What's so great about refillable mugs anyway?

[Laura]

:lookaroun

It just seems like they'd be the biggest pain in the neck, and really drag down your vacation. Every time you want a drink you have to get the mug, walk it allllll the way to the food court (which at many resorts is quite a hike), then walk it allllll the way back to your room and wash it out.

Anytime I've travelled with someone who bought a refillable mug it made things so difficult. We'd be all ready to hit the parks, but then have to stand around waiting for 15 minutes for the person to bring their mug back to the room.

At the end of a long day in the parks you want to get a drink at the food court, but before you can - another hike to the room to grab the mug is in order. :hammer:

Even if you pay for 2 drinks a day out of pocket for 8 days (around $30), the mug only saves you $17. It doesn't seem worth the hassle at all for such little savings. What's $17 compared to the $2,000+ you're spending? :shrug:

 

[jpm46]

ummmm.....:lookaroun....no one really talked about this but I like the mugs because I'll have a bottle of vodka in the room and I can fill the mug half up with Sprite and top it off with some ice and mix a little drinky-winky for the evening after the parks. :slurp:

:lookaroun

Is this not cool?

Sounds good to me. Do you just bring the bottle down with you when you go?

Also...how much are the mugs now?

 

[Elonwy]

Sounds good to me. Do you just bring the bottle down with you when you go?

Also...how much are the mugs now?

Usually have to buy it there either at a Walgreens or the Contemporary gift shop. Hopefully they still sell "spirits" I'm a very spirited gal...kind of like a cheerleader without the bad makeup or flexibility :animwink:

 

[StingraySam]

ummmm.....:lookaroun....no one really talked about this but I like the mugs because I'll have a bottle of vodka in the room and I can fill the mug half up with Sprite and top it off with some ice and mix a little drinky-winky for the evening after the parks. :slurp:

:lookaroun

Is this not cool?

My wife and I do the same thing. Fill half mug rum get coke & ice then relax by the pool while the kids burn off the last of thier energy, hopefully before we need another one. Then you know who has to take the long walk back to room for more rum :lol:

 

[Elonwy]

My wife and I do the same thing. Fill half mug rum get coke & ice then relax by the pool while the kids burn off the last of thier energy, hopefully before we need another one. Then you know who has to take the long walk back to room for more rum :lol:

EXACTLY!!! The mugs are a way better size than any little drinking cup because once you're at the pool with a rum and coke (or sprite and vodka) you want to stay planted a bit and not have to refill

besides it looks like I'm drinking juice :drevil: (actually I just don't have that innocent look going for me...even if i was drinking juice people would assume it's just to add some colour to the vodka)

 

[brkgnews]

Sounds good to me. Do you just bring the bottle down with you when you go?

Also...how much are the mugs now?

Mugs are in the $12-$14 range now, I believe.

 

[dsnyfreak]

I agree and I've been one of those who had to drag the mugs back to the room with the baby in the stroller, and I never really used them except 2 times a day. Now if the parks would allow the guests staying on propery to refill them for free at the parks ,only to show a valid resort card, then maybe they would be worth it.:brick:

 

[daringstoic]

Just a thought but would more people get an unlimited refill mug if you did not need the mug? It could be attached to your room key and you could just use a disposable cup. Sure it is not the greenest of options, but it would remove the physical hassle of the mug.

That's actually a really good idea. I always get a mug when I go, because I always stay at Pop and the unlimited Slurpees are too much of a temptation. I visited last year with a friend, and we kept a tally of the number of times we filled them up. Let's just say we definitely got our money's worth. I never really minded taking the mugs back to the room before we caught our buses, mostly because I usually realize that I've forgotten something in the room while we're eating anyway. The disposable cup option would be really nice, though, because that would allow me to take my morning Slurpee fix on the bus with me. There's something so Disney about having Slurpees for breakfast.

 

[progroupie]

My mother gets a mug when she visits because she drinks a few cups of coffee everyday, she ends up saving a few dollars at the end of the trip and has a nice travel coffee mug to use at home.

It wouldn't be worth it for everyone else because without the mugs we wouldn't be drinking softdrinks in the foodcourt anyway. It baffles me how neccesary people think soft drinks are with every meal. You can save so much money in the parks by cutting out the drinks when you order meals and just getting ice water. When I worked QSR at Pecos Bills I realized that for a family of 5 to all order cokes you're adding over $12 to your bill. I'm not opposed to coke or anything, but for a group on a budget I'd much rather save the $20 plus a day being spent on drinks and put it towards a character meal or some other kind of experiance.

 

[Cole'sMom]

I used to get a lot of use out of the mugs, but since I only drink water and milk for everyday beverages (no more coffee and pop for me), it isn't worth it. If they still had the resort-specific designs on them, I would buy one most definitely. If I want a special drink, I sure won't be drinking pop since we have a trip without my son!

 

[Laura]

It baffles me how neccesary people think soft drinks are with every meal.

Perhaps people don't feel they're necessary, but just PREFER them? :shrug:

I can't stand drinking water with a meal. I need something with sugar in it.

 

[progroupie]

Perhaps people don't feel they're necessary, but just PREFER them? :shrug:

I can't stand drinking water with a meal. I need something with sugar in it.

