"RapidFill" RFID refillable mugs coming back resort wide...

[lockedoutlogic]

I don't blame them for this...

but gee...doesn't it seem like old CMB and the beans department have really tightened the screws on the customers across the board the last 3 years or so?

the dining plan costs and reductions, the hotels (while admittedly at somepoints in their histories have seemed like a good deals) are not really a good deal at all anymore, and the huge assault on the price of annual passes last year....

just seems like they buy the hype that the economy is booming and people are raking it in...except that the second part is pure fiction because wages are still down.

8.99 for one day is kinda an insult...you have to suck down 4.5 cups of coke (which costs disney 0.5 cents per cup) to just break even.

I don't know...i don't typically whine about price...but the inflation at WDW is gonna have to take a break sooner or later here. the $4000 vacation is going to quickly become $6,000 or $8,000...and that's hard scratch to swallow for your average peep.

But i know...it's ok because they're paying me back by building Star Wars Land, Carsland, Russia, Brazil, and Spain and two new lands in AK


at least they are dropping the pretense of only being allowed to use the mug where you're staying...and this should give no excuse for them not to keep the self service ones open 24 hours....as it would basically require one custodial employee with minor training to service/clean them and engineering has somebody available 24 hours a day as is.

 

[doconeill]

8.99 for one day is kinda an insult...you have to suck down 4.5 cups of coke (which costs disney 0.5 cents per cup) to just break even.

Not sure if you really meant a half cent...not sure where that info comes from. The often quoted (and probably urban legend to some degree) is 5 cents per serving.

Looking at some general searches, prices for 5 gal of syrup seem to be around the $7/gal mark. They mix at about a 5.5-to-1 ratio of water/syrup, 1 gal of syrup would make 6.5 gallons of coke

Neglecting cost of water and CO2 and other overhead, that comes to about 93 cents per gallon of finished product.

There are 8 16oz servings per gallon, so we're actually at about 12 cents per serving.

And I bet Disney gets it a lot cheaper.

But that's neither hear nor there...we KNOW there is a great markup because we can get it cheaper at the store already, often less than a buck for 2 liters.

Now, for more than three days, obviously the price has gone up...but we don't know yet what the size of the mugs are. If they are the same size (16oz max fill), then it is an increase. If "Jeff from Finance" is right, they will be increased to 20oz, or a 25% capacity increase...which is more than the actual increase in the cost of the mug (16%).

Will they be bigger? Not sure...but I can see this as a compromise on feedback on how long you have to wait between fills...

 

[Spacedog1975]

I typically always do the dining plan, so I can't see an adverse effect on me. Of course I still wish the mugs were bigger. I can easily put away a full mug on my walk back to my room.

I do like that they seem to work at all resorts now. Of course who knows how they managed to police this before.

I wish they'd work in the parks. That would make it perfect.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Not sure if you really meant a half cent...not sure where that info comes from. The often quoted (and probably urban legend to some degree) is 5 cents per serving.

Looking at some general searches, prices for 5 gal of syrup seem to be around the $7/gal mark. They mix at about a 5.5-to-1 ratio of water/syrup, 1 gal of syrup would make 6.5 gallons of coke

Neglecting cost of water and CO2 and other overhead, that comes to about 93 cents per gallon of finished product.

There are 8 16oz servings per gallon, so we're actually at about 12 cents per serving.

And I bet Disney gets it a lot cheaper.

But that's neither hear nor there...we KNOW there is a great markup because we can get it cheaper at the store already, often less than a buck for 2 liters.

Now, for more than three days, obviously the price has gone up...but we don't know yet what the size of the mugs are. If they are the same size (16oz max fill), then it is an increase. If "Jeff from Finance" is right, they will be increased to 20oz, or a 25% capacity increase...which is more than the actual increase in the cost of the mug (16%).

Will they be bigger? Not sure...but I can see this as a compromise on feedback on how long you have to wait between fills...

i was being a little exaggerated...but you get the point....fountain beverages are high cost and low overhead pound for pound. its like charging more for parking...its just gravy.

 

[OurFamilyof5]

No the article does not say you can use them in the park. It clearly states "in the resorts".

So does anything change with the mugs you get inside the park?? You can get mugs inside the park, right?

 

[ImDisneyDreaming]

So does anything change with the mugs you get inside the park?? You can get mugs inside the park, right?

No you can't get mugs inside the park. Unfortunately.

 

[doconeill]

So does anything change with the mugs you get inside the park?? You can get mugs inside the park, right?

No you can't get mugs inside the park. Unfortunately.

I'm pretty sure they still have souvenir mugs, etc. in the parks, but they are not the same thing. They don't come with free refills.

 

[DizCaptain]

You'd think you'd at least be able to bring an old mug and reactivate it. At least I didn't see anything there that hinted at that. This probably sounds bad to some here, but now I don't feel bad for using the same mugs our past few trips. Being DVC members, this isn't that good of an investment given the distance to get refills, costs, and such. Looks like we'll become more frequent customers of the local Hess stations. Now... how long until we get RFID towels at the pools?

 

[doconeill]

You'd think you'd at least be able to bring an old mug and reactivate it. At least I didn't se anything there that hinted at that.

It says specifically that you can't re-use the mugs on another trip.

I'm wondering if there are health code reasons...it definitely isn't a technological one.

 

[Reddog1134]

I'm pretty sure they still have souvenir mugs, etc. in the parks, but they are not the same thing. They don't come with free refills.

I got a winter themed mug last December in MK that was identical in shape to the refillable mugs (same mold, different color and graphics).

