Poll: Are you going to buy at Riviera

[TexasChick123]

Or option 3. People are being smart about it and are in a holding pattern.

No one has seen either a point chart or cost per point. Those two factors are kind of a big deal when deciding to commit tens of thousands of dollars into a timeshare.

That's where we are. We want all the information before we can make a decision.

 

[Bing Showei]

That's where we are. We want all the information before we can make a decision.

We were there too, but those resale restrictions are just too much for our family to overlook. We discovered WDW with my then 4-year-old and have loved it, in large part, through his eyes and enjoyment. But kids outgrow this and I'm not sure how much love I'll have for $6 churros after my son tires of fake castles and plastic headed mice interrupting his meals.

 

[MB_01]

I was so looking forward to buying riviera direct.... Waste of money or not i wanted to buy in there. When I found out Dvc was a thing they were selling poly and I wasn’t interested because or the all studio setup. Then ccv came out and the lack of availability scared me off. I figured with the size of riviera it would be perfect for me and they had to go and throw dirt all over it with this stupid new restriction!

 

[TexasChick123]

We were there too, but those resale restrictions are just too much for our family to overlook. We discovered WDW with my then 4-year-old and have loved it, in large part, through his eyes and enjoyment. But kids outgrow this and I'm not sure how much love I'll have for $6 churros after my son tires of fake castles and plastic headed mice interrupting his meals.

I went to WDW for years before I had kids up into my 20s. My parents still love it and will go without any kids/grandkids if their team is playing in a bowl game there, but we are a roller coaster/theme park family. I can't wait to go on an adults-only trip!!! One day...

 

[Bing Showei]

I went to WDW for years before I had kids up into my 20s. My parents still love it and will go without any kids/grandkids if their team is playing in a bowl game there, but we are a roller coaster/theme park family. I can't wait to go on an adults-only trip!!! One day...

I hope that's us as well (kinda have these DVC points we need to use for the next 45 years), but I'm not Disney tested like you and a lot of other people 'round here, and the recent management decisions have left me feeling so jaded. I've gotten over the cry-baby stage about the reallocation, but it was sobering.

 

[thelionqueen]

With all the changes that DVC is making and who knows what they will do in the next 25 years, I'm no longer willing to buy at any resort.

Me too! They lost a VERY loyal and dedicated previous owner!

 

[skippytx]

I went to WDW for years before I had kids up into my 20s. My parents still love it and will go without any kids/grandkids if their team is playing in a bowl game there, but we are a roller coaster/theme park family. I can't wait to go on an adults-only trip!!! One day...

Just got back from one. My wife and I went for our 10 year. It was nice, very low stress, very easy going. No one asking you for a toy every time you get off a ride. I didn't bring the backpack most days as I didn't have to lug 4 peoples stuff around. One day we went to AK, used a FOP fastpass, and then left. We slept in a couple days, and took it easier. I think a lot of it had to do with we were just there for a high stress family trip in October, so didn't feel the rush to make sure we did everything. I'm one of those people that can't stand wasting "park time", so it was hard to get over that at first, but I relaxed towards the end of the trip.


Riviera chat, no way I'll buy direct, but depending on resale prices, point charts, and MF, a cheap resale contract in the future might not be out of the question. It would have to be a crazy value though. I think we're all waiting on information though to make these decisions.

 

[skier_pete]

Riviera resale isn’t going to be less than $100pp. I just bought some VGC points. I can use them at the other L14 resorts, but I won’t. Most ppl don’t buy the primo resorts at those high prices to use at other properties. I paid a premium for VGC, and I only plan to use them at VGC. If I wanted to buy resale points to use them at other resorts, I would’ve bought SSR or OKW for a lot less money. I would LOVE for resale Riviera points to be cheap via resale and pick some up, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Your supposition is that the popularity level of Riviera will be on par with BLT, VGF and VGC. I don't think that will be the case. The gondola is a nice perk, but I don't think it will quite have the appeal. It will certainly appeal more than SSR and OKW, but then when you take in the "you can't go anywhere else" factor I really do think that will hurt. Overall, I see it could be on par with SSR and OKW if not lower. I don't see it higher.

