Hi all. We have a relatively short (6 days) trip planned for my son's 21st birthday in mid January ... Covid allowing. We just got word that a 1 bedroom Villa opened up at the Riviera and since my son really loves the look of the Riviera, we deceided to move from our 2 bedroom lockoff at Boardwalk. He's lucky I love him, because Boardwalk is my favorite place in the world.
Anyway, since we've got every day planned already, the move kind of shakes up our plans so I've got a few questions I'm hoping you all might be able to offer some advice on.
(1) Since it's his 21st, we'll be spending some time on The Boardwalk visiting a few bars after Epcot closes. Assuming we're there more than an hour, is getting an Uber the only way back to Riviera ? Are there any problems getting Ubers down there now ?
(2) On our HS day, is the skyliner a viable option to go to HS if we want to try for Rise of the Resistance ? My son's been dying to go to Galaxy's Edge since it opened and we'll do whatever we need to do to have a reasonable chance at getting Rise of the Resistance ?
(3) We've currently got two reservations at Topolino's for dinner ... and I'm thinking of keeping them both. We're probably going to do 2 or 3 signatures this trip anyway and I've got to say, everything about that place looks great. With Flying Fish and Jiko not open, I'd be open to it. Is it as good as it looks ? I was very disappointed in California Grill my last two trips, so when it comes to top-end dining, Topolino's looks as good as there is right now.
Looking forward to flipping through the whole thread and learning about the resort before the trip. The last time we were in Disney was the week the Skyliner opened, so we sailed through the station there, but Riviera hadn't yet opened. It looks great ... kind of gives me the same vibe Portofino Bay at Universal does, and that's one of our favorite stays. Looking forward to making some time to hang out at Bar Riva and just walking the grounds, in between rushing to parks.
Thanks for any thoughts.
Hi there! Your son is certainly lucky. We have been at RVA since last Saturday and can help with some of your questions:
1. No problems getting ride share services at WDW, but we never hailed any late at night.
2. You don't need to worry about being at the park for getting a boarding group for Rise of the Resistance. Just make sure you're up before 7 am and join the virtual queue on the app from wherever you are.
Tip: since DHS opens a bit later (10 am on weekdays right now), and you have to be up early anyway, this is a good day to go to Topolino's for a delicious breakfast. The food really was very good. If you're there at 7:30-8 am on a weekday, they should be able to seat you even if you don't have a reservation.
So we got our boarding group right at 7, had breakfast, then went over to the Skyliner around the time the park opened. At the CBR transfer there was a wait, about 20 min or so. Not bad at all and plenty of time to get to the boarding group.
3. I wouldn't mind eating there for dinner twice, it's pretty good. But if you do breakfast also, you may want to try somewhere else, maybe Yacht Club? But yeah, not a lot of options right now unless you want to venture out to Disney Springs or maybe one of the high end non-Disney resorts that surround WDW.
More thoughts:
Definitely take a walk around the grounds and lake at night, the resort is so pretty when it's all lit up!
Your son is very interested in galaxy's edge and so are the other billion people that will be there on the not-so-wide alleys and walkways. We did the two rides and left (though we had been there before the pandemic) because we felt pretty uncomfortable. And this was a Wednesday on what is usually a slow week... Be prepared and maybe have a conversation beforehand about what you'd do if anyone in your party starts feeling uncomfortable. Disney is doing a good job generally, but in high crowd areas where the guests vastly outnumber the CMs they really do loose control. There were just so many unmasked people walking around drinking or eating, people not respecting the distance in line, etc. The lines even get crowded from people who are not even in line but decide to sit on a ledge or curb adjacent to where the ride lines go, so people in line are forced to stand right next to them or lose their place. And since there are lines for everything from rides to shopping to eating, and they all extend and wrap around far into the walkways, the whole place gets pretty crowded. It was all just rather chaotic. DH and I were wearing N95 masks and that made it a little better for us, but just FYI.