The Official Riviera Owners & Info Thread

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Recently stayed at this resort and I must say I enjoyed it alot more than I thought I would.

I have visited the resort a few times for dinner, but it always just felt very " normal " and didn't blow me away by the theming to make me want to stay during a vacation.

I booked a 2 night room at the resort for a resort only stay.

I grew to really enjoy the calmness of the place. It just felt like a nice getaway that didn't feel overly Disney. Just a really nice place. The food was good everywhere, from Primo Plato to bar Riva. Best I have had at a Disney resort for quick food. The music around the pool area was very vacation like and finding a chair wasn't really difficult. Loved the music at the resort. The pool was adequate and I enjoyed it. Sometimes people forget the resort is not that big, so they don't need a HUGE pool like other resorts, and it made sense. The person walking around the pool taking orders was a nice bonus.

It was just a really nice chill vacation vibe at the pool and the grounds. The rooms were really nice. The gelato was pretty delicious also. The service at Topolinos for dinner was bad, but the food was great so I could deal with that. They just need to train the staff better and particularly, add more staff to that restaurant. Servers shouldn't be the ones cleaning up plates off tables at a high end restaurant. Takes too long. Unacceptable for the amount of money they charge.

I would not hesitate to stay here again.. For a resort only stay. I didn't want an overly Disney feel because I wasn't going to the parks.

I think for a actual long term vacation I probably wouldn't stay here because I enjoy the theming of Poly, AKL etc more.. but the resort itself was really nice and I can't see anyone not having an enjoyable vacation here. I do feel the price point for the resort is higher then it should be though. Point wise and cash wise.

 

[FellowWorldTraveler]

Hey all! I am a brand new owner with dvc resale, just waiting on my activation from Disney! I have tried looking up the answer to this question. Not sure if anyone is able to help me out, since my resale is after the 2019 cut off date. We have stayed at Rivera before and liked it a lot!! My resale is OKWe am I able to get someone’s Rivera points for transfer and book there? Or is it I won’t be able to use those points at all since they are Rivera. Sorry if this is a stupid question. I’m still waiting on my emails from Disney with all the info. Thank you in advance

 

[Girlstar30]

Hey all! I am a brand new owner with dvc resale, just waiting on my activation from Disney! I have tried looking up the answer to this question. Not sure if anyone is able to help me out, since my resale is after the 2019 cut off date. We have stayed at Rivera before and liked it a lot!! My resale is OKWe am I able to get someone’s Rivera points for transfer and book there? Or is it I won’t be able to use those points at all since they are Rivera. Sorry if this is a stupid question. I’m still waiting on my emails from Disney with all the info. Thank you in advance

Yes you are, the challenge is finding a Riv owner willing to transfer those delicious unrestricted points lol

 

[tx911]

Yes you are, the challenge is finding a Riv owner willing to transfer those delicious unrestricted points lol

@Girlstar30 you're in a Riviera state of mind these days.

When are you buying?

 

[Girlstar30]

@Girlstar30 you're in a Riviera state of mind these days.

When are you buying?

The plan is to pay off all the resales first so im not being totally irresponsible I paid one off, so two left, and im not counting holidays/property tax season as me continuing to be able to pay down aggressively so im thinking realistically I'll be done in January.

I could have gone direct instead 160 riv instead of 250 pts resale SSR, but the thought of having two vacations next year with access to 750 points was too tempting not to take up.

Now I have another thought, which is my preferred avenue so far. I have a vacation planned for February. Once its completed and March hits I'll be eligible for 8.99% financing thru Disney which is another reason for the wait.

What if I sell my BLT resale and use the money towards paying off Riv once it sells? That will just leave me with an around $10,000 loan (probably even less by the time it sells) which i should be able to pay off aggressively.

I'd only be losing 10 points by doing this getting rid of a 160 point BLT resale contract for 150 riv. And I gain the direct perks which I do want to go to moonlight magics and a member cruise at some points.

The sad thing is BLT is my favorite resort. But I am partial to 1 bedrooms and it shouldn't be hard to get compared to my wife wanting her AKV club level option. Im not willing to dump the SSR points so BLT would be the only option of a possible offload.

I am worried tho that Riv sells out sooner than March when im able to pull this off, hence the poll if that happens l I feel like my path to direct would be over. I really cant convince myself that I like PIT enough to buy although i keep trying. The rooms are beautiful, but we prefer something more adult oriented as far as restaurants and pools (like Riv). We are staying at both in September just in case there's a chance we like PIT better, which i wish I did for many reasons.

