Popcorn Question

[CMIXER]

My wife and I have an ongoing disagreement. regarding refillable popcorn buckets. How old can a bucket be that MK will still refill?

 

[FCDub]

Length of stay, BUT...

 

[skippytx]

We saw people with Halloween buckets last week. Even at 2 dollars the profit on the popcorn is still 99%

 

[Elsaalltheway]

Supposed to be length of stay, but remember the specials that they sell all the time are refillable. so if I brought back my skyliner its fine, Green Alien, ok, At At, ok. And honestly the one I bought last year is still the non specialty one they are using, so techically they wont know. And like the person said above, someone is still using a holloween one. There will come a time when they present it and a cast memeber will finally say no. And quote the rules. I've heard it done. But I have bought a new bucket every trip. I have a stack to prov it. But I will admit I did bring an old one so I had two going at the same time, but used the new one to refill. We tend to only get the specialty canada one or the one by figment. But again the rule is length of stay, but what if your local???? Ahhhh there are just so many ways around it. But honestly if you have the last one and that is the one they are still currently using. Go for it.

 

[only hope]

As long as it’s a bucket sold since refills started it doesn’t seem to matter. The pre-refill buckets are taller and narrower than the refill buckets. I am a local passholder; I bought a bucket about 1.5 years ago. I was assured by the cm that I would be able to use it until my pass expired. I would not have bought it otherwise- as a local who refills sporadically, having to buy a bucket every three months or so when the designs change would not be cost effective and I would just never buy popcorn. Well, no one has ever asked if I’m a passholder let alone if I bought it within the past year. No one seems to care.

I’ve kept track of how many refills...I’ve refilled seven times in 1.5 years. So I’ve still gotten far less value out of than a tourist family visiting for a week for gets multiple refills daily.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

As long as it’s a bucket sold since refills started it doesn’t seem to matter. The pre-refill buckets are taller and narrower than the refill buckets. I am a local passholder; I bought a bucket about 1.5 years ago. I was assured by the cm that I would be able to use it until my pass expired. I would not have bought it otherwise- as a local who refills sporadically, having to buy a bucket every three months or so when the designs change would not be cost effective and I would just never buy popcorn. Well, no one has ever asked if I’m a passholder let alone if I bought it within the past year. No one seems to care.

I’ve kept track of how many refills...I’ve refilled seven times in 1.5 years. So I’ve still gotten far less value out of than a tourist family visiting for a week for gets multiple refills daily.

Really because i only refill mine once a day and usually my trips are seven days. This past year I got it passed on from my brother as he was there the week before me and I probably only used it twice.

 

[only hope]

Really because i only refill mine once a day and usually my trips are seven days. This past year I got it passed on from my brother as he was there the week before me and I probably only used it twice.

? Not sure I understand what you are saying. I was clearly just giving an example. Obviously every individual/group has different refill rates. Just saying some out of towners refill more in a week or two than I have in 1.5 years.

 

[Elsaalltheway]

? Not sure I understand what you are saying. I was clearly just giving an example. Obviously every individual/group has different refill rates. Just saying some out of towners refill more in a week or two than I have in 1.5 years.

I agree. And I am quite shocked that a cast member told you that. I'm not saying his is wrong. But I've never heard that policy. And does he mean as long as your AP for that year is good, because I've been an AP card holder for three years now and have not heard that.

 

[only hope]

Yes, I was specific- before buying the bucket, I explained I was a local passholder who would be refilling sporadically and asked if I would be able to continue refilling the bucket through the end of my pass. She said yes, refills would be valid for the bucket through the end of my pass. It was at that point I actually bought the bucket; I would not have otherwise. I just refilled it a few days ago. I think they’d rather just collect the $2. As pp said, they’re still making a ton of money.

 

[AngiTN]

Yes, I was specific- before buying the bucket, I explained I was a local passholder who would be refilling sporadically and asked if I would be able to continue refilling the bucket through the end of my pass. She said yes, refills would be valid for the bucket through the end of my pass. It was at that point I actually bought the bucket; I would not have otherwise. I just refilled it a few days ago. I think they’d rather just collect the $2. As pp said, they’re still making a ton of money.

