The Official Riviera Owners & Info Thread

[AKNOTTS66]

Just on DME to the airport following our first welcome home at RIV. It was just my wife and I in a tower studio and it could not have been more perfect. Forgetting the resale restrictions for a moment (i know it's tough) we found none of the flaws others have experienced. Topolino’s was outstanding for dinner (the gnocchi and tomahawk veal were standouts) and the cocktail program was surprisingly good (boulevardier please). The tower studio was plenty of room for two and the bed was very comfortable. We used the skyliner without incident all week. The only issue was that it does not open early enough to hit DHS for rope drop / boarding group release.

We really did our best to experience all RIV has to offer and it exceeded expectations at every turn. So glad it is our home resort.

How were the buses for Riviera?

 

[jamesweikamp]

How were the buses for Riviera?

Sparse for DHS and Epcot as you would expect. About 15/20 minutes apart in the morning for others. We needed a bus to MK in the late afternoon one day and waited closer to 25/30 minutes. The app doesn’t do a great job of saying what bus is coming and when, but we experience that at all resorts.

 

[AKNOTTS66]

Sparse for DHS and Epcot as you would expect. About 15/20 minutes apart in the morning for others. We needed a bus to MK in the late afternoon one day and waited closer to 25/30 minutes. The app doesn’t do a great job of saying what bus is coming and when, but we experience that at all resorts.

So sounds typical. Mornings are the time busses run most frequent so if they were good then for AK and MK then thats a good sign. They generally run less frequently in nonpeak times like u said in the afternoon so 25-30 mins sounds right especially if u just miss the last bus.

 

[jamesweikamp]

So sounds typical. Mornings are the time busses run most frequent so if they were good then for AK and MK then thats a good sign. They generally run less frequently in nonpeak times like u said in the afternoon so 25-30 mins sounds right especially if u just miss the last bus.

yeah. It was basically the same bus experience we had at Poly last year or anywhere else.

 

[Sandisw]

So sounds typical. Mornings are the time busses run most frequent so if they were good then for AK and MK then thats a good sign. They generally run less frequently in nonpeak times like u said in the afternoon so 25-30 mins sounds right especially if u just miss the last bus.

Remember too that buses for RIV to Epcot and HS are only once an hour when Skyliner is running.

 

[AKNOTTS66]

how have elevators been at riviera? I see there's 2 locations, how many are at each location?

 

[jamesweikamp]

how have elevators been at riviera? I see there's 2 locations, how many are at each location?

Three elevators in each bank. One set on the west wing and one on the east. I don’t think we waited more than 30 seconds for an elevator (we were on the 7th floor).

 

[AKNOTTS66]

Three elevators in each bank. One set on the west wing and one on the east. I don’t think we waited more than 30 seconds for an elevator (we were on the 7th floor).

Okay great thanks!!

 

[summerw]

Just got back from runDisney Princess Challenge weekend. We stayed at the Contemporary, however we found ourselves at Riviera alot more than I would have thought.

We did dinner at Topilinnos Terrace and we were impressed. The cheese board tray can be requested as an appetizer to go with your wine instead of ordering it as a dessert. The Monty Cristo from Bar Riva is great and massive in size and can easily feed 2 hungry adults. The Skyliner is flat out amazing! We got stuck on the monorail for over an hour last Sunday, however the Skyliner only had short 1 minute stops on 1 occasion. Overall we loved the resort and will be staying there over Christmas. Enjoy these pictures... oh and yes addonitis for Riviera is a real thing granted I'll add on more resale.

Great pics! We are looking forward to the cheese tray at Toppolino’s. We loved the Skyliner too. I don’t quite understand the shock people have at the Skyliner getting stuck. The monorail has issues all the time. We stayed at the Poly and it wasn’t running a lot of days and we got stuck for a while too. I wonder if in 20 years people will love the Skyliner and hate whatever new transportation Disney is implementing .

Anyone else heading down for Moonlight Magic next week? We have our first welcome home at RIV. Can’t wait.

