Disney's Riviera Resort

It's still the newest deluxe level resort hotel in Disney World. It's design and décor seems to be inspired by trips that Walt Disney took to the French Riviera, and maybe the Amalfi Coast. I think my favorite decorative feature has to be the mosaic murals that arch up to 20 feet in the tunnel that leads you to the Skyliner station. These murals consist of over a million tiny tiles that were all laid by hand. It's absolutely amazing to see them up close. A lot of work went into creating this tunnel art. There are also 2 waterfall features between the arches that provide relaxing sounds as you're walking to the station. The reception to the hotel is very friendly and welcoming. Disney World (as a whole) is known for its service & hospitality. We had already checked in through the My Disney Experience app, so there was no need to approach the receptionist. Your room number will show up on the app when your room is ready. Just use your Magicband to open the door. They will hold your luggage for you if desired. We arrived before 7:00 am so that we could start our first adventure in requesting Lightning Lanes and Virtual Queues. All the discombobulation and concerns around understanding and using Genie, Genie Plus, and the Magicband became a distant memory. In hindsight, I wish we would have grabbed some coffee from Le Petit Café before heading out to the Skyliner that would take us to EPCOT. This has to be the best perk about staying at Disney's Riviera Resort. The station is a short walk away, and it takes you to EPCOT and/or Disney's Hollywood Studio. I can confirm that it's great for early entry to EPCOT. It takes you straight to the France Pavillion for early entry onto Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. The rope drop for that pavillion opens at 8:15 am. I'm not going to get into everything that the resort offers to guests. You can get that information anywhere. I will say that our Deluxe Studio Room was very roomy and clean. It's more of a family friendly room since it accommodates 5 people. There's a Jack & Jill bathroom with a dividing door. One side has the shower stall & toilet. The other half has a bathtub with a shower head and sink. It's overkill for just 2 people. They do have Tower Studios, but I've read that they are too small. You might as well pay a little more for the deluxe. The Florida resident resort discount compensated for that. It also has a small kitchenette (no oven), and 2 pull down beds. A single bed under the TV station, and a queen pull down bed over the couch. It was unused space for us, but I totally understand the need to accommodate a larger family. I'd rather have a true queen, or a king size bed. Our bed felt more like a double than a queen, which is fine. It was still comfortable. I also appreciated the space under the bed. It can be used to store luggage so that it's out of the way. I thought the best feature of the room was the rain shower head. It was very relaxing after a long day in the sun. I can't say much about the entertainment and activities. We were pretty much gone all day. We visited Le petit Café in the evening for coffee and a pastry. We also had a quick service breakfast at Primo Piatto. I did expect more in the way of complimentary breakfast, snacks, and/or coffee for resort guests. But then again, there is complimentary parking and transportation. The Skyliner doesn't go to the Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. This is when you take their bus system which is actually quite efficient. It runs every 20 minutes, and it goes directly to the designated theme park. There's a direct bus for each park at Disney's Riviera Resort. I totally recommend taking the bus to the Magic Kingdom for early entry. It drops you off right at the entrance gate. Yep, transportation is the #1 reason to stay here. Read less

Have to admit. We were really looking forward to our stay. However the resort proved far smaller and provided fewer things to do than most every level Disney resorts. The hotel actually seemed like a prison. It's on the gondola line, which is convenient. However, it appears they are worried that other guests may resort-hop into their limited facilities. It may have been for privacy and security, but it made part of our party frustrated and the other half nervous. Limited food options outside of the $$$Topolino Terrace with quite limited seating. Very small gift shop. Coffee shop was quite nice. Won't be back. Read less

We had such a wonderful stay. All the cast members at this hotel were so helpful and nice. The resort is clean and our 1 bedroom standard view room was clean, spacious and beautifully decorated and was well stocked with dishes, cups, glasses, silverware, etc. Love that there are two vanities, a walk-in shower and a tub, although we don’t typically use tubs on vacation. The bed was a little soft for us, but slept okay. Loved the view of the fireworks at EPCOT and even Magic Kingdom in the distance from our balcony. The TVs were large and offered some on-demand Disney documentaries and shows. I think if you are a Disney+ member, you can also access that through the TV, but we did not attempt to do that, so I cannot be 100% sure. There was ample drawer & closet storage, as well as ample storage in the bathrooms. Disney enters your room on a daily basis to empty the trash and perform a quick room inspection for safety. We don’t have a problem with this, in fact we love having our trash emptied on a daily basis, but just something to be aware of in case you need to put any valuables in the safe. The food at the resort was excellent. There is the nice restaurant, Topolino’s Terrace, on the 10th floor, a counter service place, Primo Piatto, on the 1st floor, as well as an indoor/outdoor bar/restaurant, Bar Riva. All had very tasty food and good service, although the line to order food or pay for to-go items at Primo Piatto can take a while, so give yourself ample time. There is a bocce ball court, as well as a life size chess set, pool, hot tub, and plenty areas to sit outside and enjoy the day. This resort is centrally located for visiting both EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Only down side is the Skyline doesn’t operate when lightning is in the area (totally understandable), and there is no bus transportation between this resort and EPCOT and Hollywood Studios, so transportation cast members will try to arrange for a bus to take guests back to the Riviera but that can take a while. We waited about an hour, and by that time the lightning had cleared out, so we were able to take the skyline back to the Riviera. This is just something to be aware of if you are staying at the Riviera, especially during the summer. If this happens, a good option might be to get one of the Minnie Mouse Lyft cars to take you back to the resort, but that isn’t a cheap option. A huge thank you to the staff at The Riviera Resort. They truly do a wonderful job and we cannot wait to return. Read less