Poly vs Riviera - Help me spend my money

[Sandisw]

I'm really curious how we'll like RIV. It very much looks like our cup of tea!

I am excited to hear too! I am so glad I became an owner last year and had said I never would.

After visiting...this time with my daughter who is also an owner now..we knew it was the right choice! Sitting by the water edge with a drink was just lovely!

 

[RebelScum]

Poly resale if you are doing either FW half or Full Disney in January. It’s like a 5-10 min walk to the parking lot/corrals from poly, so much less stressful than trying to catch early buses for the races. We always try to stay at Poly for race weekends if we can, but sometimes at 7 months it tough. I would not do FW/direct since you may change races in the future and do the full. RIV is more convenient for the after party, but you still can take the monorail from Epcot to the trans center, then 5 min walk to poly dvc.

I can't agree more with this. Being able to walk to the parking lot/corrals from poly is really nice. I have done it several times and find it to be a nice pre-race warm up. Much better than trying to plan around a bus ride.

 

[sethschroeder]

we figure we should do direct and lock in the benefits as this is important to us. For any add on contracts direct vs. resale will matter less.

Another thing to think about is the direct RIV gives you access to Epcot Resort for the future. When you go to add-on if you LOVE RIV then you can buy RIV resale (supposedly at a discount) or the flip side buy POLY then because resale POLY doesn't come with a lock-in other than the original 14 resort piece.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

We considered BCV direct but ultimately ruled it out because of the time left on the contract and the uncertainty about what happens after....at least with RIV we know going in the restrictions

I passed on a BCV for the same reason but didn’t consider how much cheaper it is to stay there. I should’ve snapped it up.

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

Thought you all might want an update!

Hubby and I went down on a whirlwind trip to check out DVC. We got up at 3am, drove to Disney on Halloween, got in by 10am, toured, stayed at the Riviera (1 bedroom), and then checked out Nov. 1.

The Tours:

Disney has switched up their DVC tour game. They have most room types at all the resorts open to tour. We found this so helpful. 2 years ago we did the tour of the models at saratoga, but seeing all the options in context at the resort is just so much better. We started off at Poly. As a reminder, Poly vs. Riviera was our final two going in.

Poly:
THE BUNGALOW. Let me just sell a kidney and live here. Seriously. So well done. We're not looking at the kind of points that would let us stay at the bungalow on the regular, so we requested to see the studio. I'll be honest, the studio was nicer than I expected based on the photos. Again, as childfree millennials (insert all the jokes), we really don't need more than a studio. So the lack of options isn't really a con. Walking around the grounds just cemented how much we love it. Plus how perfect it is for race weekend. If anything, our tour of Poly confirmed this is where our heart is. <3

Copper Creek:
Husband wasn't big on the theming of Copper Creek going in. In his words, "I'm not coming to Florida to stay in the mountains". That being said, we did lunch at gyser grill, and he was the first to admit that he really loved the grounds. We're outdoorsy people, and the lobby at wilderness lodge is very impressive. It checked a lot of boxes. All of the sudden, cooper creek made its way into the running. The biggest down side is my husband is from the birthplace of bass pro shop, which means he grew up with everything from airports to the malls themed like bass pro, and he felt like CC was just another bass pro shop. He didn't feel like he was at Disney, he felt like he was in Missouri. Fair. CC is also a few grand more than RIV right now.

Riviera:
So much to say about this one. It's a hotel, not a full on campus like poly and wilderness. And for me, that was the biggest con. I found I really liked the immersive feel of poly and wilderness, with the multiple buildings and grounds. The exterior of RIV is also kinda ugly. That being said, we loved the Skyliner access. The food at bar riva and the quick service were incredible. The rooms were the best of the lot, so spacious and so nice. Also, we're coffee people so being able to walk down in the morning and grab a latte and sit by the water is very appealing (or grab a glass of wine in the evening). Basically in every category, Riviera won EXCEPT for that full immersive campus feel. It was so well done.

