Refill cup and Dining plan

[Anat]

Hey there,
We're going to be at WDW on December and have some questions-
1. We understand that the refill cup cost about 19$ and can only be used at WDW's resorts.
Are there resorts inside the parks, or should we take drinks with us to the parks?
2. Can we buy only a ONE DAY dining plan, and not for the whole staying period?
If so, how can we order it?
3. What are your favorite breakfast's places at Epcot and Hollywood studios?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Anat.

 

[Jon81uk]

Hey there,
We're going to be at WDW on December and have some questions-
1. We understand that the refill cup cost about 19$ and can only be used at WDW's resorts.
Are there resorts inside the parks, or should we take drinks with us to the parks?
2. Can we buy only a ONE DAY dining plan, and not for the whole staying period?
If so, how can we order it?
3. What are your favorite breakfast's places at Epcot and Hollywood studios?
Thanks a lot in advance,
Anat.

1. The refill mug can only be used in resort food courts (or other quick service location in the resort hotel), they are no good inside the park. Single drink cups are about $4 so you need a minimum of five visits to the food court to make it worthwhile. It can be used on soda, iced tea, coffee, hot tea and hot chocolate though.

2. The dining plan must be purchased per night of you resort stay, so if your stay is 4 nights you pay for four nights of dining plan. Check all the menus of where you want to eat as it may not work out worth getting the dining plan at all, particularly if you won't have dessert normally.

3. For Table service breakfast at Epcot Garden Grill is good with characters. For quick service then I think Sunshine Seasons still offers something. At Hollywood studios then I think only options are Woody's lunchbox or Starbucks. Resort food courts are much better for breakfast options. Also if you do get the dining plan remember breakfast is usually the cheapest meal of the day so rarely worth spending credits on. I just used a snack credit to get a pastry and the refill mug for coffee, then used the DDP credit on lunch.

 

[Anat]

1. The refill mug can only be used in resort food courts (or other quick service location in the resort hotel), they are no good inside the park. Single drink cups are about $4 so you need a minimum of five visits to the food court to make it worthwhile. It can be used on soda, iced tea, coffee, hot tea and hot chocolate though.

2. The dining plan must be purchased per night of you resort stay, so if your stay is 4 nights you pay for four nights of dining plan. Check all the menus of where you want to eat as it may not work out worth getting the dining plan at all, particularly if you won't have dessert normally.

3. For Table service breakfast at Epcot Garden Grill is good with characters. For quick service then I think Sunshine Seasons still offers something. At Hollywood studios then I think only options are Woody's lunchbox or Starbucks. Resort food courts are much better for breakfast options. Also if you do get the dining plan remember breakfast is usually the cheapest meal of the day so rarely worth spending credits on. I just used a snack credit to get a pastry and the refill mug for coffee, then used the DDP credit on lunch.

Thank you!

 

[Lilofan]

I'm damn cheap so I just ask for a cup of ice then I pour my Wal Mart lemonade powder in the cup and get in line like everyone else to fill up their water bottles at the water fountain.

 

[Anat]

I'm damn cheap so I just ask for a cup of ice then I pour my Wal Mart lemonade powder in the cup and get in line like everyone else to fill up their water bottles at the water fountain.

Hahaha, cool idea!

 

[Weather_Lady]

"Resorts" just means the on-site hotels. You can't get refills in the parks.

We've used the mugs only when we've gotten them as part of a "free" dining promotion, and would use them to get a morning beverage to accompany breakfast, and if desired, a late-night beverage after returning from the parks. They weren't convenient to carry around in the parks even if we'd wanted to (extra bulk, sticky beverage residue), and frankly, even hauling them to the hotel food court for refills wasn't particularly convenient either. We'd never shell out money to buy them -- not when we can get free iced water everywhere (at any CS location including those in the parks - so no need to BYOB), and a typical WDW fountain beverage (they're served in "Big Gulp"-sized cups) holds enough for our whole family of four to share on those occasions when we're inclined to buy one. Then again, we don't drink a lot of pop (soda) in our everyday lives so there's nothing for us to "miss" if we don't have regular access to it on vacation. YMMV.

FWIW, if you're trying to see if the dining plan is a good deal for you, you might consult the calculator at distripplanner.com. I recently ran the numbers for our upcoming 7-day trip in February -- twice, actually, once by doing the math myself using restaurant menus and once with distripplanner, which came out within $50 of my own calculations -- and given the restaurants where we want to eat and the kinds of things we typically order (e.g., we generally enjoy one snack a day but could rarely stomach two, some days we like 2 TS instead of one, we rarely order fountain drinks or desserts but we do like an appetizer at dinner, and we don't get meaningful use out of the refillable mugs), my family stands to save a minimum of $400 on food/gratuity costs by NOT using the dining plan, even if we order the most expensive entrees, and even though our selections include some pricier TS meals (e.g., dinner at 'Ohana).