It's more that just don't understand why they're such a priority for some when they're budgeting and scrimping for a Disney vacation. I think people just don't realize how much it all adds up and they don't know how much money they'd save if they cut out a few soft drinks on their trip.

 

[juscet]

It Depends

It really depends on how close you are to the actual food court in your resort. As people have noted some of the resorts are very spread out. If you end up really far away from the food court it is not worth the time or the money to buy one. BUT if you are relatively close where it does not take that long to get a drink, then I highly recommended it. Plus they are not that heavy and we just throw them in a backpack when we go to the parks. When we stay at a resort we usually try to "request" a room that is close to the food courts. Disney doesn't guarantee they will honor the request, but we have never had an issue with our requests.

 

[Computer Magic]

:lookaroun

It just seems like they'd be the biggest pain in the neck, and really drag down your vacation. Every time you want a drink you have to get the mug, walk it allllll the way to the food court (which at many resorts is quite a hike), then walk it allllll the way back to your room and wash it out.

Anytime I've travelled with someone who bought a refillable mug it made things so difficult. We'd be all ready to hit the parks, but then have to stand around waiting for 15 minutes for the person to bring their mug back to the room.

At the end of a long day in the parks you want to get a drink at the food court, but before you can - another hike to the room to grab the mug is in order. :hammer:

Even if you pay for 2 drinks a day out of pocket for 8 days (around $30), the mug only saves you $17. It doesn't seem worth the hassle at all for such little savings. What's $17 compared to the $2,000+ you're spending? :shrug:

I can't believe I'm saying this, but............I agree with Laura :lookaroun

I hope no Disney Reps are reading: The mugs stopped being a value for us in 05, when the Dining Plan offered drinks as a snack.

The only pain for the mugs was at BW resort, cuz the drink station was so far away from everything else.

We use to fill the mug on the way to the bus and then carry a back pack to place the cups when entering the park. We could refill when we return to the resort.

A savings is a savings...it all adds up, especially if you stay 7+ days. but using the snack is a bigger money saver...

The real money saver is when you use the same mug everytime to visit WDW....

LONG LIVE THE DINNING PLAN :lookaroun

I hope I didn't start a riot

 

[Disneykidder]

I suppose if you use it more and don't mind the walking and carrying, then it isn't such a big deal. We used it as a family in 06', but not in 07'. We definately got our moneys worth that year and all the years I have used it as a single. It was nice to have hot choc or coffe in the am.

Last summer we were total water drinkers due to the heat so we didn't buy it. We brought a case of water with us and refilled at the drink station with ice/water as needed. Soda doesn't hydrate you like water and it still leaves you thirsty in most cases. Ice cold water quencees thirst...AHH!! Plus for 27 grams of sugar in one can of sprite, i'd rather have a donut...hehe. (Although, the slushies were worth it...LOVE them!!)

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

It's more that just don't understand why they're such a priority for some when they're budgeting and scrimping for a Disney vacation. I think people just don't realize how much it all adds up and they don't know how much money they'd save if they cut out a few soft drinks on their trip.

Theyf have to cut out a hell of a few soft drinks to make any sort of overall impact. Infact it would be better if they ate and stayed off site.

 

[lac628]

We always use the mugs. We most often than not, travel with my parents. My Dad always has to use the bathroom after breakfast , so he is the one to take them back to the rooms. (He won't use the public restroom to do his business)
Then when we get back, my Mom is the one that goes and gets refills for us. She HAS to have her coffee, so she's making the trip anyway.

 

[daliseurat]

Yeah, I liked them when they were resort specific - we still use the WL ones we purchased 4 years ago. We considered them a souveniur. I'm not sure if we will be purchasing them this year or not. We generally eat breakfast at the resort and use them during our meal and then return to our room to collect our park needs and head out and then again we pick them up in the evening for a drink. We didn't mind the walk - WL is a beautiful place to walk around in!

Yikes! They aren't resort specific anymore? Wow. I wouldn't bother then. Maybe they'll go back after YOMD. I like a souvenir of my resort and this was a good one for me.

 

[progroupie]

Theyf have to cut out a hell of a few soft drinks to make any sort of overall impact. Infact it would be better if they ate and stayed off site.

Not really, like I said when a family of five all orders soft drinks at any QSR location in the parks they're adding an extra $12-15 to their meal. At two meals a day that's $25-30. So for 5 days that's over $100 they could spend on something else, like a character meal. Which happens to include soft drinks. Of course if budget isn't an issue than by all means people should order whatever drink they want, but it's small area that you can cut corners in if you're on a budget and trying to alocate money for higher priority things like staying on-site or maybe having a nice meal in the parks.

 

[GenerationX]

So we decide whether to buy or not buy a mug depending on our room location after check in.

We do the same thing. The mugs are significantly more or less convenient depending on where the refill station is with respect to your room and to where you're normally walking to and from.

Of course if budget isn't an issue than by all means people should order whatever drink they want, but it's small area that you can cut corners in if you're on a budget and trying to alocate money for higher priority things like staying on-site or maybe having a nice meal in the parks.

I think I'll determine for myself what my higher priority items are.

 

[progroupie]

You needn't be obnoxious about it, I'm not saying it's higher priority for everyone, just a suggestion on where to cut corners for people who don't consider it to be as important as other things.