The Beach Club:
We knew we were more interested in beach club than boardwalk from online reviews. We decided to tour beach club as well to get an idea of our other epcot options. We did the 2 bedroom suite and....wow. Not to offend the beach club lovers, but there is 0 about that property that makes me feel DVC is worth it. StormAlong Bay is basically a mini water park with a million screaming kids. The rooms are incredibly dated, to put in nicely. My husband described it as "a Florida assisted living facility," but not a nice or modern one. It was rough. Plus it expires in 2042? Yet is basically the same price as poly direct. Hard pass

THE CHOICE:
Our heart is at Poly, but our money is at Riviera. I think we'll be fine booking poly at 7 months for races, and if not, we will consider a small resale contract. Our big buy-in to become direct members is at the resort that checked all the other boxes. We decided to take advantage of the fixed week option, and secured week 52. We have new years every year, and Christmas a few years out of 7. If we don't want that week, we can use our points like normal. We had originally thought to do the week that covers wine and dine, but realizing we'd rather poly for that week, we opted for New Year's instead. Studio preferred view.

We just signed on the line. So we're officially DVC members. We have a 10 day buyers remorse period, so if next seasons incentives are better we will switch to those, but somehow I doubt it.

Thank you ALL for your input. It was hugely helpful!

 

[striker1064]

Sounds like you made an informed decision. Congrats!

Our heart is at Poly, but our money is at Riviera. I think we'll be fine booking poly at 7 months for races, and if not, we will consider a small resale contract.

Just wanted to add, as someone that goes often for race weekends, plan on either checking multiple times per day for several weeks/months to get the dates you want, or buy that resale contract. PVB studios are gone before the 7 month mark on race weekends.

 

[Lorana]

Thought you all might want an update!

Hubby and I went down on a whirlwind trip to check out DVC. We got up at 3am, drove to Disney on Halloween, got in by 10am, toured, stayed at the Riviera (1 bedroom), and then checked out Nov. 1.

The Tours:

Disney has switched up their DVC tour game. They have most room types at all the resorts open to tour. We found this so helpful. 2 years ago we did the tour of the models at saratoga, but seeing all the options in context at the resort is just so much better. We started off at Poly. As a reminder, Poly vs. Riviera was our final two going in.

Poly:
THE BUNGALOW. Let me just sell a kidney and live here. Seriously. So well done. We're not looking at the kind of points that would let us stay at the bungalow on the regular, so we requested to see the studio. I'll be honest, the studio was nicer than I expected based on the photos. Again, as childfree millennials (insert all the jokes), we really don't need more than a studio. So the lack of options isn't really a con. Walking around the grounds just cemented how much we love it. Plus how perfect it is for race weekend. If anything, our tour of Poly confirmed this is where our heart is. <3

Copper Creek:
Husband wasn't big on the theming of Copper Creek going in. In his words, "I'm not coming to Florida to stay in the mountains". That being said, we did lunch at gyser grill, and he was the first to admit that he really loved the grounds. We're outdoorsy people, and the lobby at wilderness lodge is very impressive. It checked a lot of boxes. All of the sudden, cooper creek made its way into the running. The biggest down side is my husband is from the birthplace of bass pro shop, which means he grew up with everything from airports to the malls themed like bass pro, and he felt like CC was just another bass pro shop. He didn't feel like he was at Disney, he felt like he was in Missouri. Fair. CC is also a few grand more than RIV right now.

Riviera:
So much to say about this one. It's a hotel, not a full on campus like poly and wilderness. And for me, that was the biggest con. I found I really liked the immersive feel of poly and wilderness, with the multiple buildings and grounds. The exterior of RIV is also kinda ugly. That being said, we loved the Skyliner access. The food at bar riva and the quick service were incredible. The rooms were the best of the lot, so spacious and so nice. Also, we're coffee people so being able to walk down in the morning and grab a latte and sit by the water is very appealing (or grab a glass of wine in the evening). Basically in every category, Riviera won EXCEPT for that full immersive campus feel. It was so well done.

The Beach Club:
We knew we were more interested in beach club than boardwalk from online reviews. We decided to tour beach club as well to get an idea of our other epcot options. We did the 2 bedroom suite and....wow. Not to offend the beach club lovers, but there is 0 about that property that makes me feel DVC is worth it. StormAlong Bay is basically a mini water park with a million screaming kids. The rooms are incredibly dated, to put in nicely. My husband described it as "a Florida assisted living facility," but not a nice or modern one. It was rough. Plus it expires in 2042? Yet is basically the same price as poly direct. Hard pass

THE CHOICE:
Our heart is at Poly, but our money is at Riviera. I think we'll be fine booking poly at 7 months for races, and if not, we will consider a small resale contract. Our big buy-in to become direct members is at the resort that checked all the other boxes. We decided to take advantage of the fixed week option, and secured week 52. We have new years every year, and Christmas a few years out of 7. If we don't want that week, we can use our points like normal. We had originally thought to do the week that covers wine and dine, but realizing we'd rather poly for that week, we opted for New Year's instead. Studio preferred view.

