She said "...the next glass..."
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News Disney removing plastic straws and more by mid-2019
- Thread starter KentB3
- Start date
LSLS
Well-Known Member
This just seems like such an easy win/win, I'm amazed it has gone this many pages. Disney gets to save on straw prices (much like bags). Anyone who cares a bit about the oceans gets to feel proud that they are doing something to help. My biggest shock is it took this long, and others aren't jumping on it.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
The paper straws are actually a little more expensive than plastic. They will save on the shampoo though and will make money selling the bags so it’s a net gain financially.
DreamalittleDisney
Well-Known Member
Haven't straws been banned in AK since opening or did I get this mixed up?
GoofGoof
Premium Member
They have, just like mostly any zoo or place with live animals. DAK only gives out the paper straws.
s8film40
Well-Known Member
That's an interesting analogy, but doesn't quite apply. In the case of a salad the item is advertised as a salad and the chicken is something extra added to the salad much like the ice is to the drink. The pricing is backwards making it difficult for this analogy to work. In the case of a salad with chicken the added item is far more expensive, in the case of a soda the added item (ice) is cheaper. However in some places where salad is made fresh ordering a chicken salad with no chicken will often net you more lettuce. Also the key here is that many fast food places also will advertise their drinks by ounces, so for example they will say "this meal comes with a 20oz soda". They don't usually say a "20oz soda over ice" although that's usually assumed.
Since we were talking about nutrition information earlier I looked up the McDonalds information. I believe a Medium is 20oz, interestingly McDonalds lists this with very similar numbers to a 20oz bottle. Also interesting they have the option of indicating ice or no ice on their nutrition calculator and it makes no change to the information.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
More extreme analogy. I go to a steakhouse and get a steak that comes with mashed potatoes and green beans. I ask for no potatoes and no green beans but a bigger steak. They aren’t going to give it to me without charging me more. I think the disconnect is the perception of whether a fountain beverage includes ice or not. I think most people assume the drink comes with ice. If you don’t then it makes sense to be upset about them adding it.
For some unknown reason McDonalds medium is a 21oz cup. Weird considering small and large are 16 and 32. You would think they would go in the middle with 24 oz or even 20oz since it’s more rounded number. Most people don’t know the cup sizes anyway, they just know small, medium and large.
DisneyGentlemanV2.0
Well-Known Member
Replacing plastic straws with more hefty plastic lids...
...the environment must be jumping for joy.
s8film40
Well-Known Member
That analogy again doesn't really work. Most steaks are commonly sold in specific sizes and don't have anything that offsets those sizes other than perhaps a bone in some cases. Even in the case of bones that's generally covered under the "*weight before cooking" explanation. The other items are side items. Again my point was drinks are very commonly advertised by their portion size with no mention of ice. While ice is assumed in most standard practices it's not required as part of the product. As is the case with the McDonalds nutrition calculator it is advertised with option of either ice or no ice. It also appears the nutrition information points to the version without ice.
Also on another note this brings up an interesting point. For years the US has been critisized for it's large drink portion sizes and compared to other countries. If it's common practice in those countries to serve soda without ice than these comparisons aren't really accurate. Perhaps adding ice to drinks is also what has driven up the portion sizes here?
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Again, the analogy is simply to point out that when an item is sold with several ingredients you generally can’t remove much cheaper ingredients and replace with more of the expensive one. Fountain soda is dirt cheap but ice is virtually free (assuming you own and are running an ice machine already). To go back to McDonalds if I’m on a low carb diet I can’t order a Big Mac but with 3 beef patties hold the bun. If I’m drinking at the bar I can’t order a gin and tonic hold the tonic and expect to get a full glass of gin for the same price. Tonic water is as much a part of a gin and tonic as ice is of a fountain beverage (at least in the US).
I think part of the reason the cups are so large for fountain drinks is the added ice. I absolutely agree with that. When you order coffee or a milk shake or something served without ice you get a smaller cup at most fast food establishments or other restaurants that serve fountain drinks.
s8film40
Well-Known Member
Again that analogy doesn't quite fit. The item being sold is a "gin and tonic" not a gin. Sodas are sold as just soda not a soda and ice. I get where you're trying to go with the analogy and I can't seem to think of a good one either.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
The problem is we fundamentally disagree on the fact that a fountain soda by it’s very nature contains soda and ice. The ice isn’t just added if desired it’s a part of the drink. The soda machine is designed to serve the soda over ice.