I don’t disagree that taking away the ability to book at other resorts at 7 months is a big deal. It is a HUGE deal. However, I don’t think resales are going to tank for Riviera. I’m still waiting on CCV resales to tank like many said they would. I don’t remember why people thought that, but it was discussed a lot..

CCV resales are overvalued because it's the newest resort. If you look at the numbers OKW sees about a $20 add-on for a 2057 versus 2042 end of contract. Right now the difference between the two Wilderness Lodge units are almost $60. They SHOULD be more like $30. Once CCV is sold out and gets the reputation that you can't get into the studios when you want (because of the cabins) it will start to sink. Also in the early days the # of resale contracts are very limited.

I would expect that in the first few years, Riviera will retain more value than $100 a point. It won't be as high as the Poly or probably even CCV because of the loss of trade-ins. Trust me - it WILL limit buyers. Resale buyers are looking for something different the direct buyers, they are looking for a deal, but are looking for the most benefit for their money. A good percent of them will be turned off by the "Riviera only" rule. Not ALL, be enough. Initially, when their are few contracts for sale, this will keep the prices up. But when it's sold out, and then you see a lot of contracts start to come up (say in 5 years) those prices will be one of the lowest in the system.

But, you are right they won't drop THAT low. It is still getting you a place at DVC. I'd like to think that it would drop down to $50 or so (similar to say VB) but that probably won't happen. As I've said, I say on par or slightly less than what SSR and OKW ends up at. That said, I think "Reflections" could come in even lower. It's location will be even less appealing than Riviera.

 

[skier_pete]

Or option 3. People are being smart about it and are in a holding pattern.

No one has seen either a point chart or cost per point. Those two factors are kind of a big deal when deciding to commit tens of thousands of dollars into a timeshare.

I agree I didn't expect many "Yeses" without a point chart - "Maybe" has been moving up a bit, so actually I think 11% is a pretty good number - if 11% of all DVC members bought contracts there they'd be pretty thrilled. I am still hoping that the "Maybe" folks will change their answer when they decided "Yes" or "No".

 

[skier_pete]

We were there too, but those resale restrictions are just too much for our family to overlook. We discovered WDW with my then 4-year-old and have loved it, in large part, through his eyes and enjoyment. But kids outgrow this and I'm not sure how much love I'll have for $6 churros after my son tires of fake castles and plastic headed mice interrupting his meals.

We only bought when we realized WE wanted to go. I probably shouldn't say our adult only trips are more fun than our ones with the kids...but I want to...

 

[ziravan]

There’s twice as many points at Riviera to sell as CCV in the same time frame.

They’re going to have to sell 200,000 points/month to achieve sellout in 3 years, in time for the Asst Living DVC to go on sale.

 

[TexasChick123]

Your supposition is that the popularity level of Riviera will be on par with BLT, VGF and VGC. I don't think that will be the case. The gondola is a nice perk, but I don't think it will quite have the appeal. It will certainly appeal more than SSR and OKW, but then when you take in the "you can't go anywhere else" factor I really do think that will hurt. Overall, I see it could be on par with SSR and OKW if not lower. I don't see it higher.

CCV resales are overvalued because it's the newest resort. If you look at the numbers OKW sees about a $20 add-on for a 2057 versus 2042 end of contract. Right now the difference between the two Wilderness Lodge units are almost $60. They SHOULD be more like $30. Once CCV is sold out and gets the reputation that you can't get into the studios when you want (because of the cabins) it will start to sink. Also in the early days the # of resale contracts are very limited.