 

[Jon81uk]

hauling them to the hotel food court for refills wasn't particularly convenient either.

This is why I liked Wilderness Lodge and Port Orleans French Quarter for getting a late night lemonade before bed, but I didn't like All Star Movies and Port Orleans Riverside, too far too to walk to the Food Courts!

 

[Anat]

"Resorts" just means the on-site hotels. You can't get refills in the parks.

We've used the mugs only when we've gotten them as part of a "free" dining promotion, and would use them to get a morning beverage to accompany breakfast, and if desired, a late-night beverage after returning from the parks. They weren't convenient to carry around in the parks even if we'd wanted to (extra bulk, sticky beverage residue), and frankly, even hauling them to the hotel food court for refills wasn't particularly convenient either. We'd never shell out money to buy them -- not when we can get free iced water everywhere (at any CS location including those in the parks - so no need to BYOB), and a typical WDW fountain beverage (they're served in "Big Gulp"-sized cups) holds enough for our whole family of four to share on those occasions when we're inclined to buy one. Then again, we don't drink a lot of pop (soda) in our everyday lives so there's nothing for us to "miss" if we don't have regular access to it on vacation. YMMV.

FWIW, if you're trying to see if the dining plan is a good deal for you, you might consult the calculator at distripplanner.com. I recently ran the numbers for our upcoming 7-day trip in February -- twice, actually, once by doing the math myself using restaurant menus and once with distripplanner, which came out within $50 of my own calculations -- and given the restaurants where we want to eat and the kinds of things we typically order (e.g., we generally enjoy one snack a day but could rarely stomach two, some days we like 2 TS instead of one, we rarely order fountain drinks or desserts, and we don't get meaningful use out of the refillable mugs), my family stands to save no less than $400 on food/gratuity costs by NOT using the dining plan, even if we order the most expensive entrees.

Wow! Thanks a lot for your detailed answer. Very helpful

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

1. No there are no resorts INSIDE of the parks.
Personally I would not bring along your refillable mug to the parks unless you want to refill with water.
Usually I'll bring a throw away plastic bottle of water into the parks in the morning and then maybe refill it or maybe toss it and if I'm thirst after I'll drink water form the water fountains/ask for a free cup of ice water at quick service locations or just buy a drink.

2. No. Its all or nothing.
You could do a split stay where you stay at one resort and then stay at another resort and only get the dining plan for one of the reservations but you cannot just say hey I want the dining plan for this day of my stay but not this day.
How you add it is contact Disney at least 48 hours before your check in day.

3. I'm not really into eating breakfast in the parks.
I much rather eat breakfast at the resort and use my park time for attractions.

 

[Anat]

1. No there are no resorts INSIDE of the parks.
Personally I would not bring along your refillable mug to the parks unless you want to refill with water.
Usually I'll bring a throw away plastic bottle of water into the parks in the morning and then maybe refill it or maybe toss it and if I'm thirst after I'll drink water form the water fountains/ask for a free cup of ice water at quick service locations or just buy a drink.

2. No. Its all or nothing.
You could do a split stay where you stay at one resort and then stay at another resort and only get the dining plan for one of the reservations but you cannot just say hey I want the dining plan for this day of my stay but not this day.
How you add it is contact Disney at least 48 hours before your check in day.

3. I'm not really into eating breakfast in the parks.
I much rather eat breakfast at the resort and use my park time for attractions.

Thank you very much!

 

[dreamfinder]

Just to clarify, you don't need the dining plan to buy the mug. Anyone can buy a mug at the resort. The mugs are good at all the resorts for the duration of your stay.
They can be tough to carry with you to the parks. However, if you are at a resort where you walk by the food court to/from the buses, you can grab a coffee to go, and then soda when you return. Making the trek to/from your room after a day at the parks can be a good de-motivator not to get a refill.

 

[Raegansmommy]

When my children were little and we used a stroller, the mugs were great because you could refill and take them with you. Now that they are older, I don't want to carry them all day so we only use them at the resort. The Poptarts at Woody's lunchbox are yummy for breakfast and Joffrey's has huge donuts in Epcot.

 

[Mickey5150]

My favorite place for breakfast in Hollywood Studios is Docking Bay 7, in Epcot it's Les Halles Boulangerie and Patisserie.