The Official Riviera Owners & Info Thread

Valet is open and are quick to learn the name of guests. I think 75% of the valet staff knew me by name by the third day.

I saw many guests using the luggage carts to take items to their room themselves. I did not use going to the room since my room was not ready when I arrived. I did use one to take luggage to the car when we departed since it was early in the morning.
Maybe I'm missing something... is there some sort of valet parking benefit for DVC stays? Or should I park on my own?
 
Maybe I'm missing something... is there some sort of valet parking benefit for DVC stays? Or should I park on my own?

I used valet because it is free for those with a handicap sticker/plate and I had my sister with me. She has a sticker and uses a mobility scooter to get around. My sister also has developmental disabilities so me dropping her off and then parking would not always work if she was anxious that day/time.

Even if I had to pay, I probably still would have done so this trip since I was on a cash reservation so it would not have been much more a night. It rained heavily quite a bit this trip that I would have used just for that reason. I do tend to pay for valet in many places when I have my sister with me. I just add the cost to my budget.
 
So I'll be there in less than 2 weeks... Some transportation questions for recent guests:
- What time does the skyliner start running?
-If you're among the first on the skyliner from RR to the hub, will they let you "cut the line" at the CBR hub, or have to get into the back of the line? Better to just walk to CBR at 7:15 am or take the RR skyliner to DHS?
-Skyliner to Epcot for rope drop... are they leaving some cabins open coming from CBR to RR guests, or is it taking a long time to get into an open cabin? What time to board for Epcot rope drop? 10am good, or a bit earlier?
-What time is the first bus to Animal Kingdom? How often do the buses come?
-What time is first bus to Magic Kingdom?

Thanks in advance.
 


We are new direct owners at RR- we are so thrilled. We are planning our first welcome home trip next December around Christmas time- which I know will be hard to book- we are wanting 2 BR for all of us 6 adults and 1 child she will be 2 by time we go. Can anyone suggest a decent standard view option and also preferred option as well. We have toured but have yet to stay here so not sure which location is best. Thanks so much. We do plan to book right at the 11 month mark. I already have the date on my calendar so I don't forget.
 
We are new direct owners at RR- we are so thrilled. We are planning our first welcome home trip next December around Christmas time- which I know will be hard to book- we are wanting 2 BR for all of us 6 adults and 1 child she will be 2 by time we go. Can anyone suggest a decent standard view option and also preferred option as well. We have toured but have yet to stay here so not sure which location is best. Thanks so much. We do plan to book right at the 11 month mark. I already have the date on my calendar so I don't forget.
For standard request high floor Epcot view- you can see the Epcot fireworks and even the MK ones (although they are very distant). 044A7A96-8073-4488-858E-A1946BE16324.jpeg9DFBEFEF-ED3C-4243-AE1F-2D7CB3495509.jpeg
ETA these were from 8729 and 8731 2BR Lockoff
 
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12/14 - 12/16/21 in a Studio/Standard
Added! We will miss you by 10 days. Have a great trip!

February 19-22, 2022, Deluxe Studio SV, "Welcome Home" Trip
Added! Welcome home!

We stayed 8 nights last week at Riviera in a 2 BR lockoff. We got our room request of a high floor facing Epcot, we were in 8729 and 8731, exactly where we wanted to be. Here are some random thoughts about the resort in no particular order. However, as an overall, we loved it and are so glad we bought here!!
Great trip report! I really enjoyed reading it! And lucky draw on the room view. I'd love to see the ball from my bed. I agree about some things could be more grand for sure. In the end I never mind because I think it will help keep random traffic through the resort down and after the parks, I love that Riviera doesn't have that kind of foot traffic. Having one grand staircase out the back would look amazing though!


