Sue's Riviera Weekend - Day 1 of 4
From
Sue/WDW1972@21:1/5 to
All on Thu Jun 17 16:05:19 2021
DAY 1 – Thursday 6/17/21
Who: Sue (62), DVC Member
Plan: Drive to WDW, Disney Springs?
Actual: Today I only worked until 11 so I could get here earlier. For a change, it was a nice calm morning. After loading up the car I was on the road by 11:15 and pulled onto Disney property by 1. As I was driving towards Riviera (the traffic light
before it) I got the notification that my room is ready! However, I didn’t want to waste time there before going to Disney Springs because the virtual queue for Gideons only gets longer over time. So, I continued on to Disney Springs and parked in
the Orange garage.
After entering I ended taking a wrong turn and took a very roundabout way to get to Gideon’s. When I passed Planet Hollywood a huge tour group (50+ people) was waiting to go inside, but I was just planning to sit at the bar so it wasn’t a big deal.
At Gideon’s I joined the virtual queue, which was 100 minutes at that time. I figured they overestimate it a bit, based on last time. It was 1:20 so 100 minutes later would be 3pm.
I walked back over to Planet Hollywood and had a short wait to tell the person I wanted to sit at the bar. She took my name and sent me inside, where I waited again for someone to get me out of line and take me to a seat. The tables in the bar area
were all occupied, but not a single person was sitting at the bar while I was there. I had brought my kindle, which was more interesting than the soccer game on the big tv in front of me. I ordered a glass of the house pinot grigio and the chicken
crunch appetizer.
It took a little while for the food to come out, which I assume is because of that massive party swamping the kitchen. It wasn’t real slow, just not quick. It was very good, so worth the wait. The bartender was very nice too, so no complaints.
After settling the check I was on my way down the stairs to exit when I got the text from Gideon’s that my time had arrived – at 2:28, so 68 minutes rather than 100.
This time I took the short walk to Gideon’s and joined the virtual queue line. I got one cookie – the pistachio toffee chocolate chip, then walked back to the Orange garage and was driving down the exit ramp by 3pm.
At Riviera I parked in the west parking lot since that’s where the Tower Studios are located and brought my stuff up to the room. Tower Studios are something new and only at this resort. If you’re familiar with Riviera, the rounded portion is where
the tower studios are – there are 3 on each floor in the little round part. They’re quite a bit smaller than a regular studio, and the maximum occupancy is 2 people. Personally I think it would be pretty miserable with 2 people, but that’s just
me. Even as a solo, this isn’t likely to be what I’d pick very often. It’s really small. The only bed is a murphy bed, and the only seating is the sofa the murphy bed folds down over and a desk chair. The bathroom is almost as big as the room,
lol – that’s very nice. There is plenty of storage space, especially since only 2 people can be in here.
The refrigerator here is smaller than in the other studios, which is a pain. I was able to make it work, since it’s just 1 person. The coffee maker is a Keurig, which I don’t prefer. I don’t drink coffee but like the traditional ones to heat my
water for my cappuccino. With this I may need to run it twice to fill up my mug. The microwave, toaster, etc look normal. There’s no sink for a kitchenette.
My balcony faces the skyliner station, which I consider a nice view. I’ve also got lakes on both sides. Sitting on the couch, from the window I can see the other side of the skyliner, with the Epcot line arriving and departing. If they’d started
the Epcot fireworks I’d probably see those too, as I can see Spaceship Earth when out on the end of the balcony.
I unpacked all my stuff and got settled, then updated the trip report before going out to walk around the resort a bit. It’s very overcast, and quite humid (bad hair day from now until November). I started with an inside walk, finding the ice machine
near the elevators. I’ll need that later to keep my wine cold. From there I went down to the first floor and went outside by the pools.
I was very pleased to see the sign on the quiet/grown up pool says it’s open 7am til 11pm. The 10am opening at the feature/family pools is just too late for my taste. By then it’s starting to get too hot! The quiet pool is an infinity pool, where
the water comes up to the very top on all sides, then drains away invisibly. I checked out the feature pool next – too noisy and full of kids for me. They had a cast member doing some type of game (with a microphone) with the kids. Everyone was well
behaved, but I prefer the nice quiet pool. They have a cute little kids’ splash area as well – sort of like at Grand Floridian Villas.
I was curious how long the walk to Caribbean Beach was from this side of the resort, so I walked past the white sand beach (left over from whatever island this was before Disney knocked it all down to build Riviera (I think they knocked down 2 of the
islands in Caribbean Beach). It was a short walk to Martinique, and since the main area (Old Port Royal) was the next section I continued over to there. I am still completely unimpressed with this resort – it just screams cheap/tacky to me, but
Disney’s prices are anything but cheap, lol! It looks like a motel, which is huge turnoff. Oddly, I’m not as turned off by either Port Orleans resort, even though it’s the same type of buildings.
After walking through the lobby and gift shop I headed back to Riviera. Bar Riva had a number of people enjoying food and/or drink. I didn’t see a menu posted – you have to do the mobile ordering thing. I went inside and up to the lobby, where I
browsed through this shop (some nice stuff) and then checked out Au Petit Café next door. I was curious if they had any of the banana bread there, since it would save me from having to mobile order at Primo Piatto. They did not, so I sat in the
library type sitting area next door and tried to do a mobile order. The banana bread wasn’t listed in the bakery section or anywhere else. I figured it was worth a trip downstairs to confirm they don’t sell it any more.
