No more free drinks at All Star Sports Resort

[ToTBellHop]

Or simply they learned what they wanted.. and have taken the data back to rework the solution or figure out how to scale it, etc.

Either way, kind of hard for us to know from the outside. The barcode ones are still in the water parks aren't they?

Yes, but they are more practical in waterparks that most people only go to for one day. There is very little guest confusion because people go to a water park one day and don't come back for the rest of the trip. It would be far more confusing at the theme parks, since people routinely come back to that park again later in the trip, and won't understand the exact amount of time they can refill their cup.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

IMO what they should have is a resort Mug that's usable with a time coded Barcode for use at the Hotels & Waterparks for the length of the stay. That way you wouldn't have to purchase a second mug for the Waterparks.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I think they should have a mug for resort guests that you can use EVERYWHERE. That would be a perk that would be cheap for Disney but which I think would actually promote lots of bookings on-site. That type of thing would easily be possible w/ RFID.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I think they should have a mug for resort guests that you can use EVERYWHERE. That would be a perk that would be cheap for Disney but which I think would actually promote lots of bookings on-site. That type of thing would easily be possible w/ RFID.

I've said this for a while, I know people go to places like Electric Umbrella, Restaurantasaurus, and Backlot Express and get free reflls, but this should be an official perk of the dining plan with the mug.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I've said this for a while, I know people go to places like Electric Umbrella, Restaurantasaurus, and Backlot Express and get free reflls, but this should be an official perk of the dining plan with the mug.

agreed--you get a beverage w/ all of your meals anyway, so it wouldn't be that much more soda (do not include bottled drinks).

 

[bhg469]

agreed--you get a beverage w/ all of your meals anyway, so it wouldn't be that much more soda (do not include bottled drinks).

They could charge double for this and people would still get it. If anything comes from rid I hope its this option.

 

[MichWolv]

I've said this for a while, I know people go to places like Electric Umbrella, Restaurantasaurus, and Backlot Express and get free reflls, but this should be an official perk of the dining plan with the mug.

Indeed, some of us go there only because of free refills, as the food doesn't really warrant a visit!

 

[SMS55]

I think that people who already own the current mug should be able to just add time as opposed to having to pay another 15 dollars a mug each time they visit for just two or three days. Either that or offer some sort of annual pass/DVC member mug good for a year.

For me it's not worth it. I am one that visits for three days a couple of times a year with my seasonal pass. It's not worth getting a mug. I bring a small cooler and pick up a large pack of sod at Costco before heading to Disney. I keep it on ice and that's what we drink at the resort.
From a business stand point I don't get it. Is it worth spending the money on this techonolgy to catch a few soda thiefs? Like someone else said, they get the syrup for free. It's pure profit and this might even cut into the profit. How much soda does a person actually drink?

 

[googilycub]

? Like someone else said, they get the syrup for free.

From Mr Kevin Yee's post on the 2nd page of this thread....

"Disney does pay for the syrup, says my Coke executive friend (and former coworker at Disneyland)"

 

[KevinYee]

I feel like I'm saying it for the billionth time online, but they don't get the syrup for free (this was told to me from a Coca-Cola executive who would know)

 

[KevinYee]

haha. JINX!

 

[googilycub]

pinch poke you owe me a coke....

Just make sure it is not in an old mug.....

 

[maxairmike]

I feel like I'm saying it for the billionth time online, but they don't get the syrup for free (this was told to me from a Coca-Cola executive who would know)

They may pay for the syrup, but I would be surprised if the total cost per unit wasn't close to free when it's all said and done. Pop is dirt cheap, and almost always the most profitable item on any menu, anywhere.

 

[Clever Name]

The RFID will identify the owner by name and room number. Disney will be able to track the beverage habits of all the guests using this system. They’ll cross reference the information with their social networking data base. You’ll start to see “Beverly” ads on your smart phone.

