Poll: Are you going to buy at Riviera

[Bruin_mouse]

Congrats! And this right here is the other side of the coin. While people like me hem and haw over the potential resale restrictions, using resale to book Riviera, price per point, etc., here is someone who knows that they are guaranteed a room in a gorgeous new resort in one of the hardest to book weeks of the year. If one takes a moment to stop analyzing and start living, I'm pretty sure that's worth it. Congrats on snagging what will certainly become a high demand guaranteed studio week!

Thank you for the kind words. I wish I could claim some special wisdom about everything DVC but the truth is I stumbled onto this board a year and a half ago with absolutely no clue about the Disney Vacation Club. It’s only through people’s generosity with their time and knowledge here that I learned a lot and have avoided very costly mistakes as I bought into DVC, almost all through buying resale contracts. While I believe very strongly in buying on the resale market, I came to the conclusion Tuesday that this was a special opportunity for a lot of reasons (almost all of which you mention) so I bought it. I have no idea what will happen with resale values at Riviera (or anywhere else), but the almost endless supply of knowledge selflessly shared by this community has given me the confidence, that for me, my purchase is a good value.

 

[CarolMN]

Changed my vote from Maybe to No.

I really, really still want to buy DRR, but won't. We are in our late 60's/early 70's w/o grandchildren, so the restrictions associated with resale purchases are a deal breaker. Our traveling days are likely to be over within the next 5 years or so.

But I still want to buy, LOL! The resort won't be open for our early December trip, but the gondolas should be in regular service. I'm hoping a ride on them from DHS to EPCOT will satisfy my heart. I don't expect availability at 7 months for the times we like to go.

 

[TexasChick123]

Changed my vote from Maybe to No.

I really, really still want to buy DRR, but won't. We are in our late 60's/early 70's w/o grandchildren, so the restrictions associated with resale purchases are a deal breaker. Our traveling days are likely to be over within the next 5 years or so.

But I still want to buy, LOL! The resort won't be open for our early December trip, but the gondolas should be in regular service. I'm hoping a ride on them from DHS to EPCOT will satisfy my heart. I don't expect availability at 7 months for the times we like to go.

I think you are making a wise decision. I know that you cannot predict the future, but I don’t plan on buying any other resorts unless they build them inside the actual parks. LOL! I know when BWV 2 and BCV 2 go on sale they’ll sell well, but they’d expire when I’m 109 (aka dead) if they somehow magically offered them for sale in 2042. My kids will be in their 80s when they expire. Bottom line, I completely agree with your reasoning. Unless you want to buy to leave them to your kids/grandkids, it’s a tough sell the older we all get. :/

 

[CarolMN]

I think you are making a wise decision. I know that you cannot predict the future, but I don’t plan on buying any other resorts unless they build them inside the actual parks. LOL! I know when BWV 2 and BCV 2 go on sale they’ll sell well, but they’d expire when I’m 109 (aka dead) if they somehow magically offered them for sale in 2042. My kids will be in their 80s when they expire. Bottom line, I completely agree with your reasoning. Unless you want to buy to leave them to your kids/grandkids, it’s a tough sell the older we all get. :/

Thanks.

(Plus we own at BWV and that's still where we want to be most of the time).

 

[ELMC]

I think at some point we all start trying to time the expiration dates of our DVC with our own, if you catch my drift.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Changed my vote from Maybe to No.

I really, really still want to buy DRR, but won't. We are in our late 60's/early 70's w/o grandchildren, so the restrictions associated with resale purchases are a deal breaker. Our traveling days are likely to be over within the next 5 years or so.

But I still want to buy, LOL! The resort won't be open for our early December trip, but the gondolas should be in regular service. I'm hoping a ride on them from DHS to EPCOT will satisfy my heart. I don't expect availability at 7 months for the times we like to go.

In our 70’s, and still WANT TO buy, but probably won’t.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

We too are in our 60's. I hope we can travel 10 more years. Won't be buying at Riviera. Just downsized so we are done.

 

[AvidDisReader]

So what is your life situation, that is what it comes down to for all of us. I am in mid 60's, have 3 adult children and 7 grandchildren. Cannot contemplate selling any of our points. Going with grand children and see the joy is like going for the first time. We love the family trips, have some one on one with a grand child, and the occasionally couple only-yes after 42 years of marriage we still enjoy just going by ourselves. Would I buy at DRR, no as I would be over 110 at expiration so that is not going to happen. As it is, will not outlive the expiration of existing contracts. But We both live for the next trip.

