Bo1203
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2021
Bought our first direct contract at Riviera in early 2022. We had just stayed at the Boardwalk on rented points and had had an amazing time. We scheduled our first trip using our new points right at the 11 month mark for May of 2023. Wow the wait was worth it!
We had banked the first year points and booked 12 days in a preferred studio. Throughout the lead-up I had some buyer's remorse, I found checking the cash prices, which were often $900+ per night, made me feel better. We requested a high floor preferred view through touring plans a couple weeks out.
We (Wife, two kids under 6, and me) drove the 16+ hour drive. Not sure how families fly car seats, double strollers and all their wife's shoes. We used the app to check in that morning and arrived in Orlando around lunch time. Parked at Disney Springs and got some gideons cookies and magic bands. We had early dinner reservations for Round up Rodeo BBQ so we made our way to Riviera.
Took the skyliner from there to Hollywood Studios. The bbq was great, the server was great and before we got done we received the notification stating our room was ready. We got a 7th floor studio facing west. Really a great view of the skyliner and Epcot fireworks.
The room was great, plenty of space, very nice bathroom and shower, high end cosmetics, comfy bed, a/c was great, and we never heard noise from a neighbor. We used the larger murphy bed and had a travel crib. Only thing we never figured out is where to store the coffee table. The murphy bed makes contact with the table if you leave it in place and it doesn't fit under the standard bed.
The resort grounds, food/drink options, splash area, and pool were very convenient. We track our steps and this was the least amount of walking by a considerable amount we have done on a disney trip. The Elevators were super fast, barely saw other folks on them and rarely waited. The parking lot was nice and close and we were able to easily get a parking spot everytime.
The breakfast options at Primo were dangerously good. The french toast and the pancakes were awesome. The Coke Freestyle machines in Primo are a huge bonus, we got our money's worth out of the resort mugs. Pizza, burger, and Italian sandwich were good. Bar riva drinks and chicken wings were really good. Le Petit Cafe had great iced coffee and treats. Only complaint at Le Petit Cafe was the wait times and some of the service could have been better. Gelato cart at the pool was a big hit as well.
Dinner at Topolinos was great all around. Very good pasta and seared scallops with jam. The character breakfast we had been to before, back when you got a side dish for the same price. We would have gone twice on this trip, but the value for the amount of food was pretty poor and they rushed us out. Hopefully they'll reconsider those changes.
When we considered purchasing, I was definitely the procuring cause. Honestly, Disney probably owed me a commission for my work convincing my wife this was a sound idea. Not far into the trip my wife came back from the lobby wearing a RR t-shirt and conceded that we had made a good decision.
We also attended the Moonlight Magic event at Hollywood studios which was awesome. During our wait for Run away Railway, our youngest was making faces at an older couple behind us in line and we started a conversation. They had been members for many years, bringing their kids and now grandkids. That conversation really hit home. Even having listened and read similar stories dozens of times across the internet. I guess seeing is believing.
DVC Fan recently had a conversation with dvcmillennial. Using those break even calculations we are already 33% of the way there after one trip.
We had banked the first year points and booked 12 days in a preferred studio. Throughout the lead-up I had some buyer's remorse, I found checking the cash prices, which were often $900+ per night, made me feel better. We requested a high floor preferred view through touring plans a couple weeks out.
We (Wife, two kids under 6, and me) drove the 16+ hour drive. Not sure how families fly car seats, double strollers and all their wife's shoes. We used the app to check in that morning and arrived in Orlando around lunch time. Parked at Disney Springs and got some gideons cookies and magic bands. We had early dinner reservations for Round up Rodeo BBQ so we made our way to Riviera.
Took the skyliner from there to Hollywood Studios. The bbq was great, the server was great and before we got done we received the notification stating our room was ready. We got a 7th floor studio facing west. Really a great view of the skyliner and Epcot fireworks.
The room was great, plenty of space, very nice bathroom and shower, high end cosmetics, comfy bed, a/c was great, and we never heard noise from a neighbor. We used the larger murphy bed and had a travel crib. Only thing we never figured out is where to store the coffee table. The murphy bed makes contact with the table if you leave it in place and it doesn't fit under the standard bed.
The resort grounds, food/drink options, splash area, and pool were very convenient. We track our steps and this was the least amount of walking by a considerable amount we have done on a disney trip. The Elevators were super fast, barely saw other folks on them and rarely waited. The parking lot was nice and close and we were able to easily get a parking spot everytime.
The breakfast options at Primo were dangerously good. The french toast and the pancakes were awesome. The Coke Freestyle machines in Primo are a huge bonus, we got our money's worth out of the resort mugs. Pizza, burger, and Italian sandwich were good. Bar riva drinks and chicken wings were really good. Le Petit Cafe had great iced coffee and treats. Only complaint at Le Petit Cafe was the wait times and some of the service could have been better. Gelato cart at the pool was a big hit as well.
Dinner at Topolinos was great all around. Very good pasta and seared scallops with jam. The character breakfast we had been to before, back when you got a side dish for the same price. We would have gone twice on this trip, but the value for the amount of food was pretty poor and they rushed us out. Hopefully they'll reconsider those changes.
When we considered purchasing, I was definitely the procuring cause. Honestly, Disney probably owed me a commission for my work convincing my wife this was a sound idea. Not far into the trip my wife came back from the lobby wearing a RR t-shirt and conceded that we had made a good decision.
We also attended the Moonlight Magic event at Hollywood studios which was awesome. During our wait for Run away Railway, our youngest was making faces at an older couple behind us in line and we started a conversation. They had been members for many years, bringing their kids and now grandkids. That conversation really hit home. Even having listened and read similar stories dozens of times across the internet. I guess seeing is believing.
DVC Fan recently had a conversation with dvcmillennial. Using those break even calculations we are already 33% of the way there after one trip.
