Hi Alexandra. I have done it both ways. I had a cooler in the room with food and drinks and I bought resort mugs. The resort mug is a great keepsake but if you tend to spend more time touring parks, they are a pain to handle. What do you do with the mug after breakfast when you head to the park? That is assuming that you are not going back to the room prior to stepping on the bus. They do well for lengthy stays with kids and lots of time spent at the pool. Buying one at the water park is also a great deal. Don't want to lug the cooler there! All in all, it is more economical to bring drinks in a cooler for us in my particular case.