 

[Phatscott25]

SO - not saying I am going to buy at Riviera - but I DO think there are rational reasons to buy at Riviera, but in my mind all the following would have to apply.

1) You like what you see of the resort.
2) You want an Epcot and/or DHS area resort.
3) You want a longer lifetime than BWV/BCV gives you.
4) You want member benefits.
5) You feel the likelyhood of needing to sell in the near future (5-10 years) is small.
And here's the biggest one:
6) You can afford the extra money.

I fall into all of these except #4 (only because I already have them) and that's why I bought. Now that bloggers have shown pics of the models I feel even better about it.

 

[TexasChick123]

I fall into all of these except #4 (only because I already have them) and that's why I bought. Now that bloggers have shown pics of the models I feel even better about it.

Me too.

 

[skier_pete]

I fall into all of these except #4 (only because I already have them) and that's why I bought. Now that bloggers have shown pics of the models I feel even better about it.

Me too.

I do think that Riviera is not an unreasonable resort to buy at. The location - or at least location combined with gondolas - is pretty strong. (You are 5 minutes from Epcot plus the Boardwalk entertainment area.) The room distribution is probably the best they've done since BLT. (No ridiculous Bungalows/Cabins sucking up points.) And while the points are slightly on the high side, they are outrageously high like VGF and Poly. (Without the danger of the Poly redistributing points away from those Bungalows - which I am sure they will try and do again.) Is it the best "value" in the DVC arsenal? Nope, but as I said, if you can afford it, not the worst idea either.

 

[TexasChick123]

I have thought a lot about everything being said over the last few weeks regarding Riviera. Is this a sound financial decision? No. Investing in the stock market has much better returns. If anyone is buying any timeshare thinking there are little to no risks associated with them, then they have pixie dust in their eyes.

We recently purchased a resale VGC contract for $165pp. While that is a good price for today's market, it is nowhere near the lowest people have purchased VGC for in the past. I think it went on sale around $112pp direct from Disney. We spent a lot of time debating whether or not we should wait for a recession to pick up some VGC points or buy now. My problem is that the timing of the next recession is impossible to predict. There are many indicators we are going into one now. There were many indicators a few years ago and a few before that as well. We purchased our home in 2013, and everyone knew we were headed into a recession because the fed couldn't raise interest rates by even the smallest amount without the market reacting dramatically. Here we are 6 years later, and no recession. There will be a recession at some point, and I hope to capitalize on it as best I can, but I cannot live my life waiting on one to happen. The best thing for any of us to do is buy our house, cars, vacations homes, stocks, etc. during the recession, yet very few of us do it. I do see that a timeshare is not as necessary as a home, but you get my point.

At the end of the day, I think (or I hope) most of us purchase these resorts based on where we want to stay. Many many people have purchased resorts that I do not like at all, but it is not my place to judge them or how they spend their money. Some of the resorts I don't like are some of the more sought after resorts, but I am not going to post about how much I didn't like them because it is rude when you think about how much money people have spent on these purchases. I think we all need to take a deep breath and be happy if we did purchase or happy if we did not and don't want to. Ok. I'm off my soap box now.

 

[ray3127]

SO - not saying I am going to buy at Riviera - but I DO think there are rational reasons to buy at Riviera, but in my mind all the following would have to apply.

1) You like what you see of the resort.
2) You want an Epcot and/or DHS area resort.
3) You want a longer lifetime than BWV/BCV gives you.
4) You want member benefits.
5) You feel the likelyhood of needing to sell in the near future (5-10 years) is small.
And here's the biggest one:
6) You can afford the extra money.

I think this list is a great accounting of who fits the Riviera mold. It also more or less applies to me, and has made me think about this decision an awful lot the last few days.

We have 200 BCV & 160 BLT. We wanted a direct add-on, and a week ago my guide called with BLT points available. We don't really need the extra points at BLT or BCV specifically, but we want to qualify for direct benefits before they up the ante again and could use a few more points for flexibility. We are also buying APs within the next two weeks, so getting this done sooner rather than later would be ideal. The timing was right; I was set to buy 75 extra BLT.