To bring this back around to the discussion at hand, I think many more people would be upset if they started serving fountain beverages with no ice (so straws wouldn’t be necessary) vs serving them with paper straws. I also think many more people would search out the plastic 20oz bottles since they are at least kept colder than fountain soda with no ice.
s8film40
Well-Known Member
I agree the difference is you see ice as an ingredient in soda. To me I see soda offered in other settings (bottles/cans) without ice so it’s an optional addition. Yes I get the whole “fountain soda is made specially for ice” and while there may be differences I’m sorry I just don’t buy that excuse. If indeed it is significantly different we’ll then it isn’t working, most people notice that fountain soda has a more watered down taste and prefer cans and bottles over fountain.
Again going back to the staw point, I would love to see people give fountain soda without ice a try. It is very similar most people are just conditioned to believe it isn’t. Of course like I said before if that happens I’m sure they would have the plastic straws back out so fast we would forget they were ever gone.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
To be clear ice is not an ingredient in soda it’s an ingredient in a fountain drink. Yes, soda comes in cans and bottles but a fountain soda includes ice. If I order a coke from a place with a fountain I don’t say give me a small coke with ice, I just say give me a small coke and it comes with ice.
It’s all about temperature for me. A bottle of coke sitting in a tub of ice is probably as cold or colder than a fountain coke with ice. I drink pretty fast and will usually share a drink anyway in the parks so it’s a wash for me. They are both refreshing. I know my wife prefers fountain drinks to a can/bottle. A fountain coke without ice to me tastes too warm. I’ve had the misfortune of drinking it that way on a few occasions at WDW when the ice machine was out. We also have a freestyle machine at work that will sometimes run out of ice in the afternoon after heavy use. It’s not as good warm. Just a matter of personal preference but I think the majority of Americans at least will agree.
Man, I had no idea we did that. I'll have to let my community's maintenance guy know, whose first job of the day every single day is to fill up a bag full of liter on the road in front of our community and around our community. The number of beer bottles thrown out the windows of moving cars around me is literally insane.
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Lensman
Well-Known Member
I admit that I overstate. I thought the contrast in mentality demonstrated by the funny video from Mad Men would make you laugh, but apparently I was too hopeful that this board is a place for humor and fun while discussing serious topics.
Littering is down 60% since 1969 despite a 50% growth in population and what I'd consider big growth in disposable products. But that's probably an optimistic view that few here will share. Instead, I suppose the prolific contrarians here will insist that people are hopelessly self-centered and selfish and that there's nothing that we can do to stop the decline in the quality of life on this planet so we may as well give up now and all kill ourselves even more quickly by smoking and bathing in dioxins.
Thanks for your encouragement.
Oh, and to show that I haven't totally lost my sense of humor, here's a picture demonstrating that there's been *some* progress on littering. This person obviously isn't throwing their trash out the window of their car - at least not immediately.
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Lensman
Well-Known Member
Does Disney serve their fountain soda at greater than 40 F? We need @The Mom to do some thermal research for us at the parks!
Also, are you saying that in general, modern soda fountains are dispensing beverage at greater than 40 F or are you saying that in general, bottled sodas are sold at significantly less than 40 F? 40F is also standard refrigeration temperature. My fridge is set to 37 F.
I found a Subway manual that states that the standard temperature for drinks dispensed by their fountains is less than 40 F. Page 7 says that fountain drinks dispensed at greater than 40 F have a tendency to taste flat since the higher dispensing temperature will drive out too much of the CO2. Note that it also calls for the cup to be exactly 1/3 ice for proper "ice dilution", so you're spot on that point.
s8film40
Well-Known Member
Looks like you've been wandering around the WDW cast parking lots!Oh, and to show that I haven't totally lost my sense of humor, here's a picture demonstrating that there's been *some* progress on littering. This person obviously isn't throwing their trash out the window of their car - at least not immediately.
I believe most places fill the ice to 2/3 or 3/4 now. I suspect that's probably grown over the years. Looks like Wendy's used to do half, I wonder if it's still the same.
Also here's a fun article for all of you who just can't live with your soda a few degrees warmer!
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=1641825&page=1
jaklgreen
Well-Known Member
I am pretty sure most people at one point or another have tried soda without ice. Most places are self serve here. It is not that we don't know any better, it is just that most people PREFER it with the ice. Sorry to say that you are in the minority here.