Disney’s Newest “Luxury” Resort Is Not Worth The Price
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 พ.ค. 2024
- Often marketed as Walt Disney World's most luxurious hotel ever built, Disney's Riviera Resort has been a polarizing resort for a lot of people including myself. I have been very critical on why it's so expensive and lacks some of the qualities that I have come to love at other Disney hotels. But today, I'm going to give it a fair shot and stay in the cheapest room at the property. Let's see if it lives up to the hype...
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Chapters:
Opening - 0:00
History & DVC - 0:34
Room Tour - 2:32
Resort's Design & Amenities - 7:26
Pricing & Alternatives - 12:01
Score - 14:42
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Bright Sun Travels 2023
Presented in 4k
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Just released a new video about the Hard Rock Hotel collapse in New Orleans! th-cam.com/video/zlpUtckXz4Q/w-d-xo.htmlsi=hzA3achMbbrDC0Sk
Dude when are you going to go on a god damn holiday you enjoy?
Excellent review. Folk really need to do their homework before throwing away a ton of cash for something they could have got at a Motel 6 a little distance away. You saved a bunch of people a ton of money hopefully if they see this video. It is shocking that there is nothing architecturally of any value, it is just a big eyesore! It is like a bunch of Motel 6s all lined up! How could someone sign off on such a generic building like this? Who the hell approved this building? What the hell happened? I remember as a kid when I first visited Disney and seeing just the railcars, is it skyrail, and I was blown away..so beautiful, futuristic, new and had very high regard for Disney. What the hell happened here??? Someone got stiffed and ran away with the cash. They need to tear it down and build something of value that is on par with what Disney is about! Awful! Awful! Awful!
Europe has such stunning architecture for all to admire and enjoy, here in the US, we have the opportunity to design beautiful architecture as we have the capital, but instead we come up with this! The person that designed it should never have gone to architecture school!! They could have hired the top architecture like they do in Dubai or Qatar, but they picked an architecture that was never meant to be an architect! Very sad.
And maybe they were going for the "hospital look"?
Can get a very nice room in Doha for disney prices! LOL
Disney is all about illusion, that is what you definitely get with this hotel!
The whole concept of Disney is for people who have no taste and are very bland.
I feel like this room is the perfect representation of today's disney. Crowded, uncomfortable and over-priced.
Thanks Karen.
How is she being a Karen? Pointing out the obvious? @@markreynolds9135
@@markreynolds9135 you’re the reason why Disney keeps cost cutting. Because you ignore the drop in value
@@markreynolds9135learn what things mean and stop mindlessly repeating slang dude
@@markreynolds9135 Disney adult spotted
Any hotel that advertises itself as luxury but offers rooms with only Murphy beds is absolutely bonkers.
Murphy beds were created in San Francisco post-gold rush to hide prostitution from police raids…. not quite on brand for a family place
Murphy beds? Do they call that “the Eddie Valliant suite?”
These are rooms allow DVC members to stay at this resort for a low cost to them due to them being “low” in points. They’re typically booked by couples or solo travelers and people LOVE these rooms due to the low point cost. This resort is designed for DVC members who understand the DVC product
@@courtneyrogers5268Sure, Jan 🤡 😂😂
@@laikanbarth these rooms are some of the first rooms to be booked up and are constantly sold out. If people didn't love them, then why are they next to impossible to book?
Former 23-ish year Cast Member here. Disney keeps bringing the bar lower and lower domestically while charging astronomical prices and people just keep eating that crap up.
Their movies and tv productions seem to be going in a similar direction.
@@tablescissors67 I mean, just look how they butchered Star Wars and pissed on its corpse
@@hackermangage1703 Yes. That's, sadly enough, very true....😥
@@hackermangage1703 the Obiwan show was better than Empire strikes back. Discuss. 😂
@@emhu2594Nah. Not much to discuss.
Did you help to try and bring it back by writing letters?
The moment you said we had to make our own bed I laughed. No way in hell I'm spending money for hotel that DOESN'T have turn-down service. I'm on vacation, why tf do I want to do chores?
Next phase will be: "Sir, just to let you know, you'll need to make your own bed. You'll find some wood and nails around back by the loading dock."
@@JP-ll1yh lol
@@JP-ll1yh lmao
Thats why I dont use air b and b, I am not cleaning their house on my vacation. Disney messing up here with denying turn down service!
yeah, I can stay home and make my own bed
It is incomprehensible to me how Disney has systematically removed every single competitive advantage from their hotels. No theming, no airport transfers, no extra magic hours, and no FastPass. And since I’m forced to rent a car now because they killed the Magic Express I can just as easily drive to a bland corporate hotel or a bland Disney hotel. The only difference between these options is that the bland corporate hotel has a bigger room for 1/3 the price. Otherwise they are identical in virtually every way, and many of the corporate hotels are only a few minutes farther from the parks. Hmm.. what should I choose?
You do get extra magic hours. Early entry and one hour after park close. No other resorts offer airport fare. It sucks but so did waiting at an airport to go to my resort - my $60 Uber got me there in 40 minutes. There’s plenty of theming just not at this one. And fast pass was being abused and they spent a ton on technology so they axed it.
@@inonomusmedia8849 Untrue. Extra Magic Hours are dead and gone. Yes they do have early entry and extended evening hours. Sometimes. However, the early entry is only 30 minutes. Extra Magic was 60 minutes early. Extended evening hours have been inconsistent compared to Extra Magic and are not available to all Disney hotel guests. All Disney hotels used to offer free airport transfers on the Magical Express. Now they don’t. That’s my whole point; they’re eliminating their competitive advantage. Same thing with FastPass. You can explain away why they eliminated it, but you can’t deny the fact that it was a perk for staying on property that has been eliminated. As far as theming goes the idiots from Las Vegas that Disney put in charge of refurbishing their hotels are destroying the theming of every hotel they touch. The fact that there are hotels in the park that they haven’t gotten their incompetent mitts on yet doesn’t prove anything, and every new hotel Disney is building isn’t themed at all.
I think when many people look at their options they’ll conclude that it’s not worth the extra $2k-$5k or more to stay on property just to get into the parks 30 minutes early and MAYBE stay late one night, because that’s all they’re getting for the extra cost.
