Rapid fill Mugs are they a Bargain

[roylanc]

The cases are around $7:50 for 24 bottles. Phone your resort & check to make sure they sell a case.
Most resorts do Gallon bottles for around $3.00.
But if you can get to a store off property they are around $4.99 for a case of 24.
We stayed at Fort Wilderness cabins last year & they sold the cases there.
We buy the Water for taking to the park with us.(it's a lot cheaper than the marked up Disney prices for Bottled water).
But we do take advantage of the re-fill mugs.

 

[supersnoop]

The price breakdown though is correct based on the daily use we had.

With just a quick glance, I see at least three instances where you get multiple sodas within two and a half hours of each other. Those would be a single price with a free refill, but you add the price twice. You're neglecting (or unfamiliar with) the way single-purchase drinks can be refilled.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

This doesn't take into account what it would cost to simply buy a 12 pack or a 24 pack of your favorite sodas and have them ready in your room, only what fountain drinks would cost IF you filled them this often and bought a brand new cup for every fill, which as many have already pointed out, is not how the paper cups work. It also doesn't take into account time costs - for example at SSR, it can be a good 20 minute hike EACH WAY to get a mug refilled. Why do that when I can have soda, tea, water or coffee in my room for much cheaper?

 

[kymom99]

I wouldn't be surprised if they started putting drink stations around the resorts now that they are fairly fool proof. I am glad to know you can buy a drink and get a refill to top it off now. That's a little more guest friendly, I think. When we first visited in 2004 I thought the drinks were pretty reasonable. Under $2. Everything has gone up so much since then.

 

[chad33el]

if your room has a mini fridge, bring some solo cups and buy a 2 liter in the resort and keep in your room.

 

[Roxyfire]

I wouldn't be surprised if they started putting drink stations around the resorts now that they are fairly fool proof. I am glad to know you can buy a drink and get a refill to top it off now. That's a little more guest friendly, I think. When we first visited in 2004 I thought the drinks were pretty reasonable. Under $2. Everything has gone up so much since then.

The price of pop has really gotten up there just in general. In 2004, a 20 oz bottle of Pepsi from the average vending machine on campus would be an even $1 bill. By the time I returned for my masters in 2009 it was $1.40 then $1.50 in 2010. I can only imagine it's at least $2.00 now for the same thing. Plus in Cook Country, IL (where Chicago is located) there's an additional beverage tax of 1 or 2 cents per ounce. These high sugar drinks are certainly the new cigarette and it won't be long until only the true addicts (like myself) are buying them anymore.

 

[lorac4disney]

We bypassed the refillable mugs and saved much more money by buying canned sodas for the members of our party who drink soda (not all do). If you had access to a vehicle (or even used a grocery delivery service), stocking up with two weeks worth of sodas would make the trip to Walmart or Dollar General or any other grocery store worth it.

One thing that I do not like about the refillable mugs (besides the high price) is that the drink stations are quite a distance from our room a lot of times. This isn't an issue at the smaller resorts such as Pop, but I can see this being an issue at the larger resorts such as SSR, OKW, or even Fort Wilderness.

But if you are at a smaller resort where access to a drink station is convenient to you or your room and if you treat the refillable mug as it's own souvenir while also never leaving Disney property, the mug can be a great asset to have. It's one less headache to worry about in making sure everyone is properly hydrated in the Florida heat.

 

[Sarcazm]

To me, this would only be a good deal if they also offered this deal IN THE PARKS. If someone was truly trying to save money, they would just get a 24-pack of sodas for less than $10 and call it a day. The fact that I can only get the sodas at the resort makes this a dealbreaker. I can easily store canned sodas in my room for much less $$. Add on the fact that I don't have to drag my lazy butt to the food court to fill it, and you can guarantee I'll just stop at a grocery store to pick some cheaper options to keep in my room.

 

[roylanc]

With just a quick glance, I see at least three instances where you get multiple sodas within two and a half hours of each other. Those would be a single price with a free refill, but you add the price twice. You're neglecting (or unfamiliar with) the way single-purchase drinks can be refilled.

Unfamiliar is what I am with the single drink sodas. I was lead to believe they only lasted 1 hour. So the math would change if I was buying single serve Beverages. But the overall cost & math to my-self & the wife is correct based on the cost of a mug & what we used it for.

 

[Doug S]

My biggest problem with the mugs is that since they can't be used in the parks I always have to run back to my room to drop it off. If your room is a mile away from the closest place you can fill up your mug, it's seriously annoying and wastes a ton of time.

 

[roylanc]

To me, this would only be a good deal if they also offered this deal IN THE PARKS. If someone was truly trying to save money, they would just get a 24-pack of sodas for less than $10 and call it a day. The fact that I can only get the sodas at the resort makes this a dealbreaker. I can easily store canned sodas in my room for much less $$. Add on the fact that I don't have to drag my lazy butt to the food court to fill it, and you can guarantee I'll just stop at a grocery store to pick some cheaper options to keep in my room.

