My thoughts on visiting Riviera

[SL6827]

We visited Riviera last week several times from the Yacht Club. Ate at Primo Piatto. Nice place. Wouldn't pay to stay there myself. But the food was great and so was the customer service. Spot on. At one point we saw a raccoon right before dusk, looking for a free meal I am sure.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Wondering why the "wouldn't pay to stay there"? Looks like you pay to stay at the Yacht Club. What do you like about YC that you would pay for it, but not Riv. Just curious. We still haven't stayed at YC although we will check it off the list. Stayed at BWI and liked it. Staying at Riv in early Dec.

 

[Dug720]

Wondering why the "wouldn't pay to stay there"? Looks like you pay to stay at the Yacht Club. What do you like about YC that you would pay for it, but not Riv. Just curious. We still haven't stayed at YC although we will check it off the list. Stayed at BWI and liked it. Staying at Riv in early Dec.

Agreed. I expected more of a review.

 

[Wedgeout]

You saw Meeko!! Think visiting and staying can have different thoughts and feelings about a resort. As far as tower resorts. I recently focused my liking to the Gran Destino!! Wow have you seen that interior architectural design!?! Amazing.

 

[SL6827]

Wondering why the "wouldn't pay to stay there"? Looks like you pay to stay at the Yacht Club. What do you like about YC that you would pay for it, but not Riv. Just curious. We still haven't stayed at YC although we will check it off the list. Stayed at BWI and liked it. Staying at Riv in early Dec.

Just not my cup of tea I guess. I had rather pay good money to stay where SAB is I suppose.

 

[SL6827]

You saw Meeko!! Think visiting and staying can have different thoughts and feelings about a resort. As far as tower resorts. I recently focused my liking to the Gran Destino!! Wow have you seen that interior architectural design!?! Amazing.

The murals that were outside were awesome.

 

[jennib5426]

I stayed at Riviera in September and found their pool to be my favorites DVC pool now. Nice slide and small water play area for the kids. Seating is top notch, padded loungers, sofas, lots of umbrellas, close to all the rooms.
we have stayed at BC 10 times and SAB is fun but a lot of work with kids.

 

[DVCsloth]

We stayed last month, 3 nights in a standard studio and truly enjoyed the resort. We don't own there yet, but I would definatley consider adding on there. Beautiful resort, excellent location for Epcot and H.S. Love the Skyliner, busses were very good and really nice bus stop with each bus having its own stop. Nice pool and water slide, although I like my home resorts pools a little better, VGF and CC. The couch wasn't the most comfortable but the pull down bed was pretty comfortable. Nice room, overall excellent first class resort! I would imagine the 1 BR and up are really nice also.

 

[tuckymom]

I stayed there one night (my bestie bought DVC there about six months prior to the opening).

Its a beautiful resort but not sure anything was "the best" for me except maybe overall decor. The murals are stunning and at night the grounds are beautiful.

For me:
The pool was really nice, but not SAB nice.
The restaurants were great overall but still prefer Poly restaurants as a whole.
Skyliner is super accessible but location goes to the monorail or crystal lake resorts.
There isn't a ton of outdoor space or activities like it feels like exist elsewhere.

It just doesn't have a "best" category which is I think my issue.

 

[i<3riviera]

͏

 

[SL6827]

I stayed at Riviera in September and found their pool to be my favorites DVC pool now. Nice slide and small water play area for the kids. Seating is top notch, padded loungers, sofas, lots of umbrellas, close to all the rooms.
we have stayed at BC 10 times and SAB is fun but a lot of work with kids.

Yes, good point. My kids are 24 and 16 so no issues there.

 

[Sandisw]

I visited it twice this weekend and fell in love more than I did last year after I bought.

At BCV now and for me, not even close. But, SAB doesn’t do anything for me and I used the leisure pool instead.

Isn’t it great WDW has so many options!!!!!

 

[EM Lawrence]

we’ll I’m not sure you can pay to stay at Primo Piatto, it’s just RVA’s quick service restaurant; the villas on the other hand ...

on a more serious note, if you’re still around (or anyone else) the DVC tour they do here at RVA includes a tower studio, deluxe studio, one bedroom, two bedroom lock-off (the ds and 1b connect), and three bedroom grand villa; the tour website only has the two bedroom lock-off listed but they’ll take you to all of them

Are you there now? I’m curious about the Skyliner situation first thing in the morning. I’ve read elsewhere that its best to walk to the CBR station if you want to get to a park early. Any experience?

 

[i<3riviera]

͏

 

[EM Lawrence]

yep, we're here through next weekend; we haven't gone to parks yet from RVA (taking the weekend off) but I can check tomorrow morning for you

the only time we had to wait for the Skyliner so far has been at 5-15 minute wait while leaving Epcot at closing; the rest of our trips (I've convinced the kids it's a ride) have been during non-peak hours and we've just walked on at all the stations

Thanks! There are some decent discounts on cash stays at RIV right now, and we are rope-droppers, so early morning usefulness of the SL is vital!