Haven't stayed there yet, only toured, but agree with so much of what you said! We were staying at BCV when we took the tour and DH didn't even want to go back to BCV after that :D

#9 - we arrived from Skyliner and when I saw the stairs I wasn't even sure we were at the right place to go to the lobby. I wholeheartedly agree that the stairs are a missed opportunity (even if in the grand scheme it seems minor)

#21 It is because 8 was the CBR building they tore down for RR

#31 - I was really excited to read this then remembered you were in a 2BR and we will be in a studio when we go lol Hope it is still an ok amount of storage because we are also driving (and I am also a chronic overpacker)

Thanks for such a detailed review!
There's tons of storage in the studio. We had 3 adults and a teen with luggage for 8 days and didn't struggle. And I'm a terrible overpacker.

Hello, we just purchased our first DVC contract at Riveria, and booked our stay for Dec 10-19 in a 1 Bedroom Villa preferred. We are super excited!

Can we also be added to the Be Our Guest list? Thanks!
Added! We will just miss you by a week too. Have a great Christmas trip!

Curious what people's thoughts are on the "proper" abbreviation of the Riviera Resort is/should be, since I've seen it a few different ways on this thread.

RR
DRR
RIV

Personally, I like RIV (which seems to be the most popular?), but the others seem more consistent with most other resorts.
I've written both of the others, but I definitely like RIV the best. It's much more obvious to me at least.

Please update our stay in January 2022.

Our original plan was to change resorts for the tower stay (January 19-23), to either BLT or AK-Kidani at 7 months and stay in a RIV deluxe studio January 23-28. Due to the skyliner being down for maintenance that week, we decided to flip our dates. Of course, a standard deluxe studio was unavailable that week, so the stalking began. In the end with many changes, we’re now locked in (booked our airfare), to a standard studio from January 17-21, with 4-day stay at AK-Kidani following.

Thanks.
Updated! Good call on the changing dates. The Skyliner is my favorite part of the resort. Best first ride of every day!

Had our first stay at Riviera! Room 8669 Standard View Studio. We have stayed at CCV, BCV, BLT and RIV. This was our second vacation being a DVC member, we did a RIV and BLT split stay. 6 nights in a standard view RIV deluxe studio and 9 nights in a BLT standard view studio. We own at CCV and RIV. We loved the Room at Riviera. The cast members there are all very very nice. That was our favorite part of staying here. The resort is beautiful and smells amazing. We were in the east wing area. Parking is super easy. We loved the double showers in the room. Some cons but non were deal breakers were the AC never seemed to get very cold. Out BLT room let us set it all the way down to 65 and the room was consistently cold. The software on the TV's at riviera while nice seems extremely slow. Our big con that could be a deal breaker deciding over other resorts though is the skyliner. We were huge skyliner fans before staying here but the problem we ran into was it being closed because of dark clouds or lightning. While I understand this it just doesn't seem as reliable as the monorails were at BLT. The monorail doesn't seem to shut down due to lightning at all. And we also didn't like that there is nothing in the app to be able to tell if they are running so you could walk all the way to the skyliner at the international gateway and have it be down and then have to walk all the way to the buses at the beach club. Which was just a irk we had with it. We loved the freestyle drink machines at Riviera but I think Primo Piatto and Bar Riva both closing at 10pm is inconvenient. When you get back from the parks and its after 10 and the drink stations are closed. Pop and the Values seemed like they were opened later at least till 11pm. I just think it would be nice to have one location open for drinks and food for at least an hour after the latest park closes would be nice. The elevators seemed very fast at Riviera. We love the size of the location. I do think it is missing something, maybe a larger gift shop or a basin type shop like GF has or maybe 1 more theming aspect maybe some gondolas in the water by the edge there.

Great trip report! I agree about the drink stations. I feel like in the many years they've had the mugs, they could have figured this out for new resorts.

So I'll be there in less than 2 weeks... Some transportation questions for recent guests:
- What time does the skyliner start running?
-If you're among the first on the skyliner from RR to the hub, will they let you "cut the line" at the CBR hub, or have to get into the back of the line? Better to just walk to CBR at 7:15 am or take the RR skyliner to DHS?
-Skyliner to Epcot for rope drop... are they leaving some cabins open coming from CBR to RR guests, or is it taking a long time to get into an open cabin? What time to board for Epcot rope drop? 10am good, or a bit earlier?
-What time is the first bus to Animal Kingdom? How often do the buses come?
-What time is first bus to Magic Kingdom?

