Disney to Limit Refillable Mug use

[chiefee1]

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.[/QUOTE]

that is where you are wrong, have you seen the size of the mugs! can barely even fit a can of soda in there....thats with out ice. i am so thirsty that i can drink a mug in about 15 secs easy. you can call me disgusting or what ever. i like to take my own personal mug, fill it, step back, drink it, get back in line and fill it again.

 

[doconeill]

that is where you are wrong, have you seen the size of the mugs! can barely even fit a can of soda in there....thats with out ice. i am so thirsty that i can drink a mug in about 15 secs easy. you can call me disgusting or what ever. i like to take my own personal mug, fill it, step back, drink it, get back in line and fill it again.

I totally agree on this. These mugs are NOT LARGE. They may look decent size but they aren't. They are a two-part plastic construction, done something like a flask - there is a space between the inside and the outside. At least at the top it is about a quarter inch all around for the relative thickness.

 

[Donut23]

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.

Just a quick soda update for Royal Caribbean. They have a soda-package you can buy in advance or the first day onboard. The cost is based on the length of your cruise. Your room card has the information either printed on the card or a sticker is applied. When thirsty you just go to a beverage station and will be served a soda from a crewmember. I take my VERY BIG insulated cup - drop a slice of lemon in and they fill it as often as I want. They do not have self-service beverage stations for soda. They DO for tea, iced tea, lemonaid, coffee, etc.....at no charge.

Late at night you cannot get a soda unless you are at an open bar or from room service. SOOOO, in this case, I head up to the Windjammer and fill my megga-bumba cup with tea, slip it in the room fridge and POOF, iced tea for first thing in the morning. Works perfectly for me.


By the way, I gave up on the refillable mugs years ago.

1.) Too much trouble to walk all the way to a beverage station. We just have Garden Grocer deliver all the sodas, water, beer and wine directly to us.

2.) The mugs hold a deceptively small amount of liquid. On a hot day, I'm easily good for 2 bumba-mugs of water, tea or soda at lunch. That would probably be at least 4 mugs-full.


...yea....yea, I know. I know the location of EVERY ladies room at WDW!!!!

 

[wishtdream]

Just a quick soda update for Royal Caribbean. They have a soda-package you can buy in advance or the first day onboard. The cost is based on the length of your cruise. Your room card has the information either printed on the card or a sticker is applied. When thirsty you just go to a beverage station and will be served a soda from a crewmember. I take my VERY BIG insulated cup - drop a slice of lemon in and they fill it as often as I want. They do not have self-service beverage stations for soda. They DO for tea, iced tea, lemonaid, coffee, etc.....at no charge.

Late at night you cannot get a soda unless you are at an open bar or from room service. SOOOO, in this case, I head up to the Windjammer and fill my megga-bumba cup with tea, slip it in the room fridge and POOF, iced tea for first thing in the morning. Works perfectly for me.


By the way, I gave up on the refillable mugs years ago.

1.) Too much trouble to walk all the way to a beverage station. We just have Garden Grocer deliver all the sodas, water, beer and wine directly to us.

2.) The mugs hold a deceptively small amount of liquid. On a hot day, I'm easily good for 2 bumba-mugs of water, tea or soda at lunch. That would probably be at least 4 mugs-full.


...yea....yea, I know. I know the location of EVERY ladies room at WDW!!!!

I don't know when you last Cruised with RCCL but my family was on Freedom of The Seas last October and DH bought the soda package. There were at the time two self serve dispensers on the pool deck that work in conjunction with a microchip that is in the cup they give you as part of the package. The machines on the pool deck do lock you out for a few minutes after each fill. That said you are not required to ever use those stations if you don't want to. The old procedure of walking up to a bar and presenting your card still works just fine .

 

[Donut23]

I don't know when you last Cruised with RCCL but my family was on Freedom of The Seas last October and DH bought the soda package. There were at the time two self serve dispensers on the pool deck that work in conjunction with a microchip that is in the cup they give you as part of the package. The machines on the pool deck do lock you out for a few minutes after each fill. That said you are not required to ever use those stations if you don't want to. The old procedure of walking up to a bar and presenting your card still works just fine .

I suppose the Explorer is different or perhaps because we robustly avoid the crowded pool areas. We always sail in an aft facing cabin with extra large balconies. Much more private.

I'll update in December - we will be back onboard....busy cruising year this year! This time in 1688 - aft corner room and double-wide, double-deep balcony. From there....I have to walk by soooooooo many bartenders I doubt I'll ever make it to the pool area.

 

[doconeill]

MouseSteps put up a video demonstrating the system. Apparently the disposable cups have a maximum 4 fill limit within an hour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDzZ4h7nh44

 

[Lewisc]

I agree with the pp. You can buy soda from a grocery delivery service or from the Hess min-mart for less money then purchasing mugs for your family. One vacation I used my refillable mug to bring coffee I brewed in my room to the food court so I could have decent coffee with my breakfast.