 

[i<3riviera]

͏

 

[EM Lawrence]

here is the scoop on the Skyliner from RVA to HS (caveat on Monday 26 Oct 2020 so other days will vary) ...

should you walk to the Caribbean Beach station?

• if you get up early and don't mind waiting in line at the RVA station take the Skyliner from the RVA station; otherwise, probably worthwhile walking to the Caribbean Beach transfer station
• first seven parties in line in the morning at RVA have priority, the go straight to the HS line (ahead of anyone else at the Caribbean Beach transfer station)
• I walked up at just after 8am and there were already four parties in line
• eighth+ parties wait in line behind anyone already at the Caribbean Beach transfer station (mostly Caribbean Beach guests but possibly some Pop Century folks that may beat you there on their Skyliner)
• ~10-15 minute walk from RVA station to Caribbean Beach transfer station depending on your pace

time to get to Hollywood Studios

• 8:30am RVA station starts boarding to Caribbean Beach station (9am official opening, 10am Hollywood Studios opening)
• 8:35am I stayed outside the folks waiting until I saw them boarding, then joined once most of the parties in line had boarded
• 8:37am boarded at RVA station
• 8:40am line empty behind me at RVA station (so no just walk-up folks)
• the good news ends here ...
• 8:43am enter long line at Caribbean Beach transfer station
• 8:50am all cars coming from RVA are empty (so very few people still coming in, occasionally the odd car will come with folks but few and far between)
• 9:21am board from Caribbean Beach transfer station to Hollywood Studios
• 9:28am exit Hollywood Studios station
• I didn't do temperature scan, security, or park entry but it seemed doable in the ~30 minutes left until you needed to be in for 10am Rise of the Resistance passes but it would be tight
• trip from Hollywood Studios to RVA was ~15 minutes
• if you're going early in the morning back to RVA (not sure why you would unless you were doing this testing) you can talk to a cast member and they'll let you on the Caribbean Beach transfer station to RVA section ahead of the Epcot portion opening; you actually end up going in the accessible section to bypass the people waiting to go to Epcot from the Caribbean Beach transfer station; this is pretty useless information to most people but I found it interesting

if you're dedicated rope droppers you probably don't mind waking up early enough to be one of the priority parties from RVA so you'll probably be fine; if you're semi-dedicated rope droppers, you might consider walking to the Caribbean Beach transfer station to join the line you're going to join anyway

personally, I think we're going to drive to Hollywood Studios when we go; I like being in control of my own destiny (I don't like leaving things to the Force)

I have no idea what the bus situation was from RVA (or any other resort for that matter) so I can't say if the Skyliner was better or worse than buses; whole research effort (RVA to HS to RVA) was ~two hours but the rest of my team was asleep and it was a pleasant morning so it was a good excuse for some exercise!

here's a few pictures for you to judge for yourself

line at Caribbean Beach transfer station ~8:15am before anyone was let in (I walked there and back to survey)
View attachment 534740

Hollywood Studios temperature scan, security, and park entry at 9:28am (doable in 30 mins maybe?)
View attachment 534739

line for Hollywood Studios from Caribbean Beach station when I was on my way back to RVA (~9:45am); when I joined the line from RVA on my way to Hollywood Studios, I was under the Skyliner (bottom left of the photo) so it was considerably longer when I passed back through
View attachment 534737

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to research this. This is super helpful! The pictures of those lines stresses me out a little bit. I think you are right that driving might be the way to go, so you can control your own destiny. Or, walk to the CBR station early so you don’t risk getting put at the back of the line there once you transfer from RIV.

 

[Fangorn]

here is the scoop on the Skyliner from RVA to HS (caveat on Monday 26 Oct 2020 so other days will vary) ...

should you walk to the Caribbean Beach station?

• if you get up early and don't mind waiting in line at the RVA station take the Skyliner from the RVA station; otherwise, probably worthwhile walking to the Caribbean Beach transfer station
• first seven parties in line in the morning at RVA have priority, the go straight to the HS line (ahead of anyone else at the Caribbean Beach transfer station)
• I walked up at just after 8am and there were already four parties in line
• eighth+ parties wait in line behind anyone already at the Caribbean Beach transfer station (mostly Caribbean Beach guests but possibly some Pop Century folks that may beat you there on their Skyliner)
• ~10-15 minute walk from RVA station to Caribbean Beach transfer station depending on your pace