@@inonomusmedia8849 The fast pass became a mess because they kept trying to tweak it, nobody forced you to take the airport shuttle but it sure is a compelling value for families, and any creative theming left is just unmodernized resorts from years past when they actually gave a shit.
Well you see, when Walt and his wife were staying in hotels over 100 years ago, they were plain and uninspired (just like this)……so THATS the theming 🤣🤣🤣
People are stupid enough to pay it. People with more money than common sense.
Why the hell do they have you make your own bed? This whole thing reeks of cost-saving, which sounds about right for Disney as a whole at this point. The actual price makes it even worse.
Seriously, even a budget hotel makes up the futon for you...
Vacation club studio. It’s like an Airbnb . No room service and turn down service. You could have just added $60 and got a regular room which gets you those services if you willing to spend a little more.
Out of 489 rooms, 24 of them are like this. The other 465 are some of the largest rooms on property and don't make you make your bed, but this is the one he wanted to focus on so he could get a reaction like yours.
The regular studios are the 2nd largest studios on property. The 1bedroom villa is the 3rd largest 1BR villa on property. The 2 bedroom villa is the 2nd largest 2BR villa on property. The 3 bedroom grand villa is the 2nd largest 3 bedroom on property. But of course he focuses on this one which obviously don't make up the majority of the resort.
What town was is it in the third picture when you were talking about the French Riviera?
None of you understand how DVC works then.
They do come in to make up your room....every 4 days. You buy in to the club. Pay off the contract, and get access for 50 years, total. It's essentially timeshare.
You'll never go wrong by avoiding all things Disney.
Yes, they don't care about genocide. In fact they'll support it if they can make money from it!
@@bethanychatman9531do they support Palestine or something?
My woman wanted to go to Disney world and quickly found out it would cost us around $9,000 for us to spend a week in Disney world, including food and airfare…
Compared the cost of a week at Disney Tokyo ( a larger more modern Disney park ) and with airfare from New Jersey to Tokyo included, the price would cost us $4,500… clearly an American Disney issue on the price, not a Disney issue themselves. Disney knows to many Americans with more money than brains walk around looking to spend it on literally anything so they jack the prices up.
Spending money on Disney as an adult..
Just so you know, Tokyo Disney is officially licensed and was initially built by Disney, but is run by a separate company. (Oriental Land) I can't say for sure, but that might be the difference.
why are you calling your (presumably) partner “my woman”?
@@rw5763Why do you care when she doesn’t? What do you care what her man calls her?
Unless you go around telling everyone not to call their partners their man-which if you do, gross, but that’s exactly what you did here too, so do you see your problem?
We’re women. (I’m assuming you’re a woman.) We can be called women. We can’t be defensive on behalf of strangers on vaguely related to what we’ve heard, and we certainly can’t get offended on behalf of woman (we don’t know!) if we can’t even handle hearing a random man call us *literally* what we are, especially in a context that was clearly meant to treat and pamper said woman. We can call our man our man. Men can call their woman their woman. Bigger fish to fry, hon. You will wish later you put your words towards something actually meaningful instead of people who aren’t your enemy, especially with topics like this.
@@rw5763 absolutely cooked.
Nothing says “Disney magic” like doing your own housekeeping 😂
It's like experiencing what it was like being Cinderella before she met the fairy godmother. Haha. Or was that snow white? I don't know Disney princess. I'm a straight man. Haha.
Sexual orientation has nothing to do with knowledge of Disney princesses. @@jasonwebb5964
The princes, on the other hand…
Be our guest!....And make your own bed 🤣
For this, they made a pariah out of uncle Remus?
The steep cost of luxury hotels is not really for the room, but for the service. I've worked housekeeping for actual luxury places- I would literally iron and fold guests' clothes during room service, on top of 50 other things. This steep of a cost does not justify the room at all, and then not even including turndown service?? Is CRAZY.
I WAS SO JAW DROPPED AT THE FOOTAGE OF THEM MAKING THEIR OWN BEDS .....
Ive never stayed at an airbnb let alone a hotel that doesn't have the bed made for you. Just unfettered greed on Disneys part. Honestly though if your a Disney adult actually willing to fork out the cash for a fake experience in a fake place this is the garbage you deserve. Eat your slop piggies.
Yea they don't even have a turndown service
turndownforwhat?
Watching the video I only can ask one thing ... What service?
I worked at a Castle Hotel in Germany frequented by Disney travel groups. When a guy told me what his family paid for getting driven around in a bus from one tourist location to the next being accomodated in regular 4* hotels i couldn't believe it. Disney is the greediest company i ever dealt with.
They will charge what people are willing to pay
This doesn’t scream “Disney” to me, it screams “developer.” And therein lies the current downfall of the company.
Exactly. It's time for Josh D'armo to go. He doesn't seem to understand the importance of proper design and themeing for the parks. The new epcot planters and benches look like the sort of things we see in between blocks at a standard new apartment complex here in East London, not the center piece of a Disney theme park. And it doesn't take them 4 years to build those. Riviera is a box with bits stuck on after the fact to try and disguise it as architecture. What are they doing?
Maybe to my monkey brain a "Disney resort" should remind me of "Disney". This just looks like a normal, bland hotel for a steep price, with better value for money anywhere else. I've worked in many 5 star luxury hotels, and this just looks so sad. No theme, no uniqueness, and entirely overpriced. And the tower studio with a Murphy bed you have to make on your own? There's a better turndown service on a japanese train than this lol 😭😭
“Aggressively Bland,” could describe Disney’s entire approach to their hotel & restaurant remodels/builds in the past decade. The Vegas team seems to believe people don’t really want theming when they go to a Walt Disney resort (a company formally known for its incredibly detailed theming).
I 100% agree with you about how Disney has become so costly it’s no longer worth going. Last year my family DID go to Europe instead of going to Walt Disney World. I’m sure we saved a ton of money for a better experience.
"Aggressively Bland" sums up modern Disney in a nutshell.
I would so much rather go to Europe than to Disney.
