DVC Resort Tips and Tricks: Riviera
A Skyliner ride away from EPCOT’s International Gateway is Disney’s Riviera Resort, which is inspired by the European Riviera. Whether you are a repeat guest at Riviera or you’re thinking of renting a stay at Riviera for the first time, here are some tips and tricks for a great stay.
Booking and Availability
Riviera has two different booking categories: Resort View and Preferred View. Resort View is the lowest point value with views of the parking areas, but at night, some of these rooms have fireworks views of EPCOT. Resort View is enticing to those who want to save points (and thus save money when renting points), but this category has limited availability and is often hard to book even at the 11-month mark.
If you want to increase your chances of booking a stay at Riviera, it helps to broaden your search to a Preferred View room. The more point-expensive Preferred View has views of the lake, pools, or landscaping.
Riviera has a wide range of rooms from the Tower Studios that accommodate up to 2 guests to the Three Bedroom Grand Villas that sleep up to 12 guests. The Tower Studios are worth the fewest number of points, and there are only 24 of them. This makes availability tough. To improve your odds of booking a room at Riviera, it helps to be open to the Deluxe Studio if a Tower Studio is unavailable.
Getting Around
While you’ll need to take a bus to Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom, one of the best perks of staying at Riviera is being along the Skyliner. This takes you directly to EPCOT or to Hollywood Studios after a quick transfer at Caribbean Beach. The Skyliner is very convenient when you are traveling with a stroller or ECV. (Single strollers and tandem double strollers can be pushed right into the Skyliner without being collapsed whereas side-by-side double strollers need to be collapsed before boarding.)
It’s worth noting that the Skyliner tends to close annually for refurbishment around the last week of January. For example, it will be closed January 24-30, 2027. When this happens, bus service replaces the Skyliner route.
Treats and Eats
Topolino’s Terrace
The most popular restaurant at Riviera is Topolino’s Terrace, which offers character dining with Mickey and friends at breakfast and a signature dining experience at dinner featuring French and Italian cuisine. The restaurant’s terrace offers a beautiful view of the resort grounds as well as EPCOT fireworks views. During Luminous, you’ll hear the firework’s soundtrack piped into the terrace. Topolino’s Terrace is sometimes hard to book. If you can’t get a reservation, you can always try for a walk-up when the restaurant opens. Also, dining at the bar is first come, first served.
Primo Piatto
For quick service dining for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there’s Primo Piatto. You can take your food to go or dine in. At breakfast, you can choose entrees such as a breakfast platter with eggs, mascarpone polenta, bacon, and sausage, blueberry-lemon pancakes, breakfast pizza, or Mickey waffles. At lunch and dinner, there’s pizza, beef bolognese, burgers, a croque monsieur, grilled chicken sandwich, and tuna niçoise salad. If you dine in, cast members will bring the food to your table, and everything comes plated with real silverware. To save time on your to go orders, you can mobile order from Primo Piatto using the My Disney Experience app.
Bar Riva
Bar Riva is Riviera’s pool bar, but it feels like another casual table service restaurant. Besides drinks and kid-friendly options like cheeseburgers and chicken strips, you’ll find entrees like a signature burger with brie, balsamic, caramelized onions, and black garlic aïoli; a Greek salad; grilled pasta with a white wine voluté sauce; and a seasonal pizza. If you enjoy the Riviera cookie from Primo Piatto, try the Riviera cookie skillet, which is served warm with pistachio gelato.
For a quick coffee and a treat, visit Le Petit Café. Guests love the specialty coffees, and the pastries are as delicious as they are beautiful. At night, the cafe serves beer, wine, and cocktails.
Recreation and Entertainment
Riviera has two pools. The Riviera Pool is the resort’s feature pool with a winding pool slide, poolside activities, and the nearby Fantasia-themed S’il Vous Play water play area for little kids. If you are craving a cool treat, you can get gelato from the Vivoli Il Gelato cart just outside of the Riviera Pool. For quiet poolside relaxation, there’s also the Beau Soleil Pool, Riviera’s leisure pool.
The Eventi Room is something of a hidden gem and though not technically a community hall, it offers lots of arts and crafts and games. There’s even a Painting on the Riviera painting class or Art De La Mosaïque mosaic crafting class on select days. The Eventi Room is currently open from 10am to 10pm on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday and from 1pm to 10pm on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
Enjoy the elegant Riviera for your next Disney World trip! Browse the confirmed reservations, or request a free quote to rent DVC points and save up to 65% compared to booking directly through Disney.
