Disney's Riviera v. Yacht Club

[JGams092510]

We currently have a trip planned for 5 (Mom, Dad, 4 y.o. daughter, Grandma and Grandpa) in May for my daughter's first trip. We were cancelled last May due to COVID.

As a result of discounting, we are being offered the option of Riviera in a Deluxe Studio (for 5) or Yacht Club in a Standard Room for 5. We are staying for 8 nights and YC is $400 cheaper.

What is the better place to stay currently in COVID? We are only planning 1 resort-only day and would spend most of our time in the parks.

Thanks!!

 

[Cheburashka]

We currently have a trip planned for 5 (Mom, Dad, 4 y.o. daughter, Grandma and Grandpa) in May for my daughter's first trip. We were cancelled last May due to COVID.

As a result of discounting, we are being offered the option of Riviera in a Deluxe Studio (for 5) or Yacht Club in a Standard Room for 5. We are staying for 8 nights and YC is $400 cheaper.

What is the better place to stay currently in COVID? We are only planning 1 resort-only day and would spend most of our time in the parks.

Thanks!!

They're both lovely resorts and we've enjoyed them both. The Yacht Club room will have two regular queen beds (instead of one regular queen bed & one pull-down queen bed in a Riviera studio). It's also in walking distance to Epcot. The Yacht Club's pool, Stormalong Bay, is amazing, with a large sand-bottom pool, pirate ship themed waterslide, and waterfall. It includes a sandy younger kids' play area and multiple hot tubs (not just one, like at most pools). It does have a deep area (the lazy river), but given that you have only one child and 4 adults, it should be easy to keep her always in sight at the pool. The Yacht Club is also the only Disney resort currently offering in-room dining. It also has more walkable dining options than Riviera, even taking into account which restaurants are currently closed. It's also either a long walk or a short drive from the Yacht Club to Fantasia Mini-Golf.

The Yacht Club wins hands down in this case. Bonus that it's less expensive.

 

[CarolynFH]

one pull-down queen bed in a Riviera studio)

To clarify, this is a Murphy bed, not a pullout couch, and the mattress is the same as on the queen bed. When the Murphy bed is folded into the wall, there’s a couch for seating. Also, the Riviera studio will have a kitchenette: mini fridge, toaster, microwave, drip coffee pot (usually a 4-cup but a 12-cup is readily available from housekeeping), bar size sink.

 

[Ohana2011]

Just returned from a week long stay with my DD and pooch at YC. It was an amazing stay. You can’t beat the location (entry to Epcot, walk to DHS, Stormalong Bay)... the rooms are large, tons of storage and the staff are wonderful. If you want to book Toppolino’s, you can ride the skyliner over to the Riviera. You have direct access to the boardwalk, Beach Club, Dolphin & Swan. Beaches & Cream ice cream... Yum! Just my opinion, but I would rather stay at YC and take the Skyliner over to Riviera for a visit. Don’t pass up the opportunity to see the gorgeous mosaics in the breezeway from the Skyliner to the back of the Riviera resort. Stunning.

 

[RanDIZ]

Yacht Club hands down! Walking distance to EP and HS, Stormalong Bay and $400 cheaper. Win win. Just stayed at BCV in Dec and being able to just walk back from EP was huge win.

 

[MomOTwins]

We stayed at both in the past couple of years and much preferred Riviera. Better rooms (the two showers are awesome if you have a big family and everything is new and spotless), better dining (especially with the Covid temporary restaurant closures at YC), and for all the raving about Stormalong Bay, we found it was a bit too spread out for our taste with lots of segmented parts and the family kept splitting up, whereas the splash pad and zero entry pool at Riviera are great since you have a 4 year old.

 

[kylenne]

This one is a no brainer to me. I have not stayed at Riviera yet and it looks like a lovely resort but nothing about that place is worth $400 more to me over YC, especially not during Epcot festival season. I can't stress enough the convenience of being able to just walk to World Showcase and dip out quickly back to your room during festivals. Much less if you care about rope drop at HS, walking guests have an advantage over Skyliner guests who are generally held back, though obviously that can always change by the time of your trip.

Also I'll be honest, seeing a massive cluster you know what when the Skyliner was down all night during a really crowded Saturday night at Food & Wine and a small army of guests were pouring over to buses at BWI to get back to their resorts, I would be wary of staying at a Skyliner resort. All those people were angry and miserable and meanwhile it took me like 5 minutes to walk back to my BC room.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Changed my mind YC. The space will be needed. (Originally I said: Riviera. The rooms are newer, the resort is gorgeous, the splash pad was cute, the pools were very manageable for seeing at all times. People sometimes report SAB as problematic for kids that are old enough to get away from you but not old enough to swim because it’s so easy for kids to slip out of sight. But I missed you aren’t really gonna use the pool much.)

Next thing... 8 days. One room. One bathroom. We went bonkers after 4 nights with my parents and us 3 grown up siblings in one of those BC rooms. I would price out 2 rooms at Gran Destino CSR. The rooms are newer than YC, the tower is convenient. The pool is a short walk but doable. The standard rooms have a view of EP or DHS if you are high enough. Yes you have to bus to the parks. But 8 nights in one of those Disney deluxe rooms with the grandparents and a 4yo sounds like a recipe for a nightmare, not a vacation.

Also consider a split stay, one room at Riv/YC then 2 at Gran Destino tower at Coronado or visa versa. Disney will transfer your luggage for free. (Tower only, the other rooms are a pain to walk to, the Tower however is gorgeous + super convenient).

 

[nkereina]

Love Riviera, but with the family configuration traveling, YC wins solely due to the additional space. With the murphy bed down, it leaves little room to move about in the Riviera studio. I also can't imagine staying 8 days in one room with my parents or in-laws, so the more space, the better.

