what if my family goes over to CBR to grab some food and then boards the gondola there. Is it fair that I can board at CBR as a non-CBR guest but non-RIV guests cannot board at the RIV station. I don't think it is fair. It may just be one of those things that you have to deal with. It's a lot like the friendship boats with Swolphin guests versus BWV and BCV guests, I suppose.

The RIV station is a bit unique in regards to capacity when compared to the other stations. The other stations have an endless supply of empty gondolas to swallow up people who are waiting in the lines. The RIV station can only use a very small number of gondolas to load the people who are waiting at this station, as the majority of the gondolas coming into the station are already full from the people who loaded at CBR. For this reason I would like to see its use limited to RIV guests.

I can see there being major capacity issues in the morning if CBR guests are also using the RIV station. From the live streams I saw it appears the walkways from CBR do indeed connect with the RIV station, so it appears Disney will not be limiting the RIV station to only RIV guests as they have made it accessible to them with walkways to the station.

I can see RIV guests ending up having to take the bus in the morning and taking the Skyliner back later in the day or evening due to anticipated morning capacity issues that this station will more than likely run into.

 

[Bing Showei]

I can see RIV guests ending up having to take the bus in the morning and taking the Skyliner back later in the day or evening due to anticipated morning capacity issues that this station will more than likely run into.

They just need to build a new footbridge from Riviera to the Germany Pavillion. IG 2.0.

 

[ScubaCat]

The RIV station is a bit unique in regards to capacity when compared to the other stations. The other stations have an endless supply of empty gondolas to swallow up people who are waiting in the lines. The RIV station can only use a very small number of gondolas to load the people who are waiting at this station, as the majority of the gondolas coming into the station are already full from the people who loaded at CBR. For this reason I would like to see its use limited to RIV guests.

I can see there being major capacity issues in the morning if CBR guests are also using the RIV station. From the live streams I saw it appears the walkways from CBR do indeed connect with the RIV station, so it appears Disney will not be limiting the RIV station to only RIV guests as they have made it accessible to them with walkways to the station.

I can see RIV guests ending up having to take the bus in the morning and taking the Skyliner back later in the day or evening due to anticipated morning capacity issues that this station will more than likely run into.

I doubt that's entirely true. All they have to do is get on their CB radios and telegram each other how many people are in line at each. Then the CM at CBR can leave every X'th gondola open. (They should definitely be required to sound that skyliner "about to tell you something" tone every...single...time, too!)

 

[CarolynFH]

Yes, but P/G and BW View are actual booking categories. RIV preferred view doesn’t give the option of designating TPV or Water View when booking. Knowing before you arrive at BWV that you’re either going to be looking at BCV or the scary clown is important to keeping guest expectations in check.

That could always change at RIV if they get excessive requests for a certain area. It's been done before. OKW and SSR come to mind.

That’s exactly what happened at BWV. Originally there were two views bookable - Standard or Preferred. A BW view was a request only. After some number of front-desk tantrums by people who requested BW view and didn’t get it, BW view and Pool/Garden view were created. That’s why the point cost is the same - they simply made BW view a booking category, didn’t modify the points chart (as they did at SSR).

 

[CanadaDisney05]

I don’t think they can restrict the RIV Skyliner station to RIV guests. All Done Spey transportation is open to all guests, including those staying offsite. I’ve walked out the IG to BC just to catch an MK bus rather than deal with walking to the front of Epcot and taking 2 monorails. Should the BC bus stop also be only for the convenience of BC guests?


It’s cheaper and very convenient to make a 1-person ADR that you fail to keep ($10 no-show fee) than it is to park at the theme parks. Yeah. It happens. More often than not, you can sit on your standard view balcony and watch the BWV parking lot empty out following Illuminations (and it will probably continue to happen with Epcot Forever). They only seem to be strict about enforcement during crowded festivals.

I've parked at BW with no reservations. We actually went with the purpose of checking out the resort on our latest trip as part of our DVC scouting. Once there, we walked over to hollywood studios to see how long the walk was, then decided to catch fantasmic while we were there.