She was blatantly wrong. She wouldn't be the first CM to have no idea what they are talking about nor will she be the last.
There is no such thing as a Passholder bucket at WDW. I believe DL has them. Not 100% on that though.
That said, they also have no way to know when said bucket was bought and most have no idea what all designs are still sold at every single popcorn stand at WDW so they typically fill any unless there is something on them that tells them no way it was bought currently.

 

[AngiTN]

I agree. And I am quite shocked that a cast member told you that. I'm not saying his is wrong. But I've never heard that policy. And does he mean as long as your AP for that year is good, because I've been an AP card holder for three years now and have not heard that.

I wish I was shocked but I'm not one bit shocked. The misinformation CM give out is staggering.

 

[cobright]

One of my relatively few not-so-great Disney CM experiences relates to the refillable popcorn bucket.

I bought a bucket last year, right around the time they were rolling out the Halloween themed buckets. I didn't really like the Halloween style so I found one with the more traditional design. Happily munched away for most of the first two days. Then I went in for a refill at that stand right in the gate into MK. The CM looked at me like I was trying to pull a fast one. Outright accused me of bringing in an old bucket. I help my ground and assured her that there were places in that very park, that very day that were selling the non-holiday bucket. She just said, "Oh, it's fine," filled my bucket, and gave me a, "have a magical day." But said with the same inflection one might use when saying, "Go pound sand..."

I actually went and talked to GR. I can't possibly be the only person likely to bring an non-holiday bucket up to that cart.

 

[only hope]

Neither I nor her called it a passholder bucket. I know there's no passholder buckets at WDW. We were discussing how long I, as a local passholder, would be able to fill the same bucket that everyone else buys that says "valid for length of stay" on the sign as obviously locals have no length of stay. Locals have very different spending patterns at the parks than people from out of town.

 

[AngiTN]

Neither I nor her called it a passholder bucket. I know there's no passholder buckets at WDW. We were discussing how long I, as a local passholder, would be able to fill the same bucket that everyone else buys that says "valid for length of stay" on the sign as obviously locals have no length of stay. Locals have very different spending patterns at the parks than people from out of town.

Obviously. But she was still incorrect in the official stance on a passholder and the buckets. But, in effect is as she told you just due to the nature of their buckets and there being no way to track just when it was bought. Just not just for pass holders, locals, or whathaveyou. ANYONE can bring back a bucket and see if it can be refilled. They won't just do it for someone with an AP. They won't even ask. They'll just fill it.

 

[goofyintoronto]

Sorry I have nothing to contribute to this convo. Just wanted to say....Is it weird that i've never tried the disney popcorn after all these years? I love popcorn too! I just dont crave popcorn when its hot out. But i love collecting popcorn buckets. Weird right?

 

[rdaky]

I don't know, but we used the same popcorn bucket for multiple trips for over a year.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I always get a new bucket, but that's because I have an obsession with them now.

 

[Ariel620]

I've been refilling mine for about two years now, with no problems

 

[otterpop]

Obviously. But she was still incorrect in the official stance on a passholder and the buckets. But, in effect is as she told you just due to the nature of their buckets and there being no way to track just when it was bought. Just not just for pass holders, locals, or whathaveyou. ANYONE can bring back a bucket and see if it can be refilled. They won't just do it for someone with an AP. They won't even ask. They'll just fill it.

What is the official stance for passholders and non-passholders? The refillable buckets are "Valid for length of stay". So if you are a local, what is the definition of "length of stay"? Do you need to buy a new bucket each and every daily visit? And, if you are not staying at a resort, does that mean that you are not eligible to purchase a bucket? Do you have to stay at a Disney resort, motel 6, your Uncles house? There are no absolutes with Disney's "policy". I think there is a lot of room for interpretation and Disney knows this. If Disney really wanted to control it, they could easily use buckets similar to that of the resort mugs that have the RFID chips in them.

The bigger problem though, is that Maple corn is no longer available at MK (unless that has changed recently???)!!!!

 

[shaycamp21]

Not trying to hijack this thread but when you purchase a refillable bucket is it just for the regular butter / salt flavour or can you use it for flavoured popcorn (specifically thinking of the delish buffalo flavoured one at Epcot)? Thanks