I can almost guarantee LSL will not be my cup of tea. Im not a fan of boat transportation or CFW, WL and the woodsy resorts are the least appealing to me. (VGC is an exception because of location and phenomenal woc view)

Riv not selling out is my only hope for direct i feel The other curveball could be that I dislike both and then im really stuck lol!

 

[FellowWorldTraveler]

Yes you are, the challenge is finding a Riv owner willing to transfer those delicious unrestricted points lol

Thank you!! There’s so much still for me to learn haha I already am having addonitis so we’re already looking at another resale

 

[Girlstar30]

Thank you!! There’s so much still for me to learn haha I already am having addonitis so we’re already looking at another resale

I think that has happened to everyone here. I started buying in January and have three memberships now

 

[tx911]

The plan is to pay off all the resales first so im not being totally irresponsible I paid one off, so two left, and im not counting holidays/property tax season as me continuing to be able to pay down aggressively so im thinking realistically I'll be done in January.

I could have gone direct instead 160 riv instead of 250 pts resale SSR, but the thought of having two vacations next year with access to 750 points was too tempting not to take up.

Now I have another thought, which is my preferred avenue so far. I have a vacation planned for February. Once its completed and March hits I'll be eligible for 8.99% financing thru Disney which is another reason for the wait.

What if I sell my BLT resale and use the money towards paying off Riv once it sells? That will just leave me with an around $10,000 loan (probably even less by the time it sells) which i should be able to pay off aggressively.

I'd only be losing 10 points by doing this getting rid of a 160 point BLT resale contract for 150 riv. And I gain the direct perks which I do want to go to moonlight magics and a member cruise at some points.

The sad thing is BLT is my favorite resort. But I am partial to 1 bedrooms and it shouldn't be hard to get compared to my wife wanting her AKV club level option. Im not willing to dump the SSR points so BLT would be the only option of a possible offload.

I am worried tho that Riv sells out sooner than March when im able to pull this off, hence the poll if that happens l I feel like my path to direct would be over. I really cant convince myself that I like PIT enough to buy although i keep trying. The rooms are beautiful, but we prefer something more adult oriented as far as restaurants and pools (like Riv). We are staying at both in September just in case there's a chance we like PIT better, which i wish I did for many reasons.

I can almost guarantee LSL will not be my cup of tea. Im not a fan of boat transportation or CFW, WL and the woodsy resorts are the least appealing to me. (VGC is an exception because of location and phenomenal woc view)

Riv not selling out is my only hope for direct i feel The other curveball could be that I dislike both and then im really stuck lol!

Do you feel like you need more points, in a generic sense? Like you don't have enough now to visit as often as you want? Or is it just the FOMO on the direct perks? I think you could get into BLT pretty often with your other points if you decide to sell it. But if BLT is your favorite obviously you should really love Riv before that move! Have you stayed at Riv before?

 

[Girlstar30]

Do you feel like you need more points, in a generic sense? Like you don't have enough now to visit as often as you want? Or is it just the FOMO on the direct perks? I think you could get into BLT pretty often with your other points if you decide to sell it. But if BLT is your favorite obviously you should really love Riv before that move! Have you stayed at Riv before?

That's the thing thats hard for me to gauge because we spent a lot of points on 12 nights of two bedrooms in September going with family and then more points are being spent on 5 nights two bedroom at aulani next year and im not sure that will be typical all the time.

I think what will be more typical is one bedrooms 2x a year. We dont want studios except for short trips at vgc. We have no interest in traveling internationally for the next 3 and a half years (and possibly beyond depending on current world affairs) so DVC will be our vacations for the time being

We like tpv at blt and cl at akv. That gave us 6 nights in February in a 1 bedroom with our blt and akv contracts. That is definitely not enough.

In my perfect world, I want enough points for 2 week vacations 2x a year in a one bedroom and occasionally weekend getaways at vgc (2-3x a year). Or the possibility of 1x a year for two weeks in a one bedroom and 1x for two weeks in a 2 bedroom. Im assuming this may take me into the 1000 point club What do you think

I cant foresee us owning 1000 points because the annual dues may be too much of a commitment but if I add Riv in the mix and keep all of them id be getting closer

I haven't stayed at Riv yet, but we are in 3 months and Pit! I know staying somewhere can totally change the game. I think ive been pretty good about warding off the fomo of direct benefits, as generally I don't think the freebies/lounge/discounts are worth it.

I am very resourceful and was definitely trying to find a way around being able to stay at blocked resorts without being direct. Renting a studio from a popular broker is $26 per point. That can be justified and possibly come out cheaper doing it here and there than locking myself into a direct contract. But that would mean studios only, im Def not paying to rent points for a 1 bedroom or more.

