new DVC rules Riviera

I'm not sure if that will be the consensus. Geographically it's very close to Epcot and DHS. Fireworks view and Skyliner to both parks. Objectively, I don't see how the location of AKV, OKW, SSR or VWL is superior. None have more convenient transportation to 2 parks nor more central location.



300 rooms...about the same size as Bay Lake Tower. BWV, OKW, SSR, Poly, AKV and WL all have more DVC villas.



Reflections is a 2022 opening.

Good call on the wrong opening date. I got my "2's" mixed up. I meant they have 2 years before the next one opens (3 I suppose)

The other two points are valid, though. You listed the 4 cheapest on property resale locations as being worse only. And BLT is quite big.

I'm sure Disney will do a fine job because they can bottle up happiness and sell it to us better than anyone, but I do not envy the guides over the next couple of years.
 
My impression in the past is that add-on sales to existing members was always an important part of the sales of a new resort. I wonder if the new rules wil result in a significant decline in add-on sales for Riviera, because the new rule is something existing owners will consider in deciding to purchase.

I also wonder if Disney is going to instruct its sales personnel to specifically tell new purchasers of the resale limitation or, instead, just allow the issue to be buried somewhere in the POS, while the salesman emphasize the ability to trade out to any other DVC resort.

I absolutely think they will not mention the resale limitation.
 
I absolutely think they will not mention the resale limitation.
They most certainly will not offer up the information about resale, but what i am more curios about is - when someone does ask -- how will they answer it.

I think once Rivera hits the resale market and you have buyer who will educate themselves and learn about the resale market and the restrictions-- knowing that they can buy Rivera for cheap but only stay there might actually drive up the interest and price of the other resale resorts --- why buy and only be able to stay at one when you can buy a legacy resort and stay at 14?

It will be very interesting to see it unfold.
 
I was considering buying direct at Riviera (we own a resale at VGF) but NO MORE! Disney really has pissed me off with this one. So much so that my VGF contract is now for sale. If I'd wanted to be a part of a sleazy timeshare company, I would have bought into one. I thought Disney was better than that. I'm getting out while the getting is good. But I was really looking forward to Riviera! :(
 


Lol, totally understand. We were very lucky to buy resale in 2009 when the stock market was tanking and everyone was dumping their timeshares. So our buy-in was low. I think your approach is good. You have a sunk cost and you are enjoying your benefits every year.

Oh man, there were some deals to be had back then. I remember looking at the resale boards KNOWING those were killer deals but couldn't do it financially. Ah well. Timing is everything.
 
I will be warning all my younger family members who were considering DVC purchases to tread carefully with DVC and realize it has changed. Maybe even just consider staying at Port Orleans (or another moderate) on cash discounts for a few nights a year to treat the little ones. That way they can skip a long-term contract with DVC because of the new risk regarding an exit strategy on the new resorts. There is nothing more flexible than cash!
 
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It's in one of the worst locations for a DVC resort.

I'm not sure if that will be the consensus. Geographically it's very close to Epcot and DHS. Fireworks view and Skyliner to both parks. Objectively, I don't see how the location of AKV, OKW, SSR or VWL is superior. None have more convenient transportation to 2 parks nor more central location.

The other two points are valid, though. You listed the 4 cheapest on property resale locations as being worse only. And BLT is quite big.

Well, there's only 10(+Reflections) WDW-area DVCs, depending on how you count Jambo+Kidani and BRV+CCV, so even ranking it 6th out of 10 wouldn't lump it in as "worst locations." It's middle of the field.

Some people rank the 3 Monorail locations higher than the 2 Epcot-area, others the opposite, and you'll never get a consensus on that. Comparing it to BCV and BWV though, you could end up with similar DHS travel times vs. walking or waiting for a boat, and it seems like it'd be nearly as quick to Epcot too (just no walking option). It's certainly going to be more conveniently located than Reflections too, so wherever you rank it, it'll stay there for a few years.
 
Well, there's only 10(+Reflections) WDW-area DVCs, depending on how you count Jambo+Kidani and BRV+CCV, so even ranking it 6th out of 10 wouldn't lump it in as "worst locations." It's middle of the field.

Some people rank the 3 Monorail locations higher than the 2 Epcot-area, others the opposite, and you'll never get a consensus on that. Comparing it to BCV and BWV though, you could end up with similar DHS travel times vs. walking or waiting for a boat, and it seems like it'd be nearly as quick to Epcot too (just no walking option). It's certainly going to be more conveniently located than Reflections too, so wherever you rank it, it'll stay there for a few years.

