Resort Mugs...Kinda Pointless?

[anneboleyn]

Oh man I think the refillable mugs are some of the best perks that Disney offers! I have a hardcore fountain drink addiction, so I constantly am refilling that thing.

And then when I am home, I use it to put hot tea in for my drive to work! I get so much use out of these things!

 

[monarchsfan16]

Depends on the trip, but most of the time, I find the mugs to be worth it. This is especially true during the summer. I do typically grab some sort of breakfast thing at the resort food court before I head to the parks, so I will fill my mug before I sit down to eat, and then refill with Powerade in the summer before I leave for the parks. My park bag, most days, is a small backpack that has two water bottle nets on the sides. So I close the lid, and set the mug in the holder. Hands free. Then I have the Powerade to drink while I'm in line to get into the park. Also during the summer, I'm much more likely to take a midday break. I stop in the food court and fill the mug on the way back to the room. I may or may not take the mug with me to the park in the evening, but if I do, I'll usually fill on my way to the bus, and on my way back to my room at the end of the night. Depending on the timing of the midday break and afternoon thunderstorms, I may eat dinner at the resort food court before returning to the park.

This summer, it came in particularly handy. For some reason I didn't do as well with the heat as I typically do. I had a lunch reservation at the Polynesian, and happened to be feeling the effects of the heat when I got there. I arrived early because transportation took less time than I expected, so I stopped by Captain Cook's for Powerade while I was waiting for lunch time. Crisis averted, and another use of the mug. I also went over to the WL to take pictures before all of the rumored changes, and was able to use my mug there when I had lunch.

Figure a soda costs just about $3 and a bottle of Powerade is a bit more. The savings for me add up quickly. I generally don't put ice in my drink, so I find that the mug is plenty big enough for me. I also fly and RARELY rent a car, because I typically travel solo and find navigating Disney solo to be more than I want to deal with. I also feel safer getting on a bus than I do walking through a giant parking lot late at night. And by not renting a car, I save a LOT of money. So I don't do a grocery stop or anything like that.

I did not get a mug when I did a weekend trip, because then it would not have paid off. I also found the mug to not be worth it when I stayed at OKW. I was just too far from the refill stations. At the All Stars, it always pays off for me.

 

[DizDaD7]

I don't consider them much of a perk and I doubt I would purchase one on it's own if I weren't getting the dining plan. But since I do get the plan, I do use the mug a bit. We fill them in the morning on our way to the parks to drink on our drive and then just leave them in the car and fill them up again on our way to our room. So usually 2 refills a day, sometimes 3. Over 10 days it would pay for itself, but still not a big enough perk to buy it outright. We don't spend a ton of time at our resort, although if you did that would really up the value.

Your 1st line says you don't consider this a perk.. But then you go and say that you use it up to 3 times a day. That right there would cost you at least 7 bucks....It would only take you 3 days to break even at worst, if drinking w/ out the refillable cup...

Also spending time at the resort is only an extra added bonus to the amount of money saved.... If you add up all the drinks and or coffee/tea you'll drink the amount of money adds up...This includes bottles of stuff as well, which is waay more savings.

 

[DizDaD7]

Also 1 more thing.....A lot of people don't want to carry them around in the parks ( I get that ), but I only get that if no one in the party/group is carrying anything AT ALL with them.....I'm sure there are at least 1 or 2 or even more that have a lil bag/backpack or something else that can surely accommodate 1 or 2 , 6 oz. mugs ( that's the weight, not fl. oz ). I mean it's not like we're toting around 5 lb bags of stuff all day. * And I'm also sure that there is room in some of the strollers to hold them as well....

And BTW yes you can utilize them in the parks.....ICE is free, & so is Water......

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Also 1 more thing.....A lot of people don't want to carry them around in the parks ( I get that ), but I only get that if no one in the party/group is carrying anything AT ALL with them.....I'm sure there are at least 1 or 2 or even more that have a lil bag/backpack or something else that can surely accommodate 1 or 2 , 6 oz. mugs ( that's the weight, not fl. oz ). I mean it's not like we're toting around 5 lb bags of stuff all day. * And I'm also sure that there is room in some of the strollers to hold them as well....

And BTW yes you can utilize them in the parks.....ICE is free, & so is Water......

We are a bagless family. I don't plan on taking them into the parks at all but we do have a lot of resort time planned (midday breaks, late starts and two rest days) so we will still get our money's worth.

We aren't big breakfast eaters but if the kids want a drink they can go to the QS spot and fill their mugs and come back to the room. I might even send them with mine too.

For midday breaks we have to go to the room and change into our swim gear so we will pick up our mugs and head to the pool. We also have multiple meals planned for our resorts QS.

If I were to go during a colder time of the year with shortened hours and no midday breaks or much resort time I wouldn't get them.

But for a 10 day trip in August it'll pay for itself within 3 days I'm guessing.

 

[PollyannaMom]

We got them with our dining plan last time, and actually used them more than I thought we would. We had several meals at the food court, so we would get bottled water as our beverage with that, but then actually use the mugs for something to drink with the meal and bring the waters back to the room fridge.