Especially with the strong dollar you get so much more out of travelling to Europe. Hell even more so Japan if that's your thing with yen tanking. I feel also that past 10 years the price has gone past a threshold that even for a upper middle class family it's just not worth it.
I've seen stayed at way more spacious, better themed resorts with a lot more amenities in poverty-stricken parts of Viet Nam. This is despressingly embarrassing, Disney
Are you telling me a trip to Europe costs the same as one to DisneyWorld?!
That room gives me visiting a friend and sleeping in their office "guest room" vibes. Sums up everything I dislike about this era of Disney.
LMAOOOOO! $500 for a broom closet you have to upkeep yourself! And make toast on the floor! XD XD XD
actually insane LMAO
It never ceases to amazing me how much people blow at corporate entertainment venues. For $1,000, you can fly 12 time zones away and see somewhere amazing that has $20-$25/night rooms (Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc). I know people who spend thousands per trip per person to visit a theme park (including all costs) when for the same money, they could go spend a month in Asia or South America touring all kinds of cool cultures and eating amazing food. But there is a large segment of the population who thinks a theme park, cruise ship, or all inclusive resort is traveling.
I know! My husband grew up going with his family and wants to go with me but I’d rather go to the Philippines or something instead of paying to stand in lines all day 😂
Every time I heard "otterman" instead of "ottoman" I chuckled.
I can't believe I had to scroll this far to find this comment.
Lol that’s funny I didn’t notice until I read this 😆
I came to the comments looking for this!
I thought I misheard or got it wrong all this time.
batman's friend, not empire footstool
I lost it at the toaster on the floor😂 honestly their idea of “luxurious” just reminds me of “luxury apartments” that you see. The ones that all look the same, are cheaply built, and you don’t realize it until they sucker you into a year long lease.
mmmmh, floor toast!
I can see plug ins around the desk and above the tv area table. Putting it on the floor was being dramatic … and makes me wonder if they’re exaggerating other stuff
Facts
HUGE fire risk!
❤❤❤ 😅😅😅 nailed it! Good ol' Capitalism.
Maybe in 20 years, will be seeing a abandoned video, Jake will explore his abandoned room he stayed, and the toaster will still be on the floor plugged in
I didn't realize that some of the Caribbean Beach Resort buildings had to be demolished for the Riviera. That really bothers me. I've stayed at Caribbean Beach Resort twice. 1989 and 2023. I love that resort.
My hot take is that the quality of Disney as a whole has gone down significantly and sometimes the 'sunk cost' for what people have paid (hotels, parks as a whole, food) makes them overinflate how much they actually liked something in their mind so it's not as disappointing.
This is why I don't like when people accept mediocrity. Watching a show just cause it's on, listening to whatever music is on the main page, finding a way to enjoy a crappy hotel... There's a time and place for that attitude but if you never speak up you just allow things to become worse because why would anyone try harder if you give them your money either way. If you spend $500 on a hotel and it sucks this bad, demand your money back and leave. Be a Karen if you have to cause otherwise Disney will gladly keep making these hotels and collecting your money
The food at Disney world is actually pretty bad now
I'm actually upset you don't get food for free. You pay $500+ a night for a room then there should be free food.
@@benm3382
SAME! I hate it too. Like don't pretend it was good when it wasn't. It just makes companies more likely to cut corners like in places like this. Same with books, movies and music.
Ice cold but very true take
Don't know if there's a better representation of modern Disney than a toaster sitting on the floor of a 540 dollar a night closet
Never understood why people spend so much for one room…per night. I can rent a 3 bedroom cabin in the mountains for a week for the price of two nights at that hotel (and have a wayyy better time) lol. I appreciate your videos and hope it will help others :)
The loud AC unit would have drove me crazy. That would have been the one thing that would have had me checking out and disputing charges. 🤣
Disney has lost its artistry over the years. It’s a shame.
have you seen the new DVC hotel at the Polynesian? Looks like an Apartment building in Tampa.
Sadly thats what happens when it takes 20 comittees to make any decision. Including the pr, marketing, diversity, etc comittees.
@@verios44committees
👍
Their average customer is really dumb and has terrible taste. They are responding to the center of the bell curve.
We need to normalize a simple lifestyle and stop normalizing debt. Huge SUVs, huge houses and private universities are simply not necessary. I live within my budget and I sleep better at night knowing that if I lose my job tomorrow, ' be fine. I didn't buy the biggest house. I bought the one I could comfortably repay
Yeah can being frugal be sexy please? recently mentioned that I'm frugal to a young woman and she gave me the weirdest look... Being financially responsible is looked down on
I wish I could find it, but I remember reading a study once that claimed financially insolvent men had 1.5-2x more sexual partners than their financially solvent counterparts.
Big house suv. Bruh you got people driving Honda civics, living in a 1 bedroom apartment and not a luxury one at that living paycheck to paycheck.
The median rent is 2000. A lot of financial professionals especially the one I work with Samuel Peter Descovich agree that one should not spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent. That means you need to make a minimum of about $80,000. Interesting considering the median income is $54,000.
Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge. Your coach was simple to discover online. I did my research on him before I wrote to him. He appears knowledgeable based on his online resume.
Found his website easily. It was like the first thing that came up when I searched his name. I'll surely touch basis with him to see what the best step is for me to take right now. THANK YOU!!!
i HATE EVERYTHING that Disney stands for. All they do is rip people off time and time again. I 100% emphatically agree with EVERYTHING you've said about this review. Your lowest score of 1/10 should have been 0/10. The room isn't even worth $100/night. It's outrageous.
If I was at Disney for the day, I would be so tempted to just steal bottles of water rather than pay $10 for a bottle
My biggest head scratcher moment was the staircase that leads up to the lobby that was showcased in this video. It’s a major thoroughfare that a bunch of people use and it doesn’t feel elegant whatsoever. I’m glad I walked through it but yeah would not have enjoyed staying there.
As much as it might harm your sanity, watching you review bad luxury hotels and cruises is extremely entertaining. There's something surprisingly intriguing about seeing the bad side of an industry meant to make people forget their worries entirely.
Then you’ll never run out of entertainment lol
Just because you slap the word “luxury” onto it does not automatically make it luxurious, Disney. I don’t think it’s dramatic to say that if I have to make my own bed, then it is not a luxury hotel.
