Refillable Mugs.... Disclaimer

[chyam]

Ok I will add a little more fuel..........it says on the cup free refills till the end of your stay.........how would anyone know if you kept returning to the WL say what exact "stay" you are on, there is no date. I can see where they can only be refilled at place of purchase, it just wouldn't look right to fill a WL mug at AK but if I went to the WL three times in a year the way it states on the mug no one would really know what stay I am on. And I did purchase mine when they said you could bring them back year after year. I know some people think it is stealing to keep refilling them for years and there are others who feel Disney will not go broke with the refills. It's just a very unclear policy to many and I doubt that we will ever resolve the issue. Until they date the mugs (which I would think would be very hard) they will be many returnees using their previously purchased mugs.

 

[bytheblood]

Discuss pool hopping, smoking & strollers

You forgot rolling backpacks.

 

[minijeanie]

rolling backpacks???

now that was the best thread ever. !

smiled every day when I read a new post...

don't think anything can top the rolling backpack posts

 

[nwdisgal]

Rolling back packs? I missed that one. I can only imagine

Good mug shots. I was llooking at those pictures feeling a bit of wharped creativity. You could matte and frame them for a new kind of modern DIS art. Clearly, it could be a conversation piece.

 

[pumpkinfish]

If you dampen a rag with a little kerosene you can scrub that wording right off! My neighbor says hairspray works too.

YES! Now I know the secret...

 

[pumpkinfish]

rolling backpacks???

now that was the best thread ever. !

smiled every day when I read a new post...

don't think anything can top the rolling backpack posts

P.S. ...the thread is back! With a vengance!

 

[Bill From PA]

My mug has wheels, a telescoping handle and is embossed with a picture of Steven Tyler's hand. I found it at the Grand Floridian pool where I was 'visiting' during a stay at AllStar Music, the week 6 of us shared a room.

Does that about cover it?

Bill From PA

 

[dreams4disney]

HAHAHAHAHA! That was good! Bill From PA!

 

[jjohnson]

My mug has wheels, a telescoping handle and is embossed with a picture of Steven Tyler's hand. I found it at the Grand Floridian pool where I was 'visiting' during a stay at AllStar Music, the week 6 of us shared a room.

Does that about cover it?

Bill From PA

Not until you walk over to Poly & notice a door unlocked to concierge & help yourself to the free food Disney put out for all guests.

 

[macnodos]

I personally will buy mugs everytime there. The thought of lugging mugs to Orlando for four people is not something I care to deal with. At the same time, I find it difficult to have sympathy for Disney because all fountain soda at the resorts and parks is given to them for no charge. That is Coke's trade-off for visibility. Those mugs certainly don't cost anywhere near $13.00 to manufacture. Try about a buck!! Do the numbers, Disney isn't losing money.

 

[Karate Kid]

Assuming the Karate Kid pose...

 

[pumpkinfish]

What the heck!?!??!

 

[Sammie]

Ok I will add a little more fuel..........it says on the cup free refills till the end of your stay.........how would anyone know if you kept returning to the WL say what exact "stay" you are on, there is no date. I can see where they can only be refilled at place of purchase, it just wouldn't look right to fill a WL mug at AK but if I went to the WL three times in a year the way it states on the mug no one would really know what stay I am on. And I did purchase mine when they said you could bring them back year after year. I know some people think it is stealing to keep refilling them for years and there are others who feel Disney will not go broke with the refills. It's just a very unclear policy to many and I doubt that we will ever resolve the issue. Until they date the mugs (which I would think would be very hard) they will be many returnees using their previously purchased mugs.

They would not know. The policy is stated on the mugs, the enforcement is the Honor Code, which obviously many do not respect. It's basically the same policy for buying newspapers. You can put in your 75 cents for a USAToday and you could get as many papers as you want. There is no one there to enforce you only getting one. And right now Disney does not enforce this policy. Does not mean the policy does not exist, it just means some will abide by it and others won't until they are forced to.

And for the record, Disney does pay for their soda, they do not get it free or for pennies either.

As to being told that I could use my mug for life when I bought it years ago, maybe so. I truly don't remember. Policies change. I just go with current policy.

Actually I think the best policy is to take your mug, ask to speak to the food manager on duty. If he/she says use the mug go for it.