So I can see where people might assume they were refillable.

 

[Lewisc]

8.99 for one day is kinda an insult...you have to suck down 4.5 cups of coke (which costs disney 0.5 cents per cup) to just break even.

$9 isn't bad, if you think the mug offers value as a souvenir.

The cost is going up to $18. Disney is offering a small discount to guests only staying a few days.

You'll be able to legally use your mug in any resort. I wonder if Disney will check how many guests fill their mugs at drink dispensers near the pool at a resort they're not staying at.

edited to add. Looking at the pricing the mug costs $6, soda costs $3 per day with no charge for day 4 on.

 

[Reddog1134]

It says specifically that you can't re-use the mugs on another trip.

I'm wondering if there are health code reasons...it definitely isn't a technological one.

I can't see it being a health code reason because you're already sticking your "dirty mug" up to the dispenser the 2nd time you fill it.

I'd have to imagine it has something to do with the logistics of reactivating them.

 

[DizCaptain]

It says specifically that you can't re-use the mugs on another trip.

I'm wondering if there are health code reasons...it definitely isn't a technological one.

Yeah but that doesn't make sense. If its an RFID chip and I'm willing, please let me reactivate it and pay again to use the same mug. I don't need 3 mugs a year. I'd like to have one I can bring back and reactivate for a fee. Saves space in the kitchen, and the environment (haha yeah right).

 

[Reddog1134]

I wonder if Disney will check how many guests fill their mugs at drink dispensers near the pool at a resort they're not staying at.

Since the mugs are usable at any resort, unless they are tagged for DDP users, they could only tell if you bought the mug at the resort you are using the pool at. Not if you are actually staying there.

 

[Lewisc]

Since the mugs are usable at any resort, unless they are tagged for DDP users, they could only tell if you bought the mug at the resort you are using the pool at. Not if you are actually staying there.

A poster in the blog, Jeff claims to work for Disney. Regardless his answer makes sense. He said the cost to Disney for the mugs is $2-$3. How many people would bring back their mugs if Disney was only offering a $2 discount? Probably no enough to justify setting up a system to reactivate old chips in the system.

 

[doconeill]

A poster, Jeff, in the blog claims to work for Disney. Regardless his answer makes sense. The cost to Disney for the mugs is $2-$3. How many people would bring back their mugs if Disney was only offering a $2 discount? Probably no enough to justify setting up a system to reactivate old chips in the system.

But I'm not sure what needs to be set up to reactivate old chips vs. new chips. Unless they change the type of chip, they'd be the same. Scan and activate, doesn't matter old or new.

But for those saying they just don't want more mugs because they have enough at home, there is a very easy solution - don't bring it home.

 

[DizCaptain]

A poster, Jeff, in the blog claims to work for Disney. Regardless his answer makes sense. The cost to Disney for the mugs is $2-$3. How many people would bring back their mugs if Disney was only offering a $2 discount? Probably no enough to justify setting up a system to reactivate old chips in the system.

It'd cost nothing to "set up" such a system. It's virtually the same as activating a new chip. The only difference is using the word reactivate since the mug itself has been used. Once the mugs deactivate they're dormant, just the same as a new chip is. I'm not going to argue any further, it just makes sense to me to be able to pay $17.99 and reactivate.

Another thing that comes to mind is what comes of the lifetime mugs at the resorts like Wilderness Lodge and Contemporary. I see a good few still using them today, but with the chip system how will that all work? Just speculating.

 

[germ539]

When we were at Disney the end of May, we weren't on the dining plan, but we did buy the mugs at the food court out of the big bin of them they had. How will they activate them, at the checkout? That will sure tie up the cashier trying to figure out how long to activate the chip for, when the lines in the food court can be long, I can see a lot of people being upset at this. It's too bad that they don't offer a regular glass that you could fill up and "throw away" if you don't want the mug (kinda like regular fast food restaurants that you go to). A lot of people might just buy them each time they go to the food court (without carrying their mug to the food court), think of all the money that they could make

 

[Lewisc]

Since the mugs are usable at any resort, unless they are tagged for DDP users, they could only tell if you bought the mug at the resort you are using the pool at. Not if you are actually staying there.

They could tell if you used your magic band to sign the mug purchase back to your room. Could probably infer your home resort if you used your mug for breakfast in one resort. Use your mug at more then one pool the same day? OK maybe a split stay but...

 

[doconeill]

When we were at Disney the end of May, we weren't on the dining plan, but we did buy the mugs at the food court out of the big bin of them they had. How will they activate them, at the checkout? That will sure tie up the cashier trying to figure out how long to activate the chip for, when the lines in the food court can be long, I can see a lot of people being upset at this.

Not having seen this implementation yet...but anyways...

1) The CM pushes one of four buttons, for how long to activate - 1, 2, 3 or 14 days (still not sure how to they do longer). They scan the mug. Done.

2) They have separate bins, for each length. Mugs are pre-coded for length, and just need activation. CM scans it like a grocery clerk would, and it rings up at the appropriate price.

Does not seem that difficult. They've already tested some aspects of this.

It's too bad that they don't offer a regular glass that you could fill up and "throw away" if you don't want the mug (kinda like regular fast food restaurants that you go to). A lot of people might just buy them each time they go to the food court (without carrying their mug to the food court), think of all the money that they could make

They do. They offered paper cups with an embedded chip (probably the stick-on variety actually) that is good for four fills/1 hour, whichever comes first. Seems reasonable to assume that they will still have that.