Disney to Limit Refillable Mug use

[chiefee1]

i vote for guard towers and bean bag shotguns! thieves cannot be let go! let the police state of wdw be opened! they should tattoo the bar codes on your arm. you wait in line and get your arm scanned, than get your appropriated 10oz and 2 ice cubes! don't make eye contact a cm......you will be tazzered than drug into the reprogramming room! they can put their mind control mickey ears on you, you will conform. you can forget disboards.....now it will be discontrol. nothing but pro-disney resort, pro-dxdp, anti-universal studios, anti-nickelodeon posts!

hope you can sense the sarcasm!

i'm not crazy...just tired of beating this dead horse!!!!!!!

 

[usnuzuloose]

Well I guess they could always go back to the traditional method and put the dispensers behind counters and serve you. And if the chip does not work you dont get soda and no worrys about anyone abusing the system. And for the person who posted about puttin chips in the towels its coming I did read an article on the internet where they will do it and if you leave with a towel in your bag the alarms will sound.

I guess you go with the flow as it wont change their mind. But we all have the power not to purchase it. I have only been to WDW once and bought a mug. I used it for my morning coffee and some soda at dinner. It seems all companys are finding ways to charge us more and get less. It is sad.

 

[zorro77]

We have been long time DVC members and have traveled to WDW for the past 20 plus years. I think we started buying the mugs when we joined DVC and love the program. We like the casual approach to just walk up get my coffee or soda during our stay. If they do the chip thing i am fine with it. Is it nickle and dimming the program. Ya it might be but cost are cost in the business. One cup of soda will not break anyone but in the big picture it is more than you realize. It will not stop us from buying any drinks or mugs. Its a vacation and time to enjoy a way of life that is not real world. If others want to use their 10year old mug they will find a way to get around the system but i think that is a small part of the big picture.

 

[DC7800]

And for the person who posted about puttin chips in the towels its coming I did read an article on the internet where they will do it and if you leave with a towel in your bag the alarms will sound.

This would seem to be almost totally impractical and pointless. There are over 2,800 guest room doors at Pop Century - do they intend to put a sensor and alarm at all 2,800 doors?

 

[iteachlit]

This would seem to be almost totally impractical and pointless. There are over 2,800 guest room doors at Pop Century - do they intend to put a sensor and alarm at all 2,800 doors?

Before I write this, I want to mention that I agree that tagging the towels would be pointless, unless stealing towels is far more common than I imagine.

However, you may have a misunderstanding about how RFID tags work. You don't need a sensor on every door. Passive RFID tags -- those that don't require batteries -- could be placed on towels. They have a range of about 20 feet; this is the type being used on the soda fountains.

Disney could "flood" the resort with a signal that would be able to read the towels, or any other asset for that matter. Let's say a guest throws two towels in his suitcase. As soon as he checks out and heads off site, Disney's network would report the towels as missing. Because the towels would be assigned to a room, and therefore a guest, Disney could attempt to collect money as a result of the theft.

 

[nytimez]

Before I write this, I want to mention that I agree that tagging the towels would be pointless, unless stealing towels is far more common than I imagine.

However, you may have a misunderstanding about how RFID tags work. You don't need a sensor on every door. Passive RFID tags -- those that don't require batteries -- could be placed on towels. They have a range of about 20 feet; this is the type being used on the soda fountains.

Disney could "flood" the resort with a signal that would be able to read the towels, or any other asset for that matter. Let's say a guest throws two towels in his suitcase. As soon as he checks out and heads off site, Disney's network would report the towels as missing. Because the towels would be assigned to a room, and therefore a guest, Disney could attempt to collect money as a result of the theft.

But unless you could specifically assign to tags to a guest, it wouldn't really work -- and that's a bit of a nightmare, logistically.

Hotels once tried to charge people if a towel was missing from a room, but they (most, anyway) backed off from that because guests could (and did) say "But my room only had three towels" (and, let's face it, a good chunk of the time they'd be right).

