Riviera Pricing and Point charts

[Lensman]

I'm sorry, but I could not imagine buying in so I could have the pleasure of staying in a room with a Murphy bed. Who honestly would want to come back to your room at the end of the night and fold down your bed? If I was sleeping on a boat docked on crescent lake, sure maybe, but a hotel? For the same proce I can be in a real studio room at OKW? The restaurants and all the other simply do not make up for it. The only way and I mean only way was If those studios were by themselves and there was like special lounges with happy hours or continental breakfast, maybe a communal kitchen like a hostel lol. that you got access to for staying there. Hey who knows could being its future.

How much time have you spent on a Murphy bed? I spend about a month a year on one and they're really quite good. I even put the one I use up even though I don't have to just to have some extra room.

Is it just the idea of it or do you have a concern about comfort, support, or other aspects? There are limitations on the kind of mattress you can use in them but I don't think you're complaining about them not having a pillowtop or memory foam hybrid mattress.

As a potential analogy, I'll say that I don't like the one wall kitchen design of the newer DVCs. This more to do with impression than an actual functionality concern, since they have about the same amount of space as the previous small kitchen designs, though they don't have a kitchen work triangle.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

How much time have you spent on a Murphy bed? I spend about a month a year on one and they're really quite good. I even put the one I use up even though I don't have to just to have some extra room.

Is it just the idea of it or do you have a concern about comfort, support, or other aspects? There are limitations on the kind of mattress you can use in them but I don't think you're complaining about them not having a pillowtop or memory foam hybrid mattress.

As a potential analogy, I'll say that I don't like the one wall kitchen design of the newer DVCs. This more to do with impression than an actual functionality concern, since they have about the same amount of space as the previous small kitchen designs, though they don't have a kitchen work triangle.

What is the sq footage of the room? I assume it's small they are limiting it to two people. I have no issue with a Murphy bed, but on vacation, especially when I don't have made service or a cabin steward setting the bed up it sounds ridiculous. The Murphy bed is there because the room is so dang small

 

[xdan0920]

In my profession, being pedantic is a feature, not a bug! It's not an insult, even though it might be meant as such! Lol

That’s why I asked what she did for a living.

 

[correcaminos]

In my profession, being pedantic is a feature, not a bug! It's not an insult, even though it might be meant as such! Lol

I'm curious, what profession is that (if you can share)?

I no longer work full time anymore. However, I have worked in telecom and IT where being accurate is important - though not to the level of being what I consider pedantic. I do also work with clients for a site I work on (small company - you get hired to do web work for a business you love and then you wind up doing sales because you know the product so darn well). It's a crazy mix of knowing your stuff and being almost a friend or counselor of sorts when selling the right luxury item. There are days when patience is more important there than anything else

I'm sorry, but I could not imagine buying in so I could have the pleasure of staying in a room with a Murphy bed. Who honestly would want to come back to your room at the end of the night and fold down your bed? If I was sleeping on a boat docked on crescent lake, sure maybe, but a hotel? For the same price I can be in a real studio room at OKW? The restaurants and all the other simply do not make up for it. The only way and I mean only way was If those studios were by themselves and there was like special lounges with happy hours or continental breakfast, maybe a communal kitchen like a hostel lol. that you got access to for staying there. Hey who knows could be in its future.

You could be lazy like we do when we open that fold out couch, that sucker stays out. I'm not as concerned about comfort with these as they are simply platform beds which is fine by me (and what I sleep on).

The small studios do not appeal to me. Not because of the murphy bed but because of the size. Part of why we like DVC is for space. I'm curious to see how well received these will be.

What is the sq footage of the room? I assume it's small they are limiting it to two people. I have no issue with a Murphy bed, but on vacation, especially when I don't have made service or a cabin steward setting the bed up it sounds ridiculous. The Murphy bed is there because the room is so dang small

225 is the reported size.

 

[Lensman]

I'm curious, what profession is that (if you can share)?

I'm a software development manager. I hire a lot of software developers and I've learned to put up with and even appreciate a bit of pedanticism. I would call it "excess accuracy". Even back in college my hallmates and I would joke about everyone's bias towards excess precision and accuracy. (So much so that we used to have short discussions about the difference between precision and accuracy every time the word came up in conversation, lol)

Anyway, professionally, I agree that false/excess pedanticism is counterproductive, but I feel that a certain amount of it is a good sign of the perfectionism needed to "speak to the compiler". After all, the compiler is the most pedantic one of us all.

