Disney Riviera Resort

Also, FWIW, Josh just did a review of both Coronado and Pop with the refurbed rooms. Looks to me like they are trying, at least at Pop, to up the image of it to a mod so they can charge more once the gondolas come on line. Lipstick on the pig...

They are already pushing a 10% price increase next year on POP.

Someone's gotta pay for that laminate....

I think the biggest move was putting in queen beds.

Slap on a slide, and lookout!!

People will be justifying those $200/night POP rooms in no time.

There are already some Friday Saturday nights next year showing a rack rate of around $165 ( and not christmas week).
 
I'm getting confused here...did you commit the rookie foul of saying "I love disney! Everything is great at Disney! It's my happy place!"...and then use it to shield a "buyer:beware"?

If so...then tsk tsk

That's not how I read it...She basically said exactly what I did 75 posts ago. If they put the amenities in there, then it'll be a success and a draw for buyers. If they don't then it'll sit and become a point flooder.
 
They are already pushing a 10% price increase next year on POP.

Someone's gotta pay for that laminate....

I think the biggest move was putting in queen beds.

Slap on a slide, and lookout!!

People will be justifying those $200/night POP rooms in no time.

There are already some Friday Saturday nights next year showing a rack rate of around $165 ( and not christmas week).

That room size is still an albatross. I'm really surprised they didn't try to take out a whole wing to turn those into overpriced suites. But I don't know if there's anything to drive the demand for that. I will say, for the right audience, a small room is not a big deal. But $165 a night on a weekend ($200 for the two weeks around easter next year!) is just insanity. Fewer and fewer can justify or apologize for that.
 
That room size is still an albatross. I'm really surprised they didn't try to take out a whole wing to turn those into overpriced suites. But I don't know if there's anything to drive the demand for that. I will say, for the right audience, a small room is not a big deal. But $165 a night on a weekend ($200 for the two weeks around easter next year!) is just insanity. Fewer and fewer can justify or apologize for that.

Totally agree on the price. I wonder if the "hidden" bed is a way to make the room appear not as small/maximize space during non-sleeping times?
 


I priced the resorts for one week in October 2018 and Pop came up at about $160. They could drive a gondola directly to my room but room size and exterior door and no restaurant still make this not worth that price to me.

I wonder where CBR will end up price-wise? That one is scary.
 
Totally agree on the price. I wonder if the "hidden" bed is a way to make the room appear not as small/maximize space during non-sleeping times?

That's what the EasyWDW blog post seems to say. It's a good room for a young couple with a baby or a mom with a couple kids. But the type of people who would stay in that room are not going to pay that rate for that cramped room. The "value" (pardon the pun) is not there. It's a total mishmash.
 
I'm getting confused here...did you commit the rookie foul of saying "I love disney! Everything is great at Disney! It's my happy place!"...and then use it to shield a "buyer:beware"?

If so...then tsk tsk
No, I don't think that's what I was saying.
 


I priced the resorts for one week in October 2018 and Pop came up at about $160. They could drive a gondola directly to my room but room size and exterior door and no restaurant still make this not worth that price to me.

I wonder where CBR will end up price-wise? That one is scary.

I'm with you on that.

Over $>100 for a value and you have to start considering staying outside the bubble, right?

If they are already pricing in the $160 range for "mid level" seasons like fall with no gondola, where is 2019 gonna land?

I think the renovation looks great (minus the bright white/hospital feel). Really the addition of queen beds was the best part. But no way does it elevate it to Hilton pricing.

Back to CBR Villas DRR , do we know how much room there will be around the tower? Is there space to put in the theming and resort amenities we all think it will need to command a premium? Or is there just room for the tower and an outside pool?
 
Exactly and that's what I'm fearing.

Double the price for cheap hotels (they're already double actually..so 4x)

The atmosphere and the location and 2/3 of the amenities were built in 1994...and THAT is what you ain't got at Caribbean.

I'm glad you liked the rooms...though they look more Hyatt than disney from what I saw. Had you ever been to wilderness lodge before, Who's That Girl?


...sounds almost like "no"?

I have most definitely been to Wilderness Lodge. I did not like it. I thought the furniture was tacky. Who wants to pay $300/night to pretend they're sleeping on sticks? It reminded me too much of the Alligator Bayou décor over at POR and I hated that too. The lodge felt small imo and felt like an out of place ski resort. Now, I think it was perfectly redone.
 
That room size is still an albatross. I'm really surprised they didn't try to take out a whole wing to turn those into overpriced suites. But I don't know if there's anything to drive the demand for that. I will say, for the right audience, a small room is not a big deal. But $165 a night on a weekend ($200 for the two weeks around easter next year!) is just insanity. Fewer and fewer can justify or apologize for that.

When I was in the car heading down to Disney, I called for a room. Mostly because my husband decided booking a room before we left was for newbs. So, we're on the phone and Disney is checking prices and they came back with a passholder rate of $215 for Coronado. I had a fit. How can Coronado be $215, but Copper Creek was $280?
 
