Stay before you buy or just visit?

[emilymad]

We have been having back and forth discussions about adding on and if so where. We are considering a long weekend, resort only stay in February. It is sort of last minute at this point and there isn't availability at RIV which is where we are debating add on. We own at SSR.

We can easily visit and tour the rooms but would you consider this enough of a try to see how the resort really is?

My other option is to book a cash room which is $$$ when I have points just sitting there. We would rather not do a split stay since we are thinking about only going for 3 or 4 nights.

 

[Ginamarie]

I think it depends how picky you are about your resorts. Have you stayed at a few DVC properties and been happy with all of them, or do you see a big difference? Which are the parts of the resort that are most important to you and can you check those out without physically staying in a room? Like if the pool is a big deal, you can take a look at the pool while visiting. If transportation is more of a focus, you may want to ride from the resort to the parks to see how that works (you CAN do that without staying at the resort, but you'd be wasting the day riding transportation for research purposes if that's an issue). If room comfort is your main focus, you're probably going to have to stay there to see how well you "fit" (ie how is the dressers/closet space, where are the outlets located, etc). It's hard to gauge that stuff without staying in the room.

I suggest listing out your priorities for the resort and seeing if you can accomplish checking them out without a stay.

I'm visiting in January and hoping we can check out the room tours at Riviera. I don't know yet if it's a resort I would fall in love with, but I'd like to find out! It looks beautiful from the photos I've seen.

 

[RoseGold]

I bought SSR, and I’ve never even been there. But SSR is a low commitment and is literally the most bought and sold timeshare property in the world. I could sell for roughly what I bought since the day I bought.

RIV is a different beast. The resale restrictions mean you are really married to this thing, or you maybe take a bath in resale. No one knows. The decor and transportation have some strong opinions. If I were locking myself in, I wouldn’t buy RIV sight unseen, and I would want to stay at least a night. I'd want to see how transportation goes early in the morning/late, not that Covid is a great example of that.

Availability is changing constantly in covid. Stalk and book a night there.

If you do like it, I also might watch the resale in a few years, when they will still be selling RIV. No one knows what will happen to pricing.

 

[JETSDAD]

For new members I would recommend staying first but for existing members I think just visiting would be enough. You already know what you're getting into and can check out the resort, rooms, dining, transportation, etc without actually staying there.

 

[Sandisw]

I think the visits will be enough for you to make a decision.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I agree with OP's - take a tour.

 

[Spark65]

You could spend time there without staying there if you wanted. It's a lot different than other Disney locales. The rooms are very nice I didn't like the quick serve there that others rave about but Topolino's was great saw fireworks while we ate really awesome. The coffee bar and outdoor bar were good for hanging around at and access to the Skyliner was fun an attraction in it's own right.

The store should be bigger like other resorts but it's not and looking out over Caribbean resort and lake/pond I thought was very nice I love the color. It's a chilling out resort not an active sort of energizer bunny resort.

Access to places with a car was much easier than other resorts so has a big plus there. If you live in your room you'll love it activities not so much to do but swim, run, walk is all there.

We took Skyliner from RIV to HS, HS to BWV by boat then walked to BC and into Epcot road Skyliner home. I like the boat rides that's my favorite mode of transport I really like the boat ride from Port Orleans to Disney Springs at night overall hands down. The little boat from MK to POLY comes in second.
The trip back from Epcot on the Skyliner is no bargain the line is just like the one for the monorail to POLY if you leave with the masses so keep that in mind.
Since you own at SSR this is a much smaller resort no need to drive to the front desk (being facetious) take elevator to bar/restaurant and pool is close by etc.

Do I own at RIV, yes, my wife loves the large spacious rooms she doesn't care to stay in a closet but I do own POLY a closet resort and I have stayed in the bungalows....OH MY GOD before you die you have never lived till you do it once!!!!!
There is one resident RIV troll here and don't listen to the how cheap I can do the DIS for remarks by buying SSR and never stay there owning at the resort of your choice is a luxury and luxuries aren't cheap.

 

[sethschroeder]

It is sort of last minute at this point and there isn't availability at RIV which is where we are debating add on.

With RIV you know at times there might be downtime with the Skyliner otherwise you are fairly safe just visiting.

I think the resort you have to stay at is AKV and then a lesser extent OKW/SSR and it's because all of these resorts are not attached to parks and have some extended bussing. It's important to get a feel for a whole trip.

There also just isn't enough info yet on the Skyliner but I also think long term Disney can run the Skyliner through some of the storms they shut it down for right now.

 

[iheartglaciers]

I’d definitely do an extensive visit before buying (tour a room, eat at one of the restaurant/quick service, walk the grounds, take the Skyliner, etc.). Also keep checking availability, right now with covid people keep canceling.

When I first bought into DVC, I thought that I wanted to own at Beach Club (after staying there once), but after staying at Boardwalk I realized that I liked it more.

 

[MJ NH]

I stayed a weekend at CBR resort and then toured RIV. I got the feel of skyliner and we ate at RIV both days. We then added points at RIV when the weekend was over.

 

[emilymad]

Thanks for all the great advice! We have stayed at lots of the DVC resorts. We like different resorts for different reasons. We like BLT especially for split stays but before we stayed there I would have said we would hate it. We surprise ourselves sometimes!

 

[Turn the Page]

We have stayed at SSR, OKW, and a night at BCV and a few stays in values. We are buying RIV without having stayed there, just walked through a few times, but we researched quite heavily and it has all the amenities and such we were looking for. We didn't care much what the themecwas.

