RFID Chips- Grrrrrr

[3PrinceMom]

I have bought the refillable mugs on several occasions, but really didn't use them for it to be worth the cost of 4 mugs, each trip. So.....we bring old mugs every trip, but we buy drinks at the store or gas station or even the resort shop and fill them up that way. Never at the soda dispensers....so you may have seen me walking around with a recycled mug!

 

[brockash]

I am a pretty upbeat, go-with-the-flow person, but I honestly think what Disney is doing with the mugs is almost an insult. Seriously, even if there ARE those who will share mugs/cheat the system, it is not even pennies a glass we are talking about. I wouldn't think it would be enough of a loss to cause such aggravation to the OP and, I'm sure, countless others who pay top dollar for a Disney vacation. I hope they rethink that one.

ITA! We used them in Sept....it was really annoying and yes, felt like an insult and like we were all a bunch of criminals. We really only use them because they come with the dining plan (we don't usually drink much soda), but even with it being "free" it started to not even be worth it.

 

[carmelhp]

I'm not sure they were working a few weeks ago at POR, I never got locked out. I was trying to get locked out to see how long the reset time was, but it seemed to dispense every time.

 

[Bonnie151]

Sorry, this is the first I have heard of the RFID mugs. So you can only get a drink every 15 minutes or something? How does it work?

Oh no, you can get a soda every 2-3 minutes and there's immediate refills on coffee and hot chocolate (they don't have the RFID technology). The 15 minute problem only happens when your drink on the soda machine doesn't work and then the staff don't listen to a flipping word you say to them! If you ban your family, as I have done, from using the lemonade at the WL you will be fine. I promise.

 

[cymbaldiva]

For what the mugs cost the guest, I REALLY wish I knew exactly how many times one of those mugs would have to be filled up for Disney to lose money on the soda. I'm guessing hundreds. Even if someone used the same mug for the whole family of 5, THEN brought it back for the next trip I imagine Disney would still make money on that individual mug. Balance that with the people like me who play by the rules and buy each of us one on every trip and they are coming out ahead, guaranteed. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE spending every possible discretionary dollar I can at Disney, but I still say this particular plan is bad customer service.

A possible concern could be the loss of revenue on the sale of the mugs themselves - if a family all shares 1 mug, for Disney that is a lost sale of 4 mugs.

 

[Shuyinsama]

Hah I will be going in 3 weeks for my first time ever in WDW and I will be buying the mugs for 2 reasons:

1) I need them at my stay there
2) I was also interested in these chips so I was planning on scanning them when I got home.

I actually used a what we call an Arduino board to create a Do It Yourself RFID Reader and wrote a custom app for it (I am a software Developer ).

The main reason I have this stuff is because years back my country introduced a RFID Card for Public Transport and scanned them for a hobby project...

Anyway I am interested in what way I could "hack" these things.

P.S. For the Record I do not plan on hacking the mugs for infinite refill I am interested in what way Disney use these chips cause I can see it's being used for a in between break but it is also an easy way to check the expiration date for these mugs.

 

[3pletprincesses]

Ok call me stupid but since when do all he resort have the chip? I thought they had abolished the system after it was tested at sports. Now have the mugs changed or are they still the same. We already have 18, yes you read right, 18 of the pool scene one and hoping for 4 new one.

 

[chartle]

Hah I will be going in 3 weeks for my first time ever in WDW and I will be buying the mugs for 2 reasons:

1) I need them at my stay there
2) I was also interested in these chips so I was planning on scanning them when I got home.

I actually used a what we call an Arduino board to create a Do It Yourself RFID Reader and wrote a custom app for it (I am a software Developer ).

The main reason I have this stuff is because years back my country introduced a RFID Card for Public Transport and scanned them for a hobby project...

Anyway I am interested in what way I could "hack" these things.

P.S. For the Record I do not plan on hacking the mugs for infinite refill I am interested in what way Disney use these chips cause I can see it's being used for a in between break but it is also an easy way to check the expiration date for these mugs.

I'm pretty sure all you are going to get is a serial number back. The only way to check the expiration date is if you also have access to Disney's mug database and can look up that number.

Just like for a ticket.

 

[Shuyinsama]

It depends on what they write away but you might be right that is why I want to look... I'm just to interested in these things haha

 

[siskaren]

Ok call me stupid but since when do all he resort have the chip? I thought they had abolished the system after it was tested at sports. Now have the mugs changed or are they still the same. We already have 18, yes you read right, 18 of the pool scene one and hoping for 4 new one.

I think they started putting the new machines in in July or August. The design on the mugs is the same, but they now come in purple, orange and green.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2013/08/15/news-and-review-rapid-fill-refillable-mugs-for-walt-disney-world-resorts-now-in-use/

 

[3pletprincesses]

Now I'm playing double advocate...what happens for people who buy a meal that comes with a paper cup drink? how do the fill it?

 

[chartle]

It depends on what they write away but you might be right that is why I want to look... I'm just to interested in these things haha

I see no reason that they would use writable RFID tags. They just read the cup when you buy it and activate the number in the system with a start date.

When you go to fill your cup, the dispenser reads the number and checks to see if its expired or not. No reason to write anything to the chip.

 

[chartle]

Now I'm playing double advocate...what happens for people who buy a meal that comes with a paper cup drink? how do the fill it?

I think it also has a chip but one only good for a few hours.

 

[siskaren]

I think it also has a chip but one only good for a few hours.

I believe it's good for four fills in 2 hours.

 

[msd1776]

We have purchased mugs in the past and made the trek, sometimes lengthy, to the refill station. This last trip we brought some gas station plastic cups and bought some 2 liters from the mercantile at WL. This worked out great for us because we could take some pop on the go and trash the cup. If i was planning on staying for more than 1 week and staying at the hotel more than we do, I would consider the cup.

Btw, I think at the root of this, disney needs to realize the cups just aren't that cost effective and when it is like that, families will look for ways to save money knowing that this is a very expensive vacation!