It’s honestly kinda insulting, but hey. Sometimes expensive things… are worse.
There’s no twisting of language where this is luxury. The point of a hotel bed is like so you can roll into your room and pass out in bed after whatever adventure you got up to that day. Other people are saying this isn’t the majority of rooms at this resort but given the price you could stay elsewhere for much cheaper. Then again I stopped caring about disney when I was about 10 years old.
DisneyBlingBling
Bit of a personal story here, had a partner once that had a theme park hobby. When pointed out traveling to the real places those theme parks tried to replicate would be both more rewarding and less expensive, they got confrontational enough to eventually dump me. It hurt like hell, but some time later it kinda feels I’ve dodged a bullet- at least I know my wallet has
It actually kinda looks like that swedish or Norwegian prison that's meant for rehabilitation
That room would make sense in a ridiculously crowded area like New York City or Tokyo (at a much lower price), but Disney World isn’t exactly running low on space for large hotel rooms.
And it would make sense in Tokyo or I guess New York, however you would still grumble about it and see as ridiculous, seen as most budget hotels in both these places even though they have high density. Still have normal beds
I have had last minute hotel rooms at a third of the price in the West Side that had more space and breakfast. This is a moneypit.
I lived in a room that size in Tokyo and it cost $300/month, or $10/day. Dinner included.
Even in Manhattan this would be ridiculous
I lived in Tokyo for 2 years. A room in a western style hotel (Hilton and Marriot) right in Shinjuku is twice that size and a third of the cost of what Disney is charging for the Riviera closet room. At that price point you could get a decent room at Tokyo Disneyland Hotel or Tokyo Disney Sea Hotel MiraCosta.
I love how you went for an unsensational, honest title and review - avoiding both the "OMG MY FAVORITE RESORT" and "Disney’s hotel is a SCAM" clickbait in favour of a review that was about showing why you arrived at your conclusion, rather than telling the viewers how to feel. I appreciate that very much.
Me too
Universal will give you a night at their PREMIER, LUXURY royal pacific for 400-600 dollars that includes TWO DAYS of UNLIMITED express, and the room sleeps 6. This just shows the shift in today's disney's value.
Fun fact: I'm typing this from a Marriott in Florida that I flew down to for my stepbrother's wedding. It was ultra luxury resort with lots to see or do and even a walk right to the beach.
The rooms here are almost $100 cheaper for a 2 bed than the dinky tower room you got. At this point, 'Disney' does not justify the prices they are charging when others can outclass them.
Also a benefit of that room. You get points to stay at another hotel for cheaper or free if you're part of the rewards
At 100 bucks you could skip the bus and take an Uber LUX on demand.
It’s never justified the price point, and people trying to act like this is a recent development are crazy. Their hotels have always been wildly overpriced to the point that it’s completely worthless to stay there.
This resort seems to me to exemplify everything wrong with Disney as a corporation in the post-First Iger Era: Drab, soulless, devoid of all imagination and originality, overpriced, overhyped, banking on its reputation and brand recognition while having nothing to keep that reputation from declining, wringing every last penny out of their most die-hard fans to try and bail out their sinking ship while their halfhearted attempts to actually stop the leaks often only lead to more holes.
@rileyp7 To avoid any politics with this post, this may not be true, but I feel like Iger and the other higher ups know what the company has been doing for the past few years is hurting the company and they're trying to cash out on its demise.
@@randomscb-40charger78At least that would make some kind of sense if it were true. Otherwise, I can’t figure out what their plan is for the company, as it seems like almost everything they’ve done has been stupid.
@randomscb-40charger78 politics aside I agree…that KIND of monopoly on entertainment that Disney had in the 20th century just simply does not exist anymore. Plus a huge amount of their IP will go public domain pretty soon (i.e. Mickey will be out of copyright eventually). Same thing happening to Hollywood. They were going down anyway, might as well just cash in I guess 🤷🏻♀️.
Mickey Mouse will still be a registered trademark even if the earliest cartoons he was in are finally losing their copyrights.
Happy 95th birthday, Mickey, you greedy, psychopathic rat! Now I can bootleg *Steamboat Willie* and get away with it!
It seems like even at this point they don't quite realize the gravity of the problem that is going to occur through the next generation, Disney spent 60+ years building trust and the 'Disney difference' in their parks as a form of not just a marketing ploy, but a financial transaction to justify the expense they present, to justify trips to Disneyland becoming a family defining memory. We are seeing though even now in these few short decades, how that narrative has been eroded, people are priced out or pushed out of taking their families, and even those going are seeing the cracks, not seeing it as something magical and unique, but seeing it as a overpriced amusement park cashing out on a zombiefied brand, and those people, are not bringing their children back, and those children are then not taking their own kids to the park when they grow up. They are going to hit a attendance crash eventually as a generational change in opinion pushes people to skip the Disney parks, and other places know it, Disney is starting to bleed and places are realizing Disney parks can be out performed. Why do you think Universal has been really putting the peddle down recently on emphasizing more of their own themeing, they know there is going to be a marooned generation of new families, and they are more then happy to offer their own cheaper and equally gilded lifeboats to bring them in. To make Universal be the family memory park instead of disney.
The toaster on the floor frame goes hard.
I went on a big road trip this year to visit my cousin who was getting married, as well as visit and travel the province the wedding was in. We paid around $800 or so in multiple hotels along the way, and every single one was easily higher quality than this “luxury” Disney resort. Can’t say I’ve *ever* had to make my own hotel bed before, plus, they all had plushy duvets, good for keeping us warm in late October
Those were not DVC kiosks. They were pre flight check-in desks that you can use for your outgoing flight. Those closed out at the pandemic and probably won't come back considering Disney doesn't offer free transport to the airport.
Diz-nee: Sorry, but there’s profit to be had
@@Attmaynice Simpsons reference 😆
That is one of the worst layed out hotel rooms I think I've ever seen. It seems like someone said lets have a tower and then not thought about what to do with the tower until an accountant came along to explain the best floor space to profit ratio and they had to go along with it. However impractical and poorly proportioned it was.
