VGF2 vs RIV

[Her Dotness]

Good luck with your decision but how many nights can 50 points get you at either resort?

Looks like 2-3 Sun-Thu at either much of the year in a standard studio. More at RIV in the TStu in Sept., Sun-Thu.

In short, a brief split at whichever, though not in holiday season or spring break-Eastertime for more than 1-2 Sun-Thu.

Not such a bad deal for a Sunday arrival stay and then moving to your weeklong one elsewhere as we like to do.

 

[Jgc014]

Posted to wrong thread - good luck with the decision. Both are beautiful!

 

[perchy]

I’m in the same boat. I personally prefer the style and feel of Riviera, and am a big skyliner fan, so my heart says Riviera. The fact that I’ll be in my 90s when it expires, though…makes those resale restrictions a bit of a concern. The other note is that there are incentives at Riviera for 100 points vs GF incentives at 125. Only 8 more days to decide!!!

Gah! I feel like I will regret it if I don’t buy VGF2 now. And I feel like there’s plenty of time to decide on RIV.

 

[sndral]

To me, it's simply which resort and which location you like more.
I would not worry in the least about re-sale value down the road -- Riviera is now 2 years old, resale value has been consistent with other resorts, in terms of proportion of direct pricing. (a resort with direct pricing of $250 per point will have higher resale value than a resort with direct pricing of $190 per resort). In fact, as soon as the new VGF direct pricing was announced, re-sale prices of VGF have plummeted, and are now about the same as RIV resale prices. And with the longer contract, Riviera may ultimately retain better resale value, depending when you sell. 40 years from now, Riviera will likely have far better resale value -- As Riviera will have 8 years left, while GFV will only have 2 years left. So, in the end, I just wouldn't make resale value part of my decision at all.

Both resorts offer larger-than-average rooms, they both offer elegant high quality decor. Whether one prefers the style of one over the other is purely subjective and personal preference.
If you prefer a monorail / Magic Kingdom location, then VGF is better..
If you prefer an Epcot / DHS location, then Riviera is obviously better.

Apart from location, I'd say a big difference is general layout -- Do you like a big spread out resort, may prefer the style of VGF.
Do you prefer a smaller more compact resort, where you're never far from the dining, never far from the pool... Riviera is a better choice.

Finally, somewhat speculative -- There is a chance, that it will be easier to get larger non-studio rooms at Riviera, as the new expanded GFV may not have enough larger units. But this is highly speculative.

I wouldn’t describe the Riviera as ‘smaller’ - at 341/489 max villas it will always have more villas than VGF which even w/ the addition of VGF2 will have 302/349 max villas. Riviera is indeed a tower on compact grounds, whereas the VGF will be two buildings situated on more generous grounds. On it’s compact grounds Riviera has 1 QS & 1 restaurant, GF has 1 QS + 5 restaurants (once all are reopened.) Both resorts are on the small side, so depending on when you want to visit having home resort booking priority will be more important than at the behemoths.
Generally speaking the long term resale value of DVC resorts has tended to reflect supply, thus the huge SSR has always been cheaper than smaller resorts. Once sold Riviera will have 6.7 million points compared to VGF1+2’s 4.3 million points which suggests to me that even if we ignore the resale restriction elephant in the room, long term VGF resale will cost more because VGF will have fewer points than Riv..
I own VGF & have no plans to sell, however, if I was buying & focusing on just the numbers I’d think about that elephant in the room - my potential resale buyer down the road & whether they’d be happy w/ only staying at the Riviera v. a VGF buyer who could stay at 14 resorts. Also, any resale buyer thinking about renting out their points would have a much diminished rental market w/ Riv..
I’d also think about MFs & at present Riv.s are the highest of the WDW resorts v. VGF’s lowest.
Setting aside the financial decisions - this is, after all, a 50 point direct timeshare purchase, not an investment portfolio, the question really is what would you use those 50 points for? If it’s to stay at Riv buy there, if it’s to stay at the VGF buy there. Riv. is around 40% sold and will likely be for sale direct for another couple of years. VGF has fewer points to sell & sales have reportedly been decent, so if you want to buy there, then time may be of the essence, particularly if you think current VGF2 sales will be like VGF1 sales were & that the intro. price will be the lowest & DVC won’t need to offer incentives later to get it sold.