I would expect that in the first few years, Riviera will retain more value than $100 a point. It won't be as high as the Poly or probably even CCV because of the loss of trade-ins. Trust me - it WILL limit buyers. Resale buyers are looking for something different the direct buyers, they are looking for a deal, but are looking for the most benefit for their money. A good percent of them will be turned off by the "Riviera only" rule. Not ALL, be enough. Initially, when their are few contracts for sale, this will keep the prices up. But when it's sold out, and then you see a lot of contracts start to come up (say in 5 years) those prices will be one of the lowest in the system.

But, you are right they won't drop THAT low. It is still getting you a place at DVC. I'd like to think that it would drop down to $50 or so (similar to say VB) but that probably won't happen. As I've said, I say on par or slightly less than what SSR and OKW ends up at. That said, I think "Reflections" could come in even lower. It's location will be even less appealing than Riviera.

I honestly never paid attention to the CCV issues, so thank you for filling me in about bad availability for studios there.

In response to the comment about resale buyers being more savvy, how can we explain paying $140pp or more for BCV?!? It expires in 2042. How is it worth that? And many (most?) ppl who buy BCV via resale only use it there. What about buying the 2042 resorts directly? The BCV wait list is LONG, and it’s $225pp. My point is that ppl will pay a premium price for what they want. Every single contract should depreciate 1/50th every year because they have less points on them, but they don’t. Supply and demand. There’s a limited supply of Riviera points. All we can do is wait and see if the demand is there which no one knows because the place hasn’t even opened yet.

I personally love gondolas. We ride them every year in Colorado. They are a fast, efficient way to move a lot of people very quickly. I’m excited to try them and think they’ll be as iconic as the monorail. The jury’s still out for me about Riviera as a whole because we’re missing huge pieces of info about it.

***Sorry for any typos. This was all typed out on my phone.

 

[skier_pete]

@TexasChick123 CCV has only like 9% of the points at the entire resort in studios because of all those cabins. Do you think only 9% of owners there want studios? VGF is like 13% in studios and it's a big problem there for 4 months of the year. I would never buy CCV if I want to stay in studios. Riviera will at least be a big improvement on that if the initial declaration is any indication.

And yes, some people pay stupid high prices for what they want. It's why I am sure Disney won't have problems selling Riviera. I just think long term, when the excitement for Star Wars dies down, it won't be a "must have" location and the restrictions will hurt the average buyer. The 2042 contracts do affect some resorts. As I said BRV had be had for as low as SSR right now. But BCV and BWV are so location driven. I admit, we bought a small resale contract at BWV for that reason. But I'm just not sure that Riviera will be "top dog" on location. I see it being below VGF, BLT,Poly, BCV and BWV. It will be similar to the WL ones, maybe just ahead of them. BUT they will definitely be hurt by the no trade rule. How much is yet to see, but there's no way. I myself would likely favor buying at SSR over Riviera, and I don't like SSR at all, but I can at least get to some of my favorites from SSR. Those resale Riviera contracts will appeal to those that love the resort. Again, I'm not saying they bottom out for pennies on the dollar, just expect them to be on the lower end of DVC resorts, even with the extra years.

 

[skippytx]

In wasn’t terribly keen on the gondolas at first, but after reading about the capacity of the system and seeing them running last week I’m rethinking my position.

 

[TexasChick123]

@TexasChick123 CCV has only like 9% of the points at the entire resort in studios because of all those cabins. Do you think only 9% of owners there want studios? VGF is like 13% in studios and it's a big problem there for 4 months of the year. I would never buy CCV if I want to stay in studios. Riviera will at least be a big improvement on that if the initial declaration is any indication.

And yes, some people pay stupid high prices for what they want. It's why I am sure Disney won't have problems selling Riviera. I just think long term, when the excitement for Star Wars dies down, it won't be a "must have" location and the restrictions will hurt the average buyer. The 2042 contracts do affect some resorts. As I said BRV had be had for as low as SSR right now. But BCV and BWV are so location driven. I admit, we bought a small resale contract at BWV for that reason. But I'm just not sure that Riviera will be "top dog" on location. I see it being below VGF, BLT,Poly, BCV and BWV. It will be similar to the WL ones, maybe just ahead of them. BUT they will definitely be hurt by the no trade rule. How much is yet to see, but there's no way. I myself would likely favor buying at SSR over Riviera, and I don't like SSR at all, but I can at least get to some of my favorites from SSR. Those resale Riviera contracts will appeal to those that love the resort. Again, I'm not saying they bottom out for pennies on the dollar, just expect them to be on the lower end of DVC resorts, even with the extra years.