That’s probably *exactly* what happened. 😂
Take into consideration that this is a DVC specific room type. It’s meant for couples that want to budget their points and don’t need a full-size hotel room. It’s of course not a good value to pay cash for this room because it’s meant to be used by DVC members stay in on points (cash stays are much more expensive), but rarely complaints from members as it’s a very economical option for DVC members that want to enjoy the amenities of that resort (Skyliner, dining, pool, etc).
@@RetrocadePodcast "budget their points" what is budget about the DVC points this costs, it's more points than other places. "Don't need a full sized bedroom", what are you on about, who wants a giant bathroom and a bedroom so small the bed has to be folded out, who wants that? I get budget hotels but budget hotel bedrooms are almost exclusively big enough for an actual bed.
@@Alex-cw3rz It’s 10 points a night on the low season. That’s favorable for many DVC owners. Most owners have around 150-200 points, so you can get a cheap vacation that’s worth $4k in cash on half your annual point allotment.
@@RetrocadePodcast but there are many others that are cheaper or the same and they all come with you know a bed you don't have to make yourself.
Thank you a honest review. It's hard to find these days. Please keep it up.
Anything Disney is a joke.
As someone who used to do housekeeping for the Disney College Program, I'm never surprised if a speck of dust gets missed in a hotel room. You were given two hours to essentially clean an entire apartment building. You'd be given three of those and a normal hotel room. And if one of those rooms was especially messy, it could easily take you twice as long.
Absolutely. I can't say I have experience with any Disney hotels but as someone who is currently working as a housekeeper, you are expected to 'clean' a room in a time limit. If you go over you're told off, if it's not clean you're told off. It's a constant struggle to balance both and I can guarentee that a lot of hotel rooms are not as clean as you think.
Sounds like they just need to hire more housekeepers and stop being cheap while charging out the wahoo
@@thelastwalkingsoul Yes exactly I know what you mean! I've done housekeeping before, and I'm currently a laundry attendant at a hotel. When I went to the interview I told them up front that while I can clean good I wouldn't be able to bust out the rooms in a timely fashion. And just prefer to stick to laundry for the most part. But I agree that a lot of those rooms have NOT been cleaned properly. And it's always a constant battle between the GM and the housekeepers on timing & cleanliness.
@@darkriku12 oh they absolutely do but of course they’re not going to because it saves money. Why pay 10 housekeepers $24 an hour when you can only pay 5 and still get the same amount of rooms clean?
@@TheMeloettaful I would love to do something else in my housekeeping job. As you said, the constant back and forth of balancing time and cleanliness is starting to drive me crazy. I’m trying to search for something else but it’s so hard to find jobs right now :(
I just came back from a trip to Japan that ended with a visit to Tokyo Disneysea, and it's offensive that Disney can brand two premium products with such a similar theme yet such disparate quality. If you're comparing USD prices, rooms are cheaper at the (nicer) hotel that's inside that park, too. With the current exchange rate, it's possibly cheaper to fly all the way to Japan and visit Disney there than a comparable trip in Florida. You could tour other non-Disney places while you're in the country too, and you'd still probably save.
It's pitiful how much Disney keeps dropping the ball in their domestic market, and yet fans still keep lapping it up.
It’s interesting that Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea are the only two Disney parks that aren’t owned by Disney. Oriental Land Company owns and operates both parks independently and only licenses the Disney intellectual property.
So, it’s sad to realize that a random land holding company offers a better Disney experience than Disney can. 😢
From what I seen online, that seems to be true. Tokyo Disney seems to be the only place still keeping the old magic. Though similar to the US, prices have gone up for various things, but hey....beats going to the US's Disney!
Why the hell would you make a long trip to Japan just to stay at a faux-Japanese Disney resort???
@@mikemainer3009because it’s Japan, a beautiful advance country that offers a lot.
@@mikemainer3009 It's probably not a good idea to *just* go to Japan for Tokyo Disney, but you also can't really burn more than three or MAYBE four days there, and most Disney afficionados probably won't want to do more than two. On the other hand, once you've done your three days, you're in *Tokyo*, the largest metroplex in the world, and given travel times it doesn't make much sense to head home after less than a week and you can probably shift to cheaper accommodation and explore the rest of the city or one of the many day trips just outside the city's reach....AND YOU'RE STILL SPENDING LESS THAN TAKING YOUR FAMILY TO DISNEY WORLD FOR A WEEK.
At that point, I can't really see a good argument that something *hasn't* gone seriously out of whack with WDW's pricing.
My wife and I stayed in the exact room you stayed in last year for our anniversary and we absolutely loved it. Granted, we had previously only ever stayed in Disney value resorts, so we had nothing to compare it to. But it wasn’t all rosy for us. We did find a cockroach in our room (which to be fair was on the ground floor) to which the front desk quickly dispatched an actual Disney bug specialist to fetch it for us, which I thought was pretty neat.
Even as an architect I can´t really point out what really went wrong here and what their intent was. The materials and designs are just mixed all over the place and look cheap.
It just has no message or style at all. Nothing fits together. A complete mess that somehow results in an extremely gloomy and uncomfortable feeling. No thoughts went into anything in the shown rooms. Not in the bathroom, not in the AC, not in the lighting or windows. And certainly not into the bed or the "kitchenette"
It looks like a cheap apartment block somewhere in the suburbs Las Vegas.
Oh and that marble are just tiles, I don´t even have to touch it or have a close look in real life to recognize them. They are a typical builder grade tile for only a couple $ / sq ft.
If you look really close you would even see the printing pattern / dots on them.
As typical with Disney hotels, this place seems more like a shelter away from "poorer folks" than an experience. Thanks as always for the legwork!
You hit the nail of the head. These resorts aren’t really to give a luxury experience, but more so folks can not have to share walls with the poors. 😂😂
I mean I get it but do you know what kind of hotel 300 or even 400 dollars a night gets you? I don’t think there’s gonna be any poors there. Plus most people who have money don’t part with it this easily.