 

[Sandisw]

VGF is worth about $30pp more on resale market, so there's $1.5k reasons to buy there

No guarantee that will always be the case.

 

[Bjaiken77]

No guarantee that will always be the case.

This is true. If they keep doing monorail conversions and building towers, an Epcot/HS option may prove more valuable on the resale market, especially if they drop the restrictions. You just never know. I’m not hating on either VGF or RIV. I own at both.

 

[Sandisw]

This is true. If they keep doing monorail conversions and building towers, an Epcot/HS option may prove more valuable on the resale market, especially if they drop the restrictions. You just never know. I’m not hating on either VGF or RIV. I own at both.

I just never advise that people use resale value as part of thr equation because you just never know.

And, if they change course on the resale restrictions RIV may hold steady more than we think,

 

[Bjaiken77]

one thing I’ve learned with DVC: You never know what the future may hold. I try to analyze, and I think that is great. It’s a must. But sometimes you need to zoom back too! Otherwise, there is paralysis.

Look at VGF. Everyone was thinking that this was a great chance to get in buying direct with incentives on a monorail resort (which it is/was). Something rare. Right after, they announce a Poly tower was in the works.

 

[tjkraz]

At some point, you have to weigh cost vs happiness.

Even if we assume that VGF will be more valuable down the line, you're sacrificing decades of personal enjoyment if you'd rather be booking Riviera at 11 months. (Especially if you hope to stretch your points further by booking RIV Standard View.)

 

[Bjaiken77]

That’s where it gets tough. I like them both but for different reasons. It’s like, do you prefer a grand lobby or a compact resort: Yes! Do you prefer MK or Epcot/HS: Yes! I do like the elegance of both of them. I like more of the subtle themes. But they are different and both good to me. That’s why I can’t choose.

 

[havoc315]

I wouldn’t describe the Riviera as ‘smaller’ - at 341/489 max villas it will always have more villas than VGF which even w/ the addition of VGF2 will have 302/349 max villas. Riviera is indeed a tower on compact grounds, whereas the VGF will be two buildings situated on more generous grounds. On it’s compact grounds Riviera has 1 QS & 1 restaurant, GF has 1 QS + 5 restaurants (once all are reopened.) Both resorts are on the small side, so depending on when you want to visit having home resort booking priority will be more important than at the behemoths.

I'm talking about the size of the resort -- not just the number of DVC rooms. Riviera has 350ish rooms. Grand Floridian has over 1,000 total rooms. Grand Floridian is a much bigger property. (as you pointed out, more restaurants as well).
The longest distance from any room at Riviera to the feature pool, transportation, quick service restaurant, etc... is about half the longest distance you'd find at GFV. (I calculated distances with google maps and then my browser crashed so long the exact numbers). But for example, the closest GFV room to the GF QS is about 400 feet. At RIV, the closest rooms are literally down an elevator and about 20 feet, while the furthest rooms are about 400 feet away. While at GFV, the furthest rooms are over 800 feet away.

On average, to the various resort amenities, distances at GF will be double the distances at RIV. So yes, for those that prefer a more compact layout where everything is close by, the Riviera is the better choice. For those that prefer a spread out resort, longer walks between amenities, then GFV is the better choice.

 

[havoc315]

I just never advise that people use resale value as part of thr equation because you just never know.

And, if they change course on the resale restrictions RIV may hold steady more than we think,

And 35-40 years from now.. Safe to say that Riviera will have better re-sale than GFV, as it will have a significantly longer contract than GFV.

But there are so many unknowns about resale value -- Historically, almost all the DVC properties hold their value to the same degree. Resorts with higher direct pricing have higher resale value, that's not a surprise.
With all the unknowns, It's so speculative as to which resort may do a little better or worse.
The only time I'd recommend anyone consider re-sale value is if they are weighing a 2042 resort versus a 2060s resort. And there, I'm not really weighing re-sale value, just weighing contract length. Do I want a property I can continue to use or re-sell 20 years from now, or am I ok with just losing all value in 20 years.
That's not speculative -- We know that in 2042, certain contracts become worthless.
But apart from that, it's not really a valuable exercise.

