New Refillable Mug Program -- Resort Wide

[Terk-1]

Just got off the phone with guest services at both the All Stars & Caribbean Beach. The mugs are still going to be for sale in the foodcourt and will be available to anyone. There are brand new mugs coming out within the next week with barcodes on them. The mugs will only be good for the time you are staying at that resort (no matter what kind of pass you have). You will have to go through the checkout each time you want to refill your mug, so that they can scan the mug to ensure you are actually staying at that resort at that time. Was told that this is going to be effective at ALL resorts offering this option and that it is going to take at least a couple of months for it to become effective resort wide. When I spoke with CB, she did confirm that the mugs would have to be scanned each time you go to do a refill. However, she said that she was also told that they are going to test this to see how effective or ineffective this new procedure is going to be. She was unable to tell me about reusing of mugs on future visits. She also could not tell me if the prices for the mugs will go up with this new procedure.

 

[BCV23]

That sounds like a horrible idea to me. The best part of the mugs was not standing in the checkout line. Does anyone else have old pink mugs from the Poly? We have two versions in pink. The oldest held much more than the current blue ones and kept the drinks cold forever. The next version of pink mugs was just like the current ones. Terk-1, did she say if they would be good at the parks or at multiple resorts?

 

[corvair]

Trek-1, when is this going in effect? We will be there June 18-27. I was planning on taking my PO-FQ mugs along with me?? thanks,,corvair

 

[kenman]

I guess I won't be getting a mug next year! What a headach ,not woth the trouble! It's bad enougt to walk to the place to fill it let alone do at the dumb scanning thing! Can't they tell by just looking that the logo on the mug is from that hotel! And anyone if they do this they are going to have to guard the soda machine because they are in the open and alot of people keep refilling the cups you get when you buy a regular soda in those paper cups!!

 

[Meriweather]

How are they going to make everyone go from the dispensers back into the line? Are the dispensers now going to be inside the actually "courts".
This is REALLY bad!! I don't mind buying new mugs, but standing in line every time will not work!! What a waste of time!

 

[DemonLlama]

Rats. Part of the value of the mugs was the time they saved, as well as the money. We would have them and fill them up as we left for the parks and as we returned. We took some wipes and a gallon ziplock to store them in between in our backpack. This way, it wasn't even out of our way -- zip in, zip out.

I have to admit, we'll still get them and use them, though.

I wonder if the drink machines could be programed with a scanner to read the bar codes. Naw, now that I think about it, that would require every cup to have a bar code for scanning, even the disposables, so the machine would dispense the drink.

Guess we'll be standing in line.

Maybe the need for an extra attendant to handle the swelling lines with this policy, or perhaps a drop in mug sales, will make Disney rethink how much money they won't be saving with this new policy.

 

[zulaya]

This sounds like it's going to cost Disney a lot more money to implement and a lot of negative customer fdeedback about waiting in line. Sometimes you wonder who the geniuses are who come up with these ideas...

 

[exiles]

Buying a mug does not qualify one for lifetime refills. Show a little class and get a new mug each time.

 

[strawberryblonde]

It looks to me that most people are worried about the time wasted in line, not about buying a new mug

 

[zulaya]

Personally, I would buy mugs each time - nice souvie plus it's a heck of a hassle to pack some of those mugs to bring with you. For me it's definitely the waiting in line that's going to be not fun.

 

[Gillian]

It sounds like this will be a big mess! Maybe they only want you to get a drink when you are waiting on line to pay for food anyway?

 

[DebbieB]

So where will the dispensers be? If they are still out in the middle of the food court, how can they control it with the cash register? Have someone there taking a receipt?

The ironic part is soda and coffee is a huge money maker, the actual cost to them is very low and by using a refillable mug that you pay for they don't even have as much cup costs.

 

[BCV23]

Exiles, we use to buy new mugs each trip until one time I heard another customer ask if they could bring it back on their next trip if they purchased them The CM said yes so we did start to bring our mugs back each trip. What does class have to do with that? And as strawberry blonde noted, it's the time in line that will be the deciding factor for us.

 

[CamColt]

According to DH this new policy just cost Disney $40.00!
We have 3 ASMO mugs from last year. We were planning on going back and buying 4 new mugs this year. They are definitely worth the cost of refills and a great souvenier. However, there is no way we are waiting in line 3-4x during a meal to get scanned.
Looks like Ill be packing our diet coke. What a bummer since the mugs are such a great deal.

 

[Tiffany]

Someone posted on the other thread that is discussing this change in policy that it might be similar to what they do at the water parks. That the mug has the bar code on it and you scan the bar code on a scanner that is attached to the soda machine. If that is the case I could see that working. I am not going to get upset over lines that might not exist. Let's wait and see what the new procedure is before we get all upset over it.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I don't mind purchasing new mugs, particularly since I somehow manage to forget the old ones every trip anyway. A quick count has revealed that I own 21 Disney refillable mugs.

I won't, however, participate if it means every time we need a refill we have to go through the line. For us that means 2x per meal per person, and that's ridiculous. I already keep a soda stash in the room, and am not above carting my own drinks into the food court.

One thing we all have to admit is that Disney knows how to minimize lines and maximize satisfaction. We may be getting all worked up over nothing, considering the plan has yet to be implemented.

 

[BCV23]

Tiffany, that does make more sense. I'll still miss the hominess of the old way. When you mention water parks, do you mean Disney's?

 

[Tink]

Years ago, I got the refillable mugs at POFQ. This was when they had just started the program. At that time, refills were not free, they were $0.79 or $0.89. They put a little sticker on the mug, a color for each day, to see if you paid. Well, we did not know this. We had gotten mugs from CBR the trip before and they were free and we thought it was the same way. At the end of the trip, someone asked where my sticker was and I must have looked confused. The CM told me about it. So, we got a sticker. We did see lots of other people without stickers, just refilling.

The next year, the stickers were gone and the refills were free. We still bring back the same mugs, and we do update them when a new design comes out.

I think that there should be a special dedicated checkout to have the mug scanned. This will cut down waiting in line. Especially if you are like us, and one person runs in while the others are in the pool area! For me it is not a question of buying the mug, they are economical considering the amount of soft drinks my family drinks, it's the hassel of waiting in line when I don't want to buy anything else. Although, maybe Disney is hoping that if you are waiting in line, you will buy!

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by BCV23
Tiffany, that does make more sense. I'll still miss the hominess of the old way. When you mention water parks, do you mean Disney's?

Yes. It was posted in the other thread that the Disney water parks put a bar code on the mug when you buy it and the bar code is only programmed to be good for that day. I guess you run the bar code under the scanner and it unlocks the soda machine. It will be interesting to see how this is all going to work. We are going to be at the Dolphin in August so I will have to see how Tubbi's handles this.

 

[BCV23]

Thanks, Tiffany. Imagine how frustrating it could be if the scanner won't read your bar code for some reason. At least that happens at grocery stores around here. Maybe Disney has perfected their system?