Then Riviera came out. We like the look of it. We don't *need* another Epcot resort, BUT, we'd rather have more points with easier access to our two favorite parks than MK (MK area is wonderful, but with only one park, our BLT contract really covers it fine). DW & I are 31/32 and have young kids, so we'd like a longer contract than BCV (though the BLT contract is plenty long). RIV is also cheaper than BLT, and we could buy a few more points for the same cash outlay. With banking/borrowing among those 3 resorts, we would be covered pretty well if we bought RIV, with about 2/3 points at Epcot-area & 1/3 MK-area.

And if I'm going to pay direct prices, I might as well open up home resort priority at a new resort, right? We visit every Christmas/New Year's for 10 days, every other-ish March for 7 days, and every-otherish Sept/Oct for a long weekend. We need home resort priority for every visit except the March one.

Despite all that, I'm still leaning towards going for the BLT points for now. My big concerns are:
- "Access to two parks"... I'm not convinced. I have to believe the gondolas will work, but walking beats any form of transportation. If there's a huge line-up at the gondolas at rush hour times (or ever, frankly), I will not be happy. My monorail (and bus, for that matter) experiences, do not give me faith that these gondolas will be a slam dunk.
- Resale restrictions... while we have absolutely no plans to sell, you never know.
- How will Riviera "feel"? I know what the MK & Epcot areas feel like... we love the vibes there. The Riviera feels a little isolated, and has Caribbean Beach right there... will the gondolas change that, and give it a cool new vibe? Will we like it? It's impossible to say.

That's not a looooong list of concerns, and two of them could turn into pros (the gondolas and the vibe), but it's enough for me to lean towards the known commodity, BLT, for now. However, I've flipped on this a dozen times, and can't really settle on one or the other. I know it's my decision, but any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[TexasChick123]

I think this list is a great accounting of who fits the Riviera mold. It also more or less applies to me, and has made me think about this decision an awful lot the last few days.

We have 200 BCV & 160 BLT. We wanted a direct add-on, and a week ago my guide called with BLT points available. We don't really need the extra points at BLT or BCV specifically, but we want to qualify for direct benefits before they up the ante again and could use a few more points for flexibility. We are also buying APs within the next two weeks, so getting this done sooner rather than later would be ideal. The timing was right; I was set to buy 75 extra BLT.

Then Riviera came out. We like the look of it. We don't *need* another Epcot resort, BUT, we'd rather have more points with easier access to our two favorite parks than MK (MK area is wonderful, but with only one park, our BLT contract really covers it fine). DW & I are 31/32 and have young kids, so we'd like a longer contract than BCV (though the BLT contract is plenty long). RIV is also cheaper than BLT, and we could buy a few more points for the same cash outlay. With banking/borrowing among those 3 resorts, we would be covered pretty well if we bought RIV, with about 2/3 points at Epcot-area & 1/3 MK-area.

And if I'm going to pay direct prices, I might as well open up home resort priority at a new resort, right? We visit every Christmas/New Year's for 10 days, every other-ish March for 7 days, and every-otherish Sept/Oct for a long weekend. We need home resort priority for every visit except the March one.

Despite all that, I'm still leaning towards going for the BLT points for now. My big concerns are:
- "Access to two parks"... I'm not convinced. I have to believe the gondolas will work, but walking beats any form of transportation. If there's a huge line-up at the gondolas at rush hour times (or ever, frankly), I will not be happy. My monorail (and bus, for that matter) experiences, do not give me faith that these gondolas will be a slam dunk.
- Resale restrictions... while we have absolutely no plans to sell, you never know.
- How will Riviera "feel"? I know what the MK & Epcot areas feel like... we love the vibes there. The Riviera feels a little isolated, and has Caribbean Beach right there... will the gondolas change that, and give it a cool new vibe? Will we like it? It's impossible to say.

That's not a looooong list of concerns, and two of them could turn into pros (the gondolas and the vibe), but it's enough for me to lean towards the known commodity, BLT, for now. However, I've flipped on this a dozen times, and can't really settle on one or the other. I know it's my decision, but any thoughts are appreciated.

I think in your situation, the best thing to do may be to wait until RR opens and make a decision then. There will be long lines for the gondolas at closing, but nothing like the monorail IMO. You cannot compare walking to BCV from Epcot with a gondola. Where the gondola is more advantageous than BCV IMO is its connection to HS. BCV and BWV still have a superior location compared to RR with respect to EP but not to HS. I almost always prefer walking to another form of transportation. This resort looks to be more luxurious than those two to me, but others may disagree.