We just signed on the line. So we're officially DVC members. We have a 10 day buyers remorse period, so if next seasons incentives are better we will switch to those, but somehow I doubt it.

Thank you ALL for your input. It was hugely helpful!

Congrats!! Thanks for all the feedback, too; it’s always great to get additional perspectives. It’s also good to know you can tour all the rooms on property. If we do go down in December, I may keep that in mind!

Also congrats on the FW! As an owner of FWs myself, I do think they’re a great way to go since they do allow you to cancel if you make other plans that year. I had really been tempted with FW 52 myself because I imagine NYE will only continue to go up in points cost, but it just was more money than we wanted to spend. I’m kind of kicking myself now for not doing so, though, as I imagine when we get to be empty nesters - and many of our friends and family are empty nesters - we’ll have less reason to want to be home for the holidays. And Riviera should offer an amazing view of multiple NYE fireworks from Topolino’s! It’s a shame there isn’t a members lounge up there too! I tell my DH that some year I’m going to blow 3 years worth of points to do the Poly Bungalow for a few nights over NYE. ;-)

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I'm really curious how we'll like RIV. It very much looks like our cup of tea!

Congratulations!! It looks like a beautiful resort! I liked your summary of all the resorts you toured. As. Bcv owner I also completely agree with your assessment of the resort now. The refurb there wiped out all theming and turned it into a stale resort. It used to have a beach house theme and feel.

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

Sounds like you made an informed decision. Congrats!



Just wanted to add, as someone that goes often for race weekends, plan on either checking multiple times per day for several weeks/months to get the dates you want, or buy that resale contract. PVB studios are gone before the 7 month mark on race weekends.

Good to know!

 

[masupo]

Thought you all might want an update!

Hubby and I went down on a whirlwind trip to check out DVC. We got up at 3am, drove to Disney on Halloween, got in by 10am, toured, stayed at the Riviera (1 bedroom), and then checked out Nov. 1.

The Tours:

Disney has switched up their DVC tour game. They have most room types at all the resorts open to tour. We found this so helpful. 2 years ago we did the tour of the models at saratoga, but seeing all the options in context at the resort is just so much better. We started off at Poly. As a reminder, Poly vs. Riviera was our final two going in.

Poly:
THE BUNGALOW. Let me just sell a kidney and live here. Seriously. So well done. We're not looking at the kind of points that would let us stay at the bungalow on the regular, so we requested to see the studio. I'll be honest, the studio was nicer than I expected based on the photos. Again, as childfree millennials (insert all the jokes), we really don't need more than a studio. So the lack of options isn't really a con. Walking around the grounds just cemented how much we love it. Plus how perfect it is for race weekend. If anything, our tour of Poly confirmed this is where our heart is. <3

Copper Creek:
Husband wasn't big on the theming of Copper Creek going in. In his words, "I'm not coming to Florida to stay in the mountains". That being said, we did lunch at gyser grill, and he was the first to admit that he really loved the grounds. We're outdoorsy people, and the lobby at wilderness lodge is very impressive. It checked a lot of boxes. All of the sudden, cooper creek made its way into the running. The biggest down side is my husband is from the birthplace of bass pro shop, which means he grew up with everything from airports to the malls themed like bass pro, and he felt like CC was just another bass pro shop. He didn't feel like he was at Disney, he felt like he was in Missouri. Fair. CC is also a few grand more than RIV right now.

Riviera:
So much to say about this one. It's a hotel, not a full on campus like poly and wilderness. And for me, that was the biggest con. I found I really liked the immersive feel of poly and wilderness, with the multiple buildings and grounds. The exterior of RIV is also kinda ugly. That being said, we loved the Skyliner access. The food at bar riva and the quick service were incredible. The rooms were the best of the lot, so spacious and so nice. Also, we're coffee people so being able to walk down in the morning and grab a latte and sit by the water is very appealing (or grab a glass of wine in the evening). Basically in every category, Riviera won EXCEPT for that full immersive campus feel. It was so well done.

