Thinking of buying RIV direct, help me decide!

[FireflyTrance]

So I have been wanting to add onto DVC for a while now. We own 125 points at GCV, and mostly use those points at Disneyland only. We also own 50 points at Poly, which I am now finding to be effectively useless since I never have enough points to book anything that makes sense. I would like to own around 125-150 total points at a WDW resort. We could add on to Poly with resale, but honestly it is not our favorite resort. We could also sell our 50 points at Poly and buy a larger contract elsewhere. We visited Riviera when we were at WDW in Feb and loved it! We also loved the Skyliner, and it is now our favorite mode of transportation. The other resort we like is GFV, but the resale prices are almost as much as Riviera, and if we bought resale there we could never stay at Riviera or future resorts with those points. My favorite things about Riviera are the Skyliner, compactness of resort, theme, and variety of rooms. Thoughts?

 

[The Jackal]

If you can afford RIV and it seems you really like the resort. I say go for it. A 50 point Poly contract should bring decent money when you resell it. I agree a 50 point Poly contract gets you 2 days there, banking gets you 4 and banking and borrowing gets you 6-7, but then you can’t go for 3 more years. Just don’t forget RIV is a point hungry resort too. As of right now the Standard studios go fast at 11 months, so if you want those book them as soon as you can. I hope the dues stay pretty stagnant at RIV for 3-4 years for those that own there.

 

[JoshF]

So I have been wanting to add onto DVC for a while now. We own 125 points at GCV, and mostly use those points at Disneyland only. We also own 50 points at Poly, which I am now finding to be effectively useless since I never have enough points to book anything that makes sense. I would like to own around 125-150 total points at a WDW resort. We could add on to Poly with resale, but honestly it is not our favorite resort. We could also sell our 50 points at Poly and buy a larger contract elsewhere. We visited Riviera when we were at WDW in Feb and loved it! We also loved the Skyliner, and it is now our favorite mode of transportation. The other resort we like is GFV, but the resale prices are almost as much as Riviera, and if we bought resale there we could never stay at Riviera or future resorts with those points. My favorite things about Riviera are the Skyliner, compactness of resort, theme, and variety of rooms. Thoughts?

Looking forward to the responses here. I live in CA and have been considering getting a WDW home contract. Currently I am in ROFR for Aulani. With the current incentives for RIV, the cost isn't a lot more than some other resale WDW resorts I'm looking at. I like the look of the place and the food options. Just not sold on the distance to MK.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

So I have been wanting to add onto DVC for a while now. We own 125 points at GCV, and mostly use those points at Disneyland only. We also own 50 points at Poly, which I am now finding to be effectively useless since I never have enough points to book anything that makes sense. I would like to own around 125-150 total points at a WDW resort. We could add on to Poly with resale, but honestly it is not our favorite resort. We could also sell our 50 points at Poly and buy a larger contract elsewhere. We visited Riviera when we were at WDW in Feb and loved it! We also loved the Skyliner, and it is now our favorite mode of transportation. The other resort we like is GFV, but the resale prices are almost as much as Riviera, and if we bought resale there we could never stay at Riviera or future resorts with those points. My favorite things about Riviera are the Skyliner, compactness of resort, theme, and variety of rooms. Thoughts?

Do you plan on keeping the Riviera Contract for a long time? If so go for it! Your right 50 points at Poly does't do much.

 

[zakdavid]

Looking forward to the responses here. I live in CA and have been considering getting a WDW home contract. Currently I am in ROFR for Aulani. With the current incentives for RIV, the cost isn't a lot more than some other WDW resorts I'm looking at. I like the look of the place and the food options. Just not sold on the distance to MK.

It's not too bad/ not farther than other Epcot resorts. About a 15 minute bus ride when I was there in January

 

[zakdavid]

So I have been wanting to add onto DVC for a while now. We own 125 points at GCV, and mostly use those points at Disneyland only. We also own 50 points at Poly, which I am now finding to be effectively useless since I never have enough points to book anything that makes sense. I would like to own around 125-150 total points at a WDW resort. We could add on to Poly with resale, but honestly it is not our favorite resort. We could also sell our 50 points at Poly and buy a larger contract elsewhere. We visited Riviera when we were at WDW in Feb and loved it! We also loved the Skyliner, and it is now our favorite mode of transportation. The other resort we like is GFV, but the resale prices are almost as much as Riviera, and if we bought resale there we could never stay at Riviera or future resorts with those points. My favorite things about Riviera are the Skyliner, compactness of resort, theme, and variety of rooms. Thoughts?