I will not rent a whole vacation from fb or the boards as I do not want to chance getting screwed so that would be my only option on that front or otu points since I have 3 memberships that could get me a 3 night studio for $20 a point, but I would be tied down to studios only which is not my preference.

Along with that comes the no refunds or having to pay even more than $26 a point for a refund and worst of all no control over the reservation. That really is the nail in the coffin for me. I have a studio with no view booked for my birthday At vdh. If I was direct I guarantee with my persistent stalking abilities I could get a garden view or a 1 bedroom without paying an arm and a leg and have nothing to show for it after. But now I have no shot at that because there is no flexibility to change rooms. Let's not even talk about the possibility of a clamp down and cancelled reservations for any reason. What a disaster that would be!

Renting out was a great way to stay and test out if we even wanted to be dvc. Everything went without a hitch. But now that we are in it and about to be spoiled with 2 bedrooms, I really think there will be no turning back Anyways sorry for the super long response and any advice would be appreciated

 

[tx911]

That's the thing thats hard for me to gauge because we spent a lot of points on 12 nights of two bedrooms in September going with family and then more points are being spent on 5 nights two bedroom at aulani next year and im not sure that will be typical all the time.

I think what will be more typical is one bedrooms 2x a year. We dont want studios except for short trips at vgc. We have no interest in traveling internationally for the next 3 and a half years (and possibly beyond depending on current world affairs) so DVC will be our vacations for the time being

We like tpv at blt and cl at akv. That gave us 6 nights in February in a 1 bedroom with our blt and akv contracts. That is definitely not enough.

In my perfect world, I want enough points for 2 week vacations 2x a year in a one bedroom and occasionally weekend getaways at vgc (2-3x a year). Or the possibility of 1x a year for two weeks in a one bedroom and 1x for two weeks in a 2 bedroom. Im assuming this may take me into the 1000 point club What do you think

I cant foresee us owning 1000 points because the annual dues may be too much of a commitment but if I add Riv in the mix and keep all of them id be getting closer

I haven't stayed at Riv yet, but we are in 3 months and Pit! I know staying somewhere can totally change the game. I think ive been pretty good about warding off the fomo of direct benefits, as generally I don't think the freebies/lounge/discounts are worth it.

I am very resourceful and was definitely trying to find a way around being able to stay at blocked resorts without being direct. Renting a studio from a popular broker is $26 per point. That can be justified and possibly come out cheaper doing it here and there than locking myself into a direct contract. But that would mean studios only, im Def not paying to rent points for a 1 bedroom or more.

I will not rent a whole vacation from fb or the boards as I do not want to chance getting screwed so that would be my only option on that front or otu points since I have 3 memberships that could get me a 3 night studio for $20 a point, but I would be tied down to studios only which is not my preference.

Along with that comes the no refunds or having to pay even more than $26 a point for a refund and worst of all no control over the reservation. That really is the nail in the coffin for me. I have a studio with no view booked for my birthday At vdh. If I was direct I guarantee with my persistent stalking abilities I could get a garden view or a 1 bedroom without paying an arm and a leg and have nothing to show for it after. But now I have no shot at that because there is no flexibility to change rooms. Let's not even talk about the possibility of a clamp down and cancelled reservations for any reason. What a disaster that would be!

Renting out was a great way to stay and test out if we even wanted to be dvc. Everything went without a hitch. But now that we are in it and about to be spoiled with 2 bedrooms, I really think there will be no turning back Anyways sorry for the super long response and any advice would be appreciated

You've certainly thought things through!
Yes, I think your perfect world scenario would land you firmly in the 1000 point club

I was just asking because I think it's easy to accumulate a lot of points if you frequent this board, whether or not you need them I think your upcoming stay will tell you what you need to know about Riv. I'm definitely trying to be more deliberate about if and when and where I add on. DVC is very good at tempting us with shiny new resorts!

 

[Girlstar30]

You've certainly thought things through!
Yes, I think your perfect world scenario would land you firmly in the 1000 point club

I was just asking because I think it's easy to accumulate a lot of points if you frequent this board, whether or not you need them I think your upcoming stay will tell you what you need to know about Riv. I'm definitely trying to be more deliberate about if and when and where I add on. DVC is very good at tempting us with shiny new resorts!

Oh yeah trust me I have thought about this and done so much research and testing things out for myself to the point that ive noticed I have gray hairs ive never had before, could be a coincidence but i dont think so

In the end, thru all my testing, 1 direct contract is necessary for my travel goals.

I was afraid you would say the 1000 point club would be necessary for this

Yes I want to be excited for LSL instead of, well I hope I dont like it bcuz I'll be blocked out, LOL