How We Maximized a Single Night Stay at Disney’s Riviera Resort

Can you really maximize a single night stay at a Disney Resort and still have fun without overdoing it? I believe so. It will, however, require some planning. We recently secured a room at Disney’s Riviera Resort for several reasons. For starters, we were attending Disney After Hours at Hollywood Studios and wanted to be near our room at the end of the night. Since we were going to be out so late that evening, we planned to arrive early and spend the day lounging at the pool. We also saw that Animal Kingdom was hosting extended evening hours for deluxe resort guests on the same evening. So we squeezed that into the mix. Allow me to share with you a walkthrough of our two full days at Disney World and how it all played out.

On this visit, I was joined by my friend Kristen and her son. We were staying off-site for the majority of this visit, which was what led to our one-night staycation at Disney’s Riviera Resort. We arrived at about 9:30 a.m. that morning. Our agenda was to check in, leave our luggage with bell services, and then have breakfast at the pool right when it opened at 10:00 a.m. This all went smoothly, and we even mobile-ordered breakfast from Primo Piatto on our drive over from the condo.

Since we were so close to the resort, we put our swimsuits on under our clothes and packed a pool bag. This made things exceptionally simple for our arrival day. Now, I know what you’re thinking. We could have taken advantage of the benefit that allows free admission to a water park on your check-in day. But our main goal was to have a light day at the resort since we were staying out so late that evening. As business owners, we also both had some work that could be taken care of from underneath the shade of a poolside table and chairs. It was by no means the worst place to log a few hours at the office.

We enjoyed a late breakfast of lemon blueberry pancakes and Mickey waffles. Then, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool. Our day was relaxing, which was exactly what we needed. Kristen’s son met up with some pool friends right away. I think he spent most of the afternoon taking turns on the slide and enjoying the recreation activities, including Disney movie trivia, hosted by a few cast members. (I cannot tell you enough how much fun children have at the pool when they’re young, especially when they make friends with others. It’s so worth incorporating some pool time into a visit.)

Our room wasn’t ready until closer to check-in time, which was fine by us. When we received the text, we called and had our luggage brought up so we could freshen up and change for our evening out. You may remember, I recently shared another article that discussed our preferred room view at Disney’s Riviera in detail. Here’s a photo of the spectacular view.

Our first stop for the evening was Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We were planning to arrive before the park closed in order to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris. For reference, the safari is not open during extended evening hours. (I do want to mention here that extended evening hours require park admission. Since we are all three annual passholders, it was not a big deal to only spend a couple of hours at a park. You might feel differently if visiting on a multi-day ticket.)

We arrived at 5:30 p.m. and walked right on with no wait. This is a prime example of why I like to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom in the late afternoon. After our safari, we walked to Asia and got in a couple of rides on Expedition Everest. The wait was less than 10 minutes. Then, we were off to ride Dinosaur, which is closing in early 2026. Unfortunately, we hit a snag here because the ride broke down. We were right at the loading area when this happened, so we waited about 30 minutes. By the time we were finished, we decided it was best to continue to Hollywood Studios and have dinner before Disney After Hours officially started.

Kristen was able to snag us last-minute reservations to the Hollywood Brown Derby on the bus ride over. This was a treat for us. But, again, you’ll want to consider if the extra cost of a sit-down meal is worth it when you’re spending the money on a special event. If you’re unfamiliar, Disney After Hours is a separate ticketed event that’s held on select nights throughout the year. It allows guests to experience three hours in the park after it closes, meaning shorter waits for most attractions. You can also get your fill of complimentary bottled Coke products, popcorn, and ice cream novelties. With the ticket, you can enter the park as early as 7:00 p.m. This particular After Hours event at Hollywood Studios lasted from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Overall, we had a great time and experienced Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, all three Toy Story attractions, Rise of the Resistance, the Hollywood Tower of Terror, and the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. We also took a few minutes to meet characters as we ran into them throughout the park. We saw Bo Peep, Jiminy Cricket, and Gepetto.