 

[CarolynFH]

I've parked at BW with no reservations. We actually went with the purpose of checking out the resort on our latest trip as part of our DVC scouting. Once there, we walked over to hollywood studios to see how long the walk was, then decided to catch fantasmic while we were there.

As a BWV guest who has had to circle the parking lot looking for a space on more than one occasion, I have to tell you that parking by people not staying at BW or eating at one of the BW restaurants is a big problem. Disney caused some of it by promoting the Boardwalk as a destination in itself and not providing sufficient parking or transportation there. And Disney hasn’t been at all effective at controlling it. I’m sorry to say that I hope RIV takes some of the pressure off!

Re restricting the RIV gondola station to RIV guests only, I doubt that will happen. Disney modified sidewalks and other access to the RIV station from the CBR side, very clearly indicating that they expect CBR guests to use it. The nearest CBR village is just too close to that station to block it off from them.

 

[ScubaCat]

As a BWV guest who has had to circle the parking lot looking for a space on more than one occasion, I have to tell you that parking by people not staying at BW or eating at one of the BW restaurants is a big problem. Disney caused some of it by promoting the Boardwalk as a destination in itself and not providing sufficient parking or transportation there. And Disney hasn’t been at all effective at controlling it. I’m sorry to say that I hope RIV takes some of the pressure off!

Obviously your not finding a parking place isn't hurting their bottom line, so nothing has been done. And remember, regular hotel guests pay $24/day to park, and likely end up in the same situation - shut out by people parking for free to access the parks. It could easily be controlled, but management chooses not to. Nothing much else to say on that one without descending into another rant, so I'll just be glad parking isn't (usually) a problem at BCV

 

[sndral]

...Re restricting the RIV gondola station to RIV guests only, I doubt that will happen. Disney modified sidewalks and other access to the RIV station from the CBR side, very clearly indicating that they expect CBR guests to use it. The nearest CBR village is just too close to that station to block it off from them.

I started reading the Skyliner construction thread when posters first figured out what Disney was up to based on the nature & location of the permits they were pulling - fascinating stuff!
Disney modified & extended the pathway from CBR to the Riviera station to enable CBR guests board at the Riviera station - I seriously doubt they’ll tear those paths up just because some owners of Riviera complain that it’s too crowded. After all, they don’t limit the resort monorail line from the MK to the deluxe resorts at closing to GF, Poly and Contemporary guests - most of the massive numbers boarding at closing are going to the TTC IME.
IMO based on reading all the numbers posters have posted it seems that most of the stations should load rapidly enough to deal with big crowds faster than the boats, buses, and monorails currently do.
But any system is only as strong as it’s weakest link. And with the Skyliner’s Epcot line that link is most likely the Riviera station.
First, there’s the issue of how many partly full or empty gondolas they send from CBR. If the CMs at CBR don’t do a good job the passengers waiting at Riviera may run into longer waits.
Second, ever since the double bull wheel design was revealed, I’ve wondered how Riviera’s lack of a separate ECV/handicapped loading wheel would work. If early reports that the Epcot line stops every time an ECV/handicapped party loads or unloads at Riviera are true, that’ll slow the Epcot line transit time down as well as having a ripple effect on how fast both the CBR/Epcot and Riviera lines load and thus the wait time in those lines. Ironically, CBR, AOA, and POP passengers going from DHS to/from their resorts will likely have a much faster moving boarding line.
I’m quite interesting in how it all plays out, Riviera is a small resort, I’m not sure how many CBR guests will prefer using the Riviera station over the hub at CBR, maybe it won’t be that bad.

 

[Bing Showei]

I’m not sure how many CBR guests will prefer using the Riviera station over the hub at CBR, maybe it won’t be that bad.

Mathematically though, whether they jump on at the Riviera station to go to Epcot, or they go to CBR to avoid the Riviera station to go to Epcot, wouldn’t that tax the system equally?

I imagine a lot of what we saw today is growing pains and the crush of trying the new shiny thing. I don’t share the optimism that the novelty will wear off in a couple of weeks as some in the Skyliner thread have suggested, but by the time Riviera opens, I imagine most people will get that out of their system. It is interesting to observe now though. Reports on it are fun to read.

