The new DVC Riviera Resort??

This is why I wish they would figure out a way for people to walk from GF to MK, the walk is shorter than the walk from BW to HS. Darn that canal!!!!!

Yeah my boss is visiting Disney for the first time with his family this winter break. Spending over $600 a night to stay at the Grand Floridian. All I can think of is how sorry I feel for him if he thinks he's taking the monorail anywhere. Considering the prices they charge for there, would it be so hard to build a little bridge and complete the path?
 
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Yeah my boss is visiting Disney for the first time with his family this winter break. Spending over $600 a night to stay at the Grand Floridian. All I can think of is how sorry I feel for him if he thinks he's taking the monorail anywhere. Considering the process they charge for there, would it be so hard to build a little bridge and complete the path?

A foot bridge would be a lot cheaper than the upgrades to the monorails, and would probably take a lot of traffic off the monorail loops. Downside would be that more people who were not staying at GF would try to park there and walk to MK, just like BLT.

Yeah, we weren't to happy the last time we stayed at VGF and couldn't get on the monorail in the morning and had to take the boat over....... with an my elderly father on an ECV and one single stroller and one double for our 3 young children. I guess they think that the boat is an option, but not for every family.
 
I was wondering the same thing about why they do not have monorail cars dedicated to monorail resort guests. It is infuriating when the monorails are jam packed with folks from the ticket center and I cannot leave my resort! Or get back to my resort! Nightmare.

When WDW first opened, and for a few years after that (ending, I think, when Epcot opened), the resort monorail was limited to resort guests. You were given a card (which I still have) that states the resort where you were staying and the dates. You had to show the card at the turnstile to get on the resort monorail during certain times of the day.
 
When WDW first opened, and for a few years after that (ending, I think, when Epcot opened), the resort monorail was limited to resort guests. You were given a card (which I still have) that states the resort where you were staying and the dates. You had to show the card at the turnstile to get on the resort monorail during certain times of the day.

Magic bands would be a good way to update that. But then you have the issue of people going to resorts for dining, which is a big part of their business. Plus, it then makes the parks not seem as welcoming to people staying off property. As important as on site guests are, their money is locked in. Disney has to worry about making their day guests as happy as possible.
If people stopped staying at Poly and GF due to the monorail crowding, I am sure they would change things up, but so far that has not happened.
 


Magic bands would be a good way to update that. But then you have the issue of people going to resorts for dining, which is a big part of their business. Plus, it then makes the parks not seem as welcoming to people staying off property. As important as on site guests are, their money is locked in. Disney has to worry about making their day guests as happy as possible.
If people stopped staying at Poly and GF due to the monorail crowding, I am sure they would change things up, but so far that has not happened.

I do not think there would be an issue with a few cars or monorails being dedicated to monorail resort guests. Others could still take the monorail, no issue. They do something like this in California for morning hours at the security entrance at GC now. We stayed at Paradise Pier hotel last summer and could not enter the parks through GC but had to take a much longer route through the entrance of Downtown Disney. Apparantly too many people were going through GC to enter the parks. I can understand where they were coming from, no fun having hoards of people use your resort lobby as a corridor.
 
When WDW first opened, and for a few years after that (ending, I think, when Epcot opened), the resort monorail was limited to resort guests. You were given a card (which I still have) that states the resort where you were staying and the dates. You had to show the card at the turnstile to get on the resort monorail during certain times of the day.
Those were the days...
 


When WDW first opened, and for a few years after that (ending, I think, when Epcot opened), the resort monorail was limited to resort guests. You were given a card (which I still have) that states the resort where you were staying and the dates. You had to show the card at the turnstile to get on the resort monorail during certain times of the day.
I thought that this was the case. So even if they allow dedicated gondolas for Riviera guests initially, as soon as the resort is sold out they could stop that practice. Perhaps it won't be as bad as I imagine and perhaps the IG won't become the mess I envision - it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.
What's a bit frustrating for me is that I always planned on an Epcot resort to round out my DVC 'portfolio' and I'm sitting on a pile of cash to acquire said resort, I want to like it, but the Riviera so far just isn't impressing me.
 
