We've all seen it coming--the crackdown on those refillable mugs that are available at all the Walt Disney World resorts. Many years ago, you could walk into just about any of the Disney resorts with a mug from just about any other Disney resort from just about any year, and no one would even look at you sideways. (Sure, they were meant to be used for the length of your stay, but no one was really policing the process.) Not so today.
The evolution of the mug had some positives: various different resort mugs became one standardized resort mug, allowing guests to refill their mugs at any of the Disney resorts. But the negatives started creeping in. First, guests were limited on which drinks were included--sorry, parents of tots, but milk is no longer a refillable beverage. Then, Disney started getting all tech-savvy on us, creating the RFID chip mug that would allow guests to fill mugs only during the length of their stay--with a ten-minute delay between refills, presumably to ensure that only one individual was drinking one beverage at a time and NOT refilling another larger decanter to take into the Disney Parks for the day. (Not that I would ever try this...but I assure you that others would have.) Finally, we've come to the most radical and complicated version of the mug wars: the "Rapid Fill" program. Here are the rules:
Rapid Fill offers guests the option to use a refillable mug for a specific number of days (calendar days, not 24-hours from time of purchase). Prices are $8.99 for 1 day, $11.99 for 2 days, $14.99 for 3 days, and $17.99 for length of stay. (Yes, yet another price increase.) As with the current refillable mug program, these are included in the Disney Dining Plan. And, of course, you will not be permitted to use an old mug--you will need a new one for each stay. Drink stations will include LCD displays that let you know how many days of refills are left for your mug. Expect to see this program begin this month at the All-Star Value Resorts first, then expand to the other resorts.
As a very limited soda drinker, I haven't been a fan of the refillable mugs for some time now. (We thought they were a decent value when we could use them for milk for our toddler years ago.) These new tougher stipulations only strengthen my resolve to skip the mug purchase on future trips. I mean, really, based on those prices, can you drink your money's worth in soda during your stay? This Disney-loving family will continue packing our own beverages and carrying our own refillable, filtering water bottles.
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