Another area that I feel some amount of pedanticism is useful is business analysis and software testing. The creation and understanding of accurate specifications or user stories is critical to creating software that both works and achieves its intent. Assumptions that the reader will "understand what I mean" lead to occasional inaccurate interpretations and therefore, bugs. Speaking of which, I figured you would have guessed at my profession since I left the "feature not a bug" hint. Ha! It's all good, though!

I agree about what you said about the crazy mix between the customer/human side of the work and the more pedantic/engineering side of the work.

225 is the reported size.

That's pretty small, that includes the square footage for the bathroom, right? I think hotel rooms are quoted that way.

The All Star rooms are 260 square feet.

I bet the rooms are "sized to price" like IKEA furniture is "designed to price" - that is, the price is upfront part of the original requirement/specification and the design followed from that.

Note: I was curious about the idea of having only a Murphy bed in a hotel room and found a number of hotels with some rooms having only a Murphy bed - the JW Marriott Washington DC, for one, and another in NYC. (of course!)

I too await reviews of the room and the bed. I read one online review of another hotel that complained about the difficulty of getting into bed over the couch arms so that's another aspect I want to read a review on.

 

[MisterPenguin]

even appreciate a bit of pedanticism

Um, actually... the preferred abstract nominal form is 'pedantry.'

 

[GoofGoof]

I could be wrong, but I think I heard/read that when Riviera is sold resale, it will not be able to be used at the original "legacy" DVC resorts, however the points will be able to be used at the Riviera Resort, the Reflections Resort, and any other DVC resort that comes afterwards. If you are looking to sell your Riviera points within the next 5 years of so, this may be an issue, but think about 10 or 15 years from now. There could be a handful of resorts that will be available to use these points. Plus, it will be the newest DVC resorts on property. These could be more valuable than buying into one of the legacy resorts resale. Plus, the contracts for the legacy resorts will expire before these newer resorts. Less years for your $$$.

The new DVC model is that resale purchases on any new resort (starting with Riviera) will only have the right to book at their home resort. No trade ins. They probably would have made this same rule for resale purchases on existing resorts but they couldn’t legally. Since this rule is spelled out from the start of Riviera direct sales it’s perfectly legal but it wouldn’t be legal to change the rules for existing resorts.

The legacy resorts will continue to allow new resale buyers there to trade in at any of the legacy resorts (prior to Riviera) but they won’t be able to trade into Riviera or any new resorts built. This restriction is only on new resale buyers so if you bought resale before the cutoff or buy direct you will still be allowed to trade into the new resorts.

I think the rule change will only increase the value of the legacy resorts on the resale market. IMHO those resorts will be more popular then buying resale at the new resorts because of the flexibility to trade in. If someone really wants to only stay at Riviera or is adding on points they may be cool with the restriction but for the average buyer I think that flexibility adds value. Time will tell.

 

[nickys]

What is the sq footage of the room? I assume it's small they are limiting it to two people. I have no issue with a Murphy bed, but on vacation, especially when I don't have made service or a cabin steward setting the bed up it sounds ridiculous. The Murphy bed is there because the room is so dang small

I think the Murphy bed is there because the surveys found that couples looking for a getaway at WDW wanted a room without a bed and a sofa.

They liked the idea of it not being a “studio” room in the traditional sense. The extra bed / sofa just cluttered up the space when it wasn’t needed. This way, by day you just have a small lounge area, even the kitchenette is hidden away.

 

[seascape]

The new DVC model is that resale purchases on any new resort (starting with Riviera) will only have the right to book at their home resort. No trade ins. They probably would have made this same rule for resale purchases on existing resorts but they couldn’t legally. Since this rule is spelled out from the start of Riviera direct sales it’s perfectly legal but it wouldn’t be legal to change the rules for existing resorts.

The legacy resorts will continue to allow new resale buyers there to trade in at any of the legacy resorts (prior to Riviera) but they won’t be able to trade into Riviera or any new resorts built. This restriction is only on new resale buyers so if you bought resale before the cutoff or buy direct you will still be allowed to trade into the new resorts.

I think the rule change will only increase the value of the legacy resorts on the resale market. IMHO those resorts will be more popular then buying resale at the new resorts because of the flexibility to trade in. If someone really wants to only stay at Riviera or is adding on points they may be cool with the restriction but for the average buyer I think that flexibility adds value. Time will tell.