I thought that this was the case. So even if they allow dedicated gondolas for Riviera guests initially, as soon as the resort is sold out they could stop that practice. Perhaps it won't be as bad as I imagine and perhaps the IG won't become the mess I envision - it'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.
What's a bit frustrating for me is that I always planned on an Epcot resort to round out my DVC 'portfolio' and I'm sitting on a pile of cash to acquire said resort, I want to like it, but the Riviera so far just isn't impressing me.

Don't ignore that the gondolas only attach Disney hotels to the parks, and not any other public entrance. I agree that so far Riviera looks underwhelming, but limiting the gondolas to hotel guests would make little to no difference when compared to changes to the monorails.
 
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I think it is much easier to send every 4th or 5th gondola by empty then to send entire trains or leave one car of the monorail open. They could do it if they wanted to but it certainly seems easier with the gondolas.
 
I think it is much easier to send every 4th or 5th gondola by empty then to send entire trains or leave one car of the monorail open. They could do it if they wanted to but it certainly seems easier with the gondolas.
The gondolas will carry approximately 5000 people per hour. This is equal to 100 buses. That is a lot of people but clearly the gondolas will have a lot of space for those people. So I think gondolas at the Riviera will be OK.
 
I am hoping that the Riviera will have more studios them everything else put together. Why? Because if you look at booking patterns at this thread, https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...rooms-june-2018-update.3689931/#post-59393075. you will see that Studios ALWAYS book out first, and at MOST resorts, there is no longer any good studio availability at 7 months. Only by making a massive number of new studios can Disney corrected this. Unfortunately, Disney is undoubtedly behind the times, and probably doesn’t even realize how hard it is getting for DVC Members to book at the seven month window. Another option would be to lower two bedroom point costs and one bedroom point costs and raise studio point costs at the Riviera in order to help balance the demand out.
 
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I am hoping that the Riviera will have more studios them everything else put together. Why? Because if you look at booking patterns at this thread, https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...rooms-june-2018-update.3689931/#post-59393075. you will see that Studios ALWAYS book out first, and at MOST resorts, there is no longer any good studio availability at 7 months. Only by making a massive number of new studios can Disney corrected this. Unfortunately, Disney is undoubtedly behind the times, and probably doesn’t even realize how hard it is getting for DVC Members to book at the seven month window. Another option would be to lower two bedroom point costs and one bedroom point costs and raise studio point costs at the Riviera in order to help balance the demand out.

I feel safe in saying that Disney doesn't care about how hard it is to book studios. What they care most about is how many points they can sell at a resort for the most profit. POLY has lots of studios cause that was the easiest/cheapest way to convert the hotel rooms while the bungalows provided so many points to sell.

I'm wondering if Disney is going to try something like those bungalows/cabins point monster rooms at the Riviera. Hopefully they won't.

To me, the gondolas are not a selling feature when values and moderates also have it.
 
To me, the gondolas are not a selling feature when values and moderates also have it

If it gets you to two parks in 5 minutes that is certainly a selling feature. It does not matter that the other resorts benefit from it as well.


I just hope the resort has dedicated 2 bedrooms.

I also think a 1 bedroom that sleeps six would be appealing to some. I think it is silly that in some cases you can fit more in a studio than in a 1 bedroom.
 
If it gets you to two parks in 5 minutes that is certainly a selling feature. It does not matter that the other resorts benefit from it as well.

My point was that the gondolas do not provide an advantage to the Riviera over the value/moderate hotels also attached to the gondolas, hence that probably isn't going to be the determining factor in why people buy there. Besides if things work out well (i.e. cheaper than running buses) with the gondolas, Disney could end up adding it to a lot of resorts.

Monorails only go to deluxe resorts and you can only walk from some of the deluxe resorts to parks. Those are advantages for those deluxe resorts, values and moderates don't have either of those options.
 
I feel safe in saying that Disney doesn't care about how hard it is to book studios. What they care most about is how many points they can sell at a resort for the most profit. POLY has lots of studios cause that was the easiest/cheapest way to convert the hotel rooms while the bungalows provided so many points to sell.

I'm wondering if Disney is going to try something like those bungalows/cabins point monster rooms at the Riviera. Hopefully they won't.