We are headed down in May and hope to take advantage of the Epcot MM. We’ll know tomorrow if we got in! I hope you will post a review. I’d love to read about your stay and MM.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

Anyone want to post their Riviera photos to pass time and to cheer those up that had to cancel their trips?

 

[jamesweikamp]

Anyone want to post their Riviera photos to pass time and to cheer those up that had to cancel their trips?

From March 3-6, right before the world shut down!

 

[ChipNdale8887]

From March 3-6, right before the world shut down!

Awesome Photos! I think we all need some positive vibes with the Coronavirus news constantly thrown at you! How was your trip by the way?

 

[jamesweikamp]

Awesome Photos! I think we all need some positive vibes with the Coronavirus news constantly thrown at you! How was your trip by the way?

It was our first “welcome home.” Just my wife and I went (stayed in a Tower Studio - plenty of room for 2). It was our first time seeing the Riviera. We bought their site unseen on our November trip. It was better than we could’ve expected. We got to do moonlight magic, flower and Garden Festival, and had unbelievable weather. We can’t wait to go back in December with the kids, as long as the world has reopened by then.

Happy to answer specific questions about the resort or anything else if there are any.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

It was our first “welcome home.” Just my wife and I went (stayed in a Tower Studio - plenty of room for 2). It was our first time seeing the Riviera. We bought their site unseen on our November trip. It was better than we could’ve expected. We got to do moonlight magic, flower and Garden Festival, and had unbelievable weather. We can’t wait to go back in December with the kids, as long as the world has reopened by then.

Happy to answer specific questions about the resort or anything else if there are any.

How did you find primo piatto? Did you use refillable mugs?

 

[jamesweikamp]

How did you find primo piatto? Did you use refillable mugs?

No refillable mugs. We thought the trip was too short to make it worthwhile, particularly with the in-room Keurig.

We had breakfast at Primo Piatto every day. The Blueberry Lemon Pancakes were good. The real star was the “Primo Piatto Breakfast,” but I am a sucker for polenta. My only complaint is that the coffee/pop/refill area is a bit narrow and feels crowded when there are several people waiting.

 

[ChipNdale8887]

No refillable mugs. We thought the trip was too short to make it worthwhile, particularly with the in-room Keurig.

We had breakfast at Primo Piatto every day. The Blueberry Lemon Pancakes were good. The real star was the “Primo Piatto Breakfast,” but I am a sucker for polenta. My only complaint is that the coffee/pop/refill area is a bit narrow and feels crowded when there are several people waiting.

Thanks for the info! Those both sound delicious!

 

[summerw]

Are any other new owners going to be missing their trip due to quarantine? We’re due to leave April 30. I’m sure we aren’t going, but the CM from member services talked me into keeping my reservation when I called the other day. He said there’s still a chance they’ll be open. I decided to wait another week or so since there’s not much availability in studios in the next few months anyway. Sad To miss Moonlight Magic at Epcot and every other great thing we had planned.

 

[pineapplepalms]

Are any other new owners going to be missing their trip due to quarantine? We’re due to leave April 30. I’m sure we aren’t going, but the CM from member services talked me into keeping my reservation when I called the other day. He said there’s still a chance they’ll be open. I decided to wait another week or so since there’s not much availability in studios in the next few months anyway. Sad To miss Moonlight Magic at Epcot and every other great thing we had planned.

We would’ve been there right now, staying in a standard 1BR at RIV and moving to a lake view 2BR at BLT for the second part of our stay. We were all signed up for various Star Wars races (including 100m dash for the 1 year old), and had MM booked at MK later in the trip. It was going to be a great trip! For now we’ve rescheduled to August and I was able to get RIV and BLT again, but I’m not optimistic that trip will happen either.

 

[jamesweikamp]

My heart breaks for you guys. Hopefully you can reschedule later in the year.

 

[Helvetica]

Yeah. I’m due to arrive May 16th for my first DVC trip. I know it’s not happening, but for now I’m going wait and let Disney cancel.

My second trip of the year is in September at the Riviera. I wasn’t able to get a room there for my May stay.