Actually, Disney did not say you cant trade into the other resorts. They actually said you would still be able to trade using RCI. The difference is that any reservation made with RCI has a 199 resort fee to Disney. They don't charge a trading fee and since all trades are made by Disney, they would get priority over outside RCI trades. It's a bad deal but still possible.

 

[eliza61nyc]

T
But it does make the tower studio rooms even more puzzling. I don't know many folks who enjoy "opulent / upscale" hotels with rooms the size of large closets.

lol, you haven't been to france lately then. pretty much the definition of a Paris hotel. they are tiny.

 

[eliza61nyc]

I doubt it. Anyone from the Northeast has ridden a gondola in Stowe, Loon Mountain, Attitash, the Poconos, or a dozen other locations. That's what we do in the summer AND in the winter, much more often than visiting WDW.

gotta disagree with you again Captain. lol even as close as I am to the Poconos, if you don't ski you won't be on a gondola. In the summer around here?? you are at the Shore not in the mountains.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I think the Murphy bed is there because the surveys found that couples looking for a getaway at WDW wanted a room without a bed and a sofa.

They liked the idea of it not being a “studio” room in the traditional sense. The extra bed / sofa just cluttered up the space when it wasn’t needed. This way, by day you just have a small lounge area, even the kitchenette is hidden away.

I would love to see that survey result. What is one doing with that empty space? Yoga? I highly doubt anyone said they wanted a Murphy bed over a traditional bed. More likely the question was if you want a Murphy bed vs a fold out couch.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

That's pretty small, that includes the square footage for the bathroom, right? I think hotel rooms are quoted that way.

The All Star rooms are 260 square feet.

I bet the rooms are "sized to price" like IKEA furniture is "designed to price" - that is, the price is upfront part of the original requirement/specification and the design followed from that.

Note: I was curious about the idea of having only a Murphy bed in a hotel room and found a number of hotels with some rooms having only a Murphy bed - the JW Marriott Washington DC, for one, and another in NYC. (of course!)

I too await reviews of the room and the bed. I read one online review of another hotel that complained about the difficulty of getting into bed over the couch arms so that's another aspect I want to read a review on.

I can see the need for Murphy beds on older buildings in crowded major cities where space is a premium. Places like Europe and DC where a building is being repurposed to house rooms. Not in the middle of Florida, in a new construction building. Sorry but this just screams cheap to me.

 

[correcaminos]

I'm a software development manager. I hire a lot of software developers and I've learned to put up with and even appreciate a bit of pedanticism. I would call it "excess accuracy". Even back in college my hallmates and I would joke about everyone's bias towards excess precision and accuracy. (So much so that we used to have short discussions about the difference between precision and accuracy every time the word came up in conversation, lol)

Anyway, professionally, I agree that false/excess pedanticism is counterproductive, but I feel that a certain amount of it is a good sign of the perfectionism needed to "speak to the compiler". After all, the compiler is the most pedantic one of us all.

Another area that I feel some amount of pedanticism is useful is business analysis and software testing. The creation and understanding of accurate specifications or user stories is critical to creating software that both works and achieves its intent. Assumptions that the reader will "understand what I mean" lead to occasional inaccurate interpretations and therefore, bugs. Speaking of which, I figured you would have guessed at my profession since I left the "feature not a bug" hint. Ha! It's all good, though!

I agree about what you said about the crazy mix between the customer/human side of the work and the more pedantic/engineering side of the work.


That's pretty small, that includes the square footage for the bathroom, right? I think hotel rooms are quoted that way.

The All Star rooms are 260 square feet.

I bet the rooms are "sized to price" like IKEA furniture is "designed to price" - that is, the price is upfront part of the original requirement/specification and the design followed from that.

Note: I was curious about the idea of having only a Murphy bed in a hotel room and found a number of hotels with some rooms having only a Murphy bed - the JW Marriott Washington DC, for one, and another in NYC. (of course!)

I too await reviews of the room and the bed. I read one online review of another hotel that complained about the difficulty of getting into bed over the couch arms so that's another aspect I want to read a review on.

Ah yes, software engineering is something I do not enjoy. It's a little too technical for me. That and I am dyslexic mildly so I hose it up faster. I do some scripting now and then, but mostly just coding. So it's not the same level. My husband was IT in college and thanks to their change to C++ has level of dislike for writing in certain languages lol

And yes, I wondered if it had to do with IT type writing when you said bug so I had to ask lol

Some testers are in need of pedantic-ism. Though I know some lower levels that just seem to not know what to really do.