I bought Riviera direct and I love it for a lot of the same reasons you listed, plus I wanted an Epcot resort for longer than the 2042 expiration date on BC/BWV. If you plan on holding it/using it for a while I think you'll like it. I loved my stay there. Then again I love every dvc stay but I do love Riviera

 

[i<3riviera]

͏

 

[ChipNdale8887]

It's not too bad/ not farther than other Epcot resorts. About a 15 minute bus ride when I was there in January

Unless you buy a monorail resort the bus ride to MK is pretty much the same. Maybe AKL is 2-3 minutes longer but its not huge. MK resorts are also a little farther from AK so its a moot point imo. Your really close to 2 resorts now vs one. HS and Epcot.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

building on your idea ...

1. buy 200 direct RVA points for 160 USD per point as an existing member Direct Sales Incentives - Summer 2020 - Expanded list!
2. sell 50 PVB for 150-170 USD per point DVCStore.com PVB
3. if you can, get direct use year of Aug, Sep, Oct, or Dec so that you get 2019 banked points for free (don't pay 2019 annual dues)
4. even the 2020 points you get you'll only pay fractional 2020 dues on (based on the date of purchase)
5. split RVA purchase it into two 100 point contracts (or four 50 point contracts) paying a bit more closing costs but giving you flexibility to sell partial lots

you've essentially only paid for ~150 points and received 200 annual dues free points (2019) and 200 partial annual dues points (2020)

resale restrictions exist but early 2020 re-sale contracts for RVA sold for ~130 USD per point so you're not talking about zero future value

PVB has a heavy point chart already so moving to RVA is staying flat or even improving on PVB's point chart; if you ever want your points to go further (extended trip) there is always SSR and AKV which have decent availability at 7 months

I second all of this. I was weary of the restrictions but if I bought SSR or OKW or AKV for 165-186$ I might as well get RIV and gain 13-16 more years on my contract.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

So I have been wanting to add onto DVC for a while now. We own 125 points at GCV, and mostly use those points at Disneyland only. We also own 50 points at Poly, which I am now finding to be effectively useless since I never have enough points to book anything that makes sense. I would like to own around 125-150 total points at a WDW resort. We could add on to Poly with resale, but honestly it is not our favorite resort. We could also sell our 50 points at Poly and buy a larger contract elsewhere. We visited Riviera when we were at WDW in Feb and loved it! We also loved the Skyliner, and it is now our favorite mode of transportation. The other resort we like is GFV, but the resale prices are almost as much as Riviera, and if we bought resale there we could never stay at Riviera or future resorts with those points. My favorite things about Riviera are the Skyliner, compactness of resort, theme, and variety of rooms. Thoughts?

Personally, I would stay away from RR direct. If you want RR purchase a small resale. I do not think direct points will hold their value. We have a mix of direct and resale points, most purchased bre-2011. We considered RR direct, but ultimately, the resale restrictions kept us away. If we add on there it will be resale - and given the restrictions, I do not think we will even do that. will use my other points to stay there. If you are grandfathered in with points, I would purchase GF resale.

 

[JoshF]

Resale restrictions aside, what are your thoughts about Riviera itself? Where would you rank it compared to other high end deluxe DVC resorts?

 

[ChipNdale8887]

Resale restrictions aside, what are your thoughts about Riviera itself? Where would you rank it compared to other high end deluxe DVC resorts?

I'd say its a mix of BLT and the Grand Floridian. If they had a baby. lol.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

So I have been wanting to add onto DVC for a while now. We own 125 points at GCV, and mostly use those points at Disneyland only. We also own 50 points at Poly, which I am now finding to be effectively useless since I never have enough points to book anything that makes sense. I would like to own around 125-150 total points at a WDW resort. We could add on to Poly with resale, but honestly it is not our favorite resort. We could also sell our 50 points at Poly and buy a larger contract elsewhere. We visited Riviera when we were at WDW in Feb and loved it! We also loved the Skyliner, and it is now our favorite mode of transportation. The other resort we like is GFV, but the resale prices are almost as much as Riviera, and if we bought resale there we could never stay at Riviera or future resorts with those points. My favorite things about Riviera are the Skyliner, compactness of resort, theme, and variety of rooms. Thoughts?

I think, for you, that this plan makes sense, as long as you're aware of and willing to accept the risk involved with the resale restrictions.

I do agree with a previous poster that suggests splitting the contract into 50-point (or 100) smaller contracts. I think this will help mitigate your resale risk because then your buyer pool would include people who are looking for small add-on contracts to be able to stay at Riviera.

 

[sethschroeder]

We own 125 points at GCV

Are they direct? If so then buying RIV Direct might make sense because the Disneyland Resort. While that resort is going to be a nightmare to book it will be easier than VGC.