 

[gottalovepluto]

When was the last time you did WDW with the grandparents? I know you’ll spend most of your time in the parks but 8 park days with 1 day off and no mid-day resort break for the grandparents could be very, very rough unless they are super duper in shape and cool with FL summer weather. If they’re in shape and good with the weather no worries, but if they’re in normal shape they could definitely end up needing to spend more time in the hotel room than you are anticipating.

 

[nkereina]

Riviera. The rooms are newer, the resort is gorgeous, the splash pad was cute, the pools were very manageable for seeing at all times. People sometimes report SAB as problematic for kids that are old enough to get away from you but not old enough to swim because it’s so easy for kids to slip out of sight.

Next thing... 8 days. One room. One bathroom. We went bonkers after 4 nights with my parents and us 3 grown up siblings in one of those rooms. I would price out 2 rooms at Gran Destino CSR. The rooms are newer than YC, the tower is convenient. The pool is a short walk but doable. The standard rooms have a view of EP or DHS if you are high enough. Yes you have to bus to the parks. But 8 nights in one of those Disney deluxe rooms with the grandparents and a 4yo sounds like a recipe for a nightmare, not a vacation.

I definitely agree with you about the one room/one bathroom for 8 days... which is why YC would be better, if these are their only two options. Its over 100 square feet larger than a Riviera studio.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Just returned from a week long stay with my DD and pooch at YC. It was an amazing stay. You can’t beat the location (entry to Epcot, walk to DHS, Stormalong Bay)... the rooms are large, tons of storage and the staff are wonderful. If you want to book Toppolino’s, you can ride the skyliner over to the Riviera. You have direct access to the boardwalk, Beach Club, Dolphin & Swan. Beaches & Cream ice cream... Yum! Just my opinion, but I would rather stay at YC and take the Skyliner over to Riviera for a visit. Don’t pass up the opportunity to see the gorgeous mosaics in the breezeway from the Skyliner to the back of the Riviera resort. Stunning.

I thought they closed the BC ice cream window. Did they reopen it?

 

[gottalovepluto]

I definitely agree with you about the one room/one bathroom for 8 days... which is why YC would be better, if these are their only two options. Its over 100 square feet larger than a Riviera studio.

Yeah, I already fixed that

 

[nkereina]

I thought they closed the BC ice cream window. Did they reopen it?

The to go window was open when we were there in late October, along with the full service restaurant.

 

[MomOTwins]

This one is a no brainer to me. I have not stayed at Riviera yet and it looks like a lovely resort but nothing about that place is worth $400 more to me over YC, especially not during Epcot festival season. I can't stress enough the convenience of being able to just walk to World Showcase and dip out quickly back to your room during festivals. Much less if you care about rope drop at HS, walking guests have an advantage over Skyliner guests who are generally held back, though obviously that can always change by the time of your trip.

Also I'll be honest, seeing a massive cluster you know what when the Skyliner was down all night during a really crowded Saturday night at Food & Wine and a small army of guests were pouring over to buses at BWI to get back to their resorts, I would be wary of staying at a Skyliner resort. All those people were angry and miserable and meanwhile it took me like 5 minutes to walk back to my BC room.

With a 4 y old in tow, I suspect this trip won’t be focused on food & wine, and will be using Disney transportation rather than making the on-foot trek to HS. Plus don’t forget park hopping is different now so there is no more “ducking in” to Epcot throughout the day, assuming they even have park hoppers.

I definitely agree with you about the one room/one bathroom for 8 days... which is why YC would be better, if these are their only two options. Its over 100 square feet larger than a Riviera studio.

But Riviera does have the split bath format, which is really helpful to give two showers and two separate bathrooms to get changed in. And folding up the beds when not use makes it feel roomier than Yacht Club where the two beds are always filling up the room. I tend to agree I would still not be comfortable in a single room with my parents or in laws but some people are closer to their families and it’s not a big deal.

 

[figmentfinesse]

The to go window was open when we were there in late October, along with the full service restaurant.

They sadly closed it unexpectedly last month.

 

[nkereina]

But Riviera does have the split bath format, which is really helpful to give two showers and two separate bathrooms to get changed in. And folding up the beds when not use makes it feel roomier than Yacht Club where the two beds are always filling up the room. I tend to agree I would still not be comfortable in a single room with my parents or in laws but some people are closer to their families and it’s not a big deal.

That is a nice set up for getting out the door in the morning, but the rest of the time will be spent in the living/sleeping area. With grandparents and a 4 year old, I can't imagine they will be commando park visitors and will need rest and breaks in the room. IMO, the size of the Riviera room isn't conducive to that for 4 adults plus child.

They sadly closed it unexpectedly last month.

Thanks for the info. I'm a little surprised - the restaurant side was booked solid during our October trip.

 

[CarolynFH]

the restaurant side was booked solid during our October trip.

That’s probably why they closed the walk up window. They’re using the outdoor seating for ADRs, and it was too difficult to maintain social distancing between people waiting for the to-go window and those waiting to be seated for ADRs.

 

[MomOTwins]

That’s probably why they closed the walk up window. They’re using the outdoor seating for ADRs, and it was too difficult to maintain social distancing between people waiting for the to-go window and those waiting to be seated for ADRs.

Especially since it is accessible to pretty much anyone on WDW property since they can get to from Epcot or Hollywood studios, any skyliner resort, and any crescent lake resort (including Swolphin). They probably had it open for a trial hoping it'd be used primarily by guests at Yacht Club or BCV picking up a meal to take to their room, but had to disband when it became too popular and drew in crowds from outside the resort.

 

[Sunshine11]

Yacht Club for sure!