Contempo Cafe Refillable Mug Sign
This IS the Disney Food Blog, and we can’t go too much longer without addressing the refillable mugs you can get when you stay in Disney Resorts! There are plenty of FAQs about the mugs floating around the web and message boards, so let’s see if we can hit them all. PLEASE — if you’re old hat at refillable mugs, chime in with your comments!
The 2009 Refillable Mugs at Pop Century
Overview
“Refillable mugs” are 16 oz. insulated coffee mugs sold at Disney hotels for $12.99 + tax. Throughout your stay at the Disney resort hotel where you purchased the mug, you are entitled to unlimited free refills on “select” beverages from “select” locations.
Mugs used to be considered collectibles, as each Disney resort hotel mug had a design themed to the resort in which it could be purchased; but starting with the Year of a Million Dreams, the mugs have been one standard design and shape no matter where you purchase them.
Beach Club Marketplace Refillable Mug Station
FAQ
What beverages are available for refills?
You can refill your mug with coffee, iced or hot tea, soda-pop (these will be ALL Coca-Cola products — Disney does not sell Pepsi products due to Coke’s long-time sponsorship agreement), and hot chocolate.
*COOL INFO:* It’s interesting to note that most refillable mug stations have some sort of Hi-C lemonade/fruit punch option OR red/blue Powerade. And, thanks to DisneyNorth, I’m finding out that they’ve now replaced most Cherry Coke options with Coke Zero. However, if you go to Beaches & Cream when you’re staying at the Yacht or Beach Club, you can get free authentic cherry coke refills…and chocolate coke, and vanilla coke, and lemon coke refills…in your refillable mug.
Mara Refillable Mug Station at Animal Kingdom Lodge
What beverages aren’t available for refills?
Most notably, milk and “real” fruit juice (e.g. no OJ or Apple Juice).
Will they refill my frozen margarita at the pool bar?
No. But you get points for creativity.
Where can I buy the mugs and get refills?
Purchase/Refill stations are located in food courts, quick service locations, and pool bars at all Value/Moderate/Deluxe resorts. You can also get refills at Beaches & Cream at the Beach Club and at the Boardwalk Bakery and Coffee Cart at the Boardwalk.
Caribbean Beach Resort Market Street Mug Station
May I only use the mug at my resort?
Yep. But if you’re staying at a resort that has a “partner” resort (like Yacht & Beach Club Resorts), you can get refills at the “partner” locations.
While you can’t use your resort mug in the parks (unless you’re getting water), you CAN purchase refillable mugs in the water parks. Disney’s also been rumored to be testing refillable mug programs in the parks.
Contempo Cafe Mug Station at the Contemporary Resort
Can I save my mug when I get home and bring it back to use on all my subsequent Disney trips?
You CAN do that, but you would be dis-obeying Disney’s signs that the mugs are only to be used during the length of your stay at that resort…that vacation…and that’s all.
This has been a bone of contention among Disney trippers for a while now. Some folks have no problem bringing their 2001 Coronado Springs mug to the Beach Club Marketplace in 2009 and getting a free refill, or even using their resort mug many trips in a row at the same resort. Others will buy new refillable mugs every time they visit a Disney resort — even if they go every month.
What YOU do is up to you and your conscience. But Disney’s been testing the idea of using bar codes that are activated only for length-of-stay. FYI.
(Note: Disney there are instances where guests have been told that the mugs are good for return visits, but our interpretation of the signs is that they’re not. Again, it’s up to you…and the cast member you ask.)
Wilderness Lodge Refillable Mug Station
If I’m paying an exorbitant amount for my room and there are mugs already in there, does that mean they’re free?
Whether or not you’re paying too much for your room, the mugs are never free. If you use them, they’ll be placed on your bill as a charge.
Any other cool stuff you should tell us about the refillable mug program?
YES! Each self-service refillable mug location has a MUG WASH! That’s right — there’s a little sink right next to the soda-pop dispensers that you can use to wash out your mug. Comes in very handy when switching between your drinks of choice…say between Coffee and Powerade?