Combining Jambo and Kidani, and BRV and CCV, and placing them all below Riviera is a sneaky way to make it look better. DVV considers AKV to all be one resort, so why not leave it there? Plus, that resort is intended to be remote, so calling its location "bad" isn't as accurate as calling it "different".
I love CBR, but having Riviera overlook it on one side and a road on the other is not as good of a location as the Wilderness resorts overlooking Bay Lake.

I'm not trying to completely knock Riviera. I have every intention of staying there with my grandfathered resale points. I just think it will have more trouble than others when it comes to selling points. Even if you consider AKV and CCV to be worse locations, they are attached to deluxe resorts, so they at least have the perception of being deluxe, while Riviera has to build itself up on its own.
 
Nope. Now that owners seeking to sell would be selling a completely different product than DVD (inferior, second class membership, can only stay at one resort) , I have no confidence I would get my money out if need be. I don't want to HAVE to hold DVC for 50 years, if I don't want to, or can't afford to...
 
Combining Jambo and Kidani, and BRV and CCV, and placing them all below Riviera is a sneaky way to make it look better. DVV considers AKV to all be one resort, so why not leave it there? Plus, that resort is intended to be remote, so calling its location "bad" isn't as accurate as calling it "different".
I love CBR, but having Riviera overlook it on one side and a road on the other is not as good of a location as the Wilderness resorts overlooking Bay Lake.

I'm not trying to completely knock Riviera. I have every intention of staying there with my grandfathered resale points. I just think it will have more trouble than others when it comes to selling points. Even if you consider AKV and CCV to be worse locations, they are attached to deluxe resorts, so they at least have the perception of being deluxe, while Riviera has to build itself up on its own.

I took care not to pass judgment and make a location ranking myself, but rather comment on what had already been said about those “4” locations (which you didn’t exactly argue against either by referencing them as the ‘cheapest’ ones onsite and referring to VWL). I agree it’s very subjective.

AKV is in the middle of nowhere precisely so it can offer the savannahs that no other resort has. CCV/BRV are a short boat ride to MK, which is just as cool as a monorail to a lot of people. SSR has DS proximity. Some people value resort monorail to MK, yet others would rather be able to walk to 2 parks and just take a 10-15 minute bus to MK. You’re stuck with monorail to TTC then Epcot monorail transfer if you’re at PVB, GFV, BLT, which not everyone likes. Then again, seeing the castle and fireworks from your balcony could mean everything to you.

The reason I posted was primarily to dispute the blanket notion that Riviera will be “one of the worst locations.” I think “different” is more apt... though really similar to BWV if the Skyliner is as convenient to IG and the Boardwalk as it seems to be.
 
I took care not to pass judgment and make a location ranking myself, but rather comment on what had already been said about those “4” locations (which you didn’t exactly argue against either by referencing them as the ‘cheapest’ ones onsite and referring to VWL). I agree it’s very subjective.

AKV is in the middle of nowhere precisely so it can offer the savannahs that no other resort has. CCV/BRV are a short boat ride to MK, which is just as cool as a monorail to a lot of people. SSR has DS proximity. Some people value resort monorail to MK, yet others would rather be able to walk to 2 parks and just take a 10-15 minute bus to MK. You’re stuck with monorail to TTC then Epcot monorail transfer if you’re at PVB, GFV, BLT, which not everyone likes. Then again, seeing the castle and fireworks from your balcony could mean everything to you.

The reason I posted was primarily to dispute the blanket notion that Riviera will be “one of the worst locations.” I think “different” is more apt... though really similar to BWV if the Skyliner is as convenient to IG and the Boardwalk as it seems to be.

Calling it different is totally fair. If you ask 15 people to rank resort locations, you would get 15 different answers most likely. To me, BLT is the best location, but I have 2 young kids. Others love the other resorts specifically for their location
That's really the knock on Riviera, though. That resale restriction makes it so you can't stay at those other places, and I doubt many people have been sitting around saying "oooh, we need to buy at Caribbean Beach!". Its a fine, even good location, but not much better or worse than any other resort. So with all the other negatives working against it (price, size, restrictions), it doesn't really have location working in its favor.
 
Calling it different is totally fair. If you ask 15 people to rank resort locations, you would get 15 different answers most likely. To me, BLT is the best location, but I have 2 young kids. Others love the other resorts specifically for their location
That's really the knock on Riviera, though. That resale restriction makes it so you can't stay at those other places, and I doubt many people have been sitting around saying "oooh, we need to buy at Caribbean Beach!". Its a fine, even good location, but not much better or worse than any other resort. So with all the other negatives working against it (price, size, restrictions), it doesn't really have location working in its favor.

