New Disney's Riviera Resort Vs. The Beach Club

After spending six nights at The Beach Club on the club level and four nights at a one bedroom villa at The Riviera Resort I decided to compare my stay. 

The Riviera resort itself is great, the staff was very friendly. I loved the atmosphere, they had lots of activities, giant chess boards, bocci courts, car races and more! 

The pools were beautiful and surprisingly not crowded at all. That may change in the future. There’s a gelato cart inside the main pool which is great. I had the vanilla and seasonal flavor which was peppermint.

The room itself is great. I’ve been to Animal Kingdom Lodge, Bay Lake Tower, and Boardwalk Inn’s one bedroom villas before and this one may be my favorite. The pull out bed in the living room was unique as it doesn’t require you to remove couch pillows, you just pull it down and can place it back up easily. We were on the seventh floor and had one of the best views into Epcot. 

The Riviera restaurants are all outstanding. I had the Monte Cristo at Bar Riva, just as great as Disneylands. 

Primo Piatto had great breakfasts. I tried the polenta, eggs, and sausage, as well as the lemon blueberry pancakes. 

Topolinos Terrace was superb. The cheese tray is unmatched to anywhere else on property. The drinks were good but pretty small. The lamb shank was fantastic! A huge dish worth the price. The profiteroles were great, with three puffs each filled with a different gelato.

Epcot Forever fireworks from Topolino's Terrace

The best part was the skyliner station. It was very quick to get to Epcot and Hollywood Studios. Luckily we had very few stoppages, maybe one minute at most. It’s a convenient way to get around and dare I say even better than the monorail.

While I love the beach club, I personally find despite its updates it still has an out of date, 90s vibe. The pool is still great, and the club level was very nice. The food options were not as good as the Kilimanjaro Club at AKL but I didn’t expect them to be. 

I actually enjoyed the updates to beaches and cream, and had a great meal there. The new loaded tater tots were good, and I tried the vanilla shake with cupcake for dessert. 

The boats are nice but it’s easier to walk over to Epcot, and the skyliner station is right between BC and the entrance as well. 

Overall, both the resorts are great but I give the edge to the Riviera Resort! The food, atmosphere, and transportation really give it the edge! 

Be sure to check out my Instagram for more photos from my trip:
 https://www.instagram.com/grandcanyonconcourse/