Hi All!
We just got back from a short 4 night trip. It was our first time using DVC points and first time back since the pandemic started. This trip was sort of a spur of the moment ordeal to get away for the first time in two years since the birth of our son. I kept going back and forth on whether to bring him or not but decided not to since fastpass is gone and he doesn’t do well standing still. Since we didn’t bring him we canceled our 1 bedroom at RIV and switched to 3 nights at the poly and one night in a riviera std studio.
A couple general observations. I felt like everything moved a lot slower and the parks felt overwhelmingly busy. This was the first time I’ve ever been to Disney and just felt uncomfortable by the amount of people around me.
I learned this trip that I’m not as patient as I thought I was. It felt like even the simplest thing required a wait in a line. I know some people don’t like fast pass but our time in the parks wasn’t really enjoyable. Most lines ended up taking around 60 minutes and so we weren’t able to do every ride we wanted. This was a shock to the system since with fastpass I could usually ride most of our favorites multiple times per day.
I heard they increased capacity the day we left since the outdoor mask rule was lifted. Without shows and other people eaters open it just felt like there were way too many people crammed into the few areas that were open. We decided that if fastpass isn’t back for our September trip, we will do a resort only trip.
Speaking of, the first day of our trip we didn’t go into the parks. We did the DVC open houses and this was the best day by far. Some open houses left me underwhelmed and some wowed me! The GVs at VGF and RIV were my favorites, definitely need to add on more points though to take advantage of those!
Upon checking into the poly I was a little disappointed initially. The rooms felt dark and maybe even a little bit worn, which was surprising to me since the rooms weren’t done too terribly long ago. By the end of the trip I ended up deciding poly was in my top 3 resorts though. I love the landscaping and quick service. We sat outside of capt cooks multiple nights enjoying the pulled pork nachos (so good!) by the water and it truly felt like a relaxing vacation! We capped off each night with a piece of bread pudding to go from the tambu lounge. It was wonderful.
Our trip really took a turn though when we checked into our room at the RIV. We had booked a standard view studio but ended up with an awesome preferred view (room 8784).
The riviera was absolutely fantastic and I’m so glad we decided to buy here! We loved the QS. The food was so nice and light and fresh. We loved the salads, both the tuna nicoise and the Greek. The croque monsieur was also very good! The one disappointing item was the chicken sandwich as the chicken was pretty flavorless. The cast members at the riviera were the best. Specifically both the employees at the coffee shop we interacted with, josh and another girl who’s name I can’t remember. The pool was great, loved the pool bar. Dinner at Topolinos was fantastic. We ordered the rigatoni and scallops. Our server here wasn’t the friendliest or most informative but not bad.
Overall, I truly feel they hit the nail on the head with the theming. It really felt like a hotel on the French Riviera. Sitting by the water watching the Skyliner go by was so relaxing. I could’ve spent my whole trip doing just that. The only problem we have now is I don’t know how we will ever not book a preferred view from this point on. I know it isn’t a view of say the castle, but looking out at the water, pools, and people passing by was so much fun. So excited for our next trip, this time we will be at the riviera the entire time and I can’t wait to explore more and really settle in.
We just got back from a short 4 night trip. It was our first time using DVC points and first time back since the pandemic started. This trip was sort of a spur of the moment ordeal to get away for the first time in two years since the birth of our son. I kept going back and forth on whether to bring him or not but decided not to since fastpass is gone and he doesn’t do well standing still. Since we didn’t bring him we canceled our 1 bedroom at RIV and switched to 3 nights at the poly and one night in a riviera std studio.
A couple general observations. I felt like everything moved a lot slower and the parks felt overwhelmingly busy. This was the first time I’ve ever been to Disney and just felt uncomfortable by the amount of people around me.
I learned this trip that I’m not as patient as I thought I was. It felt like even the simplest thing required a wait in a line. I know some people don’t like fast pass but our time in the parks wasn’t really enjoyable. Most lines ended up taking around 60 minutes and so we weren’t able to do every ride we wanted. This was a shock to the system since with fastpass I could usually ride most of our favorites multiple times per day.
I heard they increased capacity the day we left since the outdoor mask rule was lifted. Without shows and other people eaters open it just felt like there were way too many people crammed into the few areas that were open. We decided that if fastpass isn’t back for our September trip, we will do a resort only trip.
Speaking of, the first day of our trip we didn’t go into the parks. We did the DVC open houses and this was the best day by far. Some open houses left me underwhelmed and some wowed me! The GVs at VGF and RIV were my favorites, definitely need to add on more points though to take advantage of those!
Upon checking into the poly I was a little disappointed initially. The rooms felt dark and maybe even a little bit worn, which was surprising to me since the rooms weren’t done too terribly long ago. By the end of the trip I ended up deciding poly was in my top 3 resorts though. I love the landscaping and quick service. We sat outside of capt cooks multiple nights enjoying the pulled pork nachos (so good!) by the water and it truly felt like a relaxing vacation! We capped off each night with a piece of bread pudding to go from the tambu lounge. It was wonderful.
Our trip really took a turn though when we checked into our room at the RIV. We had booked a standard view studio but ended up with an awesome preferred view (room 8784).
The riviera was absolutely fantastic and I’m so glad we decided to buy here! We loved the QS. The food was so nice and light and fresh. We loved the salads, both the tuna nicoise and the Greek. The croque monsieur was also very good! The one disappointing item was the chicken sandwich as the chicken was pretty flavorless. The cast members at the riviera were the best. Specifically both the employees at the coffee shop we interacted with, josh and another girl who’s name I can’t remember. The pool was great, loved the pool bar. Dinner at Topolinos was fantastic. We ordered the rigatoni and scallops. Our server here wasn’t the friendliest or most informative but not bad.
Overall, I truly feel they hit the nail on the head with the theming. It really felt like a hotel on the French Riviera. Sitting by the water watching the Skyliner go by was so relaxing. I could’ve spent my whole trip doing just that. The only problem we have now is I don’t know how we will ever not book a preferred view from this point on. I know it isn’t a view of say the castle, but looking out at the water, pools, and people passing by was so much fun. So excited for our next trip, this time we will be at the riviera the entire time and I can’t wait to explore more and really settle in.
We spent every afternoon from around 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. in the pool and then hopped to Epcot.
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