Picking a home. Riviera...?

[Dicentras]

Hi all!

We are narrowing down our choice for our first DVC purchase, we will be buying direct. Wanted to be sure I’ve considered all options for our family.

We want somewhere that a studio fits 5, but also one that will have space for our family to grow into (so, VERY sadly, Poly is out).
Of the other 5person studios,
BCV, BRV, BWV all have end dates too soon for our needs. Which leaves GFV and Riviera. We don’t really care for GF at all, so I’m thinking Riviera is our best option. (Yes, I’m aware of the resale thing).

Anyway... am I missing anything? Riviera is the best choice for us, yes? The price is definitely appealing as well as the other reasons. Just wanted to crowd source some strangers before signing my life away, lol.

 

[Pyotr]

My advice would be to wait for the Riviera to open and maybe stay here a night or two to see if you like it.

I wouldn’t “sign my life away” until I knew exactly what I was getting.

The resale restrictions didn’t factor in my decision not to buy there. The high point chart did. If you do buy Rivera, make sure you have enough.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Riviera is good. I like it in a lot of ways. Beautiful units, beautiful view, great location, on the Gondola, probably going to have some great restaurants, with more great views..

I was going to buy there Direct, until Disney spiked the resales, by saying that Resale purchasers of Riviera will ONLY be able to stay at Riviera and not even be able to exchange into the L14 resorts. We don't know how that will affect resales yet, but, since Resales purchasers can only stay at Riviera, I personally believe that there will ALWAYS be a run on the best rooms in the 7 to 11 month window, and walking reservations might be especially high. If you want one of the more desirable reservations, you might need to be online at 8 AM Eastern, at the opening of the 11 month window. Just some things to be aware of.

I also think the points per room cost is a bit high, though a bit better than Poly most of the time, so maybe I'm not being fair. Maintenance Fees/Membership Dues are starting out a bit high, About 50 cents to $1 more per point. So, if you own 200 points you might have to pay up to $200 more per year in Dues than at some other resorts. Maybe this is because they hope to not have to raise them again soon, and they want to make sure everything is covered right from the beginning. But, if it rises in lockstep with the Membership dues at other DVC Resorts, then it will always be one of the highest cost resorts.

 

[Frederic Civish]

By the way, you are dropping consideration of Poly because you want room to grow. Well, Poly will never have 2 bedroom units with a full kitchen, but, you can do what we do: Get connected rooms (studios). Almost all the DVC rooms at Poly have a connection to one room next to them. We just get two of them, and then have room for up to 10 people, if a little bit crowded

 

[lovewdwdvc]

We just did The connecting rooms at Poly. Worked great.

 

[pinklotusflower]

I wouldn't get points at Riviera there are two many unknowns with the re-sale situation, you may think you will never sell but things change/happen & you may have no option to sell. The dues are high as are the points that are needed. Have you looked at other resorts, some of the others may get 5 bed studios when they are refurbished. How long were you thinking of for studios and is it then two bed you are thinking of?

 

[skorpie]

I agree with poster Pyotr. Take time and stay at Riviera before you buy. We went to Disney and stayed at OKW. Husband decided that it wasn't his cup of tea. We toured Wilderness Lodge and ended up buying there because he liked the feel of the resort and its proximity to MK. We later bought at BC because of the pool and closeness to Epcot. Good luck with your decision.

 

[summerw]

Hi all!

We are narrowing down our choice for our first DVC purchase, we will be buying direct. Wanted to be sure I’ve considered all options for our family.

We want somewhere that a studio fits 5, but also one that will have space for our family to grow into (so, VERY sadly, Poly is out).
Of the other 5person studios,
BCV, BRV, BWV all have end dates too soon for our needs. Which leaves GFV and Riviera. We don’t really care for GF at all, so I’m thinking Riviera is our best option. (Yes, I’m aware of the resale thing).

Anyway... am I missing anything? Riviera is the best choice for us, yes? The price is definitely appealing as well as the other reasons. Just wanted to crowd source some strangers before signing my life away, lol.

You’re stating a lot of the reasons that led us to buying there. We probably would have waited until it opened, but we wanted to buy before we put out a lot more for our vacation next year. We might have bought resale BLT if it hadn’t meant not being able to stay at Riviera. Once the family saw the video rendering tour, we knew whatever we bought needed to have the ability to stay there.

For me, more bathrooms, alternative transportation and contract end dates were the key factors for us so BLT ranked high with all of those, although AK for the bathrooms and just doing two studios at the Poly were in there too

 

[Granny]

We want somewhere that a studio fits 5, but also one that will have space for our family to grow into (so, VERY sadly, Poly is out).

I think that people considering DVC don't tend to look at the big picture. How long will you be staying in a studio with 5? Even if you go up to a 1 BR or 2BR, how long will that last? If your children are very young now, in 20 years they will be young adults and possibly not going to Disney with you. But 20 years isn't even half of the life of a contract in the resorts you are considering.

