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Today, I want to give you an overview of five different ways you can save money at Disney’s Riviera Resort. I am really happy to share these hacks with you, because the Riviera Resort is one of my family’s favorite Disney World hotels. We’ve talked before about how unique this hotel is, and we love how convenient it is to use the Skyliner to get to Epcot and Hollywood Studios.
But given all its great features, and the fact that it is, you know, a Disney World hotel, the price isn’t cheap. Luckily, we are Green Vacation Deals. So helping you figure out how to save money on travel is sort of our thing.
We’ve used multiple hacks to save money on our Disney World vacations for many, many years. And so we want to share them with you so you can enjoy Disney’s Riviera Resort, too!
1. Use DVC Points (Without Being a Disney Vacation Club Member)
Disney’s Riviera Resort is a Disney Vacation Club (or DVC) hotel, but luckily, you don’t have to be a DVC member to stay there. In fact, you can actually rent points from other members. David’s Vacation Club Rentals allows you to do just this; we talk about how to use DVC points here.
I’m just going to stop here and tell you that this is the best way to save money at this hotel. Every time I have stayed at Riviera, I rented points. I saved hundreds of dollars by doing so. You are very unlikely to find a better deal than this.
But if you still want to check for better deals (and I can’t blame you for that!), keep reading for more tips. By checking multiple methods, you will know you are, in fact, getting the best deal.
2. Look for Deals on Disney’s Website
Booking Riviera through Disney’s website is normally much more expensive than booking through David’s Vacation Club Rentals, but sometimes there are deals. Disney will have seasonal deals, such as summer or Christmas deals. You can also get an annual passholder deal if you have an annual pass, but I do not recommend getting that just for the savings on hotels.
When you book through Disney’s website, you book a night and then pay the rest when you get there. One way I like to pay off my balance is with Disney gift cards. And I can earn money for Disney gift cards by using Swagbucks. Swagbucks is a rewards and cashback website where you earn “Swagbucks” by doing things like uploading receipts or answering surveys. You can then reedem your Swagbucks for Disney gift cards. You can find out more about Swagbucks here.
And by the way, a great thing about Swagbucks is that if you earn Swagbucks for Disney gift cards, you don’t have to use them for your hotel. You could use them for dining. So if you find a good DVC deal, you can still do Swagbucks and save money on your overall trip!
3. Undercover Tourist
One website I’ve had good luck with finding deals for Disney hotels is Undercover Tourist. They often have sales, and you can book your hotel along with your Disney World theme park tickets for extra savings.
4. Vacation Packages
Speaking of booking your hotel with your tickets, there are more Disney World vacation packages here that can save you money. This could include booking your hotel with your theme park tickets or booking your hotel with your flight.
5. Kayak
Once you have looked through these options, I recommend checking for deals through Kayak. If there’s any other good deal out there, you’ll find it through Kayak. So it’s a great last step, even if it’s just assuring you that the deal you found before was truly a great deal.