MUG WASH!
Do YOU buy the mugs, DisneyFoodBlog?
You know, I used to buy the mugs at every resort as collectibles, but I always ended up in rooms far away from the refillable mug stations and never really used the mugs enough to justify the purchase (I wish Disney would put in more mug stations, but I know that would probably be taken advantage of by non-mug-buyers). That said, when I’ve taken trips to Disney World where my primary activity has been reading by the pool, having the mug for free refills has been a real blessing!
If you can’t live without your coffee, or if you need a travel mug for your morning commute at home, buy the mug. It’s fun to see that little Mickey face every morning!
Johari Treasures Mug Station at Kidani Village
If you have other questions, or if you have comments about your OWN refillable mug experiences, let us know by leaving a comment on the blog!
Thanks to WildernessLodgeSite.com, AKLResort.com, DisneyContemporary.com, and DisneyCaribbeanBeach.com for use of “grab a mug” photos.
Other posts you might enjoy:
Also, if you are on the Quick Service Dining Plan or the Deluxe or Premium Dining Plan, you get a refillable mug with those plans!!
Thanks for this great information! I didn’t know about the mug wash as I have never purchased this. I’m a water drinker and bring my own bottled water and refill those!
Disney’s Vero Beach resort also has the refillable mugs. And they are the same as the ones in WDW. They can be purchased at the gift store (can’t remember the name of the store for the life of me….) and can be filled at the quick service location by the pool (soda) and the coffee table outside shutters in the AM.
For the first time this year, we did fill our mugs a couple of times at a couple of the quick service locations in the park. No one really questioned us, but there really wasn’t anyone around to police it. Although, there really is no one to question you when you refill a paper cup from a quick service meal…..
BTW, thanks for the call out on the Cherry Coke issue. LOL!
James
Great post! I’ll confess to being one of the non-mug buyers. On our most recent trip to WDW, my family and I brought our 2006 Vero Beach mugs down to the Animal Kingdom Lodge Mara station and refilled them daily without anyone reprimanding us. AND I did it once in front of 2 staffers, because I wasn’t sure if the “thou shalt buy new mugs” thing was an actual rule, and also because I love danger
So if it is a rule, Disney doesn’t really enforce it.
But I’m opposed to the “new mug for every vacation” rule and I’m sad to hear about the possibility of bar codes – in addition to being really expensive (what if you’re a family of 5 who vacations every year?), buying all these different mugs seems like a HUGE waste of plastic, which is bad for the environment. And since we were staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, where the “One World, One Mouse” campaign was in full swing, and which (thankfully) doesn’t offer plastic straws, it seemed hypocritical to buy 3 plastic mugs we were never going to use after our trip ended.
If Disney insists on the bar code idea, it would be great if you could just add an unlimited drinks option to your room key when you check in (for a certain price), and then fill up whatever mug you want for the length of your stay.
I’m also a professed non-Muggle (and Harry Potter weirdo, apparently), but I think they are fabulous for some folks. I am a total soda addict but still never get enough use from them. I’d rather stop at a grocery or convenience store for a couple of six packs of bottles and use those. Of course, it’s not as good for the environment, and I willingly hang my head in shame for that. But I DO use the green recycle cans in my room, if that helps.
@DisneyChick I always knew figured you for a wild child!
I think the bar code thing has been floating around for years…it’s never happened, thank goodness! I LOVE your idea of an unlimited drinks option for purchase. I know a LOT of those mugs are wasted after every trip.
@James Thanks for the info on Vero! (I’ve never been there and think I’m hiding my jealousy of all of you quite well, indeed.)
@Heidi Oh yeah! Completely forgot to put in the info about getting mugs with those dining plans. Good reminder that I need to do a dining plan page here on the blog…
@Elizabeth We usually buy bottles of stuff, too –water, diet pepsi (I can’t LIVE without my diet pepsi, so I have to get it offsite), etc. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do!