I generally buy mugs for souvenir value. I use them at home. I figure every time I fill the mug the cost of my souvenir gets reduced.

Some thirsty customer may have an issue with the 5 minute rule but the rule is probably the best (easiest) way for Disney to reduce guests paying for one soda/mug for their entire family.

 

[manning]

Here's a way to game the system......somewhat.

DO NOT USE ICE

We have been conditioned to put ice in our soda to get it cold.

It already is cold when you fill the cup. Many don't realize that.

I never use ice. Haven't for years.

 

[buzzCMlightyear]

Here's a way to game the system......somewhat.

DO NOT USE ICE

We have been conditioned to put ice in our soda to get it cold.

It already is cold when you fill the cup. Many don't realize that.

I never use ice. Haven't for years.

Been doing that for years where ever I go that has fountain drinks that you can't refill yourself. I mostly do it at CS now, because it does add on the amount of soda. But how many refills does one person need for a meal? I can normally go one meal with just one full soda. 4 refills seem like a lot for an hour per person.

 

[manning]

Been doing that for years where ever I go that has fountain drinks that you can't refill yourself. I mostly do it at CS now, because it does add on the amount of soda. But how many refills does one person need for a meal? I can normally go one meal with just one full soda. 4 refills seem like a lot for an hour per person.

Go to lunch with 3 others and have them bring their own cups. Share the 4 fillups. Don't know the cost nor size of the cup, but assuming 2.50 for a 16oz cup that would break down to .625 cents per 16 oz cup.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

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

not to go all ninny or oldie on this....

but if you are in the florida sun...say at a refillable station outside at a pool. contemporary, saratoga, animal kingdom...etc (primarily dvc spots)...then yeah...i think that 5 minutes is too long. i can suck down what a mug holds...it can't be more than about 8 ounces with all the plastic smoke and mirrors padding....in one gulp.

yeah...i don't like it because it represents more cost accounting from a place that doens not reinvest at the rate that their pricing dictates...but i dont like the time either

 

[chiefee1]

i also heard they put an initial 70 sec fill time. that would help the thirsty folks here. also introducing bigger mugs would be nice.

it it me or does that new system look like it will slow things down a bit. plus can it serve more than one cup at a time?

 

[iteachlit]

it it me or does that new system look like it will slow things down a bit. plus can it serve more than one cup at a time?

Each RFID chip has its own unique identifier. I can't see any limits to how many fountains are in use at one time.

 

[wishtdream]

I suppose the Explorer is different or perhaps because we robustly avoid the crowded pool areas. We always sail in an aft facing cabin with extra large balconies. Much more private.

I'll update in December - we will be back onboard....busy cruising year this year! This time in 1688 - aft corner room and double-wide, double-deep balcony. From there....I have to walk by soooooooo many bartenders I doubt I'll ever make it to the pool area.

I have had the pleasure of sailing on Explorer in the the very cabin you mention. It is our favorite of all the cabins we have cruised in but unfortunately no longer large enough for my family . Freedom is just a larger version of explorer but it has a flowrider and my DD and DH love it. The only thing that could be better about Freedom were if it were to sail out of Bayonne its our favorite cruise port.

 

[fireflymedic]

I think DW doing this points to a problim disney has. They dont want to do a face to face saying NO YOU CANT DO THAT. and thim saying NO YOU CANT DO THAT to line jumpers and what not is what I want thim to do.

Disney just needs to have rules and make or athorize cast members to inforce thim.

 

[iteachlit]

I just got back from three nights at Kidani Village. Mugs can be filled at the marketplace and the pool bar. Everyone I saw filling up at the marketplace had the new mug.

One night at the pool I noticed a guy sitting in a lounge chair. He was surrounded by a variety of mugs: resort-specific and celebrate. He didn't have a single new mug; all were at least two years old. In all, I think he had about eight mugs.

On the Magical Express we stopped at Pop on the way back to MCO. A couple boarded drinking from the OLD All-Star mugs, the ones that would not fit in a car cup holder, if you remember those.

I realize that these mugs may be part of the "good forever" variety. I'm just reporting what I saw.

 

[MJMcBride]

Here's a way to game the system......somewhat.

DO NOT USE ICE

We have been conditioned to put ice in our soda to get it cold.

It already is cold when you fill the cup. Many don't realize that.

I never use ice. Haven't for years.

i like ice though

 

[iteachlit]

A few pages back people were complaining about the size (volume) of the cups. I took time to measure them -- nerd alert! -- and this year's style (tapered mug) and last year's hold 16 oz. of liquid with room for the lid to be attached.

So, a mug can easily hold some ice (4 oz.) and the same amount of beverage found in a standard 12 oz. can.