There's negatives to be sure, but I notice studios at BWV and BCV book up really fast, and they're smallish resorts (at least on the DVC sides). Basically there's more demand for Epcot-area than is able to be filled right now, and I think a lot of people 'shut out' of those two are going to like the location of Riviera as a second-choice.

TSL and SWGE are only going to increase the amount of people who want to stay near DHS too, even if you can get there in 15-20 minutes on bus from pretty much anywhere on Disney property.
 
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but has the Riviera resale policy been announced? I have looked everywhere and don’t see anything from DIsney saying resale buyers of DRR will only be able to stay there. Actually I couldn’t find any info about the sale of the resort much less resale. But everyone is spun up about it. :confused3 Could Disney be “testing the waters” by floating (haha) this rumor?
 
If I couldn't get into BWV or BCV and was wanting to stay in the EPCOT area, the Riviera would be my next choice depending on what the point chart looked like. I would just use some of my cheap grandfathered SSR points to book it.
 
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but has the Riviera resale policy been announced? I have looked everywhere and don’t see anything from DIsney saying resale buyers of DRR will only be able to stay there. Actually I couldn’t find any info about the sale of the resort much less resale. But everyone is spun up about it. :confused3 Could Disney be “testing the waters” by floating (haha) this rumor?

You can find the announcement on your dashboard under notices on the member website.

Effective January 19, 2019, only Members who purchase directly from Disney will be able to use their Vacation Points at the 14 existing Disney Vacation Club Resorts or future Resorts—such as Disney’s Riviera Resort or Reflections – A Disney Lakeside Lodge. Resale contracts purchased for the existing 14 Disney Vacation Club Resorts will only be able to exchange Points into those 14 Resorts.

This change does not apply to contracts purchased prior to January 19, 2019. Contracts gifted to family members will continue to have the same Resort access as before the ownership transfer.

The eligibility rules for Membership Extras and RCI access remain unchanged.

The Buena Vista Trading Company Disclosure Guide has been amended accordingly.
 
You can find the announcement on your dashboard under notices on the member website.
I think they were specifically asking if Riviera Resale can only be used at Riviera. The "official" announcement does not address this component. However, my sales guide, his leader, and Member Relations all did tell me that Riviera Resale would be limited to Riviera. Their reasoning was that a significant amount of direct purchasers are getting upset that "cheaper" points are causing a larger competition at the "more expensive" resorts. They then told me they wanted to have some control over that. I'm not giving an opinion here on my thoughts of this just saying what I was told.
 
Their reasoning was that a significant amount of direct purchasers are getting upset that "cheaper" points are causing a larger competition at the "more expensive" resorts. They then told me they wanted to have some control over that. I'm not giving an opinion here on my thoughts of this just saying what I was told.

I've thought about this myself quite a bit. While I don't agree with the restrictions (mostly due to new resorts being devalued if selling), I do think that in the not-so-distant future, as in >2042, it will be pretty good to be a direct purchaser. Let's assume by then there's a BLT2, other new resorts, and they re-open BCV and BWV as new. My opinion is that is what will most likely happen with those two. We all (including DVD) know they were initially sold for much less than they were worth because DVC was so new then that even they didn't realize the value of their product. They both already have great locations and are very popular. Why invest tons of money re-building when you can spruce them up, slap a new point chart on them and sell them all over again?

I know this is all speculation but my point is by then the amount of "grandfathered" resale purchasers will be significantly less so I can imagine that direct purchasers could quite easily get whatever they want at 7 months. It may be far off but that idea is very appealing. I'm not about to run out and buy a bunch of direct points or anything but can imagine the whole system being much different.
 
I think they were specifically asking if Riviera Resale can only be used at Riviera. The "official" announcement does not address this component. However, my sales guide, his leader, and Member Relations all did tell me that Riviera Resale would be limited to Riviera. Their reasoning was that a significant amount of direct purchasers are getting upset that "cheaper" points are causing a larger competition at the "more expensive" resorts. They then told me they wanted to have some control over that. I'm not giving an opinion here on my thoughts of this just saying what I was told.

In other words, DVD has already instructed its personnel on the spin to give about restricting resale purchasers by asserting that somehow this is being done because the mass of members want it. Incredible.
 

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