Riviera's most overlooked benefit...

[airjay75]

How much would you want your RIV dues lowered if you had shared bus routes? I think I'm OK with the dues & dedicated buses.

Very good question. I guess I would want to know the cost/benefit before having too strong of an opinion one way or the other.

 

[mamaofsix]

We just stayed at the Riviera last week and absolutely loved it. We aren't DVC, but we rented the points. There were times the pool was crowded, but there was also a time or two when we had it to ourselves.

In terms of the busses, apparently the only time you have to share is when the Skyliner is down. This happened when my (teen) kids came to join my wife and I at Epcot after our visit to Geo-82 (which was awesome!). They said they went to CBR, Pop, and AoA before getting to Epcot.

I heard from someone who had to do this last week. Skyliner was down at the end of the night. They had to go through the entire interior loop of CB before the bus stopped at Riviera. They said it was frustrating enough that it made them think twice about staying at Riviera again.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

I heard from someone who had to do this last week. Skyliner was down at the end of the night. They had to go through the entire interior loop of CB before the bus stopped at Riviera. They said it was frustrating enough that it made them think twice about staying at Riviera again.

Staying at RIV in August is just asking for skyliner issues - it will almost certainly go down at least once each afternoon/evening. So if the prospect of that happening frustrates someone, I would advise to stay somewhere else.

 

[JayMass]

Staying at RIV in August is just asking for skyliner issues - it will almost certainly go down at least once each afternoon/evening. So if the prospect of that happening frustrates someone, I would advise to stay somewhere else.

We stayed at Pop last August and Riv this August, the skyliner being down only impacted once on each trip. But I agree, you have to factor the possibility into your plans. For anyone looking to buy DVC there and travels during summer, this would be a big problem.

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

I heard from someone who had to do this last week. Skyliner was down at the end of the night. They had to go through the entire interior loop of CB before the bus stopped at Riviera. They said it was frustrating enough that it made them think twice about staying at Riviera again.

Uber or Lyft are your friends in that situation.

 

[muppets3d]

We just stayed at the Riviera last week and absolutely loved it. We aren't DVC, but we rented the points. There were times the pool was crowded, but there was also a time or two when we had it to ourselves.

In terms of the busses, apparently the only time you have to share is when the Skyliner is down. This happened when my (teen) kids came to join my wife and I at Epcot after our visit to Geo-82 (which was awesome!). They said they went to CBR, Pop, and AoA before getting to Epcot.

Yep, my wife hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom from Riviera once when the Skyliner was down and the bus went to AoA before it went on to Magic Kingdom.

When the Skyliner is down they don't always have enough buses to give Riviera it's own routes so they have to adjust.

This was not the case when the Skyliner was down for refurbishment - they had enough buses then because they were able to plan ahead. But when the Skyliner goes down for lightning in the middle of the day, they have to get buses ready in minutes so they have to do what they can.

 

[muppets3d]

I heard from someone who had to do this last week. Skyliner was down at the end of the night. They had to go through the entire interior loop of CB before the bus stopped at Riviera. They said it was frustrating enough that it made them think twice about staying at Riviera again.

The Skyliner is a blessing and a curse sometimes. I was bobbing over the ravine between Epcot and Boardwalk for about 45 minutes last year on the way to Riviera.

 

[eticketplease]

Yep, my wife hopped on a bus to Magic Kingdom from Riviera once when the Skyliner was down and the bus went to AoA before it went on to Magic Kingdom.

When the Skyliner is down they don't always have enough buses to give Riviera it's own routes so they have to adjust.

I wasn’t thinking this would affect anything other than HS & Epcot but it makes sense since they don’t normally have to run busses to those locations they have to find them from somewhere.

 

[eticketplease]

The Skyliner is a blessing and a curse sometimes. I was bobbing over the ravine between Epcot and Boardwalk for about 45 minutes last year on the way to Riviera.

Luckily the longest we had was 15 minutes on that route. I felt bad for the people that was in our car/cabin as they were going to one of the values and the sky was not looking nice.

 

[muppets3d]

Luckily the longest we had was 15 minutes on that route. I felt bad for the people that was in our car/cabin as they were going to one of the values and the sky was not looking nice.

In those instances they'll have buses at the CBR transfer station to take folks to their final destination. I've seen that happen before.

 

[kanerf]

Here be a trick. Skyliner to HS in the morning and you can pick up any or the resort busses there which are normally empty having just dropped off guests at HS. You can take a BLT bus and be walking distance or monorail to MK or a AKL bus and be a short bus ride from AK. I think that at times direct busses to the other parks pick up there too.

 

[mamaofsix]

Staying at RIV in August is just asking for skyliner issues - it will almost certainly go down at least once each afternoon/evening. So if the prospect of that happening frustrates someone, I would advise to stay somewhere else.

Yes.

This thread was about buying Riviera due to the dedicated bussing and excellent transportation. It's worth noting that this isn't always the case.

 

[Genie+]

We still have not tried RIV yet. How do people commonly get HS? Like is it better to just walk over to Caribbean Beach rather than needing to transfer?

 

[eticketplease]

We still have not tried RIV yet. How do people commonly get HS? Like is it better to just walk over to Caribbean Beach rather than needing to transfer?

We have only done Skyliner or drive/lyft.

Even when busy the que at the switching station seems to move pretty fast.

 

[muppets3d]

We still have not tried RIV yet. How do people commonly get HS? Like is it better to just walk over to Caribbean Beach rather than needing to transfer?

Skyliner the whole way for me. But it's not a bad walk to Caribbean Beach if you want to do it.

 

[airjay75]

Edit: Maybe the Crescent Lake resorts also share part of the Skyliner costs as one of their ways to get to/from DHS?

I was googling this the other day. According to my quick research, I do not believe the Crescent Lake resorts pay any money to support the Skyliner. And, I think a large portion of RIV's costs is likely to support the landscaping and upkeep at the RIV Skyliner station, notwithstanding the fact that the Aruba section of CB likely considers the RIV Skyliner station partially it's own. It would be interesting to see how the Skyliner expenses are allocated between the different hotels/parks/resorts it services.

 

[PolyRob]

In those instances they'll have buses at the CBR transfer station to take folks to their final destination. I've seen that happen before.

We still have not tried RIV yet. How do people commonly get HS? Like is it better to just walk over to Caribbean Beach rather than needing to transfer?

I really think making RIV the hub/transfer station rather than CBR would have made the Skyliner even more valuable for RIV guests.

 

[PolyRob]

I was googling this the other day. According to my quick research, I do not believe the Crescent Lake resorts pay any money to support the Skyliner. And, I think a large portion of RIV's costs is likely to support the landscaping and upkeep at the RIV Skyliner station, notwithstanding the fact that the Aruba section of CB likely considers the RIV Skyliner station partially it's own. It would be interesting to see how the Skyliner expenses are allocated between the different hotels/parks/resorts it services.

Agreed, it would be interesting to know how the cost is distributed since Pop, AoA, and CBR are all very large resorts, but values and a moderate. Is it based on passengers carried or cost per room

 

[IMMkXLVI]

Skyliner?

Yes, I misspoke! I was thinking on e but wrote the other. Probably because we often navigate to GF for breakfast and depart for the parks from there. But leaving Epcot at night (and we always end up at Epcot after park hopping) on the Skyliner beats any other way to returning.

 

[muppets3d]

I really think making RIV the hub/transfer station rather than CBR would have made the Skyliner even more valuable for RIV guests.

Waiting for a gondola with room for your party can be a bit of a drag, especially if you're trying to rope drop Epcot. That wouldn't happen if RIV were the transfer station, that's true.