The Beach Club:
We knew we were more interested in beach club than boardwalk from online reviews. We decided to tour beach club as well to get an idea of our other epcot options. We did the 2 bedroom suite and....wow. Not to offend the beach club lovers, but there is 0 about that property that makes me feel DVC is worth it. StormAlong Bay is basically a mini water park with a million screaming kids. The rooms are incredibly dated, to put in nicely. My husband described it as "a Florida assisted living facility," but not a nice or modern one. It was rough. Plus it expires in 2042? Yet is basically the same price as poly direct. Hard pass

THE CHOICE:
Our heart is at Poly, but our money is at Riviera. I think we'll be fine booking poly at 7 months for races, and if not, we will consider a small resale contract. Our big buy-in to become direct members is at the resort that checked all the other boxes. We decided to take advantage of the fixed week option, and secured week 52. We have new years every year, and Christmas a few years out of 7. If we don't want that week, we can use our points like normal. We had originally thought to do the week that covers wine and dine, but realizing we'd rather poly for that week, we opted for New Year's instead. Studio preferred view.

We just signed on the line. So we're officially DVC members. We have a 10 day buyers remorse period, so if next seasons incentives are better we will switch to those, but somehow I doubt it.

Thank you ALL for your input. It was hugely helpful!

Congrats!! Thanks for all the feedback, too; it’s always great to get additional perspectives. It’s also good to know you can tour all the rooms on property. If we do go down in December, I may keep that in mind!

Also congrats on the FW! As an owner of FWs myself, I do think they’re a great way to go since they do allow you to cancel if you make other plans that year. I had really been tempted with FW 52 myself because I imagine NYE will only continue to go up in points cost, but it just was more money than we wanted to spend. I’m kind of kicking myself now for not doing so, though, as I imagine when we get to be empty nesters - and many of our friends and family are empty nesters - we’ll have less reason to want to be home for the holidays. And Riviera should offer an amazing view of multiple NYE fireworks from Topolino’s! It’s a shame there isn’t a members lounge up there too! I tell my DH that some year I’m going to blow 3 years worth of points to do the Poly Bungalow for a few nights over NYE. ;-)

Welcome home! I always like to see people’s thought process on their purchases. It helped me a lot when I made my decision to buy a FW at Riviera. I was thinking about week 52, especially as it would have helped hit the 200 point Summer incentive. I decided on week 44, as I’m more apt to travel during Jersey Week/Wine & Dine half marathon. I hit the 150 point incentive and I have money left over toward a resale purchase at another home resort.

I REALLY want a guaranteed Week 52 in a studio at VGF, but I just can’t justify the price on that. I was thinking you never know, one might come up on the resale market. So then the universe decided to have a laugh at my expense, and this appeared:

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/listings/grand-floridian/gf31023/
Seriously though, if someone is in the market for about 500 VGF points, you could get a decent deal with a guaranteed 2 bedroom for NYE

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

Congrats!! Thanks for all the feedback, too; it’s always great to get additional perspectives. It’s also good to know you can tour all the rooms on property. If we do go down in December, I may keep that in mind!

Also congrats on the FW! As an owner of FWs myself, I do think they’re a great way to go since they do allow you to cancel if you make other plans that year. I had really been tempted with FW 52 myself because I imagine NYE will only continue to go up in points cost, but it just was more money than we wanted to spend. I’m kind of kicking myself now for not doing so, though, as I imagine when we get to be empty nesters - and many of our friends and family are empty nesters - we’ll have less reason to want to be home for the holidays. And Riviera should offer an amazing view of multiple NYE fireworks from Topolino’s! It’s a shame there isn’t a members lounge up there too! I tell my DH that some year I’m going to blow 3 years worth of points to do the Poly Bungalow for a few nights over NYE. ;-)

We're really excited about the fixed week! The standard view fixed week was right at the point level we were going to purchase anyway (200), but of course they had none left. We ended up going with the preferred view at 233. More than we wanted to spend but with the incentives a doable endeavor. I don't think i'll mind the extra 33 points for the years we forgo the fixed week either

 

[Onceuponamarathon]

Welcome home! I always like to see people’s thought process on their purchases. It helped me a lot when I made my decision to buy a FW at Riviera. I was thinking about week 52, especially as it would have helped hit the 200 point Summer incentive. I decided on week 44, as I’m more apt to travel during Jersey Week/Wine & Dine half marathon. I hit the 150 point incentive and I have money left over toward a resale purchase at another home resort.