I wasn’t trying to be sarcastic about CCV. I really didn’t know a lot about what the issues were there with the studios. I think most ppl want studios. I knew the cabins were a huge point suck, but I didn’t know even the owners were having a lot of trouble booking studios. It makes sense though with those numbers.

I want to see how this “pay to qualify” points will play out. Is it a small amount? Is it a huge amount? Who knows?!? Disney, tell us already!!!

 

[Matty B13]

Have they made the transportation details for Riviera know yet? Are they going to provide buses to Epcot and Hollywood studios for the people that don't want to ride the gondolas? Or are they going to have to share buses with Caribbean Beach?

 

[CarolMN]

I agree I didn't expect many "Yeses" without a point chart - "Maybe" has been moving up a bit, so actually I think 11% is a pretty good number - if 11% of all DVC members bought contracts there they'd be pretty thrilled. I am still hoping that the "Maybe" folks will change their answer when they decided "Yes" or "No".

I think a lot of the "maybes" will turn to "No" when the point chart is published. Those almost always turn out to be higher than most expect. The only exception was CCV.

I honestly never paid attention to the CCV issues, so thank you for filling me in about bad availability for studios there.

In response to the comment about resale buyers being more savvy, how can we explain paying $140pp or more for BCV?!? It expires in 2042. How is it worth that? And many (most?) ppl who buy BCV via resale only use it there. What about buying the 2042 resorts directly? The BCV wait list is LONG, and it’s $225pp. My point is that ppl will pay a premium price for what they want. Every single contract should depreciate 1/50th every year because they have less points on them, but they don’t............

If Disney didn't raise resort cash prices so much every year, that would probably be the case. IMO, that's a huge factor contributing to the current resale prices.

I personally love gondolas. We ride them every year in Colorado. They are a fast, efficient way to move a lot of people very quickly. I’m excited to try them and think they’ll be as iconic as the monorail. The jury’s still out for me about Riviera as a whole because we’re missing huge pieces of info about it...........

Agree about the gondolas and the Riviera.

I wasn’t terribly keen on the gondolas at first, but after reading about the capacity of the system and seeing them running last week I’m rethinking my position.

I think a whole bunch of people will come around to that opinion. I am looking forward to them.

 

[Spartan86]

Have they made the transportation details for Riviera know yet? Are they going to provide buses to Epcot and Hollywood studios for the people that don't want to ride the gondolas? Or are they going to have to share buses with Caribbean Beach?

We went over to CBR to wander around on our last trip (early Feb) to see their new construction, look at gondola progress and see DRR a bit. FWIW, I asked one of the “suits” in the CBR lobby if they were going to have an internal bus to the Skyliner station. He said no dedicated internal Skyliner bus. But, he also said their bus system was not changing appreciably and would have service to all the parks like it does today. So, if all that is accurate I would think the plan at DRR would be the same. However, I can’t really see them launching the Skyliner and maintaining current bus frequencies for HS and Epcot.

 

[Drewferin]

With Disney Q4 earnings today I'm guessing they will release more Riviera information including the point chart. I'm still in the "No camp" unless the point chart is pretty low and the cost matches. Oh and don't forget they take away their new resale rules.

 

[MurphyL]

I plan on buying at Rivera with a guaranteed week. Maybe I am missing something but we love going to WDW and the resort appears to be close to Hollywood Studios via a gondola ride. We are buying it to use but I feel like in 10 years there will still be significant value to the contract. Do you think the restrictions will significantly lower the value and direct contracts are not worth it?