I would focus on what resort you and your spouse enjoy the most. Let's say it's BLT with its location and which has the sleeper chair in the 1BR and the extra bathroom. Or maybe it's AKV which has the same options at Kidani.

You could buy your favorite resort then book BWV/BCV/BRV at the 7 month mark for many times of the year. You could do that until you are ready to move up in accommodations and then book your home resort. The only way this doesn't work is if you want to consistently travel at high DVC demand times of the year such as the 4th quarter or spring breaks. But for much of the year, this strategy would work well, in my opinion.

I just see a lot of people who buy DVC based on current conditions and preferences without thinking that this is a 40-50 year contract. Just offering up a different point of view.

 

[dmurf01]

We really like Riviera and are very close to purchasing direct within the next week or so. I have seen posts suggesting it may be wise to split points between 1-2 other resorts we really like (75-75-75) so we can have backups at the 11 month window in case we ever have a hard time getting what we need at Riviera any given year. Also, if the other resorts(s) have lower dues or point costs it lowers the investment. Thoughts?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I still recommend not buying until it opens. There is so much about a feel of a resort beyond the unit, and the unit will be refurbished 5-8 times in 50 years. But if you have to walk through the lobby o reach the pool, that is forever.

With Riviera, buyer's remorse will be expensive.

 

[The Jackal]

1 and 2 bedroom units are usually pretty easy to get at other resorts at 7 months even during busier seasons. Just don’t expect to get cheap standard or value ones.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

We really like Riviera and are very close to purchasing direct within the next week or so. I have seen posts suggesting it may be wise to split points between 1-2 other resorts we really like (75-75-75) so we can have backups at the 11 month window in case we ever have a hard time getting what we need at Riviera any given year. Also, if the other resorts(s) have lower dues or point costs it lowers the investment. Thoughts?

How many DVC or Disney resorts have you stayed at and why the decision on Riviera first of all? Splitting to have an 11 month booking window isn't necessarily a must do or even a good idea in many cases unless you really love all those resorts and want to stay at them. Certainly not just to have another 11 month window. Much depends on your expecations of DVC usage, when you travel and what size rooms you plan to book to start to make a recommendation on that.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

1 and 2 bedroom units are usually pretty easy to get at other resorts at 7 months even during busier seasons. Just don’t expect to get cheap standard or value ones.

But you can do that a lot cheaper with less risk than buying Riviera.

 

[10CJ]

If you want room to grow I would definitely consider BLT and AKV since they have the extra bathroom in the larger units.

I would compare 1 bedroom point needs at Kidani to Riviera studios before making any final decisions.

 

[rspencer38]

We choose Riviera because we were amazed at the rooms when we toured in August. We have stayed at a number of resorts and have toured all of the other units at the preview center and none of them caught our attention like Riviera. We love the European theme and the fact that it has skyliner access to Epcot (and of course Boardwalk area) plus Hollywood Studios. We do love the Boardwalk and even got married at the resort, but the much shorter contract length and lack of interior hotel features (restaurants etc..) was enough to push us towards Riviera.

 

[McCrae]

If you want room to grow I would definitely consider BLT and AKV since they have the extra bathroom in the larger units.

I would compare 1 bedroom point needs at Kidani to Riviera studios before making any final decisions.

Great post...that extra bathroom really does make a big difference.

 

[McCrae]

We really like Riviera and are very close to purchasing direct within the next week or so. I have seen posts suggesting it may be wise to split points between 1-2 other resorts we really like (75-75-75) so we can have backups at the 11 month window in case we ever have a hard time getting what we need at Riviera any given year. Also, if the other resorts(s) have lower dues or point costs it lowers the investment. Thoughts?

I wouldn’t split points amongst different resorts. It will make things overly complicated if you want to book a longer stay at 1 resort.

I would though consider splitting the contract at one resort in to four 75 point contracts. Smaller contracts tend to attract a higher price and are easier to sell than larger contracts.

 

[Yinn]

By the way, you are dropping consideration of Poly because you want room to grow. Well, Poly will never have 2 bedroom units with a full kitchen, but, you can do what we do: Get connected rooms (studios). Almost all the DVC rooms at Poly have a connection to one room next to them. We just get two of them, and then have room for up to 10 people, if a little bit crowded

We just did The connecting rooms at Poly. Worked great.

Are they next to each other? Or actually connecting internally? We like Poly and originally eliminated it due to not having 2 real beds or 1/2 BR options, but we didn't know of availability of a LO/Connecting room. They're also not guaranteed right?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Are they next to each other? Or actually connecting internally? We like Poly and originally eliminated it due to not having 2 real beds or 1/2 BR options, but we didn't know of availability of a LO/Connecting room. They're also not guaranteed right?

Out of the 360 studios at PVB only 4 do not have an internal connecting door to a studio next door. It is true it is not a guarantee but with almost all of the studios connecting to another studio it's been about as guaranteed of a request as anything. Only a couple of reports when someone posed the question where people had requested them and not been assigned them and at least one was told they could move the next day to have connecting.