During our WDW AEP, we toured 11 resorts – the four skyliner resorts (Pop Century, Art of Animation, Caribbean Beach, and Riviera), the 3 monorail resorts (Grand Floridian, Polynesian, Contemporary) plus Wilderness Lodge also in the Magic Kingdom resort area, and the Epcot Area resorts (Boardwalk, Yacht Club, and Beach Club).
Of these 11 resorts, I stayed at Pop Century for this trip, and Yacht Club for a previous trip, so check out my reviews on those. Of these 11 resorts, the Riviera was my absolute favorite for so many reasons, and likely where I’ll try to stay when I finally get the courage to take my kids for the first time.
Disney’s Riviera resort is modeled after Walt’s memories from his trips to Europe. The resort gives you the feeling of being on the French and Italian Riviera, and you can even find some of Walt’s own personal photos from his trips spread out throughout the resort.
The grounds are beautiful and as you walk around you’ll find gardens and fountains that make you feel like you’re in Europe, as well as a chess set and bocce ball court for your entertainment and a Mediterranean themed pool with a kids splash pad.
This is the view from the room we saw, but not the main pool. This is an extra pool. 
The Riviera is the newest resort on property, and who doesn’t love a good new resort feel? The rooms are, obviously, the most updated. It is also a DVC (Disney Vacation Club) hotel, which means it is an all suite hotel making it possible for larger families to stay here as well. I have three kids, and there are many rooms that are not equipped to sleep more than 4, so these suite options are helpful. The deluxe studios, which would be more comparable to a standard room, also have a pulldown queen bed and a pulldown twin bed making the room more spacious when the beds are up, and a split bath with two showers.
One of my biggest issues with Disney resorts is that even the highest end deluxe resorts have shower curtains. This deluxe studio room had one with a shower door. This is a big win. 
The second shower has a curtain which again I don’t love, and I think it feels a bit cheap/outdated for a brand new resort, but as a second shower I
I’ll allow it.
The two shower situation is pretty amazing. And as for the pulldown bed, before I stayed in a room like this I was skeptical. However, as you may remember from my Pop Century stay this summer, the pulldown bed is the same mattress as the regular bed, it just goes into the wall for more space. This is WAY better than a pullout couch. Good job Disney.
This is what the room looks like with the pulldown bed up. You can see the handles next to the picture on the wall where you’ll pull the bed down from. 
Here it is down. You can see the big real mattress on this bed. 
And on it’s way back up. It’s very easy to move up and down by yourself and I’m not very strong. The extra space is really nice for a large family. 
This is the twin version 
And this is the best view I could get of the whole room while touring with 28 other agents. The bathrooms are behind me.
But when you go to Disney you obviously aren’t going to hang out in the rooms or even spend most of your time at the resort at all. Fortunately for those of you thinking about staying at the Riviera though, the location is AMAZING. This resort is right on the Skyliner, my absolute favorite form of transportation on property. The Skyliner provides easy access to both Epcot (my favorite park), and Hollywood Studios. Easy access to Epcot is a huge win too because that also means easy access to a ton of amazing restaurants both inside the park and on the Boardwalk which you can access without a park ticket.
Riviera is also home to Topolino’s Terrace, my favorite character meal. It’s on the top floor of the hotel with an attached outdoor terrace with views of 3 parks, and you get to hang with Mickey and friends while eating delicious food. MANY character meals are not delicious. This one absolutely is. Fun Fact: I just looked up the spelling and learned the Topolino is Mickey’s Italian name. Now I love it there even more. Stay tuned for an entire post on this restaurant coming soon (maybe).
This view though… 
Just here having breakfast with my BFF, the Tower of Terror. 
Yes this was a meal for one and no I’m not mad about it.
I think this resort provides the best of both worlds. Not everyone is a Disney lover like me, and to be able to go with your kids and have Disney at your fingertips while enjoying the feel of a European style family resort really can’t be beat. There is truly something for everyone, and I hope to be able to get my family there soon. In the meantime, here’s this picture that I’m not in because I was waiting at the Skyliner for the group because I have FOBL (Fear Of Being Late, and yes I just made that up because I’m incredibly clever).
TRAVELING WITH ARDEN 
1 thought on “Disney’s Riviera Resort”
Comments are closed.