 

[iteachlit]

But unless you could specifically assign to tags to a guest, it wouldn't really work -- and that's a bit of a nightmare, logistically.

Hotels once tried to charge people if a towel was missing from a room, but they (most, anyway) backed off from that because guests could (and did) say "But my room only had three towels" (and, let's face it, a good chunk of the time they'd be right).

Assigning towels could easily be done at the mousekeeping cart. They must already have some sort of networked system that reports when rooms are ready to be occupied.

The process would be as simple as reading the RFID tags when the towels are placed on the towel bar. This could be done automatically by a device worn by the CM.

Again, I'm not saying I'm in favor of any of this stuff, but it's not a huge undertaking to pull any of this off.

 

[nytimez]

Assigning towels could easily be done at the mousekeeping cart. They must already have some sort of networked system that reports when rooms are ready to be occupied.

The process would be as simple as reading the RFID tags when the towels are placed on the towel bar. This could be done automatically by a device worn by the CM.

Again, I'm not saying I'm in favor of any of this stuff, but it's not a huge undertaking to pull any of this off.

Oh, I don't doubt the technology -- I doubt the practicality of it on the ground, on a human level. Mousekeeping can't even be counted on the leave soap half the time.

 

[Lewisc]

Disney already has fewer CMs doing more things than ever before. They are not going to hire staff to patrol the soda fountain to check for stickers on mugs.

IF Disney wanted to do this the "stickers" would contain the same RFID chip that's being used in the new mugs.

It's clear Disney would rather give free soda to guests who use old mugs, paper cups and even 7-11 big gulp mugs rather then pay CMs to confront guests or pay CMs to dispense soda.

The new system solves those issues.

My guess is the forever mugs may be history. Programs are always subject to change. The verbiage limiting refills to your current stay has been present for more then 10 years.

 

[chiefee1]

does anyone know if the RFID chips are linked to your room? or is it just a date thing? can you ask them to reduce the refill buffer between refills?


chipping the towels seems a little extreme. that means no more racks of towels by the pool area. what if you don't want mousekeeping to come by every day? they would hang clean towels and soap on my door. that would have to stop. the same people who bring old mugs and big gulps to the refill station would be stealing my towels and i would get charged for a bunch of towels i never even saw. whats to stop towel thiefs from ripping these stickers or chips off? how much do towels really cost anyway?

 

[nytimez]

does anyone know if the RFID chips are linked to your room? or is it just a date thing? can you ask them to reduce the refill buffer between refills?


chipping the towels seems a little extreme. that means no more racks of towels by the pool area. what if you don't want mousekeeping to come by every day? they would hang clean towels and soap on my door. that would have to stop. the same people who bring old mugs and big gulps to the refill station would be stealing my towels and i would get charged for a bunch of towels i never even saw. whats to stop towel thiefs from ripping these stickers or chips off? how much do towels really cost anyway?

By all accounts it's a one-size-fits-all very basic tag -- once it's activated, you can get soda every five minutes for a set period of time that's the same for everyone, regardless of length of stay. In other words, it's not linked to your name or your room or anything. The tags in the mug will presumably only have settings of "not yet active," "active," and "expired."

 

[ASteelersMidget]

Is this Official now???????

 

[chiefee1]

my only problem is the time between refills. i know why it is there, but it is a big inconvenience. i'm fine with everything else. 5 min is long time when you are thirsty?LOL

 

[tjkraz]

And for the person who posted about puttin chips in the towels its coming I did read an article on the internet where they will do it and if you leave with a towel in your bag the alarms will sound.

Well if you read it on the Internets, it must be true!

By all accounts it's a one-size-fits-all very basic tag -- once it's activated, you can get soda every five minutes for a set period of time that's the same for everyone, regardless of length of stay. In other words, it's not linked to your name or your room or anything. The tags in the mug will presumably only have settings of "not yet active," "active," and "expired."

That makes sense. Maybe have the tag set to 14 days to mirror the terms of expiring tickets.

For the extremely small number of guests who stays longer than that, either require them to stop by and claim a new mug or have a rigid policy of refills only being valid for the predetermined amount of time.