Since you are looking at a difference of $2775, I would wait. That is a large difference between BLT and RR. You may find that RR is not for you, and then you will be happy to purchase more BLT. However, if you find that RR would be a great resort to own for your family and you paid almost $3k extra for BLT, then you will probably be upset. Just my $.02.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

So what is your life situation, that is what it comes down to for all of us. I am in mid 60's, have 3 adult children and 7 grandchildren. Cannot contemplate selling any of our points. Going with grand children and see the joy is like going for the first time. We love the family trips, have some one on one with a grand child, and the occasionally couple only-yes after 42 years of marriage we still enjoy just going by ourselves. Would I buy at DRR, no as I would be over 110 at expiration so that is not going to happen. As it is, will not outlive the expiration of existing contracts. But We both live for the next trip.

*** Welcome !!! ***

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Changed my vote from Maybe to No.

I really, really still want to buy DRR, but won't. We are in our late 60's/early 70's w/o grandchildren, so the restrictions associated with resale purchases are a deal breaker. Our traveling days are likely to be over within the next 5 years or so.

But I still want to buy, LOL! The resort won't be open for our early December trip, but the gondolas should be in regular service. I'm hoping a ride on them from DHS to EPCOT will satisfy my heart. I don't expect availability at 7 months for the times we like to go.

I always say to never discount waitlists and how you can be surprised by what does show up available at 7 months. Especially if you stay in anything other than studios - or maybe are willing to change it up for that 1 trip.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I always say to never discount waitlists and how you can be surprised by what does show up available at 7 months. Especially if you stay in anything other than studios - or maybe are willing to change it up for that 1 trip.

The problem for me is just how expensive compared to two bedrooms the one bedrooms are going to be in the future. When I have a Standard View one bedroom at BWV, I find myself unwilling to add more points for a one bedroom anyplace else. I do think I will be trying Riviera whenever the first opportunity comes around.

 

[skier_pete]

I think this list is a great accounting of who fits the Riviera mold. It also more or less applies to me, and has made me think about this decision an awful lot the last few days.

We have 200 BCV & 160 BLT. We wanted a direct add-on, and a week ago my guide called with BLT points available. We don't really need the extra points at BLT or BCV specifically, but we want to qualify for direct benefits before they up the ante again and could use a few more points for flexibility. We are also buying APs within the next two weeks, so getting this done sooner rather than later would be ideal. The timing was right; I was set to buy 75 extra BLT.

Then Riviera came out. We like the look of it. We don't *need* another Epcot resort, BUT, we'd rather have more points with easier access to our two favorite parks than MK (MK area is wonderful, but with only one park, our BLT contract really covers it fine). DW & I are 31/32 and have young kids, so we'd like a longer contract than BCV (though the BLT contract is plenty long). RIV is also cheaper than BLT, and we could buy a few more points for the same cash outlay. With banking/borrowing among those 3 resorts, we would be covered pretty well if we bought RIV, with about 2/3 points at Epcot-area & 1/3 MK-area.

And if I'm going to pay direct prices, I might as well open up home resort priority at a new resort, right? We visit every Christmas/New Year's for 10 days, every other-ish March for 7 days, and every-otherish Sept/Oct for a long weekend. We need home resort priority for every visit except the March one.

Despite all that, I'm still leaning towards going for the BLT points for now. My big concerns are:
- "Access to two parks"... I'm not convinced. I have to believe the gondolas will work, but walking beats any form of transportation. If there's a huge line-up at the gondolas at rush hour times (or ever, frankly), I will not be happy. My monorail (and bus, for that matter) experiences, do not give me faith that these gondolas will be a slam dunk.
- Resale restrictions... while we have absolutely no plans to sell, you never know.
- How will Riviera "feel"? I know what the MK & Epcot areas feel like... we love the vibes there. The Riviera feels a little isolated, and has Caribbean Beach right there... will the gondolas change that, and give it a cool new vibe? Will we like it? It's impossible to say.

That's not a looooong list of concerns, and two of them could turn into pros (the gondolas and the vibe), but it's enough for me to lean towards the known commodity, BLT, for now. However, I've flipped on this a dozen times, and can't really settle on one or the other. I know it's my decision, but any thoughts are appreciated.

