The new DVC Riviera Resort??

Absolutely. But if demand is high, at least it won’t make it worse.

I was actually pulling for it to be a VGF level Epcot resort, but those hopes/expectations were tempered when I spoke to a guide at the BWV model room. While I understand they’re pretty low-level front-liners with not much more information than what we get here, the conversation was not encouraging.

M: So I hear people are excited about this new Riviera business.
G: Yeah, it should be really popular with the new gondolas!
M: There were rumors it’s going to be like anotger VGF in terms of amenities and finishings. Like a high end Epcot version of this. Have you heard that?
G: I’m not sure it’ll be like the Grand Floridian. I think it may be more like Bay Lake.
Me: Really? Is that what they’re telling you?
G: They haven’t told us anything except showing us the artist drawings. In fact, they haven’t even said WHICH Riviera it is.
M: What? I thought it was pretty much given that it was the Mexican Riviera.
G: No. Think about it. All they’ve given us is a name and a a picture.
M: You’re not really making me excited about this.
[Guide laughs.]
M: No, I’m serious. I was hoping VGF.
G: It may be, but I heard it’ll be more like Bay Lake.

I understand not everyone wants a VGF style resort and that a favorable point chart and buy-in price would more likely determine the resort’s success, but if it’s a VGF point chart with a $200/pt buy-in, and BLT style “theming,” those gondolas better be the best thing since sliced bread, because if they shut down as often as the pools and friendship boats did when I was there because of lightening, that’s going to be a challenging proposition with zero walking options.
I'm hoping and frankly expecting, it'll be a midlevel demand and fairly neutral to the 7 month window. Regardless it's not possible to help the 7 mo window without either making internal exchanges more expensive in some way or increasing the demand of SSR/OKW which seems unlikely. I think a flagship level property is dramatically unlikely but even if it was that over the top, I expect it'll still struggle from a location standpoint. There will likely be shutdowns for lightning though there are ways to minimize the dangers and risk. I would assume it's the same rules as the boats follow.
 
There will likely be shutdowns for lightning though there are ways to minimize the dangers and risk. I would assume it's the same rules as the boats follow.

Why do they shut down the boats but they don’t shut down the buses? Because the boats are on the water and water conducts electricity. The buses are on the road, and it is true that they have rubber tires however in wet weather there is still some connection and conduction from the bus to the road. But they don’t shut buses down. The gondolas will Be shielded from lightning with a lightning rod system and will not be conducting the lightning to the cars. Therefore it really does not need to shut down like the boat.
 
As one engineer said, “People are always worried about lightning and gondolas. We just assumed that people would realize that they wouldn’t allow us to build them, if we couldn’t make them safe from lightning.”

And here is from a web article at ‘Behind the Scenes’, “The concerns over weather being a factor are a thing of the past, as modern cable based systems are enclosed and shielded. Lightning isn’t that big of a threat anymore, and winds would have to be over 40 mph before the gondolas need to be shut down.”
 
Why do they shut down the boats but they don’t shut down the buses? Because the boats are on the water and water conducts electricity. The buses are on the road, and it is true that they have rubber tires however in wet weather there is still some connection and conduction from the bus to the road. But they don’t shut buses down. The gondolas will Be shielded from lightning with a lightning rod system and will not be conducting the lightning to the cars. Therefore it really does not need to shut down like the boat.
When it comes to lightening strikes. It has nothing to do with conductive vs. non-conductive materials. Bus tires act as conductors, not insulators in a lightening strike (which is large part what keeps you safe in a bus). You could fill Crescent Lake with concrete, put bus tires on those boats and Disney will still shut them down for safety reasons. Buses, like cars, and like the gondolas can act as a faraday cage in terms of protecting occupants from being electrocuted. In fact, occupants inside of a Frenemy Boat could be equally safe if there were a rod/mast properly installed to ground a strike.

My assertion has never been that people will die in the gondolas from the lightening strikes. It’s that Disney will shut that down the system in lightening. If you’re asserting that Disney will NOT shut down in lightening storms, than we have very differing perspectives on the tolerance Disney (and its insurers) has for risk as it pertains to being a behemoth corporation with a giant target on its back in a litigious society.
 


My assertion has never been that people will die in the gondolas from the lightening strikes. It’s that Disney will shut down the system in lightening. If you’re asserting that Disney will NOT shut down in lightening storms, than we have very differing perspectives on the tolerance Disney (and its insurers) has for risk as it pertains to being a behemoth corporation with a giant target on its back in a litigious society.

