When the program first came out, the promotion was unlimited refills/no expiration date. I don't recall the exact dates, but it's easy enough to find out if your mug was part of the original program. I believe the policy is printed on the side of the mug and it will indicate if it's only good for the length of stay. If it's one of the originals though, then according to Disney, they will still honor that program.
Tammi,
When I bought my first refillable mug I also was told it was good forever.
I think the CM's were mistaken howerever because I cannot find proof that there ever was a refill for life mug.
I have serched the internet many times over looking for PROOF that Disney did in fact have a lifetime
refillable mug at one time . I did not find any articles to back up the claims of a lifetime refillable mug.
I did find a photoshop photo of this PRETEND one:
Here are some articles I did find that were written in 2002 and back up the claim that the Disney resort refillable mugs were
never lifetime refillable mugs.
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From this Mouseplanet.com websiteJune,2002:
http://www.mouseplanet.com/mike/ref...icy_changes.htm
In an effort to rein in costs and increase income, the Walt Disney World Resort hotels are making some drastic changes to the extremely popular refillable mug program that may affect many repeat visitors to the resort.
[If you are unfamiliar with the program, you can read about it in MousePlanet's WDW Resorts from A to Z page under "Refillable Mugs."]
According to an article in the Orlando Sentinel entitled "32 ounces of soda not enough? Disney tries out self-serve refills," Walt Disney World is making large 32-ounce soft drink mugs available for free self-serve refills in Typhoon Lagoon. That's the good news. The bad news is that you can only refill your mug on the day of purchase. If you return to Typhoon Lagoon the next day, you can no longer refill your mug for free.
Disney has added a new UPC bar coding system to the self-serve refill stations that, for the first time, controls a previously unenforced policy.
Although the refillable mug program has always been advertised as available during an actual length of stay that allows guests to refill their mugs during their trip, in reality, guests often brought their mugs back on subsequent trips to refill them free of charge. With the UPC code tied to a guest's hotel reservation, this new system closes this loophole altogether. That is, once your stay has ended, your mug is no longer refillable. Those mugs you bought on previous visits won't work next time you vacation at WDW.
Another loophole that may close with this new system is that you might not be able to use your mug at any other resort except at the one you are staying. For example, if you stay at one of the resorts for a few days and purchase a mug there, and then you move over to another resort for the balance of your vacation, the mug might not be refillable at the second resort.How will this new system be enforced? Once the UPC code system is fully activated, they can devise a system by which the fountains work only if an "active" UPC code is on the mug.
WDW visitors are already complaining that the new system is yet another line to stand in and just "more time-consuming nonsense cutting into [one's] vacation time."
Did you recently visit WDW and see this change in practice? If you have any first-hand knowledge or experience, please email me or Brian Bennett at
brian@mouseplanet.com to provide us with more details.
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Here is another article written in June 2002:
http://www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/2002/06/24.html
Disney Mug Holders, Beware
"The new system of computerized monitoring of fountain refills being experimented with at Typhoon Lagoon could tighten a rather loose policy at Disney's resorts. They sell 16-ounce souvenir mugs for $9.99.
Guests may refill them at resort snack bars unlimited times with soda, coffee or tea for the length of their stay. Cashiers sell the mugs and then are supposed to keep a watchful eye as guests get their own refills.
But some Disney World employees and regular guests say they take the mugs on repeat visits to the snack bars and fill up -- basically a lifetime of free drinks for one purchase. They are occasionally offered on eBay and at garage sales, testimony to their timeless value.
Cashiers say the mugs' designs aren't changed enough for them to spot old ones. But the new system being tried at Typhoon Lagoon employs a bar code that's read electronically at the drink dispenser and recognizes old mugs." [Orlando Sentinel, via Boing Boing]
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And another from June 2002:
From this website:
http://www.intercot.com/news/2002/june.asp
News Archive - June 2002
June 27, 2002
Refillable Mug Policy Tightening?
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Disney is experimenting with a new computerized barcode system to be used in tandem with it's refillable mug program offered at their resorts.
The program allows guests to buy a mug for each person in their party which then can be used for unlimited drink refills during their stay. The policy change could come as a result of Guests taking the mugs on repeat visits to Disney World to fill up on what becomes basically a lifetime of free drinks for one purchase.
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Just my 2 cents.
...with FREE Dining, and know they are a good deal. Thanks!