I agree with what @TexasChick123 says - I would just wait 9 months if I were you - or until your next trip. BLT direct and RIV direct are not going to change in any meaningful way in the next year. To me the gondolas are going to work splendidly. The capacity is such that they can handle an entire busload every 2 minutes. Yes they are servicing 4 resorts, but that's still 30 bus-loads an hour. If you think about one bus leaving a resort every 15 minutes for Epcot - which is generous, and 4 resorts, that's not just double the capacity of the current bus system, but a continuous load situation. I think there will very rarely be more than a 2-3 minute wait for the gondolas, though it's hard to predict how they will end up handling them at Riviera. (They'll have to keep some gondolas empty from Epcot and CBR to handle Riviera capacity, probably around 1 out of every 3 or 4.) Even at the end of the day - they'll going to take people as a continuous loading process. I could see a 5-10 minute wait during the biggest surge after park closing, but it's still less than having to stand in the front of the park for 40 minutes waiting for the full bus to load. Remember, the gondolas are continuous loaders. Waiting in line for a continuous loader is psychologically much easier than waiting for a boat or a bus or even a monorail...you are constantly moving in line, similar to when you wait in line. Do you easily get annoyed at a 10 minute wait for a ride in the parks? I just think people are going to think the gondola is the bees knees. The big question mark to me is how often does it need to be shut down for weather.

But the main issue I see is what you describe as the "vibe". Can they make it feel isolated enough from Caribbean Beach that you don't feel like you are overlooking a moderate resort. Only way to tell is when it's open.

 

[Bruin_mouse]

I think this list is a great accounting of who fits the Riviera mold. It also more or less applies to me, and has made me think about this decision an awful lot the last few days.

We have 200 BCV & 160 BLT. We wanted a direct add-on, and a week ago my guide called with BLT points available. We don't really need the extra points at BLT or BCV specifically, but we want to qualify for direct benefits before they up the ante again and could use a few more points for flexibility. We are also buying APs within the next two weeks, so getting this done sooner rather than later would be ideal. The timing was right; I was set to buy 75 extra BLT.

Then Riviera came out. We like the look of it. We don't *need* another Epcot resort, BUT, we'd rather have more points with easier access to our two favorite parks than MK (MK area is wonderful, but with only one park, our BLT contract really covers it fine). DW & I are 31/32 and have young kids, so we'd like a longer contract than BCV (though the BLT contract is plenty long). RIV is also cheaper than BLT, and we could buy a few more points for the same cash outlay. With banking/borrowing among those 3 resorts, we would be covered pretty well if we bought RIV, with about 2/3 points at Epcot-area & 1/3 MK-area.

And if I'm going to pay direct prices, I might as well open up home resort priority at a new resort, right? We visit every Christmas/New Year's for 10 days, every other-ish March for 7 days, and every-otherish Sept/Oct for a long weekend. We need home resort priority for every visit except the March one.

Despite all that, I'm still leaning towards going for the BLT points for now. My big concerns are:
- "Access to two parks"... I'm not convinced. I have to believe the gondolas will work, but walking beats any form of transportation. If there's a huge line-up at the gondolas at rush hour times (or ever, frankly), I will not be happy. My monorail (and bus, for that matter) experiences, do not give me faith that these gondolas will be a slam dunk.
- Resale restrictions... while we have absolutely no plans to sell, you never know.
- How will Riviera "feel"? I know what the MK & Epcot areas feel like... we love the vibes there. The Riviera feels a little isolated, and has Caribbean Beach right there... will the gondolas change that, and give it a cool new vibe? Will we like it? It's impossible to say.

That's not a looooong list of concerns, and two of them could turn into pros (the gondolas and the vibe), but it's enough for me to lean towards the known commodity, BLT, for now. However, I've flipped on this a dozen times, and can't really settle on one or the other. I know it's my decision, but any thoughts are appreciated.

Not to be contrary to the folks that are advising you to wait but one data point to consider is that both VGF and PVB had a $5/point price increase less than a month after going on sale, though CCV did not. My guide told me this is dictated by the pace of sales. From the comments my guide made about how sales have been going, and just my own observation, I think we will see a price increase for Riviera sooner rather than later. Good luck wth your decision!

 

[lovin'fl]

Totally didn't want to buy here (already have Epcot resort, 255 at BWV). But I am away and I got a text from DH. He got the brochure in the mail...and...he likes it. I don't think he wants to buy though.