This is perhaps true. However if Disney is shutting the gondolas down for discretionary reasons, not safety reasons, then that will make their system much much less user-friendly.

I think perhaps they will start out shutting it down in the beginning until they have a few confirmed lightning strikes on the system and then they might start to loosen it up.
 
The original question was if the resort was desirable, and in my case, I must say that we are not interested. WL area, monorail area and BW areas are more desirable to us, and AKV has the animals. All of those appeal to us more.
 
As one engineer said, “People are always worried about lightning and gondolas. We just assumed that people would realize that they wouldn’t allow us to build them, if we couldn’t make them safe from lightning.”

And here is from a web article at ‘Behind the Scenes’, “The concerns over weather being a factor are a thing of the past, as modern cable based systems are enclosed and shielded. Lightning isn’t that big of a threat anymore, and winds would have to be over 40 mph before the gondolas need to be shut down.”
I know there are thins they can do to decrease the risk but my understanding and my quick internet search suggests that even those get shut down when lightning is in the immediate area. We also know that Disney is risk averse so even if they didn't have to, they likely will shut them down in that situation. We'll see.
 


any chance the gondola system eventually connects AK and MK as well?

That could enhance the atttactiveness a ton if there are direct shots to other parks as well projected in the future

Without looking at the map, not sure this is possible but would be cool nonetheless
 
any chance the gondola system eventually connects AK and MK as well?

That could enhance the atttactiveness a ton if there are direct shots to other parks as well projected in the future

Without looking at the map, not sure this is possible but would be cool nonetheless

AK makes a lot more sense than MK does. I thought I read a rumor that that was part of their "Phase 2" plans.
 
any chance the gondola system eventually connects AK and MK as well?

That could enhance the atttactiveness a ton if there are direct shots to other parks as well projected in the future

Without looking at the map, not sure this is possible but would be cool nonetheless

IF the gondola works AS EXPECTED, then I could see Disney expanding the system in several phases over the next 10 to 15 years.

Gondolas cost $3 million to $10 million per mile. A pittance when compared to Disneys budget.

Coronado Springs is about a mile from Hollywood Studios.

Animal Kingdom Park is about a mile and a half from Coronado Springs.

AK Lodges are about half a mile from AK Park.

OKW and Port Orleans are about 1 mile from Epcot, on the other side.

The outlier is MK which is about 4 to 5 miles. But they will almost certainly build a connection, eventually, to some monorail resort, or at least the transportation center.

All distances are ‘as PETER Pan flies,’ and not road distances.

So, eventually, yeah. I seethe gondolas going everywhere.
 
I'm hoping and frankly expecting, it'll be a midlevel demand and fairly neutral to the 7 month window. Regardless it's not possible to help the 7 mo window without either making internal exchanges more expensive in some way or increasing the demand of SSR/OKW which seems unlikely. I think a flagship level property is dramatically unlikely but even if it was that over the top, I expect it'll still struggle from a location standpoint. There will likely be shutdowns for lightning though there are ways to minimize the dangers and risk. I would assume it's the same rules as the boats follow.

Once just a few of all the folks who buy into Riveria figure out that their 100 points can get them 2 nights at Riviera or 4 nights at BCV or BWV, I think it will make getting a reservation at BCV or BWV at 7 months, which is already difficult, next to impossible. It may also impact the other smaller DVC resorts (BRV?), but agree that it will probably be fairly neutral to the larger or more point-sucking locations. However, who knows how it will all pan out, although it is fun to speculate :)
 
Once just a few of all the folks who buy into Riveria figure out that their 100 points can get them 2 nights at Riviera or 4 nights at BCV or BWV, I think it will make getting a reservation at BCV or BWV at 7 months, which is already difficult, next to impossible. It may also impact the other smaller DVC resorts (BRV?), but agree that it will probably be fairly neutral to the larger or more point-sucking locations. However, who knows how it will all pan out, although it is fun to speculate :)
You'll have 2 groups, those that buy it specifically because that's where they want to own and those who buy it because that's what Disney is selling. The former won't use points elsewhere hardly at all, the latter will do so more. But that's no different than BLT, Poly or VGF. Then they'll figure out it's more difficult to do so. We'll see where it lands but it'll likely be roughly the same as AKV in my expectation.
 