I REALLY want a guaranteed Week 52 in a studio at VGF, but I just can’t justify the price on that. I was thinking you never know, one might come up on the resale market. So then the universe decided to have a laugh at my expense, and this appeared:

https://www.dvcresalemarket.com/listings/grand-floridian/gf31023/
Seriously though, if someone is in the market for about 500 VGF points, you could get a decent deal with a guaranteed 2 bedroom for NYE

We thought long and hard about week 44. We love that time of year, it has the potential to include Halloween, covers the fall to Christmas transition, and we love the runDisney races (with wine and dine being our favorite). If they had offered a special event fixed week for the race, the way they do for copper creek, that would allow the wed-wed week instead of the sun-sun, we would have done it in a heartbeat! The sun-sun let week 52 edge it out though!

 

[RoseGold]

That fixed week was a smart choice. RIV has so few studios, that could be more and more important as RIV sells out/more resale starts happening.

Nothing wrong with using RIV at Poly every single year!

 

[Cabius]

THE CHOICE:
Our heart is at Poly, but our money is at Riviera.

Thank you for sharing your experience, rationale, and ultimate decision! I hope you're able to snag the occasional race week at the Poly, and wish you many years of happy memories at the Riviera!

 

[sethschroeder]

That fixed week was a smart choice. RIV has so few studios, that could be more and more important as RIV sells out/more resale starts happening.

Nothing wrong with using RIV at Poly every single year!

Not really.

RIV is 38% studios (splitting lock offs)
RIV is 43% including Tower Studios
BLT is 34% studios (splitting lock offs)
CCV is 34% studios (splitting lock offs) and huge point sink Cabins

I think you get the point it's not really out of line. Now studios may go quicker as we don't know what resale restrictions might do (in 20 years when 20% of the resort had flipped). It's not because they have so few studios in comparison to other resorts.

I suspect most other resorts also match similarly to RIV.

 

[DisneyTim76]

Husband and I are looking to buy our first DVC contract. Early 30s, no kids (and no plans for any), 6 hour drive from Disney. Will probably resell eventually as we won’t be passing it down, but who knows. Maybe we keep it forever.

Our preference is to buy direct in order to secure a fixed week contract. We are big runDisney fans and want to do a FW contract that lines up with the wine and dine race first week of Nov. This will likely be our main trip every year, even if we aren’t running. The option to stay at any future resorts and the blue card are a bonus of buying direct but the draw here is the FW.

Option 1: Poly.
Lake view room is 168 points which isn’t really a premium anymore. The point chart for the FW contract purchase is based on when the resort opened. They have since reshuffled the points and it’s now 167 to stay there regularly anyway. So will get to use a FW without having to pay the point premium. Love the idea of watching fireworks from the balcony. Two showers is a big plus for race weekends. My parents are retired military and stay at shades, making bigger family trips easier should we switch up dates or they come along. The race starts from TTC so could walk to the start and would take the monorail from both the finish and the runner’s after party. The big con is that it’s 42k + closing costs. This assumes current rewards and rounding up to 175 points. Also, we won’t *always* be doing the wine and dine race.

Option 2: Riviera
I hate that the resale value is so uncertain. The fact that it is locked down to a resale buyer seems like a huge factor. My first thought was that buying river is was crazy town. That being said, the skyliner is realllllly nice. We are generally Epcot and festival people, so the location is great for us. Also, the races end at Epcot (and the after party is at Epcot) so the skyliner would still be a great option during race weekend. The preferred room would be around the same 168 point purchase (155ish normally - so would have a point usage premium unlike poly). Would round to 175 for purchasing. Cost is considerably less at 32k + disney covers closing with current incentives. Also, we would care less about a preferred room at Riviera so would consider doing FW standard, lowering the cost even more. Or we could buy more points on a separate contract and keep the same overall cost.

Option 3: we’re crazy for buying direct at all and need to give up the idea of FW.

Also of note, We are in no rush to buy. We could buy now (with the incentives) or we could wait. We have a trip in Jan booked but won’t be back until wine and dine of 2021.

Thoughts?

Option 3 all day long. We’re closing on a Poly 200 pt resale contract at 134 pp. Using our deal as an example, is it worth $20k+ extra cost for a fixed week and a blue card? Not in my opinion.

I don’t think you’ll have much trouble getting your week at Poly 11 months out.

personally the Riviera resale restriction are a deal breaker for us.