 

[zavandor]

I'm optimist for the Skyliner. We see the morning crowds at rope drop and think they're all arrived at the same time. Instead people start arriving one hour before park open and most won't arrive until 10 or 11 (that's why early morning tour is so efficient). People are quite spread out in the morning and given the massive capacity, I think there won't be large queues. 6-10 people will leave every few seconds, that's about one full bus per minute, even if 4 large resorts are attached to the line, it's still 2 or 3 times the normal capacity of buses. And someone will still take the busses as well.
There will be queue at the end of the night after fireworks, but those will be mitigated by the fact the Skyline is continuous loading. By the time someone watching Epcot Forever from Mexico will reach the Skyliner station, someone who watched it from the bridge between UK and France will be already in bed.
The ECV situation at Riviera is more concerning, though. Maybe people at Riviera with an ECV will be asked to got to CBR station or take a bus?

 

[sndral]

Mathematically though, whether they jump on at the Riviera station to go to Epcot, or they go to CBR to avoid the Riviera station to go to Epcot, wouldn’t that tax the system equally?

I imagine a lot of what we saw today is growing pains and the crush of trying the new shiny thing. I don’t share the optimism that the novelty will wear off in a couple of weeks as some in the Skyliner thread have suggested, but by the time Riviera opens, I imagine most people will get that out of their system. It is interesting to observe now though. Reports on it are fun to read.

Early reports are that the plan is that when an ECV/handicapped cabin needs to load/unload at the Riviera station they will stop the line, whereas if they load/unload at CBR they don’t need to stop the line. It seems to me - a non engineer - if you have 5 loads/unloads at Riviera stopping the line for 2 minutes each time during your Skyliner ride, your transit time just increased by 10 minutes & everyone waiting to board just added 10 minutes to their wait. If you have 5 ECV/handicapped loads/unloads at CBR during your ride or wait, the main line of cabins doesn’t stop at all, so no additional time is added.
Per observations today they were spacing the ECV/handicapped cabins at 1 for every 15 cabins in the stations w/ separate ECV/handicapped loading lines, I assume they can space the empty ECV/handicapped designated cabins sent on to Riviera far enough apart to reduce the bottlenecking stopping too often might cause.
I’m especially curious about how long the stop will need to be for the ECVs to back out at the Riviera unload given my real life observations of people trying to back their ECVs @ WDW in general.

 

[zavandor]

Early reports are that the plan is that when an ECV/handicapped cabin needs to load/unload at the Riviera station they will stop the line, whereas if they load/unload at CBR they don’t need to stop the line.

It looks like a very dumb design. They chose a manufacturer who had a solution to the problem of having to stop the lines in order to let people in ECV or wheelchairs and then decided not to install it on one of the stations?

 

[Bing Showei]

Early reports are that the plan is that when an ECV/handicapped cabin needs to load/unload at the Riviera station they will stop the line, whereas if they load/unload at CBR they don’t need to stop the line. It seems to me - a non engineer - if you have 5 loads/unloads at Riviera stopping the line for 2 minutes each time during your Skyliner ride, your transit time just increased by 10 minutes & everyone waiting to board just added 10 minutes to their wait. If you have 5 ECV/handicapped loads/unloads at CBR during your ride or wait, the main line of cabins doesn’t stop at all, so no additional time is added.
Per observations today they were spacing the ECV/handicapped cabins at 1 for every 15 cabins in the stations w/ separate ECV/handicapped loading lines, I assume they can space the empty ECV/handicapped designated cabins sent on to Riviera far enough apart to reduce the bottlenecking stopping too often might cause.
I’m especially curious about how long the stop will need to be for the ECVs to back out at the Riviera unload given my real life observations of people trying to back their ECVs @ WDW in general.

Oh, no. This makes sense. I misread what you wrote to mean if they redirected general (not just ECV) traffic to CBR it may improve the situation. ECV at Riviera sounds like it will price to be challenging given the pass-through layout of the station.