It's not too bad/ not farther than other Epcot resorts. About a 15 minute bus ride when I was there in January

The bus rides to MK really wouldn't be a reason to choose a resort. The bus service would be. SSR/OKW has multiple stops internally at the resort while AK has poor wait times for busses (yes people have different experiences but honestly it was so terrible we would not plan a long stay there again without planning on uber/lyft)

it is now our favorite mode of transportation.

I would just ask where does walking fall for you? You have BWV/BCV both within walking distance (and prices are coming down in resale) plus the points charts are VERY friendly with pretty low MFs.

Another option would be BLT where you can walk directly to MK as well.

For me walking is better than anything else. There are backup options at BWV/BCV with boats as well.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Resale restrictions aside, what are your thoughts about Riviera itself? Where would you rank it compared to other high end deluxe DVC resorts?

While I think they did a nice job with RR to me, it is in the location of a moderate resort. Yes it has the gondola, the rooms are beautiful but the gondola is shared with the value resorts. As a family, we are not fans of the gondola system. We will ride it, but My preference is the ability to walk. Epcot resorts i choose BC or BW hands down. I think in terms of luxury dvc resorts, GF is the clear winner.

 

[RoseGold]

Zero chance I would buy at RIV with the resale restrictions. I'd buy more Poly before I'd do that.

You might be a good candidate for the new California tower. That I would consider direct.

 

[Lorana]

While I think they did a nice job with RR to me, it is in the location of a moderate resort. Yes it has the gondola, but the gondola is shared with the value resorts. My preference is the ability to walk. Epcot resorts i choose BC or BW hands down. I think in terms of luxury dvc resorts, GF is the clear winner.

So I've heard this "location of a moderate resort" a few times. I'm curious, do people consider BRV/CCV, AKL, SSR and OKW to be the "location of a moderate resort" as well, given FW, All Stars, and POR/POFQ located in similar spots, and none of them are walk-in to parks or primarily rely on buses (though BRV/CCV has the ferry to MK)? And while the Gondola is shared with a moderate and value resorts, does that really impact the gondola's service to the parks for Riviera? I respect that for some folks those are deal breakers, but I curious how some rank the resorts in terms of location and transportation.

 

[SG131]

Since you like Rivera, I'd say a defining factor would be your age. If you are young enough that you would likely be able to use most of the 50 years of the contract, then maybe it will work out. I personally wouldn't touch any contract with those resale restrictions despite being young enough to get a lot of use out of a contract.

A lot of people have to sell dvc due to the 3 D's. Disease, Divorce or Death. I know there will be some people willing to buy Rivera resale even though it means they would only be able to stay at that resort, but I'm not sure how many of those people there are and what their price point would be. That's such a big unknown and I wouldn't want to end up losing a chunk of money because something catastrophic happens 5 years from now.

Also, when you're looking around for resale, shop around. Some sellers seem to list higher than others and there is always room for negotiation. Take a look at this thread and the one from last quarter, there have been some good deals getting through at VGF lately.
https://disboards.com/threads/rofr-...ost-for-instructions-formatting-tool.3806556/

 

[dvc lover 1970]

So I've heard this "location of a moderate resort" a few times. I'm curious, do people consider BRV/CCV, AKL, SSR and OKW to be the "location of a moderate resort" as well, given FW, All Stars, and POR/POFQ located in similar spots, and none of them are walk-in to parks or primarily rely on buses (though BRV/CCV has the ferry to MK)? And while the Gondola is shared with a moderate and value resorts, does that really impact the gondola's service to the parks for Riviera? I respect that for some folks those are deal breakers, but I curious how some rank the resorts in terms of location and transportation.

Honestly, we were initially interested in RR, however, once the point chart, MF's and restrictions came out our interest bottomed out to zero. In terms of SSR, OKW, and CCV - the point charts are not outrageous. If RR had point charts in line with the other resorts it might be a contender. It is not the GF in my opinion. It has some nice options - the roof top dining - but you are still dependent on the gondola system or buses. Add in resale restrictions and in my opinion it is not a good value. I think resale will always be lower there. Who knows, covid could make disney rethink their resale restricitons- disney got greedy in my opinion. They were decimating what made DVC such a great timeshare purchase. We own close to 1000 points, most of the resale purchased prior to 2011 restrictions. I do not think we would purchase as many points today. - Still purchase -yes, but probably 250 SSR or AKV points - why - because I like both those resorts and the price per point is still decent resale there and if I could not change in 7 month window I would be perfectly happy at either of those resorts.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Zero chance I would buy at RIV with the resale restrictions. I'd buy more Poly before I'd do that.

You might be a good candidate for the new California tower. That I would consider direct.

I agree with you.