You are spot on there. I should have been a little more clear maybe in the bases of thread. This was aimed at guests who never leave The resorts & only eat & drink there. We had a car & drove to Target for Crates of water that we kept in our room to take with us to the parks.

 

[roylanc]

My biggest problem with the mugs is that since they can't be used in the parks I always have to run back to my room to drop it off. If your room is a mile away from the closest place you can fill up your mug, it's seriously annoying and wastes a ton of time.

We were fortunate at AK we stayed really close to the Mara so to get there & back was no effort.

 

[tasha99]

We've never bought the mugs because it seems like a hassle to go fill them. We get a fridge, so we have it stocked, but even if we didn't, I think I would use ice to cool sodas. On the other hand, they may be super cute as souvenirs (I haven't really seen them).

 

[DisneyHardin]

We always get the dining plan, so the mugs are included, but even if they weren't I think we would buy them. My DH usually has at least one or two mugs of coffee in the mornings and I have Diet Coke. We always get sodas or Powerade when we are hanging around the pool and usually another quick refill before dinner.

 

[crisi]

We make coffee in our room, have a case of water and about 2 liters of soda delivered. The water goes with us into the parks. I can't imagine drinking $17 worth of coffee and soda per person at the resort during a trip - we usually don't go through the full two liters of soda. We spend far too much time in the parks. And, as has been said, getting a mug filled involves getting to a mug refill station - an incredible waste of precious Disney time.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

This doesn't take into account what it would cost to simply buy a 12 pack or a 24 pack of your favorite sodas and have them ready in your room, only what fountain drinks would cost IF you filled them this often and bought a brand new cup for every fill, which as many have already pointed out, is not how the paper cups work. It also doesn't take into account time costs - for example at SSR, it can be a good 20 minute hike EACH WAY to get a mug refilled. Why do that when I can have soda, tea, water or coffee in my room for much cheaper?

Well to be fair though the OP was basing their post really only on cost of the mug vs cost of drinks without mugs not factoring in other variables such as pre-purchasing soda or walking time. I can't comment on the whole time wait limit on single cup purchase myself so I don't know if their math was or wasn't fully accurate.

A person's time is completely relative. My step-father-in-law would have zero problems with walking in the early morning. He's usually up around 5 to 5:30am and every single time we're on vacation he'll go out on his own before anyone is up and take a drive to explore where we are at. Now granted walking everyday and in the parks could get tiring but still that's a relative thing.

I agree with you on pre-purchasing soda but it's just I read the first post to be a cost of mug vs. cost of drink without rapid fill mug purchase instead of thinking of all the ways I could do it differently.

 

[Tinknalli]

There were 5 of us on our trip last month. We no longer stay on-site, but even when we did the economics of buying mugs did not make sense. For the 5 of us mugs would be about $90. In a week the 5 of us drink less than 3 cases of water, a couple of 24 packs of seltzer and about 5 2 liter bottles of soda. We make coffee in the room with the supplies provided. All together we spend less than $30 for beverages for the week. 1/3 of the cost of buying mugs. Plus, the last thing anyone wants to do after an exhausting day at the parks is walk across the resort to get a beverage.

 

[crisi]

A person's time is completely relative. My step-father-in-law would have zero problems with walking in the early morning. He's usually up around 5 to 5:30am and every single time we're on vacation he'll go out on his own before anyone is up and take a drive to explore where we are at. Now granted walking everyday and in the parks could get tiring but still that's a relative thing.

That was actually an issue with mugs the only time we had them. I'm an early riser, and I do want my coffee first thing in the morning. I was up before the CS location at the hotel was open (it was Roaring Forks). We now stay at Boardwalk and I'm usually up with the grounds crew, long before the Boardwalk Bakery opens.

 

[roylanc]

Well to be fair though the OP was basing their post really only on cost of the mug vs cost of drinks without mugs not factoring in other variables such as pre-purchasing soda or walking time. I can't comment on the whole time wait limit on single cup purchase myself so I don't know if their math was or wasn't fully accurate.

A person's time is completely relative. My step-father-in-law would have zero problems with walking in the early morning. He's usually up around 5 to 5:30am and every single time we're on vacation he'll go out on his own before anyone is up and take a drive to explore where we are at. Now granted walking everyday and in the parks could get tiring but still that's a relative thing.

I agree with you on pre-purchasing soda but it's just I read the first post to be a cost of mug vs. cost of drink without rapid fill mug purchase instead of thinking of all the ways I could do it differently.

I did not expect so many people to really way up all options open to every one. But I am pleased people are. My OP was only based on the cost of the mug against the cost of the drinks we had.
But it's great to see the varying replies & options open to every one.
I found some great little tips here that I will use on our future Visits.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I did not expect so many people to really way up all options open to every one. But I am pleased people are. My OP was only based on the cost of the mug against the cost of the drinks we had.
But it's great to see the varying replies & options open to every one.
I found some great little tips here that I will use on our future Visits.

That's always a good thing for sure . I have wayyy too many notes myself on an MS Word document for my upcoming trip but I figure at least some things are general stuff that will be good to know for years.