time to get to Hollywood Studios

• 8:30am RVA station starts boarding to Caribbean Beach station (9am official opening, 10am Hollywood Studios opening)
• 8:35am I stayed outside the folks waiting until I saw them boarding, then joined once most of the parties in line had boarded
• 8:37am boarded at RVA station
• 8:40am line empty behind me at RVA station (so no just walk-up folks)
• the good news ends here ...
• 8:43am enter long line at Caribbean Beach transfer station
• 8:50am all cars coming from RVA are empty (so very few people still coming in, occasionally the odd car will come with folks but few and far between)
• 9:21am board from Caribbean Beach transfer station to Hollywood Studios
• 9:28am exit Hollywood Studios station
• I didn't do temperature scan, security, or park entry but it seemed doable in the ~30 minutes left until you needed to be in for 10am Rise of the Resistance passes but it would be tight
• trip from Hollywood Studios to RVA was ~15 minutes
• if you're going early in the morning back to RVA (not sure why you would unless you were doing this testing) you can talk to a cast member and they'll let you on the Caribbean Beach transfer station to RVA section ahead of the Epcot portion opening; you actually end up going in the accessible section to bypass the people waiting to go to Epcot from the Caribbean Beach transfer station; this is pretty useless information to most people but I found it interesting

if you're dedicated rope droppers you probably don't mind waking up early enough to be one of the priority parties from RVA so you'll probably be fine; if you're semi-dedicated rope droppers, you might consider walking to the Caribbean Beach transfer station to join the line you're going to join anyway

personally, I think we're going to drive to Hollywood Studios when we go; I like being in control of my own destiny (I don't like leaving things to the Force)

I have no idea what the bus situation was from RVA (or any other resort for that matter) so I can't say if the Skyliner was better or worse than buses; whole research effort (RVA to HS to RVA) was ~two hours but the rest of my team was asleep and it was a pleasant morning so it was a good excuse for some exercise!

Thanks for the first hand experiences and the research. Much appreciated!

Steve

 

[limace]

An hour on skyliner?!?! Ouch! Definitely worth spending a few bucks on Lyft instead. That’s a bummer.

 

[Sandisw]

here is the scoop on the Skyliner from RVA to HS (caveat on Monday 26 Oct 2020 so other days will vary) ...

should you walk to the Caribbean Beach station?

• if you get up early and don't mind waiting in line at the RVA station take the Skyliner from the RVA station; otherwise, probably worthwhile walking to the Caribbean Beach transfer station
• first seven parties in line in the morning at RVA have priority, the go straight to the HS line (ahead of anyone else at the Caribbean Beach transfer station)
• I walked up at just after 8am and there were already four parties in line
• eighth+ parties wait in line behind anyone already at the Caribbean Beach transfer station (mostly Caribbean Beach guests but possibly some Pop Century folks that may beat you there on their Skyliner)
• ~10-15 minute walk from RVA station to Caribbean Beach transfer station depending on your pace

time to get to Hollywood Studios

• 8:30am RVA station starts boarding to Caribbean Beach station (9am official opening, 10am Hollywood Studios opening)
• 8:35am I stayed outside the folks waiting until I saw them boarding, then joined once most of the parties in line had boarded
• 8:37am boarded at RVA station
• 8:40am line empty behind me at RVA station (so no just walk-up folks)
• the good news ends here ...
• 8:43am enter long line at Caribbean Beach transfer station
• 8:50am all cars coming from RVA are empty (so very few people still coming in, occasionally the odd car will come with folks but few and far between)
• 9:21am board from Caribbean Beach transfer station to Hollywood Studios
• 9:28am exit Hollywood Studios station
• I didn't do temperature scan, security, or park entry but it seemed doable in the ~30 minutes left until you needed to be in for 10am Rise of the Resistance passes but it would be tight
• trip from Hollywood Studios to RVA was ~15 minutes
• if you're going early in the morning back to RVA (not sure why you would unless you were doing this testing) you can talk to a cast member and they'll let you on the Caribbean Beach transfer station to RVA section ahead of the Epcot portion opening; you actually end up going in the accessible section to bypass the people waiting to go to Epcot from the Caribbean Beach transfer station; this is pretty useless information to most people but I found it interesting

if you're dedicated rope droppers you probably don't mind waking up early enough to be one of the priority parties from RVA so you'll probably be fine; if you're semi-dedicated rope droppers, you might consider walking to the Caribbean Beach transfer station to join the line you're going to join anyway

personally, I think we're going to drive to Hollywood Studios when we go; I like being in control of my own destiny (I don't like leaving things to the Force)

I have no idea what the bus situation was from RVA (or any other resort for that matter) so I can't say if the Skyliner was better or worse than buses; whole research effort (RVA to HS to RVA) was ~two hours but the rest of my team was asleep and it was a pleasant morning so it was a good excuse for some exercise!

here's a few pictures for you to judge for yourself

line at Caribbean Beach transfer station ~8:15am before anyone was let in (I walked there and back to survey)
View attachment 534740

Hollywood Studios temperature scan, security, and park entry at 9:28am (doable in 30 mins maybe?)
View attachment 534739

line for Hollywood Studios from Caribbean Beach station when I was on my way back to RVA (~9:45am); when I joined the line from RVA on my way to Hollywood Studios, I was under the Skyliner (bottom left of the photo) so it was considerably longer when I passed back through
View attachment 534737

I wonder if taking the Skyliner to Epcot and then walking from there would be quicker in the morning?

But, with Epcot opening later, maybe it doesn’t open early enough.

Or, I’d Uber to BWV and walk from there if going first thing in the AM.