@@sonialinsey8083 I think that's the point, the only reason to go to this hotel is to make sure you're surrounded only by obnoxiously rich people who would spend 500 a night to live in a closet. People save up for luxury experiences and most luxurious hotels that ACTUALLY are worth the price can have a wide range of guests because of the experience. In this case, it's simply not remotely worth the money and no poor people would ever save up to go here :P
That’s weird because people with actual wealth aren’t staying at hotels like the Poly or the Riviera. They’ll just buy a home in golden oak or nearby whichever park is in question. These condo style hotels are made for middle class families that are choosing convenience and the Disney brand over better and more upscale hotel choices. They’re marginally more expensive than other mid level hotels, but they’re not in the same category as a true luxury property. That’s why Disney has the Four Seasons and the Golden Oak neighborhood on property.
@@sonialinsey8083Yes they absolutely do, they just expect the cost to meet the experience. Disney is a theme park made for kids and families, they’re catering to the middle class, not the 2%.
The most insulting thing about this is the fact that you pointed out that Disney chose the theming/building layout they did so they themselves can save on construction cost. But then they have the sheer audacity to transfer the costs they DIDNT PAY onto their guests. I mean really??!!
Recently stayed at the surfside at universal and 170 per night for halloween hhns and the low cost to uber over to disney its a fucking steal for 3 beds.
9:33 - Someone should be fired for printing that poster with compression artifacts.
"The World’s Most Expensive Dorm".
Nails it.
The price comparison to going to the ACTUAL French Riviera instead was incredible!!
You were straight up robbed. Jake, even at a discount of $250 you were robbed. I grew up in Tampa. It’s sad how far they’ve fallen. I stayed in Paris once for a week for $2100 and my bathroom was real marble, EVEN ON THE CEILING!
Thanks Karen
Sure you did
@@markreynolds9135lmao here's the Disney cuck
Yup, most places have to live on something else than just a brand name to warrant their price tag, meaning they offer a far better experience if they're high priced. No European would pay 500 a night to stay in a closet with a fold-down bed lmao.
As a former Disney World Housekeeper that dust under the bed was shocking. Even in value resorts once the housekeeper is done with a room, a coordinator comes and thoroughly checks every nook and cranny in the room to make sure its up to par and the fact that there was that much dust and hair under an ottoman in the middle of the room is astounding.
truly a shame how endless greed and lifeless corporate executives ruin everything fun in the name of short term profit. everything disney has a hand in anymore turns out to be absolute garbage and people are finally getting fed up with it.
As a Floridian who lives in the Central Florida area, this sounds like a stereotypical average tourist trap hotel you can find in the Kissimmee area that Disney thought they could get away with considering the success of their other resorts on property.
The grey dirty looking exterior and bland from a distance look made me think it was part of your abandoned series. From the video I see when you get close you see they've added random bits of colour and some detailing to make it not as generic a building, yet it does still feel quite generic.
I thought the same thing!
Thanks Karen
@@markreynolds9135do you work for Disney Mark? ‘Karen’ has valid points
It's even blander on an overcast day.
Disney has reached a new low. Most expensive broom closet ever.
Disney has turned into the definition of minimalist corporate laziness and greed.
I think the hotel takes its inspiration from “we might have to sell it later”.
It’s a big investment by Disney. That way if it flops, and isn’t making money, much easier to pull down posters than Mickey Mouse statues. A generic building is much easier to sell.
I think it could be a Motel 8 soon? 😄
Yeah it could literally be turned into generic condos with minimal work
You have a great point for resell of property.
Honestly that’s why restaurants have gotten more boring within the last few decades. Remember the iconic pizza hut building shape?
@BluesMoth64 the iconic building pizza hut in my area closed maybe 2015. It's sad they tore it down and built something else.
I could go on and on about the rapid decline of Disney but honestly I think this resort captures it perfectly. Cheap, fast, with absolutely none of the creativity and magic Disney has become synonymous with. I mean, Iger said it himself; they're focusing almost solely on the bottom line. And it certainly shows in their new resorts, movies, rides, etc.
It doesn’t matter to their core cult like fan base
@@grantkeller4634oh, yes it does! They’re more unhappy than anyone. They loved that place and they’ve watched it decline. They’re turning to universal.
Modern Disney's approach is so cynical, they know people will pay ludicrous amounts of money for anything that comes from their brand. There's no effort or passion anymore, just the continual dulling of consumer expectations while increasing prices.
@@grantkeller4634It does a bit! People continue to buy these mediocre rooms, but other avenues are showing their decline. There movies keep bombing, because nobody wants to see them.
@@LoveK1Universal is a much better value and with Epic universe opening soon Disney better get it together
Thank you Bright Sun Travels for this hotel review! The concluding comments that the video "got a little negative" caught my attention. Why? Because I enjoyed the HONEST review! Truthful is not negative in my opinion!
I totally agree. Disney although very expensive built highly themed resorts which you then can maybe justify the high price point because they looked special and different. Now they are building generic hotels costing them as little as possible and giving you in return as little as possible but charging you the same extortionate prices. Greed?
I'm glad you brought up the design because as an architecture buff, the design of it is my number one criticism. Although I appreciate the beautiful Tangled and Peter Pan mosaics (though neither of those movies take place in the French/Italian Riviera) you see when you enter from the Riviera Skyline station, the overall design just isn't great. Either they confused the French Riviera with Paris or they assume all of France just looks like Paris, which couldn't be more wrong. Disney's Boardwalk Inn actually feels like Coney Island and the Jersey Shore! The Polynesian Village actually feels like Polynesia! The Riviera....doesn't feel like the French nor the Italian Riviera.
You know who ACTUALLY did a great job replicating the Italian Riviera as a resort? UNIVERSAL ORLANDO with Portofino Bay! Portofino is an actual village in Genoa, and Steven Spielberg loved to vacation there, so he asked Universal to replicate it and they did it spectacularly! My favorite Disney resort for theming remains the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The lobby itself has chandeliers created using eight enormous Maasai shields! The resort is home to the largest collection of African art outside of the African continent. Many of the most impressive pieces, like the 16-foot-tall Igbo Ijele mask, are in the lobby. Not to mention the rear window facing the savanna offers stunning wildlife views!
Couldn’t agree more!
Thanks for the art descriptions in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I will check them out more closely next time I go there.