The cast member at the entrance told me they do still sell it, so I asked if I could go get one and buy it. He said yes – so I got one out the case, paid for it, then headed back upstairs.
I sat out on the balcony for a little while, but it quickly got uncomfortable with the humidity so I came back inside. There was a pair of pillows in a case above the kitchenette stuff (behind closed doors – not visible), and another case with a 3rd
pillow and extra blanket on the top shelf of the closet. Thank goodness I have an old pair of little scissors in my toiletry bag, since they use those plastic zip tie things.
I was able to watch General Hospital (without commercials) thanks to a link someone shared on facebook, and updated the trip report at the same time. When General Hospital ended I went to get ice, then opened the bottle of wine I’d brought in the
cooler (Governor’s Bay sauvignon blanc). It just fits standing up under the shelf in the small fridge! I also cut up the rest of the balsamic bellavitano cheese to go with a few crackers. I brought 4 cheeses that were almost gone, figuring I have a
nice variety and not take up much space.
It wasn’t time to pull the bed down just yet, but didn’t have a table for my plastic wine glass so I took the lid off one of the ottomans and flipped it upside down to find a flat hard surface. It was like a square tray, with about 1” sides. I
set it next to me on the couch and didn’t have to worry about the wine falling over. It was a great setup to do stuff online while watching tv and checking out the skyliner – very relaxing!
At this point I’m in for the night, so I might as well get it posted. Maybe later I’ll break off a small piece of the cookie for something sweet! Today was a really nice day – everything just fell into place nicely. I did not expect my room to
be ready early, but am glad it was. I like my tower studio location. I’m glad the Gideon’s queue was faster than expected – I didn’t have to putter around Disney Springs waiting!
Tomorrow I plan to do some walking, then head to the pool early. I’ve got lunch at Terralina, but other than that don’t have any other plans beyond relaxing.
Sue/WDW1972
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From
Rudeney@21:1/5 to
All on Thu Jun 17 18:32:45 2021
On 6/17/2021 6:05 PM, Sue/WDW1972 wrote:
After entering I ended taking a wrong turn and took a very roundabout
way to get to Gideon’s. When I passed Planet Hollywood a huge tour
group (50+ people) was waiting to go inside, but I was just planning
to sit at the bar so it wasn’t a big deal. At Gideon’s I joined the virtual queue, which was 100 minutes at that time. I figured they overestimate it a bit, based on last time. It was 1:20 so 100
minutes later would be 3pm.
OK, so you won't wait an hour to ride an attraction, but you'll wait
100+ minutes for a cookie?!?!?
The bartender was very nice too, so no complaints. After settling
the check I was on my way down the stairs to exit when I got the
text from Gideon’s that my time had arrived – at 2:28, so 68 minutes rather than 100.
Still more than an hour. But I guess an hour eating at the bar is
better than an hour standing in a queue. :-)
At Riviera I parked in the west parking lot since that’s where the
Tower Studios are located and brought my stuff up to the room. Tower
Studios are something new and only at this resort. If you’re
familiar with Riviera, the rounded portion is where the tower studios
are – there are 3 on each floor in the little round part. They’re
quite a bit smaller than a regular studio, and the maximum occupancy
is 2 people. Personally I think it would be pretty miserable with 2
people, but that’s just me. Even as a solo, this isn’t likely to be
what I’d pick very often. It’s really small. The only bed is a
murphy bed, and the only seating is the sofa the murphy bed folds
down over and a desk chair. The bathroom is almost as big as the
room, lol – that’s very nice. There is plenty of storage space, especially since only 2 people can be in here.
Honestly, I think I'd rather have a compact room and a large bathroom
rather than the other way around. Other than sleeping, I probably spend
more time in the bathroom than just hanging around the room.
I was curious how long the walk to Caribbean Beach was from this side
of the resort, so I walked past the white sand beach (left over from
whatever island this was before Disney knocked it all down to build
Riviera (I think they knocked down 2 of the islands in Caribbean
Beach). It was a short walk to Martinique, and since the main area
(Old Port Royal) was the next section I continued over to there. I
am still completely unimpressed with this resort – it just screams cheap/tacky to me, but Disney’s prices are anything but cheap, lol!
It looks like a motel, which is huge turnoff. Oddly, I’m not as
turned off by either Port Orleans resort, even though it’s the same
type of buildings.
I agree about CBR looking tacky. It's really not Caribbean themed.
Well, cheap tacky 1980's Caribbean, maybe. PO does look nicer, but I
really don't care for moderates. Paying that much more for them than a
value resort, you should get inside entrances instead of noisy, shared
outdoor balconies.
I sat out on the balcony for a little while, but it quickly got
uncomfortable with the humidity so I came back inside. There was a
pair of pillows in a case above the kitchenette stuff (behind closed
doors – not visible), and another case with a 3rd pillow and extra
blanket on the top shelf of the closet. Thank goodness I have an old
pair of little scissors in my toiletry bag, since they use those
plastic zip tie things.
I always carry a Leatherman tool, but I am sure not everyone would have something to cut the zip ties with. But I guess they do this to make
people feel better about their sanitizing and cleaning routines. Zip-
tied bags must make the contents safe from COVID.
--
- RODNEY
Next WDW Vacation?
Who knows!
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