 

[brooke789]

We don't get them. I'd rather just bring a case of drinks to keep in the fridge than walk to the lobby/qs/whatever to get a drink. We drive so this is an option. If you're flying packing a case of Cokes would be more difficult.

 

[Davey Jones II]

You get unlimited refills before you leave for the theme park...after you arrive from the theme park...for the entire length of your stay. And you can bring them home as a souvenir. Definitely worth every penny.

 

[mountdew1]

The length-of-stay activation is quite long and typically extends well past your actual trip, so your mugs should remain active the whole time I'd guess.

The length of stay is actually a 14 day activation period. And people have reported that if they bring back their receipt, management has extended them if the guest is indeed staying longer.

 

[maryj11]

Also 1 more thing.....A lot of people don't want to carry them around in the parks ( I get that ), but I only get that if no one in the party/group is carrying anything AT ALL with them.....I'm sure there are at least 1 or 2 or even more that have a lil bag/backpack or something else that can surely accommodate 1 or 2 , 6 oz. mugs ( that's the weight, not fl. oz ). I mean it's not like we're toting around 5 lb bags of stuff all day. * And I'm also sure that there is room in some of the strollers to hold them as well....

And BTW yes you can utilize them in the parks.....ICE is free, & so is Water......

Trust me my bag is already full. Rain poncho's, camera, wallet , ipad, hand sanitizer, change purse, snacks, sun block, gift shop purchases ect... I don't take my mug to the park it just makes it that much more crowded in my bag. I took it once and decided it made it hard to get in and out of my bag with it smooshed in with all my other stuff.

 

[maryj11]

How much are the mugs now ?

 

[tileman]

I found the price here hope its still up to date.

 

[hakepb]

I found the price here hope its still up to date.

I think they now only have the 14 day, "length of stay" option for $16.49 (this looks like what I saw at WL a few weeks ago)

http://www.wdwinfo.com/walt-disney-world/changes-to-disneys-rapid-fill-mugs-in-walt-disney-world/

 

[scrapple]

so they don't have these mug refill stations in the parks, only resorts?

 

[pooh4evr]

We don't spend enough time at the resort to make it worth it for us. We are usually park drop to close people. If they had something for the parks absolutely!

 

[maryj11]

so they don't have these mug refill stations in the parks, only resorts?

Yes only in the resorts not in the parks. I wish they did have them in the park.

 

[EmilyS90]

We really liked it at POR, though we were pretty close to the QS area so it was just really easy. We'd get drinks in the mornings, and then when we got back from the parks. And several times during our non-park days. My fiance is the type that just NEEDS to have a soda on hand, so it was really convenient for us.

 

[EmilyS90]

Also 1 more thing.....A lot of people don't want to carry them around in the parks ( I get that ), but I only get that if no one in the party/group is carrying anything AT ALL with them.....I'm sure there are at least 1 or 2 or even more that have a lil bag/backpack or something else that can surely accommodate 1 or 2 , 6 oz. mugs ( that's the weight, not fl. oz ). I mean it's not like we're toting around 5 lb bags of stuff all day. * And I'm also sure that there is room in some of the strollers to hold them as well....

And BTW yes you can utilize them in the parks.....ICE is free, & so is Water......

Yeah, we took them to the parks a couple of times. We had the stroller with us so we would just stash them there when they were empty, or stuff them in my gigantic park bag. It wasn't a huge deal.

 

[Lillian Gracey]

They're worth it to me. DH and I drink at least one drink in the morning when we eat breakfast. DH gets coffee and I get something that isn't a soda. Sometimes I'll get something on the way back from the parks. I just asked DH if he's going to get a refillable mug again and he's like, "I want to say no, but who am I kidding? I'm going to get one." I of course use them at home too!

 

[Figmentmommy]

Also 1 more thing.....A lot of people don't want to carry them around in the parks ( I get that ), but I only get that if no one in the party/group is carrying anything AT ALL with them.....I'm sure there are at least 1 or 2 or even more that have a lil bag/backpack or something else that can surely accommodate 1 or 2 , 6 oz. mugs ( that's the weight, not fl. oz ). I mean it's not like we're toting around 5 lb bags of stuff all day. * And I'm also sure that there is room in some of the strollers to hold them as well....

And BTW yes you can utilize them in the parks.....ICE is free, & so is Water......

We got our mugs with the dining plan but DH & I agree we would purchase them even if they weren't included. Our family of four used them in the morning - coffee, cocoa, tea - and then often filled up before heading to the parks, during resort time, and then after the parks. We also took them if we were going to another resort for a meal and filled up at the food court before we head out. We drive so we would often just leave them in the car. I would also carry all four mugs in a reusable tote bag so it would be easy to keep them all accounted for when taking them to another resort. A couple of times we took them into MK after being at a monorail resort and I just put the tote bag in a locker so we wouldn't need to carry the bag around all day. We definitely put them to good use!