Your comment about the mosaic is right--beautiful but...why didn't they go with Cinderella, the Aristocats, Beauty and the Beast or Ratatouille? At least they take place in France if not specifically the Riviera. The building itself is indeed bland, but Disney has demonstrated that the box is what they're doing from now on (RE Bay Lake Tower, Poly tower, Disneyland Hotel.) It is what it is. But I think there are very nice and immersive design effects at Riviera if you pay attention. The cloisters along the ground level are rich looking and have a different finish from the masonry in the middle by the stairs; the lakeside bulwark anchors and defines the property (compare to the rope and fences at other waterside resorts;) and the central garden are all lovely. Look up and you see very authentic Mansard roofing and dormer windows. My biggest complaint is the gray color. That's not used in the Riviera at all. It's a 2010s American decorating trend. It'd be much nicer in a pale pistachio green, similar to some of the shutters.
Riviera will never compare with Animal Kingdom Lodge for theming, but Disney isn't doing resorts like that anymore.
Nah man, I'm Italian and Portofino bay looks nothing like Portofino. At best it looks like a cheap knockoff of Venezia without the canals
@@user-lq1jc6wf5mAs someone who’s been to both the hotel and the real Portofino (I’m of Genoese descent), I disagree with what you said, they did a solid job matching the look. I mean it’s not gonna be 100 percent authentic of course because it’s a Florida theme park resort, but it’s more authentic than whatever the Riviera is supposed to be.
THANK YOU!! I have seen so many Disney youtubers praise this place so when I was staying at Caribbean Beach I was excited to visit. It is AWFUL. The building looks more like a European office building, but maybe it's just more obvious to me as a European. And the lobby was so awkwardly laid out. We wanted to get drink at Toppolino's but didn't find the time and, honestly, after a wee 10 minute walk around it I'm glad we didn't
Also, I absolutely adored Caribbean Beach and will definitely be back there yet everyone seems to hate it. Have done All Stars, Pop, AK Lodge and Riverside and I just think CB came out on top for its placement and the many pools spread about that are quieter.
Aside from the bathroom and the mural being different, this room is almost indistinguishable from the one I stayed in at the All-Star Movie Resort, their budget motel-style hotel.
Edit: I shouldn't have commented this before finishing the video lol
Thank you for being so honest!
I don't understand why Disney didn't just design your room with a standard bed. Like you said, it's geared toward couples anyway, not families. I understand maximizing space, but most people staying at a Disney hotel are going to spend a lot of time outside their room anyway. Give them the best night's sleep possible for that price.
The toaster on the floor cracked me up. I've stayed in budget roadside motels that have better thought out room amenities! I hope whoever the target market is for this room watches this video and stays away. Nobody deserves floor toast.
That toaster on the floor was a travesty, lol. I keep hearing so much bad things about Disney recently, movies floping, corners being cut, it kinda makes you not want to go back, though I had a lot of fun there when I was younger.
Room designer: It's going to cost $120 for a 4 slice toaster but the added counter outlet will add $500 during renovation costs.
CEO: Nah, no need for the counter outlet.
Room designer: How will customers use the toaster?
CEO: Who cares? And I believe a 2 slice toaster is good enough, cut that toaster cost in half too.
Dont ever apologize for giving an honest a fair review of something.
I love your videos! You do a great job with the filming, history and narration!
The world's most expensive dorm room 😂
Bland is absolutely the best word to describe it. I work in historic hotels so I'm a little biased towards older construction (one guest today spent 15 minutes just photographing a load-bearing pillar in our lobby) but even without that, there's nothing that stands out about this place. This is particularly true when trying to see it through "French Rivera" style. It reminds me more of the resorts that high-ranking Soviet officials could go to...a bootleg version of the real thing.
I would love to see new buildings built with the same quality of materials, craftmanship, and architectural character as older, pre-World War II buildings. New or modern doesn't have to mean plain, low quality, and ugly as is often unfortunately the case.
@@Blatsen My city has one of the largest pre-Civil War historical districts in the South and is very proud about that…if you build something new within the historic district it has to “marry the neighborhood”- in other words, it shouldn’t stand out as obviously new construction. One of the best examples is a sprawling hotel of brick and terracotta, opened in 2005. The design was based off an 1888 mansion that now hosts the hotel restaurant, and if you didn’t know the two buildings were built so far apart you wouldn’t guess it by looking.
Ironically there are complaints that this type of new/old construction is “Disneyfication”, making fake historical structures, but I can tell you I’d rather see new buildings respecting the older styles than something that looks like your bog-standard Hampton Inn with a “French” roof.
Let’s not forget how Star Wars hotel failed not even a year after opening. Once the magic was gone and replaced with identity politic, half their customer base stopped going.
$540 a night to make your own bed that is in a wall and have the luxury of toasting your bread on the floor .
Then those sheets were so cheap.
Outrageous 😮
Dude should've put the toaster under the curtains and left while making toast. Claim the fact it had no other usable outlet.
I'm glad you mentioned JW Bonnet Creek. The whole family wanted to stay there when they visited for my late grandfather's 90th b-day party in 2009.
NOTHING at Disney is worth the price anymore. We stayed at the Caribbean resort in 2021 as COVID was winding down. In comparison to our last visit 10 years prior, they had added a surcharge for EVERYTHING; and that's on top of their already outrageous prices. Sorry Disney, we're done. FOREVER.
Imagine how 10 years can change the price of a hotel room. Covid didn't wind down until 2022 at the very earliest. You went at the moment it would have cost the absolute most. No one else was dumb enough to go to a major theme park during the pandemic.
@@ngoss2234 COVID was over far earlier than they let anyone believe. Besides, it wasn't just that things were more expensive - they were - it's just that they cost A LOT more than they're worth. Also, there were numerous things that were no longer included in the experience and were now an extra cost.
It wasn't over in 2021. My home state got hit the hardest in late 2021 into 2022.@@OrdinaryDude
It’s honestly insulting that Disney thinks this is ‘luxury’ and it’s even more unfortunate that this isn’t the only example of this. I miss when Disney was ambitious and bold. The Greek hotel would have been a wonderful experience and I would have paid for it. I will never pay for the Rivera. Thanks for the wonderful reviews again and can’t wait for the next one.
