I’m officially all caught up on the posts from after the resort opened through now and really looking forward to our upcoming stay. I sound like the greediest person ever, I’m sure, but I’m not-so-secretly hoping to be upgraded to a one bedroom when we arrive. We are already planning to bring heavy snacks and refreshments for the room to help with social distancing and it would be wonderful to have a full size kitchen. We will do just fine in the studio though! I thought if others, like me, are looking forward to an upcoming stay, it would be nice to add my photos from our resort visits in January.
Anyone remember the day Rise of the Resistance didn’t come online until 2:00 pm or so in January? I think it was the first day it was delayed that badly. Yeah, that was the day we were first attempting it. And we got a super low boarding group so it was torturous to be waiting around on our BG to be called! We decided to SkyLiner over to RR for lunch and check out Bar Riva. I was terrified of the SkyLiner but my D.H. talked me into being brave
Everyone posts about how breathtaking the mosaics are in the breezeway leading to/from the SkyLiner but there’s just no way to capture it in photos. I tried anyway!
My sister really loves Tangled/Rapunzel and these gorgeous mosaics are almost luminescent. I can’t wait until she gets to see them (she lives in Portland so it might be a while until she’s back)
We headed to Bar Riva, which I’d been wanting to try ever since I first saw the menu. I was surprised by the setup but we had no problem snagging a table and were tasked with our first difficult choice - beverages!
I had the Il Tramonto while D.H. went for the Aperol Spritz (he’d never had one). My drink was delightful - though you can pretty much guarantee that if a bar has an elderflower/St. Germain cocktail on the menu, I’m ordering it. Both drinks were well made and not too sweet.
For lunch, I had to have the Monte Cristo:
We chose fruit as our side. I have read mixed reviews on the Monte Cristo, so it seems to depend on the freshness of your sandwich. Ours was hot and fresh and delightful! Of course it probably goes without saying, but this is a very filling option. I think we finished it all but can‘t remember. It helped that we were visiting in January and not in July. I’m not sure we‘d manage fried sandwiches before returning to the pool or something
We also ordered the spicy Italian sandwich with soup as our side - that day it was a tomato bisque. We also very much enjoyed this sandwich, but the soup stole the show. We loved it - fresh and bright and perfect on a cool January day.
Drinks and lunch ran us $55 - not exactly a bargain, but it definitely felt like table service (it was, we had a great server) and we will return. I am pleased that it feels nice and upscale but is open to the elements as we will be comfortable eating there in early July, even while we are wary of returning to indoor dining locations.
After lunch our waiting finally paid off, as our Boarding Group for RotR was finnnnaaaalllly called.
The view leaving the Riviera station, soaring over CBR before returning to DHS.
Worth it!
A few days later, we returned to Riviera with our extended family to enjoy breakfast with the best character interaction we have ever had (or at least tied for first!)
Our 3 year old nephew was beside himself - he fell in love with Daisy Duck and left with a plush.
D.H. and I shared the steak and the waffles:
I definitely recommend this if your party is willing to share. We thought both options were great. I also highly enjoyed the jam and epi bread (mini baguettes). My mother in law ordered the hash and sent it back because her poached egg was inedibly undercooked - this is not the first time we have had this problem with Disney signature restaurants. I guess the chef’s idea of what is a “cooked” poached egg just doesn’t agree with what our idea is. None of us can stomach an uncooked egg white. Here’s her dish after she mixed it up a bit
Several of our family members also ordered the bagel and smoked salmon and enjoyed it. I hope that the full menu returns to Topolino’s soon.
After brunch, we went out to enjoy the terrace:
The views are breathtaking and we loved looking for some landmarks and towards another favorite resort of ours (Bonnet Creek). On the way back through the restaurant to leave, we were treated to an empty dining room so I had to grab some photos.
We enjoyed visiting and I am very much looking forward to our stay!!! I hope everyone else is looking forward to a countdown or making a new countdown as booking reopens for all guests.