Just back from Contemporary/Pop Century......blatant misuse of refillable mugs

[Cathy baby RN]

Just back from a wonderful trip to Florida. The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there. We drove from Chicago and also had beautiful weather for the drive.

Our last four days were spent at Pop Century(hi to Tyler ).
We stayed in the 60's on the Hippy Dipp Pool side. I really think this should be the only place to pay for preferred........other rooms of the 60's weren't much closer than the 50's or 70's sections.

One thing that I could not believe was the number of people filling mugs from other resorts or places. I even saw people filling regular ceramic mugs brought from home. This wasn't one or two mugs, but families with four or five mugs apiece.
I witnessed another woman throwing 2 bottles of milk from the cooler into her stroller basket, strolling over to the microwave, filling 2 baby bottles(making a mess and not cleaning it up) and then leaving without paying. I wonder just how much "shop lifting" is done in this type of food court/ gift shop set up. My guess is alot. I tried to not let it bother me, but it is just wrong.

I was happy with Pop Century . It is in a good location and the bus service was fine. Any questions just ask
Cathy

 

[palmtreegirl]

Wow that's terrible. I don't understand people like that.

Thanks for the reviews, glad to hear you had a great trip!

 

[annieh6]

We were at All Star Movies in July/August and saw the same type of thing. One woman there sent her child to fill up empty pepsi bottles with coke from the beverage bar. My son politely told the child that he had to have a mug from the food court, and the woman jumped up and cussed my son out. A brave young woman who worked in the area tried to tell the woman that this was misuse and she needed to pay for a mug. The woman stomped out WITH her theft of soft drinks!!!! The mug prices keep going up, and I wonder if it wouldn't be more cost effective to have an employee in that area to make this issue clear (with a sign explaining: no mug, no beverage). Or I guess I would rather have a bar code on the cups to eliminate the substantial theft going on. It really makes me sick at all the rip offs, and my children are enlightened at what thiefs people can be! I wish Disney could/would do something. I think the employees are scared to say anything.

Are all the buildings at Pop about the same distance from the bus and the food court? Have you stayed at the All STars? If so, what differences do the two have? How far is this resort from the Wide World of Sports? Walking distance?
Thanks for your help!

 

[Susiesnowflake]

Saw the same thing at the Poly in Nov. People filling paper cups, mugs from other resorts... It just blows my mind that so many people find this acceptable. I have little tolerance for cheaters and dishonest people.

 

[annieh6]

It is very sad, and since we have never stayed at the poly suffice it to say I am very discouraged about the whole thing. I will also say that during our stay (the buy 4 days, get 3 free) was being promoted (we are annual passholders) and we saw as many as 7 folks staying in several of the rooms. I am certain the folks cleaning could tell, but nothing appeared to be done. These were the loudest folks, and did their best to hamper the Disney magic. Don't think Walt would approve!

 

[CamColt]

Originally posted by Susiesnowflake
Saw the same thing at the Poly in Nov. People filling paper cups, mugs from other resorts... It just blows my mind that so many people find this acceptable. I have little tolerance for cheaters and dishonest people.

I wasnt aware of this until a couple weeks ago when we were in the situation, so I dont know if you are aware of it either. We usually have mugs, but we didnt get them this time so this was new to us. If you dont have a mug and go to Cpt Cooks and "buy" a drink, you are given a paper cup and have to go to the soda dispensers to fill it. So although it may have looked like those people with paper cups were stealing, they may not have been. I hope that was the case with the cups. The other scenarios mentioned here are unreal!

 

[kwirtanen]

You said we should ask questions, right? I am trying to decide between the PC and a moderate resort. Obviously, cost is a factor. But, I worry that PC will be a much busier resort with longer waits for buses, more noise from neighbors, and maybe not as nice of pools.

I've never stayed at any Disney resorts, only the campground. I have nothing to compare them to, but I would pay more for the moderates if it would make the hotel time less busy and stressful. However, we do have 2 young children - 3 and 6 years old. What do you think? I'm sure the Pop Century is very nice since it is new.

Thanks for your opinion.

 

[Hawk]

Well it doesn't surprise me. It keeps getting worse and worse. The bleeding hearts on these boards will say it is "no big deal", "after all who is losing - only WDW?" In the end we all lose.

Maybe those who say "if it was a real concern WDW would do something about it," are correct and all of us who think it is morally wrong are out of our minds. I doubt it, but maybe.

Yes this is a highly contentious subject, but I will never change my opinion. What is right is right and what is wrong is wrong, no matter what type of twist or turn you put on it. Try teaching your family those values in the world we live today! Apparently there are some who have no values except for those that suit them best, right or wrong.

Hawk.

P.S. Sorry for the flame out. (I know, again!)

 

[annieh6]

Sorry, this posted twice!

 

[annieh6]

Thanks for the noteworthy response Hawk. I totally agree with you. It is a big deal to me since the mug prices keep going up and the decent folks pay the price for the thieves to steal the beverages. I wonder why disney encourages those trends to continue, you would think they want decent people to come stay with them and set a standard. My teens are so amazed at the situation, and totally for the barcodes going on all mugs at all resorts. We love Disney, but this situation is totally out of hand. My kids have been taught values, you wonder what values are being taught to those who are stealing. My kids said (with a wink) last summer "should we buy mugs or just use last years?"
Of course we bought new mugs, but we can sleep at night!

 

[HeatherPage]

I was lurking around another Disney site last night (I think it was disneycentral.com or something like that) anyway this guy Mickeyholic or whatever said since the beverage station was outside of the cash register area alot of people (including himself) helped themselves to the sodas in whatever container they had and walked off without paying. He made it sound like basically Disney has it coming to them if they can't even put it behind the pay area. Idiots!