I haven't watched your vids in a while but I love the new intro with your logo! It's very retro and fun
Fantastic review of this resort. I just realized that you had a 2nd channel for Travel! Thanks again for another great video.
I've stayed in hotel rooms that were smaller, but still were better designed and didn't expect me to have to make the bed. And for that price. Unbelievable.
I was fine until he started talking about the "ottermen".
Funny, at first, as someone from Europe I see this room and think to myself cmon it’s not that bad or that small, I rather like it… Until you revealed the price and I spat out my coffee. Wtf? How is so expensive??
And remember, this isn't some two-hundred-year-old building in the middle of a big city in Europe that was never supposed to be a hotel that they have to convert into hotel rooms no matter how many sacrifices had to be made to fit. They built this SIX YEARS AGO for the EXPRESSED purpose of being a hotel in a WIDE open space in the middle of Florida.
Really glad I saw this video. You were actually pretty generous with your rating. Best thing to do is find a gorgeous nearby resort and visit Disney’s theme parks spread into multiple days. This will allow plenty of rest and relaxation, and you can go play at the parks during times that have better weather or less crowds.
what an excellent review, truthful & revealing as it is I'm really sad that Disney has gone so far downhill & that the cost of a resort stay is so much without the service & typical amenities to go along with it. They have definitely turned against their guests with offerings like the one in this video. Thank You Very Much for doing this so we don't have to.
As soon as you walked in and said "Welcome to our tower studio" I just had to pause the video and blink in shock, looking for where the rest of the room was. I've stayed at business hotels in Japan (known for its tiny rooms) that had more space and cost under $100 a night. I would stay in this room if it was a budget option but it looks more like someone's AirBnB listing than a nearly $550 luxury hotel room.
Even some AirBnBs are much, much better than this overpriced, premium room, tbh.
I thought it was the living area of the room, was waiting for him to walk into the bedroom area 😮
@@waedidmyhandlechangeIt definitely is one of the worst if not the worst value on property! With this room you’re paying to be close to the skyliner but if you’re paying cash you might as well stay at Pop/AoA! This room only somewhat makes sense on DVC points!
I love that you priced out a trip to actual French Riviera. Great idea and now I want to skip Disney and go back to Europe👏
Please do! None of Disney's hotels are meant to be replacements for the actual location just like Epcot isn't meant to replace every country. Otherwise there would be no reason for them to have Adventures by Disney.
The coolest places at WDW are the ones built 30 years ago, when Disney was actually investing in unique and interesting properties. The new resorts are pure CRAP on which we won't spend a DIME.
Disney has absolutely no pride anymore. Everything in themeing and quality has completely gone in the toilet. There is no way they’d have built a hotel like this 30 years ago
At any rate for any price
The “sales kiosk” area used to be used for flight checkin. You could check your luggage and check in for your flight before hopping into a shuttle to the airport. It was an awesome perk that went away during COVID.
I check in on my phone
@@nannerz1994 you check your luggage at the hotel too?
Disney is just out of control concerning their resorts and hotels. What regular person would consider a $800 - $1200 a night hotel in any other circumstance. Why do we accept these prices at Disney. It's insane.
My opinion might seem crazy, but I think it’s social media influenced demand mixed with loyal Disney fans who are still feeding off of the last bits of childhood/youth nostalgia they still have. Up until recently I fell into the latter. As for the other reason, people like to go to Disney to post their time on social media, rather then to enjoy an experience with family and loved ones. But thats social media for you. Just my opinion.
Edit: the final nail in the coffin for me was the genie “add on”.
"we" may include me, and as such I have to correct you. A lot (or at least, too many) accept those prices from Disney, I don't though. The amount of incredble you can get for $800-$1200 a night, Disney wouldn't even make it into the top 100. Hell, for $800 a night I can rent a whole private 380m2 (4200sqft) villa with a large yard and an outside jacuzzi overlooking hills and mountains. Or I guess for $550 a night you can have a tiny 18m2 (200sqft) room with beds you have to fold down out of the wall and make yourself. Plus that villa obviously comes with a kitchen and space for 8, while that room barely has space for 2 and IF you want to prepare something for yourself you have to put it on the floor. It's an atrocious deal by Disney.
Iger has made it no secret he wants to price out the “riff raff.”
This doesn't surprise me at all. This is a microcosom of the state of the Disney.
I’m confused bc me and my family stayed their and it was awesome. We loved everything about it. But granted we stayed in a much bigger room with lots of decoration and it had a beautiful view.
It's really sad that Disney put so little effort in the design to immerse guests into the Riviera, compared to Universal with Portofino Bay Resort
I stayed at the Portofino bay resort for two nights in 2015 because Universal was offering a holiday deal which included fares to and from the park, city walk, and entrance to the park 1 hour earlier than everyone else. It was a fantastic place to stay! We liked it so much we didn't want to go back to our house we rented!
A 500 Bucks a night room cant NOT have a murphy bed you have to make yourself on top of that
PERIOD!
Im convinced that people would pay through the nose at a disney resort for a room with a tube tv, tv tray, futon, and a folding chair and be super excited because it has a disney mickey on it.
We took the family to Disney last year (animal kingdom), and went to different parks each day.
I'll never go back.
Disney makes things expensive just to reduce the number of visitors. They would rather have people who want to spend extra money than those who go there on the cheap. We weren't being cheap at all, but the prices and lines are ridiculous for what you get. But, chalk it up to a family memory and go somewhere else next time.
Like you said, there are a lot of options when comparing the total cost of going to Disney resorts.
I spent three weeks travelling through Europe and stayed in moderate accommodations in Paris, London and Rome. Disney doesn’t know what real luxury is. They are selling their version of luxury accommodations to guests at premium prices but they giving them cheap rooms and service levels. Save your cash and visit anywhere else than WDW.
"It felt like we were staying in the world's most expensive dorm room." Well put. LOL
I don't understand how they can justify treating people like this. As if you deserve whatever bs they give you because you decided to stay at a Disney hotel. We stayed at one of the other DisneyWorld hotels last year and were very disappointed. Not worth the money at all.