While Disney World’s refillable mugs have some hard and fast rules that have to be followed – – free refills are only good for a certain amount of time, there are no refills in the parks, etc. – – there are some other unofficial and unspoken rules that it would totally behoove you to break next time you visit the “Most Magical Place on Earth.”
Refillable Mug
Before we get to these rules, though, how about a quick refresher on how refillable mugs work? Disney’s Refillable mugs are 16 oz. insulated coffee mugs that are sold for about $22 at Disney hotels in the primary Counter Service location. Those on the Disney Dining Plan also receive a mug as part of their package. Guests are entitled to unlimited free refills on fountain drinks, coffee, and tea from participating beverage locations at Disney resort hotels (both the one they’re staying at as well as others on property) for their length of stay up to 14 days. Each mug features an RFID barcode, which enables the mug to deactivate when the designated time is complete.
So, with the actual official rules established, let’s take a look at some of the “unwritten” ones that are more than breakable:
“You Have to Buy a New Mug Every Visit”
It can be tempting to think that ANY time you stay on Disney property, you must buy a new mug even if you already own the available design! However, if you’re visiting Disney for a short trip, OR you’re a water drinker who carries a Stanley or other reusable water bottle with you, it may not be necessary or even all that useful.
Resort Refillable Mug
Breaking this “rule” especially makes sense given the fact that the designs on the mugs tend to remain somewhat stagnant. Perhaps if there were still different hotel-specific designs as there used to be, it would be more tempting to continuously purchase new ones. As it is, the property-wide annual designs that DO change tend to look somewhat similar year after year.
You Must Fill Your Mug with a Soft Drink Every Time to Make the Mug “Worth it”
This is the wrong way to look at things. Picking up the mug is a convenient way to get unlimited drinks at your hotel while getting a new Disney souvenir in the process. However, being obsessed with making sure you get “value” down to the penny kind of misses the point.
Self-service Beverage Station
On top of that, there are also the potential health issues. Namely, “justifying” the purchase of a mug doesn’t make over-indulging in sodas and other soft drinks “worth” it. Yes, it’s a vacation, and yes the vast majority of visitors to Walt Disney World aren’t necessarily thinking about healthy eating during their vacation, but that doesn’t mean that need to force themselves to down gallons of soda.
“Don’t Bring Your Mug to the Parks”
While it is true that as of now there are no free refills inside Disney’s theme parks, there can be use to bringing your refillable mugs to the parks. Specifically, they can be used for water from the parks water fountains and refilling stations.
Water fountain and refill station
While Disney’s mugs might not be as large or insulated as brands like say Stanley or Owala – nor do they have the level of viral social media ubiquity – they can be just as useful in staying hydrated at the resort’s theme parks. Plus, from a size standpoint, they can comfortably fit in most backpacks, even the majority of Loungeflys.
Refillable Mug
Next time you pick up a refillable mug at Disney World, make sure to “break” these “unwritten” rules. Stay tuned to DFB for more Disney tips!
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We used to get the refillable mugs, especially when they were part of our dining plan. A variety of things has changed this for us. The dining plan we liked best hasn’t returned, and while the DP was great for our shorter, more frequent visits, we are visiting less often and staying longer now, and the DP doesn’t suit our needs as well. We have fallen in love with the Cabins at Fort Wilderness, and the refillable mugs aren’t super useful there. We do bring our own reusable water bottles, and mostly drink water during our visits in order to stay hydrated (and we don’t have to go out of our way to find water). I agree that the refillable mugs can be great if you’re essentially walking past the refill station every day at your resort, with the wide range of beverages available. But they’re not equally useful at all resorts.
I break the rule now about bringing the cup to the parks. It is an easy way to get water without carrying a heavy water bottle and then also quickly grab a drink or two on your way back to your room without having to grab the cup and come back to the food court.
We also bring the mug to the park to pour whatever drink we get with a meal, since they come in a cup with no lid. We use a carabiner to attach to a bag to be handsfree when they’re empty.
I’ve never used the fountains but as our bottle was unusually empty I thought I’d fill it up at a fountain.
After 5 mins of pushing that button and the water still running warm I decided to leg it to Starbucks for iced water…won’t use a fountain again
If you wanna be a REAL rule breaker, Connections Eatery at Epcot and Backlot Express at Hollywood Studios have self-serve drink stations, un-chipped, for the paper cups of coke at those locations. But I’m not saying to take your refillable mugs there to get free cokes! 😉