 

[keith-atl]

Ok now that we have covered resort mugs, what about the Yards you get at Epcot. I can bring back my yard for refills can't I? Hehehehe why cant resorts have a keg and really make the mug purchase worth it.

 

[macnodos]

They must have just recently starting to pay for the soda syrup because they never had in the past. That information was given to me through a well placed source at Coca Cola.

 

[bishop1989]

If they do pay for the soday syrup, at the volume they consume, Disney is paying around a nickel per soft drink refill. I don't think someone bringing their old mug back is hurting the stock. Plus think of the environment, you can save a lot of landfill space by reusing that old mug. LOL

 

[Geoff_M]

They must have just recently starting to pay for the soda syrup because they never had in the past. That information was given to me through a well placed source at Coca Cola.

I told myself I'd sworn off these threads, but this is a pet peeve of mine. The notion that Disney gets its Coke syrup for "free" is nothing more than hearsay... regardless of what any CM or "well placed" source who works for Coke tells you. I did some research in trade journals about known exclusivity deals that soft drink makers have with major outlets such as fast-food chains, and I can tell you that NOBODY gets syrup outright "for free". Not McDonald's, not B-K, not Wendy's... or any other outlet that consumes a heck of a lot more product than does WDW. The basic structure of such deals is that in exchange for exclusive use of their products, the soft drink maker will give the outlet X cases of sryup free for every Y cases purchased. So, at best, there's only a hint of truth... WDW without a doubt get some of it sryup for free, while paying for the balance.... Just like McD's, etc.

There's no reason to think that Coke would cut WDW a deal any sweeter than any other large client. McDonald's moves a whole lot more product, and offers them a lot larger market share than WDW. Oh, there's Ice Station Cool, but that doesn't promote domestic brands... and I'd guess that Coke does provide that syrup for Disney. I doubt that Coke would give WDW 100% free product based on their cut of the Coke merchandise sold at Ice Station Cool.

Even assuming I'll all wrong, what difference does that make? Disney also has to pay for the electricity that runs the ice machines, the C02, etc.

As for the whole mug thing... The policy, based on my expriences from 1997 onward, has always been "one mug, one resort, one visit". But the local CM's have never enforced it... even when signage located a few feet away contradicts what they verbally tell people. People are assuming that what a CM told them in 1999 was "policy" and now Disney is trying to change it. But go head and use the mugs as you wish, if Disney thinks it's a problem they'll do something other than half-heartedly putting up a sign here or there or printing a line on a mug. Maybe they could even (gasp) instruct the CMs to stop telling people that the mugs are "good forever"!

 

[chobie]

They would not know. The policy is stated on the mugs, the enforcement is the Honor Code, which obviously many do not respect. It's basically the same policy for buying newspapers. You can put in your 75 cents for a USAToday and you could get as many papers as you want. There is no one there to enforce you only getting one. And right now Disney does not enforce this policy. Does not mean the policy does not exist, it just means some will abide by it and others won't until they are forced to.

And for the record, Disney does pay for their soda, they do not get it free or for pennies either.

As to being told that I could use my mug for life when I bought it years ago, maybe so. I truly don't remember. Policies change. I just go with current policy.

Actually I think the best policy is to take your mug, ask to speak to the food manager on duty. If he/she says use the mug go for it.

I have yet to hear of an employee of the newspaper standing by a machine that volunteers the information that one may take as many papers as one wishes.

I think if a CM volunteers this information, people can take them at their word with a clear conscious. I trust that Disney trusts its employees.

 

[Muziqal]

I told myself I'd sworn off these threads, but this is a pet peeve of mine. The notion that Disney gets its Coke syrup for "free" is nothing more than hearsay... regardless of what any CM or "well placed" source who works for Coke tells you. I did some research in trade journals about known exclusivity deals that soft drink makers have with major outlets such as fast-food chains, and I can tell you that NOBODY gets syrup outright "for free". Not McDonald's, not B-K, not Wendy's... or any other outlet that consumes a heck of a lot more product than does WDW. The basic structure of such deals is that in exchange for exclusive use of their products, the soft drink maker will give the outlet X cases of sryup free for every Y cases purchased. So, at best, there's only a hint of truth... WDW without a doubt get some of it sryup for free, while paying for the balance.... Just like McD's, etc.