 

[Sammie]

I agree with Hawk and the sad thing is the loss of revenue is passed on to all of us. Many will say it is ok because Disney can afford the loss and especially Michael Eisner.

However Disney is not going to lose money, the customer will cover the loss.

Our society in my opinion has really taken a turn for the worse in trying to beat the system.

Someone posted on the DVC board that in their building someone above them stayed 10 in a one bedroom unit that has occupany of 4. This is the reason the units are worn out and beat up quickly.

 

[Cathy baby RN]

kwirtanen....anwering your question...
I don't a resort being busy has to do with it being a value, moderate or deluxe. I think it depends on the time of the year. We stayed at the Contemporary and the Pop Century this trip and both were equally busy. I was impressed with the bus service at Pop Century....never a long wait.


Hawk....I completely agree with you. We paid $11.99x4=$47.96
for our mugs. The cost keeps going up, but we really like the convenience. I just can't figure out how people can justify using a mug from another resort. Not only is it wrong...I would be so embarassed.

 

[magicmouse2]

Why dont they use barcodes like at the waterparks so that you have to scan your barcode on your cup in before the soda machine will work ???. They could have installed them before opening POP CENTURY foodcourt..

 

[Mamu]

Yes there are always people who will misuse privileges and refillable cups will be one. Some people think the world owns them.

We always purchase cups when we arrive at a new resort. OK $40.00 just spent on cups. I also purchase water before arriving, and will not drink the disgusting coffee. I spent $3.00 for drinkable coffee every morning. If we use $10.00 on drinks that a lot. Now I'm not complaining, I purchase the cups more for a souvenir.

Not to justify the misuse, but remember Disney has carbonated syrup containers, this means it cost pennies for a glass of soda. My SIL owns a carbonated beverage company. If Disney was losing money you can bet they would crack down on this practice. This is the cheapest kind of tonic you can supply. When you purchase a tonic in a restaurant and your charged $2.50 almost all the drink is profit.

I realize right is right, and wrong is wrong and I'll agree with you about the messes. Every morning before I touch anything at the fast food counter, I clean it up, it's usually a mess.

 

[GailT]

Originally posted by Susiesnowflake
Saw the same thing at the Poly in Nov. People filling paper cups, mugs from other resorts... It just blows my mind that so many people find this acceptable. I have little tolerance for cheaters and dishonest people.

That is so sad that adults would do this in front of their kids or other kids that are leaving about live and rules that we should all live by, being honest. I rather pay and become pennyless to pave my way for my child. BTW my son is 21 and this is a rule I have always lived by and he is the most respectuful honest young man and I am proud of him.

 

[Jennie in TO]

Cathy,
You said the bus service at Pop was good. That is encouraging because we will be there in two weeks. Hurray! We've never been to Disney and we were wondering if it would faster to take the car to the parks, or to just grab the bus. How often do they run, and does it take long to get to the parks using the buses?

I agree about the mugs. What a shame that we don't have enough integrity to deal honestly with those around us. I think Canada (I'm a Canadian) and America used to be countries with a great deal of integrity, but we have been losing that in the last couple of generations. It's very sad to watch.

 

[Redmic]

I would like to see them impliment the bar codes, and also tie the mug prices to the length of stay. As it is right now, a person who stays 2 nights pay the same price for the mug as the person who stays 10 nights. Since some people split their stay, I think they rationalize using their first mug at the second resort by figuring that the people who spend the same amount of time at one resort don't have to pay twice. Also, people who stay at the same resort twice for short periods figure they shouldn't have to pay more than the person who uses the mugs for the same number of days in one stay.

I am not a rule breaker and frankly don't get too wound up about having to pay $12 for a mug on a $5000 vacation; however, I do think Disney could make more of an effort to tie the mug cost to the actual number of drinks a person would get per day.

 

[Geoff_M]

I just can't figure out how people can justify using a mug from another resort. Not only is it wrong...I would be so embarassed.

I think the logical leap is pretty easy to understand. The resorts have signs that state that the mugs are good for that resort and for one stay. CMs openly tell people that they can ignore the "current stay only" portion of the posted policy. This now creates a gray area with regard to the policy about the mugs. I think it's easy for people to think "Well, if I can ignore one half of the policy, then why should I have to stick to the other half?" And most CMs seem to be passively telling them that it's OK to ignore the "one resort only" portion too by their inaction. Disney doesn't seem to care, nor do the CMs.

 

[ckmommy]

I have to say that I have never bought a refillable mug at WDW. We rarely eat at our resort, and when we do, it is usually a Nutragrain bar that we had in our room. That said, the last trip we took to WDW we stayed at CR. This was the first trip we had taken with our children, and it was definatly different. During one trip to the pool, my DH took our DD to the arcade. While there, he bought a soda and fries. I met him at the arcade a bit later. When I had arrived, the soda was gone, but not the fries. He wnet back to the soda area and got a "free refill." The CM saw him and talked to him while he was getting it. She made no mention of him having to pay for his "refill." In fact told him to enjoy his day. I guess we thought this was kind of like McDonald's or any other resturant in the world. If you buy a Coke, you can refill it for free during your time at the resturant--Food court in this case. After our snack, we threw our cup and other trash away. We did not keep the cup for the rest of the trip for more "refills" I am NOT a rule breaker, and did not think twice of this situation until I saw this thread. I had no idea what we did was wrong. Am I correct, were we wrong? If so, shouldn't have the CM said something to my DH about paying for the soda?