But yes, the rooms are small. Meant to be that way. At least they hold only 2 people. Great for solo travelers!

lol, you haven't been to france lately then. pretty much the definition of a Paris hotel. they are tiny.

True for NYC too!

Actually, Disney did not say you cant trade into the other resorts. They actually said you would still be able to trade using RCI. The difference is that any reservation made with RCI has a 199 resort fee to Disney. They don't charge a trading fee and since all trades are made by Disney, they would get priority over outside RCI trades. It's a bad deal but still possible.

I believe they are talking about the trade in to other DVC resorts, not RCI

 

[CaptainAmerica]

lol, you haven't been to france lately then. pretty much the definition of a Paris hotel. they are tiny.

Yeah but you don't CHOOSE / prefer that. You accept it because you don't have much other choice. At WDW there is loads of choice.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

But yes, the rooms are small. Meant to be that way. At least they hold only 2 people. Great for solo travelers!


True for NYC too!


I believe they are talking about the trade in to other DVC resorts, not RCI

To compare orlando hotels to NYC is just pardon the pun, goofy.
As for the RCI comment I too almost misread this. What the poster is saying is that if you want to be able to use your DVC points to book into other resorts, you will have to go through RCI to do it due to the limitations.

 

[correcaminos]

To compare orlando hotels to NYC is just pardon the pun, goofy.
As for the RCI comment I too almost misread this. What the poster is saying is that if you want to be able to use your DVC points to book into other resorts, you will have to go through RCI to do it due to the limitations.

You are right. Disney hotels don't have a clue what luxury service is compared to lots of places in Europe and NYC. Point was you can have opulence without size. Though my comment was a joke initially lol

The post in question wasn't talking about trading into RCI though. All DVC trades into other DVC when not a home resort. The post I quoted mentioned RCI which wasn't what is being limited in resale. The ability to trade into other DVC resorts is. So from that angle you are limited to no direct trade. The RCI is convoluted and not at all the same and not reliable work around to boot (if possible which I want to check on).

 

[eliza61nyc]

sorry for the silly question, where did you guys find the room information? Have the put out any actual pics of the rooms?

lol, I'm entering in the contest to win a free week at Riviera on the dvc website. when I win I want to make sure I pick a good room

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't get it. At all.

Prices (cash and points) are completely disproportionate to what this place offers.

I T_LD Y_U SO...

Fill in the blanks.

How so? This resort has 5 restaurants (signature, TS, full QS, pool bar with food, and the lounge). 2 pools plus splash pad, shops, community hall according to TAs although not specifically mentioned yet. And the new shiny Skyliner.

Not to mention it’s the first all DVC resort built since Saratoga Springs (well at WDW at least). It wasn’t going to come in at lower than any other new DVC like CCV etc. It will sell, easily.

Maintenance fees are high though, no doubt partly to cover Skyliner costs.

Ok....it’s gonna be really hard to judge this fairly until it opens and we see it. Sounds good...but the improvements to wilderness lodge are not great...the stuff at contemporary is really blah...poly is ok...

The last place with really nice DVC ads is kidani...and there is a whole other dynamic there.

We’ll have to see it. I think the skyliner is the feature. I would like to be surprised but optimism isn’t high.

 

[GoofGoof]

Actually, Disney did not say you cant trade into the other resorts. They actually said you would still be able to trade using RCI. The difference is that any reservation made with RCI has a 199 resort fee to Disney. They don't charge a trading fee and since all trades are made by Disney, they would get priority over outside RCI trades. It's a bad deal but still possible.

You can’t use your points to book another DVC resort that’s not your home resort at the seven month window like other DVC owners. That’s a fact. Yes, you can still trade your points into RCI. Trading through RCI is a crap shoot. Generally speaking the majority of availability is at SSR and mostly 1 BR units. It’s possible, but rare to trade in and get another resort or a studio or 2 bedroom unit. It’s one of the reasons I ended up buying into DVC. If it was easy to trade through RCI and get whatever Disney DVC resort I wanted I would have probably stuck with trading in through RCI. After 2 trips in a row getting shut out and staying at a place next to Sea World instead I mostly gave up. Maybe it’s different now. It’s been a while since I even tried to trade in.

I would advise anyone who plans to buy Riviera points resale thinking they can just trade in for other DVC resorts through RCI and pay the transfer fee to do some research on availability first. Like I said, maybe it’s gotten better but in the past those trade ins were exceedingly hard to find unless you were shooting for SSR.