 

[BeachClub2014]

This is a hard question. It's like asking which of your children you like best, right?

I started this poll to see if there were really clear-cut factors that were deal-breakers for people choosing a resort. Once you get past location, price, and deed expiration, the results are all over the place.

The OP should ask themselves what is most important to them and go with it. Hard to "lose" with any of the DVC resorts.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...ng-are-your-top-three-considerations.3876367/

 

[havoc315]

VGF is worth about $30pp more on resale market, so there's $1.5k reasons to buy there

That’s not true. Re-sale pricing is always tied to direct pricing. Since the direct pricing of GFV was announced, re-sale values plummeted. In actual sales the last couple weeks, GFV is getting about the same at RIV (around $150-$160 per point)

When GFV direct was $250 per point, resale was going for $170-$200 — $30ish more than Riviera. But with direct pricing dropping $40-60 re-sale also drops by A similar amount. (Why pay resale at $195 for 150 points, when you can get it direct for $197)

 

[Duckbug.Ducktales]

That’s where it gets tough. I like them both but for different reasons. It’s like, do you prefer a grand lobby or a compact resort: Yes! Do you prefer MK or Epcot/HS: Yes! I do like the elegance of both of them. I like more of the subtle themes. But they are different and both good to me. That’s why I can’t choose.

I will say, it's great to like them both! Honestly, there are so many people who just "HATE" this resort or that resort... such strong feelings and I think Disney resorts for the most part are pretty wonderful, I always appreciate the imagineers' attention to details.

But back to your conundrum, given that you seem to like both equally for their respective merits, and your stated intention to buy only 50 points right now, I would nudge you to consider that 50 pts will go slightly farther with RVA's booking advantage. This, I think, ought to be the deciding factor. Then, when you are able down the line, you can add on at VGF.

 

[Ruttangel]

And, if they change course on the resale restrictions RIV may hold steady more than we think,

I wouldn't consider that when thinking of buying into RIV now though.
If you are buying to hold a contract for 10 years then VGF very much a better financial decision. Plus, in those 10 years it's very likely you're paying less in dues.

 

[Sandisw]

I wouldn't consider that when thinking of buying into RIV now though.
If you are buying to hold a contract for 10 years then VGF very much a better financial decision. Plus, in those 10 years it's very likely you're paying less in dues.

Dues for sure should be considered if no clear favorite, but resale value is not set and the difference today may or may not be the same when you sell, if you sell.

In 10 years, who knows which resort will do better. VGF is changing and may no longer need the home resort advantage it once did for studios which could depress its value.

It is why I believe buyers should use other factors to figure out what makes the best sense

 

[Ruttangel]

That’s not true. Re-sale pricing is always tied to direct pricing. Since the direct pricing of GFV was announced, re-sale values plummeted. In actual sales the last couple weeks, GFV is getting about the same at RIV (around $150-$160 per point)

When GFV direct was $250 per point, resale was going for $170-$200 — $30ish more than Riviera. But with direct pricing dropping $40-60 re-sale also drops by A similar amount. (Why pay resale at $195 for 150 points, when you can get it direct for $197)

it is true, board sponsor has a $20 spread on a 100pt instant sale on VGF and RIV and that gap is bigger on listings, youve picked out some outliers sure but do you really think VGF sold out price will be same as RIV in 10 years, that’s just not going to happen

 

[Sandisw]

it is true, board sponsor has a $20 spread on a 100pt instant sale on VGF and RIV and that gap is bigger on listings, youve picked out some outliers sure but do you really think VGF sold out price will be same as RIV in 10 years, that’s just not going to happen

Actually, they could be. They have BCV listed now for more than Poly or CCV.

Both are great and popular resorts so no telling what will happen.

 

[Ruttangel]

Actually, they could be. They have BCV listed now for more than Poly or CCV.

Both are great and popular resorts so no telling what will happen.

Let’s ignore the direct price, what would be your guess right now, which one would you expect to be worth more on resale market in 2032?