We stopped here and there for a few treats.

After the event, we were so happy to be close to the resort. I think we were all pretty worn out. Since the Skyliner doesn’t run for After Hours, we had to take a bus. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long to get back. Here is the view from our room at about 1:00 a.m.

We had a busy day planned for the following morning. Kristen had a video meeting that morning, and I was up and out of the room early to take photos of the resort. I spent some time doing a little art tour of the galleries in the room corridors. Then, I went out to the pool and was able to take a few photos before it opened. We have a separate guide to the pools at Disney’s Riviera Resort and a photo tour of the Si’l Vous Play aquatic play area. Here are a few photos.

I also walked to the Skyliner to take a few photos of the Peter Pan mosaic mural. We did a photo piece on the Tangled mural last year, and I wanted to get some better photos.

As check-out time approached, I went back to the room and finished gathering our belongings. We decided to leave our bags with bell services, have a late breakfast at Primo Piatto, and then spend the day at Epcot. For breakfast, I tried a new menu item, the breakfast pizza, which comes topped with Mornay sauce, sausage, bacon, and egg. It was delicious and definitely shareable. I hope it stays on the menu because I plan to order it again. (FYI, this is the best resort quick-service at Disney World.)

Here are our Mickey waffles, which are always a fun choice.

After breakfast, we took the Skyliner to Epcot and experienced several attractions. We had an early dinner at Teppan Edo in the Japan Pavilion. Then we headed back to the Riviera. We planned to change into our swimsuits and enjoy some time at the pool before we drove back to the condo. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate, so we ended up back at the condo a little earlier than expected.

Other than sharing an insider look at how we do Disney as regulars, I wanted to point out how you can take advantage of your resort on a check-in day and a check-out day. Here’s a quick recap of those factors.

• As soon as you arrive at the resort on your check-in day, you have access to the resort’s amenities. Just let the resort know you arrived so your MagicBand will work for the pool gates and fitness center. (This is true of all resorts, but not every resort will have a fitness center.)
• On your check-out day, you have access to all the resort’s amenities until midnight, even after you check out. So if you want to spend the day at the pool on your check-out day, you can.
• You can take advantage of any other Disney Resort benefits when offered and eligible on both check-in days and check-out days. (For example, early entry, extended evening hours, and the first day water park benefit. Note that the complimentary first-day water park admission will only be available on select dates in 2026.)

As an example, on our last stay at Disney’s Beach Club, we went to extended evening hours at Disney’s Animal Kingdom on our check-out day. When we were finished at the park, we just drove home. Obviously, not everyone has that luxury. But there are situations, like doing a split stay, where you could plan to take advantage of deluxe resort extras.

Ultimately, we felt as though we maximized our one-night stay at Disney’s Riviera Resort without overdoing it. Of course, that’s largely because we intentionally rested at the pool on our arrival day. It was a wonderful trip with great food, fun experiences, and the best company. Our Disney adventures (big and small) always offer a much-needed break from our day-to-day lives.

For more on Disney’s Riviera Resort, you might enjoy the following:

• Disney’s Riviera Resort Restaurants Guide
• The Bus Schedule at Disney’s Riviera Resort
• Laundry at Disney’s Riviera Resort
• A Photo Tour of Disney’s Riviera Resort

This stay was secured by our friends at Firefly Travels. They are authorized Disney Vacation Planners and would be happy to assist you with any special requests.

More Planning

Explore more of our planning resources, including our Disney World Resorts Guide. It provides an overview of everything you need to know about the Disney Resort Hotels. For dining, our Disney World Dining Guide is an excellent place to start. Our Disney World Transportation Guide is a wonderful resource for planning your routes. It’s one of our most popular resources. If you plan to meet characters in the parks, we have an updated list of Disney World Characters. It includes every available character meet-and-greet in the parks, as well as where to find rare characters throughout the year. Lastly, our Disney Parks Guide provides a complete overview of all four theme parks and water parks.