We were supposed to have a dream trip in March staying club level at Poly. I was excited to watch fireworks from at TPV room and use the monorail to frequent MK and Epcot, our favorite parks.
That obviously didn’t happen, and we ended up going Sept 30. We were bounced around resorts a bit and ended up in 1 bedroom villa at the Riviera.
Guys, I loved it. It was so nice to have a kitchen and some space, the room was amazing, the view was beautiful. We utilized the Skyliner to bop over to the International Gateway to eat and easy access to Beach Club and Boardwalk.
Now I am going to book for October 2021 to try again for a more cushy trip and I am torn where to book. I still want to try Poly, especially after renovations, but Riviera was so great for us. WWYD???
I don’t think you can book Club Level yet at any resort. So if it’s a case of CL or nothing then go with Riviera. Otherwise maybe this is a time to use a TA, book Poly and ask them to move you to CL if & when it becomes available - they will almost certainly get advance notice that it is opening up.
Have you done CL before? I haven’t but it always seems to me that to get the best out of it you need to be there are certain times - which rules out being at the parks from open to close. That might suit certain people more than others - I might be an ideal candidate lol!
The million dollar question! For us, we like the separate bedroom and the living space. In fact DH has said he thinks we need to get a 2-bed so the boys aren’t cluttering up the living room - so since we don’t have enough points it means looking at other options!
But I’d be interested to know the difference in price between CL at Poly and a 1-bed at Riviera. Would you book Riviera through Disney or look to rent points?
Probably through Disney. I don’t have DVC currently and am pretty intimidated by the process! I honestly felt the 1 bedroom was spacious enough for me and two kids. The balcony was spacious and a full kitchen gave us lots of space to spread out.
I can’t find it but I will continue to look. I swear I heard Disney will be opening the CL rooms as a booking category, but without any CL services. I just looked at GF, and I couldn’t book it so I don’t know if it was limited or not, and if there were any discounts.
I would never book Poly CL without the amenities (even with them it is not one of my favorite CLs).
I will say, Riviera is very expensive point wise, I cant imagine what a cash room costs?
It isn’t cheap, but around $1000/night for 1 bedroom preferred view. This is comparable to at TPV at Poly, but larger room, a full kitchen, a full balcony and in room laundry. No monorail, but the Skyliner is really nice. I wouldn’t book CL unless it is back in full, but it is what I had booked for March. Just trying to decide if I am going to feel like a Poly room is a downgrade…
There’s a big difference between a 1BR and a studio, even the Poly studio which is on the larger side for DVC accommodations. There’s also a big difference between being on monorail and being on skyliner. And between seeing Spaceship Earth out your balcony and Cinderella Castle.
It’s really a matter of preference. It would, for me, be hands down no question if Poly had 1br. But for my family the studio is a bit squishy and I think we may have had our last stay there together as a family of 4 already. If it were just me and the DH or me and one kid or me and a pal, I would pick Poly.
I haven’t stayed at Riviera but I did tour around it some in January. It was underwhelming for me, really. But you clearly had a different experience.
Poly all day long for me though, especially if you can go after that club level experience or maybe stretch a little more and do a suite…
I have found that a cash rate with the 25% dvc discount is usually pretty much the same as renting for a 1-bed ( due to the relatively high points cost ). It could be that Disney have cut the price for Riviera just now.
It’s a member discount that may be available. We’ve got one for a 1-bed at BCV for 10 days, and Bay Lake for a 1-bed over New Year. When we booked our cancelled trip for this Christmas we got a studio at BCV but also got offered a studio at BWV and a 1-bed at OKW & SSR.
Edited to add: I think this is available to all members but not 100% certain. Maybe another liner can confirm if they have got one with just a white card.
I ask because we booked the room we had this week through MS (first time) and they never mentioned that it was a discount per se, but the rates were substantially lower than booking through the standard non-DVC system. But the standard system right now is showing prices way above what I had grown accustomed to seeing over the last couple years when doing some budgeting research. Didn’t know if it was because they were discounting to get people in rooms or because it is a ‘thing’. Sounds like it is a ‘thing’.
Why would one do this? The CL rooms aren’t better, and at AKL they are actually worse (no savannah view). I have a AKL CL booking in May 2021 but I’m looking to dump it for a savannah view because what’s the point of CL if not services and lounge?
I thought I read some of the CL rooms are the suites ? Contemporary, Poly, GF perhaps? That would definitely make sense to make them bookable.
I assume would do what they’ve done with the DVC club level rooms at AKL. Allow them to be booked and if CL facilities aren’t available they refund the “CL surcharge”.
The main reason would be so people can book Club Level rooms in the hope that the CL service returns. You then don’t have to rebook and be faced with possibly missing the boat. If you already have a CL room booked, you’re good to go. And if the CL services don’t return, you’d be refunded the surcharge.
In general this article contains a really good review of CL service. It links to actual reviews of stays but also compares the different CL service at each resort.