There's no reason to think that Coke would cut WDW a deal any sweeter than any other large client. McDonald's moves a whole lot more product, and offers them a lot larger market share than WDW. Oh, there's Ice Station Cool, but that doesn't promote domestic brands... and I'd guess that Coke does provide that syrup for Disney. I doubt that Coke would give WDW 100% free product based on their cut of the Coke merchandise sold at Ice Station Cool.

Even assuming I'll all wrong, what difference does that make? Disney also has to pay for the electricity that runs the ice machines, the C02, etc.

As for the whole mug thing... The policy, based on my expriences from 1997 onward, has always been "one mug, one resort, one visit". But the local CM's have never enforced it... even when signage located a few feet away contradicts what they verbally tell people. People are assuming that what a CM told them in 1999 was "policy" and now Disney is trying to change it. But go head and use the mugs as you wish, if Disney thinks it's a problem they'll do something other than half-heartedly putting up a sign here or there or printing a line on a mug. Maybe they could even (gasp) instruct the CMs to stop telling people that the mugs are "good forever"!

Oh, Geoff...you'd think you owned shares in Coke or something by your response.

"Unfortunately", Traditions, the 2 day class every CM takes before you're alllowed to work in the parks gives the CM authority to do what ever they feel is necessary to make a Guest's visit as great as possible. So, by that logic:

A family comes up to the drink station with their old mugs they took the time to pack on their trip because they were told they were "good to use forever". Policy at the time they bought their mugs may have been different than what's stated on the new mugs, and the CM feels so morally conflicted he/she doesn't know what to do...he/she thinks about it and makes a decision based on the authority the company has given to make a Guest's visit the best it can be. If a Guest was told by a CM that the mugs were good forever at the time of purchase, then what decision do you think most CMs would make? And would that CM feel like they are breaking the rules? Of course not...they did exactly what they were trained to do and probably got a Guest Service Recognition Card from their Manager for how they helped a family out and "saved the day" - no matter how p'd off Geoff M. and family are as they sit there with their new mugs and berate the family for their horrific set of values. Good luck convincing Disney to change that open ended policy and not have CM's exceed expectations. You want 2 Universals?

You can gripe and collect statistics and figures about how much Coke WDW gets for free and how much it pays for...but until the whole of the Disney/WDW Company Guest Service philosophy changes and they take out that bit in Traditions where they say 'GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO EXCEED EVERY GUEST'S EXPECTATIONS', you're arguing a moot point (free Coke or no fee Coke) and fighting a losing battle my friend. Perhaps you should be fighting for Eisner to keep his job and battle Roy from getting him ousted. It's hard for me to believe that even Eisner would change that cardinal CM philosophy and "right" though. He knows why you, me, the guy who says they get free Coke, the family that bring their old mugs and the family that buys new mugs keep coming back...because of the MAGIC that the place exudes. Start fighting for some of that magic to be taken away and the authority of the CMs to exceed your expectations, and you start battling to change Disney into an oridinary carnival, no?

But keep up with the Mug Posts...entertaining and best/worst debates on here!

 

[Sammie]

I have yet to hear of an employee of the newspaper standing by a machine that volunteers the information that one may take as many papers as one wishes.

I think if a CM volunteers this information, people can take them at their word with a clear conscious. I trust that Disney trusts its employees.

That might be the case if you ask an manager, which is what I did. I asked several food managers, and they were the ones that shared the info on the fact that Disney pays for the Coke and what current policy is. I am sure if you asked some minimum wage employee that works for a major newspaper they could care less too.

To me it really is a mute point as the policy is stated on the mugs. I have no problem that it changed since the unwritten orginial policy.

I truly don't care if someone ignores the current policy, for whatever justification they come up. I am not there to enforce the policy. I guess I just can't understand why some presist in ignoring the policy.

If you ask a manager and they tell you they don't care, go for it. It is their budget they have to worry about, not some CM cleaning tables. I will agree that if a guest is going to have a fit over the situation then Yes, most CMs will just say go ahead. And you know I can see the CMs point.

I guess I just can not see going to Disney spending thousands on a vacation only to worry about whether I can refill a mug I purchased 10 years ago when I know how the policy has changed. I would never even consider asking a CM.