When I was in the car heading down to Disney, I called for a room. Mostly because my husband decided booking a room before we left was for newbs. So, we're on the phone and Disney is checking prices and they came back with a passholder rate of $215 for Coronado. I had a fit. How can Coronado be $215, but Copper Creek was $280?

That's all kinds of weird. I had the same thing happen with my regular WL room. Preferred at POR was like 235 or 240 a night and WL standard with passholder was like 250. No brainer. Sure the room decor is kinda tacky but I get it's a part of their old school national parks theme. At that price, there's no way I could justify staying at POR. The moderate room category creep is bound to continue with all this gondola stuff for sure.
 
When I was in the car heading down to Disney, I called for a room. Mostly because my husband decided booking a room before we left was for newbs. So, we're on the phone and Disney is checking prices and they came back with a passholder rate of $215 for Coronado. I had a fit. How can Coronado be $215, but Copper Creek was $280?

Did you not see all the USB ports the new Coronado rooms have? :rotfl:
 
That's all kinds of weird. I had the same thing happen with my regular WL room. Preferred at POR was like 235 or 240 a night and WL standard with passholder was like 250. No brainer. Sure the room decor is kinda tacky but I get it's a part of their old school national parks theme. At that price, there's no way I could justify staying at POR. The moderate room category creep is bound to continue with all this gondola stuff for sure.

I think they've revamped all the rooms. If not, Copper Creek definitely should be their model.
 
IMO, the logical approach to dining at Riviera is some multipurpose facility. That's what Geyser Point is and it's what they did when renovating Vero last year. Shared kitchen...one set of staff. But they'll have a dining room with table service and a nearby walk-up window offering carry out orders. The quick service window can open to the pool area while the dining room is indoors.

The rooftop restaurant may be open as little as one meal per day (dinner.) Have to wait and see how upscale it proves to be, how popular with non-guests, etc. Maybe they put a breakfast character meal in there, hoping to draw from the other gondola resorts.

The resort will (IMO) have a feature pool. It will have its own gondola stop, bus stop (perhaps with service shared with CBR), front desk, pool bar, gift shop (with groceries available), fitness center. I see no reason they would choose not to add minor amenities like BBQ pavilion and fire pit.

It will probably have some sports courts, but maybe not the full range (basketball, tennis, volleyball) since some will undoubtedly be duplicated at CBR. Similarly, I don't believe BoardWalk has volleyball court but Beach Club does.

IMO, the main unknowns are relatively minor things like:

Spa: maybe, thinking that it could draw added business from CBR, POP and AOA.
Community Hall: Probably. BLT is same size and it has one.
Marina, bike rentals and other recreation
Valet parking
 
I think they've revamped all the rooms. If not, Copper Creek definitely should be their model.

This was only a couple months ago that I stayed in the OG lodge rooms on the north side and they still have that old look, but it definitely could've been different from when you were there last. I personally like the look of the newer rooms based on the photos and videos I've seen. I definitely want to stay there as I like the whole WL area. I'm sure it's a big change from before but I like the outdoor lounge a lot more than a random beach.
 
Can we call them "wilderness lodge old and wilderness lodge new?"

This copper pot and bowling for dollars stuff only highlights that one was a good deal and one wasn't...

Don't get confused by the branding peeps
 
IMO, the logical approach to dining at Riviera is some multipurpose facility. That's what Geyser Point is and it's what they did when renovating Vero last year. Shared kitchen...one set of staff. But they'll have a dining room with table service and a nearby walk-up window offering carry out orders. The quick service window can open to the pool area while the dining room is indoors.

The rooftop restaurant may be open as little as one meal per day (dinner.) Have to wait and see how upscale it proves to be, how popular with non-guests, etc. Maybe they put a breakfast character meal in there, hoping to draw from the other gondola resorts.

The resort will (IMO) have a feature pool. It will have its own gondola stop, bus stop (perhaps with service shared with CBR), front desk, pool bar, gift shop (with groceries available), fitness center. I see no reason they would choose not to add minor amenities like BBQ pavilion and fire pit.

It will probably have some sports courts, but maybe not the full range (basketball, tennis, volleyball) since some will undoubtedly be duplicated at CBR. Similarly, I don't believe BoardWalk has volleyball court but Beach Club does.

IMO, the main unknowns are relatively minor things like:

Spa: maybe, thinking that it could draw added business from CBR, POP and AOA.
Community Hall: Probably. BLT is same size and it has one.
Marina, bike rentals and other recreation
Valet parking

Pretty fair analysis...

And based on those amenities and the relatively mundane themeing currently disclosed...I would never have a desire to book that over beach and boardwalk. Nope...it just doesn't have the non-dvc construction appeal I enjoy. I would use it as a overflow spot.

Now...if they turn back the clock 30 years and go above and beyond the basics - which we haven't really seen in a dvc - then the assessment could change.

As far as buying? (For you "company" trolls out there)

...nope. If anything...it would make me want to buy a resale (no money to disney) to supplement my existing contract on crescent lake. The more things they do...the more attractive that really becomes.
 

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