The Official Riviera Owners & Info Thread

[kimmar067]

The views from room 8617:

 

[kimmar067]

Our DS and his fiance` were on the 4th floor:

 

[kimmar067]

 

[kimmar067]

 

[kimmar067]

 

[kimmar067]

 

[kimmar067]

 

[kimmar067]

 

[ZerasPride]

Beautiful pictures!! Thank you so much for sharing. Makes me more and more excited for our upcoming trip!

 

[kimmar067]

Beautiful pictures!! Thank you so much for sharing. Makes me more and more excited for our upcoming trip!

Thanks!

 

[BridgetR3]

Ooh goodness! Thank you for the pictures! I'm stuck at work dreaming of home and your pictures were just what I needed this morning!!

 

[mz-s]

The lovely photos makes me think I need more points so I can book preferred view villas without the guilt!

 

[SaraSpringsIsHome]

We have never stayed at RIV but managed to snag a room for October since recently acquiring APs. We toured the resort briefly 2 years ago and while beautiful didn’t really seem “us.” We typically stay at BWV or BLT. Why do you love RIV? Any tips?

So… besides being super tiny tell me all about the tower studios!

 

[Dicentras]

We have never stayed at RIV but managed to snag a room for October since recently acquiring APs. We toured the resort briefly 2 years ago and while beautiful didn’t really seem “us.” We typically stay at BWV or BLT. Why do you love RIV? Any tips?

So… besides being super tiny tell me all about the tower studios!

I felt kind of meh on Riviera when I first arrived there, but after like a day or so, the resort totally grew on me and now I adore it. It has a kind of quiet appeal that just feel good. The intimate size, the ambience, music. It’s lovely.

 

[sethschroeder]

Why do you love RIV? Any tips?

Listen to the music (its in French and Italian but the songs you know mostly), look at the artwork (could be wrong but think its the first resort where they went out of their way to commission works), pull in the vibe (you don't get as many randoms like BWV or BLT walking around), and look at the architecture (personally think BLT is ugly but we do like BWV but those rooms are dated and they are gutting the theming little by little).

Also we highly prefer the skyliner as a mode of travel. Yes it has its hiccups but in October you should be able to avoid the more frequent stops because of thunderstorms.

Oh and honestly for the time or two you might see a shutdown skyliner either find something else to do (head over to the boardwalk instead of waiting at Epcot) or get an uber/lyft and head back that way.

Riviera takes a slight step back from BWV regarding location (skyliner attached instead) but steps it up with everything being inside with no need to be in the rain with the small exception of the skyliner stop from the HS side where you have to walk around quickly to the covered area.

Side note I feel like they should wrap a covered area around from side to side at the skyliner somehow and VGF/POLY have a major downside of needing to go from the Epcot Monorail to MK Monorail outdoors which we got caught in a few downpours that way.

 

[summerw]

Hi, all. Sorry I've been MIA. I decided to get a divorce and went back to work full time from part time. I think I've got my feet under me now. If anything needs to be updated, please call it out. I'll be doing my own review but you are all so helpful and knowledgeable. Thank you for keeping up how helpful this thread is. And all the beautiful pics are making me sad my next trip isn't until New Year's!! Summer

 

[Flash_Sloth]

We have never stayed at RIV but managed to snag a room for October since recently acquiring APs. We toured the resort briefly 2 years ago and while beautiful didn’t really seem “us.” We typically stay at BWV or BLT. Why do you love RIV? Any tips?

So… besides being super tiny tell me all about the tower studios!

I love the location of Riviera and Skyliner access to DHS and Epcot. When traveling to MK, DAK, or Disney Springs, the bus stop is arranged well and isn't shared with any other resorts.

I like the theming at Riviera, but I can understand if somebody else has another opinion. I prefer the all-in-one-building arrangement vs. the resorts spread across many different buildings (SSR, OKW, etc). Topolino's is a nice restaurant for fancy dining, and you have a couple of options for some quick serve bites. The gift shop is convenient and has decent selection for its size.

I really like the arrangement and use of space in the Deluxe Studios. We've had a few stays in Deluxe Studios.

We had our first stay in a Tower Studio last week. The Tower Studios are in a fairly quiet corner. Even when you're relaxing on the small balcony, there is very little pedestrian traffic going by. The view varies from Skyliner to parking lot across the 3 Tower Studios per floor. The Murphy bed makes some spring squeaky noises as we're getting in or out of bed; we pulled it down as we were getting ready for bed on the first night, and we never put it back up throughout our trip. Even though the Tower Studios are small, they're cozy, and I think that they make good use of the space. The bathroom is very nice. The mini-fridge worked fine for keeping our drinks cool, but it doesn't even pretend to have a freezer section. I was afraid that the Tower Studio was going to be too small for my DW, but she's OK if we stay in one again.

 

[Canchaser143]

What has everyone's experiences been like with the Bus Transportation to MK or AK?

 

[Sandisw]

What has everyone's experiences been like with the Bus Transportation to MK or AK?

We have had a great experience when we stayed there. We typically do a split stay with VGF, so visit MK and AK when there...but a few times we have used the buses for those parks, its been quick and easy.

 

[wnwardii]

What has everyone's experiences been like with the Bus Transportation to MK or AK?

This trip the bus situation has been great for me. Going/Returning from MK as well as going to AK. I would look at MDE and look at the time the next bus is scheduled to arrive. This has helped me with my timing. Will that be 100% all the time??? Probably not, but it will help. Now a caveat for returning from MK to Riviera. I did the EMH on Wednesday, but didn't leave MK until around 11:40 or so. Wasn't a long wait for the bus.