Is this Official now???????

It's official that they are performing a test with RFID chips in refillable mugs.

Whether it expands resort-wide remains to be seen. Exact terms are unknown (and subject to change as the test progresses.) Talk of RFID chips in guest room towels is extremely premature (if not entirely ludicrous.)

 

[Lewisc]

I read, don't remember the site, that paper cups would also have RID chips limiting refills to a 2 hour time period.

I've read some hotels were considering using RID to reduce guest theft of towels. I thought they were being considering tower style hotels, where guests depart via a limited number of exits. I don't think it would be practical at resorts like POP .

 

[doconeill]

People would steal those crappy towels?!?

Am I the only one of the opinion that this is a trial being done for free by the vendor supplying the equipment because they already have a deal with Coke, and the two of them got together and said, "Hey, Disney, we've got a solution to your filthy Coke-stealing mug reusers!" To which some Disney exec said, "We have what?"

Even if this "works" without much issue, I think it is somewhat unlikely to be rolled out everywhere.

From a personal standpoint on the mugs, I don't see them being worth it unless they start putting drink machines in far more convenient locations...when you stay at the furthest building away from the only filling machine in the resort, it isn't even worth bringing back an old mug...

 

[tjkraz]

Even if this "works" without much issue, I think it is somewhat unlikely to be rolled out everywhere.

From a personal standpoint on the mugs, I don't see them being worth it unless they start putting drink machines in far more convenient locations...when you stay at the furthest building away from the only filling machine in the resort, it isn't even worth bringing back an old mug...

One of the rumors (per MousePlanet.com) is that the next test site would be Hollywood Studios.

If the system works and they expand it to hotels, waterparks and even theme parks, its sort of a clever way to add some value back to the Dining Plans. Many have (justifiably) been critical of the dining plans because Disney keeps chipping away at them year after year.

We all know soda is ridiculously cheap. Even if it isn't free as some claim, we're talking pennies per cup for water and syrup.

I'm no DDP fan so don't I really don't care about any changes made there. But if Disney's endgame is to boost popularity of the dining plans by essentially including free drinks for the length of stay, it's sort of a clever approach IMO.

And putting some form of portion controls in place is a wise investment whether that is the long-term plan or not.

 

[nytimez]

Disney keeps chipping away at them year after year.

I saw what you did there. Nice pun.

 

[Peter Pirate 2]

my only problem is the time between refills. i know why it is there, but it is a big inconvenience. i'm fine with everything else. 5 min is long time when you are thirsty?LOL

You're joking, tight? Besides, a five minute wait for anything at Disney is like a walk in the park.

 

[Lewisc]

This system is already being introduced in a cruise ship. (Royal Caribbean?)

I agree Disney may be a large trial. Any place that offers self-service soda is a potential customer of this system. Avoids the need to offer unlimited refills and avoids issues with customers bringing their own cups. I can see movie theaters using this system to reduce labor costs. You get a cup with a RID chip. You only get one fill for the basic price.

I think the RID chips are being discussed for use with hotel robes and for hotels with much higher quality towels than what Disney is using.

It probably takes most people 5 minutes to drink the cup of soda and wait in liine to refill the empty mug. It only takes seconds to transfer the drink to another cup then refill the mug. No reason to even leave the the soda machine.

I don't think the 5 minute rule will have an impact on guests who are using one mug per guest.

People would steal those crappy towels?!?

Am I the only one of the opinion that this is a trial being done for free by the vendor supplying the equipment because they already have a deal with Coke, and the two of them got together and said, "Hey, Disney, we've got a solution to your filthy Coke-stealing mug reusers!" To which some Disney exec said, "We have what?"

Even if this "works" without much issue, I think it is somewhat unlikely to be rolled out everywhere.

From a personal standpoint on the mugs, I don't see them being worth it unless they start putting drink machines in far more convenient locations...when you stay at the furthest building away from the only filling machine in the resort, it isn't even worth bringing back an old mug...