Thanks in advance.
I did a trip report on page 74 that lists all the times for the Skyliner and buses and what time the parks were opening.
Yes, they usually let the first 5 families in line at RR cut the line at the hub, but it's not guaranteed.
There have been mixed reports about cabins being left open.

We are new direct owners at RR- we are so thrilled. We are planning our first welcome home trip next December around Christmas time- which I know will be hard to book- we are wanting 2 BR for all of us 6 adults and 1 child she will be 2 by time we go. Can anyone suggest a decent standard view option and also preferred option as well. We have toured but have yet to stay here so not sure which location is best. Thanks so much. We do plan to book right at the 11 month mark. I already have the date on my calendar so I don't forget.

Basically, the rooms on the front side of the resort are Standard View and requesting an Epcot or fireworks view is popular. Staying on a high floor or close to the Skyliner or elevator are as well, but they're less necessary unless your party has mobility issues.

The side of the resort facing the lake is Preferred View. I'd definitely request a high floor.
 
I'm pretty sure it's just Riviera that has this, but it is a paid service, not a benefit.
I think all of the Deluxe hotels / DVC have valet parking, but it is paid.

The DVC benefit is "free" overnight parking when staying on points.
 
I think all of the Deluxe hotels / DVC have valet parking, but it is paid.

The DVC benefit is "free" overnight parking when staying on points.
I stand corrected: It came back in phases, and it sounds like the other hotels that used to have it have added it back. That said, I don't think it has ever been offered at the other standalone DVC resorts: OKW/Saratoga. Just the deluxe hotels that have a cash side/DVC side like GF, CR, BC, BWV etc.
 
I stand corrected: It came back in phases, and it sounds like the other hotels that used to have it have added it back. That said, I don't think it has ever been offered at the other standalone DVC resorts: OKW/Saratoga. Just the deluxe hotels that have a cash side/DVC side like GF, CR, BC, BWV etc.
Ah, fair point! I've seen it at the shared resorts (used it at GF once, even) but haven't been to SSR/OKW so I didn't think about those. Thanks for the clarification!
 
I guess I’ll add all of my booked RIV stays for the BOG list

October 15 to 19th - SV studio (DD and her boyfriend)
October 26 to 28 - SV 2 bedroom
January 10 to 12 - SV 1 bedroom
Feb 8 to 10 - SV 1 bedroom
March 7 - SV studio
April 23 to 26 - SV studio
 
I guess I’ll add all of my booked RIV stays for the BOG list

October 15 to 19th - SV studio (DD and her boyfriend)
October 26 to 28 - SV 2 bedroom
January 10 to 12 - SV 1 bedroom
Feb 8 to 10 - SV 1 bedroom
March 7 - SV studio
April 23 to 26 - SV studio

Wow that's awesome!
 
New DVC owner here! We just bought at Riviera earlier this week.

I may have missed this info elsewhere, but is anyone staying in a RIV deluxe studio soon who might be able to measure the pull down single bed?

I’ve read everything I could find and the info is conflicting. One CM on the Disney site said they are twin size beds and another CM on the site said they are the smaller bunk size beds (there are also some who say the studio single bed is a smaller bunk size, but the 1-bdrm single bed is a larger twin).
This may not make much difference to most, but I’ve got big older boys and I want to make sure there’s room for everyone, while also maxing out the amount of vacations we can take with our points. Thanks in advance!
 
New DVC owner here! We just bought at Riviera earlier this week.

I may have missed this info elsewhere, but is anyone staying in a RIV deluxe studio soon who might be able to measure the pull down single bed?

I’ve read everything I could find and the info is conflicting. One CM on the Disney site said they are twin size beds and another CM on the site said they are the smaller bunk size beds (there are also some who say the studio single bed is a smaller bunk size, but the 1-bdrm single bed is a larger twin).
This may not make much difference to most, but I’ve got big older boys and I want to make sure there’s room for everyone, while also maxing out the amount of vacations we can take with our points. Thanks in advance!
They are standard twin size. Some of the older resorts have smaller pull downs, but RIV has twin size.
 

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