10 Refills Each Day!

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

See Post #48 for a revised estimate

I noticed the story regarding the new mugs making their way to the WDW resorts recently, and had a thought: How many refills would it take for Disney to begin losing money?

- According to a few websites, the true cost of 12 ounces of syrup, water, CO2 and ice is about 13 cents. Add in the labor to load those supplies and to clean the machines and we're probably at 20 cents/soda. You could easily add in other factors, such as the trucks and fuel needed to deliver the mugs and soda supplies, spilled liquids, water filtration and electricity. To simplify things, we'll stick with 20 cents.

- Mugs, definitely bought in bulk, with a true cost of less than $1 each. Let's just go with $1.

- At the listed price ($13.84, including tax) someone would have to refill that mug 64 times during that specific stay, at that specific resort, for Disney to begin losing money.

- Average stay at WDW: Six nights? Just a guess. Therefore, you would need to refill the mug over ten times each day of your stay before Disney began losing money on the venture.

- Are the mugs a good deal? Soda is always a high mark-up item, so no, buying it is never a good "deal." Purchasing one soda pop each day of that average six night stay would cost (correct me if the math is wrong here) slightly less than $13.84 - even less if only purchasing coffee. Staying longer than six nights, yes, a good deal. Going back for refills at various times, throughout the day, yes, a great deal.

In summary, DON'T feel like you need to drink those ten cups of soda pop or coffee each day to get the value for your dollar. These mugs can be your best option, AND you get to bring home a nice mug with memories attached.

 

[carol-lamb]

My Dad and I were just talking about this the other day! He said it only costs Disney pennies for each cup of pop. Yes, it's a value for us to have the refillable mugs, but Disney wouldn't offer them if they weren't making money on them.

My daughter and I each bought one a couple of weeks ago and I think we probably averaged 4 refills most days - somedays more. The mugs are nice. I have mine on the counter, but I haven't used it yet since I have been home!!

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

We tend to misplace the mug tops, but they are used from time to time. My complaint (here at home) is they don't hold a great deal of water or soda. I typically choose a larger glass.

 

[tami82]

Can the refillable mugs be used everywhere?

 

[sherabby]

Can the refillable mugs be used everywhere?

You are only supposed to use the mug at the resort where you purchased it. We were in CBR right next to the Food Court and pool so we used ours quite a bit! I've seen people carrying their around the parks though but they won't be refilled...hotels are a different story. I'm not sure how Disney could enforce not using them at different resorts since they are the same mugs. I didn't want to lug around a mug all day with me and I'm not sure why other people would want to carry that all day in the parks!

 

[1osfan]

You can add another factor in here as well. The refillable mugs are more environmentally friendly which appeals to many consumers, but I would imagine they save Disney money as well. Think of all of the drink cups that are not used therefore are not tossed in Disney's trash cans. That adds up to much less garbage that they must handle.

 

[secretpantssam]

I love the mugs and think they are a great deal! Not only do I get unlimited refills while there, I have a great souvenir to take home. I use my old mugs all the time to bring coffee or drinks to work.

 

[P.I. Squirrel]

You are only supposed to use the mug at the resort where you purchased it.

I think Disney is taking that into account when they made the choice to offer generic mugs. And, I think we'll see a change in the way mugs are used, i.e. no enforcement at all.

While no one knows for sure, DW and I believe Disney gets the soda at a huge discount (or even free) in exchange for exclusive rights for Coke to sell their products in the parks. So, Disney may be making pure profit off the mugs, with little or no investment.

 

[disneygirlinnj]

I dont think the mugs for us will EVER be a good deal. We don't drink soda...and I do NOT drink the horrible coffee they serve from the machines. All we drink is water. But like someone else said...I do like that it's good for the environment... and i will be brining the mugs to the park to fill it with normal plain water instead of buying bottles all the time. We're also on the deluxe plan so we pretty much end up with 2 free mugs even if we dont want them. If I had to pay OOP for them, I wouldn't ever think to get them. I can definitely see how it would be beneficial to other families though!

 

[aggielawyer]

AND you get to bring home a nice mug with memories attached.

This is the key for me. I would probably pay $10 (I'm a cheapskate) for a souvenir mug, so for a little extra I get free refills during my stay. I think it's a good deal, and will continue to buy the mugs. I have used mine since I came home, and it brings back memories just when I see it in the cabinet. I like the fact that it's a souvenir that I can use rather than a dust catcher.

 

[jhryb]

I love the mugs and I enjoyed the OPs thoughts.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I love the mugs, and get one each trip. I feel I get my money's worth, since I'm not paying each time I want a drink, and also not using up valuable snack credits on sodas.

I get maybe 2 - 3 refills a day.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I think it would be an even better deal if Disney started offering a mug that was good for refills in the parks as well as the resorts. I would happily pay a little more to get free drinks in the parks.

 

[tami82]

At first i thought this was a good deal but for a family of 5 probably not. It would be much much cheaper for us to bring our own drinks from home.

 

[LIFERBABE]

We like the mugs on pool days. It's nice to have drinks and only have a mug to carry instead of a cooler.
Also, each drink at meal times is $2 or more so I feel we break even if we use the mugs 7 times during our stay. We stay longer than a week, (normally 2) so for us they are an even better deal.
They are nice souvenirs also

 

[Princess Disney Mom]

We buy just 1 mug per year for my son. My daughter and I drink mainly water and do not like their sodas. Did anyone calculate the ice in the drink? I belive for us Disney comes out ahead since we refill at most 3 times a day on the days we do not go to the main parks. We stayed at the CR last trip and it was a pain to refill. I know they do at the pool but you have to wait in line and there is only one CM working and he will fill a whole food order before taking the next. Anyway 1 mug per year is tradition.

 

[nezy]

I usually get 2 for the 4 of us-we share. so it works out. The kids are not always asking me fro drinks and we do refill w/water at times.

Does Wilderness Lodge still have a different mug from the other resorts,(ie. Brown Wilderness Lodge Mug) or do they now have the same one as the other resorts?

I have used mugs when I get--they are great for bringing hot chocolate to fall ball baseball games.

 

[tmanaster]

I usually only get one for DH and one for me. We use it for coffee in the morning and maybe one other refill throughout the day. I like it as a souvenir mainly. This next trip we are planning on buying the counter service plan so each of the kids will get one as well. It's nice, but not necessarily a great deal for us.

 

[Lizzybear]

We were all set to buy these in 2007 but ended up not bothering. I don't drink soda at all and my bf doesn't drink enough to warrant the mug purchase: We were on DDP so he just had it with his TS meal each day and drank water the rest of the time same as me, or got Gatorade (Yuck! He loves it though ) as his CS drink

 

[DisneyHolidayFan]

We purchase mugs each visit - always more economical than buying drinks each time at the resort. When comparing prices, I think you need to compare your cost not Disney's as that is what we have to pay. If I was to worry about Disney's cost, I wouldn't buy anything. What kind of vacation would that be??