Once just a few of all the folks who buy into Riveria figure out that their 100 points can get them 2 nights at Riviera or 4 nights at BCV or BWV, I think it will make getting a reservation at BCV or BWV at 7 months, which is already difficult, next to impossible. It may also impact the other smaller DVC resorts (BRV?), but agree that it will probably be fairly neutral to the larger or more point-sucking locations. However, who knows how it will all pan out, although it is fun to speculate :)

I'm sure that's true of any new resort, though, not just Riviera. The end date for BCV, BWV, and BRV will all scare many people away from buying them, even if they are interested in staying there. On top of that, those who buy in to those places are doing so with the intention of only staying there the majority of the time, which is why they were willing to spend more per point to own there. The closer we get to the end dates of those resorts, as well as the more resorts are added, the harder it will be to get into the older, smaller ones.
 
You'll have 2 groups, those that buy it specifically because that's where they want to own and those who buy it because that's what Disney is selling. The former won't use points elsewhere hardly at all, the latter will do so more. But that's no different than BLT, Poly or VGF. Then they'll figure out it's more difficult to do so. We'll see where it lands but it'll likely be roughly the same as AKV in my expectation.

I agree. However, I believe the latter group will look first to find value at BCV and BWV - part of the reason they will buy at Riviera is the appeal of Boardwalk/EPCOT/HS. AKV owners looking to book elsewhere at 7-months have no other similar options near AKV and thus are more evenly spread throughout the DVC system.
 
AK makes a lot more sense than MK does. I thought I read a rumor that that was part of their "Phase 2" plans.
The rumors I’ve read suggest that some non bus transportation option between AK & AKL has been bandied about - but not gondolas. I’ve also seen conjecture that a gondola system connecting AKL/CSR to AK or some park was being considered.

My concern with Riviera is that the gondola routes as designed will be problematic for that resort. How long you wait to go to Epcot will be very much dependent on how many empty cabins they send from the CBR hub and to get to/from DHS you’ll have to get off at CBR and get in line w/ the CBR, AOL & Pop Century folks for the second gondola. I’m curious how the stations will be set up - will you have to hike up and down ramps to go from one gondola line to the other? I can see that while the IG Epcot station looks to be convenient, although the crowd at closing I suspect will be a zoo, the DHS station is quite the hike from park entry (as are the new bus stops) I hope they at least plant some trees for shade and put some benches along that route.

At this point I see the Riviera as at the same level as the moderate CBR except, because I like landscaping and lower buildings, not as pretty as CBR because Riviera is a tower w/out much in the way of grounds/landscaping.

Regarding it's popularity - it depends a lot on point cost to stay, I suspect, as well as relative size. Cheaper point cost villas seem to disappear fastest at the smaller resorts.
Along those lines here are the 'room' (not max) totals for the WDW DVC resorts from smallest to largest:
VGF : 100
AKV-Jambo : 134
BRV : 136
CCV : 184
BC : 208
BLT : 295
AKV-Kidani : 324
Riviera : 341
Poly : 380
BWV : 383
AKV-combined : 458
OKW : 531
SSR : 828
 
Anyone want to take a guess when they'll open Riviera to purchase? We just bought 100 Poly points resale and we'll be looking to add on 75 direct points from Disney. We definitely would like to buy something in the Epcot area.

We'll be down last week in January/first week February, and plan on meeting with the DVC people. Because we are Canadian, we have to be on property to purchase direct from Disney, and therefor won't be able to again until our next trip. :sad:
 
Anyone want to take a guess when they'll open Riviera to purchase? We just bought 100 Poly points resale and we'll be looking to add on 75 direct points from Disney. We definitely would like to buy something in the Epcot area.

We'll be down last week in January/first week February, and plan on meeting with the DVC people. Because we are Canadian, we have to be on property to purchase direct from Disney, and therefor won't be able to again until our next trip. :sad:

Odds are that they kick off later than that unless CCV picks up.
 
I agree. However, I believe the latter group will look first to find value at BCV and BWV - part of the reason they will buy at Riviera is the appeal of Boardwalk/EPCOT/HS. AKV owners looking to book elsewhere at 7-months have no other similar options near AKV and thus are more evenly spread throughout the DVC system.
For a subgroup that are truly informed, yes but a fairly large % will want to use it here and there. They sold SSR, they'll sell this no matter the specifics. But the actual resort and points will determine the demand. It's no different to any other new resort, including Poly.
 
FWIW, liftblog.com has a lot of nerding going on about the Skyliner, and a lot of info on other gondola systems.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!









Top