To me, the gondolas are not a selling feature when values and moderates also have it.
Most new to DVC, which are most buyers retail, aren't looking at a resort and saying they want to see more studios. One the sales side a studio is not a huge selling point in many ways other than the fact they've underpriced them compared to other options. Once sold though DVCMC has the legal responsibility to rebalance if demand is too far off.
 
Once sold though DVCMC has the legal responsibility to rebalance if demand is too far off.
I’d say studio demand presents an existing unbalanced system, but I’d argue that’s a system of DVD’s own making continuing to push small contracts, that necessitate studio stays, in the interest of moving points.

With how current membership tends to use their points though (buying OTU, renting/transferring additional points, adding-on small/not-so-small contracts), and how occupancy is consistently at 100%, I have to wonder what the trigger for a rebalance would be through the DVCMC lens. As far as usage goes, the system works and rooms sell out. Pains of membership (beyond just availability) seem to be secondary.
 
My point was that the gondolas do not provide an advantage to the Riviera over the value/moderate hotels also attached to the gondolas, hence that probably isn't going to be the determining factor in why people buy there. Besides if things work out well (i.e. cheaper than running buses) with the gondolas, Disney could end up adding it to a lot of resorts.

Monorails only go to deluxe resorts and you can only walk from some of the deluxe resorts to parks. Those are advantages for those deluxe resorts, values and moderates don't have either of those options.

You need to compare it to other deluxe resorts. Is there any resort that can get you to two parks in 5 minutes at the moment? I don't think there is. If I need a 2 bedroom suite it does not matter to me that a value has the same benefit of the gondola.

You are basically saying if Disney develops a moderate with the ability to walk to MK, suddenly Bay Lake Tower has lost the advantage of walking to MK. Being able to walk to MK will always be a benefit to BLT, no matter how many other resorts have the same option.
 
I’d say studio demand presents an existing unbalanced system, but I’d argue that’s a system of DVD’s own making continuing to push small contracts, that necessitate studio stays, in the interest of moving points.

With how current membership tends to use their points though (buying OTU, renting/transferring additional points, adding-on small/not-so-small contracts), and how occupancy is consistently at 100%, I have to wonder what the trigger for a rebalance would be through the DVCMC lens. As far as usage goes, the system works and rooms sell out. Pains of membership (beyond just availability) seem to be secondary.
I'd suggest that it doesn't matter. Technically and legally if DVD sells it knowing there will have to be an adjustment later it doesn't matter. Not their problem. DVCMC is contractually obligated to rebalance if needed, the question is when is it needed? How far out of balance for how long is required for them to be forced to do so. This part is completely subjective and we don't have the information to judge the need fully. BLT was rebalanced during the early sales process and I believe, before it opened. While they weren't necessarily required to, they did offer to cancel the contracts or to allow odd sized add ons to round out the number of points needed if someone were going to be short. My view is that the entire system is overpriced but comparatively speaking I'd say studios are less than they should be while 1 BR are more. I don't buy the square footage argument as the end all. But I do come at this more from a timeshare perspective, which DVC is.
 
Most new to DVC, which are most buyers retail, aren't looking at a resort and saying they want to see more studios. One the sales side a studio is not a huge selling point in many ways other than the fact they've underpriced them compared to other options. Once sold though DVCMC has the legal responsibility to rebalance if demand is too far off.

Assuming there are an equal number of Studios and 1-bedrooms at a resort, if they raised the Studios by 2 points, and lowered the 1-bedrooms by 2 points, and left the 2-bedrooms alone, then 2 bedroom lockoffs would balance out, and remain the same, because the studio part would cost 2 points more, but the 1-bedroom part would cost 2 points less.

In this way, there would now be a 4 point shift in the cost of 1-bedrooms vs Studios. So the demand for Studios would decrease slightly, making them a bit more available. The demand for 1-bedrooms would increase slightly, and the demand for 2 bedrooms would stay the same.

It makes a lot of sense to me. Why doesn't Disney do it? Let's face it, 1-bedrooms cost so much more than Studios that there just isn't much demand for them. I know you get the benefit of a kitchen and laundry, and a separate bedroom, but clearly Disney values these things more than DVC Members do, as shown by the DVC Member's booking patterns. So Disney should get with the program and make it work better FOR THE MEMBERS. It wouldn't cost Disney anything more or affect their profits.
 

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