 

[Matty B13]

just saw this.

https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-storie...mail&utm_term=0_01606ee371-671c7ab26c-9435529
40% off is a pretty good discount, especially during Christmas. Almost makes me want to sign back up for a WDW Visa.

 

[Sandisw]

The RIV station is a bit unique in regards to capacity when compared to the other stations. The other stations have an endless supply of empty gondolas to swallow up people who are waiting in the lines. The RIV station can only use a very small number of gondolas to load the people who are waiting at this station, as the majority of the gondolas coming into the station are already full from the people who loaded at CBR. For this reason I would like to see its use limited to RIV guests.

I can see there being major capacity issues in the morning if CBR guests are also using the RIV station. From the live streams I saw it appears the walkways from CBR do indeed connect with the RIV station, so it appears Disney will not be limiting the RIV station to only RIV guests as they have made it accessible to them with walkways to the station.

I can see RIV guests ending up having to take the bus in the morning and taking the Skyliner back later in the day or evening due to anticipated morning capacity issues that this station will more than likely run into.

For me, it is no different from Disney allowing non MK resort guests to ride the monorail to TTC. At times it is insanely crowded and many are getting off at TTC.

I can not see them limit it to certain guests. If someone not staying there goes for a meal, etc., then they would be excluded.

Now that it’s been posted that the gondolas coming into RIV will have guests from CBR station it’s going to make it much more difficult at peak times for those getting on at RIV

 

[CarolMN]

40% off those ridiculous rack rates is still a lot per night. A standard studio weeknight in January is $554 plus tax (so $332/night plus tax after discount). A preferred studio for same night is $630 plus tx (or $389/night plus tax after 40% discount). For 12/23, standard is not available & a preferred is $892/night plus tax before discount.

No way would I ever pay that for one night in a hotel room. YMMV.

 

[CraigInPA]

I've read all of the "value resorts" and "moderate resorts" sharing the skyliner arguments, but I haven't seen the #1 reason why I won't buy at the Riviera: tour groups. The cheerleaders and Brazilian 15's tend to stay at CBR. They move as large packs and are LOUD, as all teenagers tend to be. I can foresee them skipping the CBR station and going to the RIV station to board there, to avoid the crowds of people changing at CBR.

 

[polynor]

The boardwalk view rooms over look both Yacht and Beach and no one seems to mention those resorts. Is it because we know they are "deluxe" resorts? From a pure visual stand point, the yacht/beach are no more or less visually appealing than a lot of moderate resorts. I've stayed at a number of Disney resorts and I never once thought that being able to see any other resort was a negative.

I remember back when Boardwalk was being built there was griping in the RADP newsgroup about it ruining the view and theming for BC/YC. Don't hear that now.

 

[ChandraM]

They did a great job! I haven’t seen any videos of the Riviera’s grand villas to it’s difficult to compare.

Are there any videos of the 1 or 2 bedrooms?

I actually just saw this simulated virtual tour of the grand villa on Disney's website yesterday, and it looks amazing!

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/r...mailriviera-grandVilla-16x9#slideShow=0/0/0/2
I have been pretty skeptical about Riviera for a lot of the same reasons others have stated, but I have to admit the virtual tours of the rooms and the resort on the website look amazing! I will want to see it in person, but if it's as beautiful as it looks in the virtual videos I could see considering a direct contract "worth it" just so I'd have the ability to stay there.

 

[pineapplepalms]

I actually just saw this simulated virtual tour of the grand villa on Disney's website yesterday, and it looks amazing!

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/r...mailriviera-grandVilla-16x9#slideShow=0/0/0/2
I have been pretty skeptical about Riviera for a lot of the same reasons others have stated, but I have to admit the virtual tours of the rooms and the resort on the website look amazing! I will want to see it in person, but if it's as beautiful as it looks in the virtual videos I could see considering a direct contract "worth it" just so I'd have the ability to stay there.

Thanks for sharing! I hadn’t seen all those videos yet, and it was great to see the ones of the overall resort and pool area as well. I think it looks beautiful and I can’t wait for our first stay there in the spring.