Coke has the same vendor arrrangement with Disney as with any other big customer. :wave:

 

[wilkeliza]

To my knowledge these systems aren't put in place to stop coke "thieves" but rather to help regulate inventory for ordering processing and to save the company any money it can.

Right now I bet Disney has to count all the soda they went through in one day. In the current soda machines there is no way to tell (even an estimation) of how much customers use each day because refills are not tracked. When the RFID machines are added the company is now able to track the amount of every soda flavor dispensed per a machine all day including refills of mugs. This not only saves them money on soda but also saves them labor time because inventory counts can be done on a less frequent scale and they don't need someone to manual put in soda orders.

Another plus to this is perhaps soda machines will now be open past the time of service at the quick service restaurants in the hotels so that people can get drinks after hours. My group is the all night type of group and we always hate that at 2 am when we are still up we can't go and refill our mugs. As of now we fill them up when we get back to the resort but sometimes after a long day in Disney the cup doesn't cut it. Soda is the one bad eating habit I have so I end up drinking way too much when on vacation.

 

[WDW1974]

GREAT NEWS!!!

Maybe instead of posting at 3 a.m. I should head out to my garage and find my mid-90s A-S-S mug. I was told that baby was good forever!!!

And I can drink lots of soda pop.

~Love them Coke Freestyle machines at BK!~

 

[Figment1986]

GREAT NEWS!!!

Maybe instead of posting at 3 a.m. I should head out to my garage and find my mid-90s A-S-S mug. I was told that baby was good forever!!!

And I can drink lots of soda pop.

~Love them Coke Freestyle machines at BK!~

You bring up a point at the end... Freestyle Machines, Disney hasn't installed any yet... and they were working on a way to install a RFID with those to regulate refills :drevil:

 

[lt94]

My question is can the rfid chips be read like they have showed on tv with credit cards will this reveal guest information to the public and does this cause a problem. This question comes from above post as allowing info to be sent to your phone from this new tech chip

 

[dreamfinder]

My question is can the rfid chips be read like they have showed on tv with credit cards will this reveal guest information to the public and does this cause a problem. This question comes from above post as allowing info to be sent to your phone from this new tech chip

The RFID should only contain information about the mug. Basically a serial number. The remainder of the information would most likely be in a database backend. So when you would scan the mug, the dispenser would check the database to see if it was valid, and then dispense soda.

Credit Cards are a different issue. The RFID typically contains the same information that is on your magnetic strip, just accessed by a different method. So if you skim the RFID on a CC, you get all the info that you would normally physically need to run the card to get.

Sending ads to your smart phone is a combination of data bases. Your mug has a serial number. The mug database knows that your mug was purchased by room 222, and is good for 2/2-2/17. They tend have another database that has your cell phone number, and that knows you were staying in room 222. So they take the mug number to get the room number, and then the room number to get your cell number. And the marketers assume that since you drink lots of coke, you may want to try the new Coke Flavor, so they send you an ad about it. This is overly simplified, but you get the idea. It's no different than a 4-5 star hotel keeping track of how you like your coffee, and what color flowers you like, so that when you check in they have your coffee ready and your flowers in your room. Just in this hypothetical Beverly ad they are making money by advertising, and not getting your repeat business.

 

[goherdibg]

Why tie the RFID to the cup? They should tie into the KTTW cards.

If I buy the mugs or a dining plan that provides refillable mugs I should be able to walk up to a machine, swipe my KTTW card, and get some soda....regardless of what cup I have. A time delay could be added so some people do not take advantage.

I have no clue if the refillable mugs are supposed to be used in the parks. I thought they were only supposed to be used at a persons "home resort". However, charge me a little more and allow me to have unlimited drinks the length of my stay ANYWHERE I EAT. And I shouldn't have to take a bulky mug with me.

I walk up to a paper cup dispenser, swipe my card to get a new cup, walk over to the soda machine and swipe my card again to fill up the cup. The supposed additional $.24 per mug cost becomes a non-issue with the tie-in with the KTTW cards and we, as consumers, would have more flexibility.

Just my $.02