But, as always, YMMV.

 

[RebelScum]

The trip back from Epcot on the Skyliner is no bargain the line is just like the one for the monorail to POLY if you leave with the masses so keep that in mind.

I respectfully disagree with this comment. I own at both RIV and POLY, and with a total of more than 2 weeks worth of stays at RIV (both pre and post COVID) and many many more at POLY, I have never encountered crowding or waits on the Skyliner like I have on the monorail. Particularly at Park open and close, the Skyliner line is constantly moving, because there is continuous loading. It is a little longer now, because there is only one party per car allowed on the Skyliner, but I do not find that adds much to the wait, and that will pass at some point. I suppose, breakdowns could cause delays, but I have not encountered those.

 

[Spark65]

I respectfully disagree with this comment. I own at both RIV and POLY, and with a total of more than 2 weeks worth of stays at RIV (both pre and post COVID) and many many more at POLY, I have never encountered crowding or waits on the Skyliner like I have on the monorail. Particularly at Park open and close, the Skyliner line is constantly moving, because there is continuous loading. It is a little longer now, because there is only one party per car allowed on the Skyliner, but I do not find that adds much to the wait, and that will pass at some point. I suppose, breakdowns could cause delays, but I have not encountered those.

When did you ride Skyliner by chance? I rode last November and in March pre-covid and waiting at the entrance ramp at Epcot in November was the norm and beyond in March just like the Monorail at closing time.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

You could spend time there without staying there if you wanted. It's a lot different than other Disney locales. The rooms are very nice I didn't like the quick serve there that others rave about but Topolino's was great saw fireworks while we ate really awesome. The coffee bar and outdoor bar were good for hanging around at and access to the Skyliner was fun an attraction in it's own right.

The store should be bigger like other resorts but it's not and looking out over Caribbean resort and lake/pond I thought was very nice I love the color. It's a chilling out resort not an active sort of energizer bunny resort.

Access to places with a car was much easier than other resorts so has a big plus there. If you live in your room you'll love it activities not so much to do but swim, run, walk is all there.

We took Skyliner from RIV to HS, HS to BWV by boat then walked to BC and into Epcot road Skyliner home. I like the boat rides that's my favorite mode of transport I really like the boat ride from Port Orleans to Disney Springs at night overall hands down. The little boat from MK to POLY comes in second.
The trip back from Epcot on the Skyliner is no bargain the line is just like the one for the monorail to POLY if you leave with the masses so keep that in mind.
Since you own at SSR this is a much smaller resort no need to drive to the front desk (being facetious) take elevator to bar/restaurant and pool is close by etc.

Do I own at RIV, yes, my wife loves the large spacious rooms she doesn't care to stay in a closet but I do own POLY a closet resort and I have stayed in the bungalows....OH MY GOD before you die you have never lived till you do it once!!!!!
There is one resident RIV troll here and don't listen to the how cheap I can do the DIS for remarks by buying SSR and never stay there owning at the resort of your choice is a luxury and luxuries aren't cheap.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I don't understand your statement that POLY is a closet resort. POLY has the biggest studios, doesn't it? You say your "wife loves the spacious rooms (at RIV) and doesn't care to stay in a closet but I do own POLY a closet resort."
I don't understand what you are saying, and I think POLY has the biggest studios, so not a closet resort. Can you please explain, or rephrase?

 

[Spark65]

I don't understand your statement that POLY is a closet resort. POLY has the biggest studios, doesn't it? You say your "wife loves the spacious rooms (at RIV) and doesn't care to stay in a closet but I do own POLY a closet resort."
I don't understand what you are saying, and I think POLY has the biggest studios, so not a closet resort. Can you please explain, or rephrase?

Aside from the bungalows and everything else being studio's in comparison to other resorts with choices of larger rooms namely 1 & 2 bedrooms the rooms are small like a closet hence a closet resort.

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

Thanks for all the great advice! We have stayed at lots of the DVC resorts. We like different resorts for different reasons. We like BLT especially for split stays but before we stayed there I would have said we would hate it. We surprise ourselves sometimes!

You are already members. You are here on the Dis so you are an “educated consumer” There are tons of room videos and reviews online. I don’t think you need to spend the time and dollars on a visit. You could do a tour but I’m not even sure you need to do that. We bought Riv basically without stepping foot on property and are happy with our purchase.

 

[starfrenzy]

Back in January 2020 we did a split stay with most of our trip at Coronado springs and we had booked Riviera for the final night. We were excited to check out Riviera, which had just opened the month before, so we went over to visit earlier on in the week. At first visit, I wasn’t really crazy about it (other than Primo Piatto, which I loved), but once we actually stayed there and experience the great service, the luxurious rooms, and the fabulous views (standard room, high floor), I was wishing I could buy in.

So when it comes to Riviera, staying there really did make a difference for me vs. visiting.

Now if you know that you want to buy direct and you want a long contract, then Riviera is a no-brainer and maybe you don’t need to stay there first.

 

[Zimwicket]

Stay first!! We bought at BLT because it was one of the hardest areas to get at the 7 month window and it had a long contract date. Then we stayed in a studio....SO SO SMALL. Being in a magic kingdom view helped ease the pain though At some point we will try a 1BR to see if we like it more. We bought 200 points in AKL because we liked it so much after staying there.