We have quite a collection of older mugs, some in the fatter-sized mugs as well (that never fit in any cup holder!) We’ve brought older Pop Century mugs from opening season there and used them with no problems, but we did upgrade to the universal design mugs a couple of years back. I’d have no problem buying more if they were resort-specific designs again because that was fun to collect, but I don’t see the point (other than the obvious) of buying new ones each visit when they look the same.
We usually forget them in the room whenever we head to a food court location, so someone inevitable has to trudge back to retrieve them, but I think with kids especially, they are a good investment.
I had no idea about the Beaches and Cream refills, that is TOO cool!!
Great info!
I did not buy a mug during my trip, but I seem to recall some chatter online about Coronado Springs’ mugs being different than the other resorts’ mugs. Just thought I’d throw that out there.
So, as I understand it from your list, you can have hot or iced tea, but you can only have hot coffee, not iced coffee, is that right? Not to go off on a tangent, but…..
I really don’t understand the mental block Disney seems to have about iced coffee. I ordered it in many locations during my trip, and nobody seemed to know how to make it. They all poured hot coffee over ice cubes….which of course then melted and so it was “lukewarm coffee” instead of iced coffee.
Unless I’m wrong … don’t all the mugs look the same now? (Where in the past each resort had their own style.) Plus they seem to change them every year (although that wasn’t always the case). This would, I assume, stop people from using old mugs on new trips? But how could anyone know if the mug you bought at the Grand Floridian is being used to fill up soda at the Polynesian? (Why am I so concerned with refillable mugs? LOL)
@Zanna: Yeah–I really liked collecting the resort mugs. It made me to happy to see them in my cupboard each day…
Thanks for the “family perspective!”
@Gray: SO weird…and gross…about the lukewarm coffee. I didn’t see ANY iced coffee in any of the refillable mug stations (just now getting varieties of iced tea). I imagine they’d figure you’d just get a bunch of ice cubes and coffee if you wanted to make some. Bummer, too, because I know how you like your iced coffee!
@Tony: Yep–all the mugs look the same now as far as I know (they’re that red/yellow/black design in the photo above). That’s what they switched to from the Year of a Million Dreams mugs (in about Sept 2008). I imagine these will stick around until the “What Will You Celebrate?” promo ends.
Good question about “how would they know if you’re filling up at different resorts?” I imagine they wouldn’t…!
I heard a CM tell someone this @ the WL this year (as the person was buying the 2009 mugs): You CAN use mugs from years past (ex: bring your 2007 mug on your 2009 visit) … but you are “supposed” to pay the $12.99 “fee” that you would pay if you were buying a new mug – in order to justify getting to refill the old mug. Now, whether or not people are actually paying to use old mugs…well that’s a different issue entirely.
I saw many people using ‘old’ mugs in April when I was @ the WL. And I never saw a CM question any of them.
The water park refillable mugs have been bar-coded for years. The bar code works for the day. If you want to reuse your mug, you can just buy a new bar code sticker. The first time use of the mug costs about $12 (like at the resorts), the reuse stickers cost about half that. There are several mug refill stations scattered throughout the parks.
I’d be happy to get mugs for the theme parks if they followed this strategy.
I buy a new mug each trip and get quite a bit of use out of it – mainly at my resort. I also visit 2-3 different resorts during my stay for meals or shopping or whatever. I usually stop in there food court and fill up. I didn’t know that was a no no. Oops.
an over-sized Caribiner clip can organize a family’s collection of Refill mugs for easy cartage from room to resort dining commons. eg bigbox hardware should have http://www.amazon.com/GIANT-7-3-Snap-Hook-Carabiner/dp/B000XQHGWQ or there’s a plastic model from Bed’n'bath that is designed for multiple shopping bags for serious shoppers.
@TraciLeigh and @EEFoster — Sheesh! I’d just buy a new mug if I had to pay the same amount to use the old one! I like the waterpark idea of charging half-price to get new stickers if THAT’s the opposing option!
@Lorie — I guess we don’t KNOW if it’s a no no! Seems that Disney says one thing, but does another in this case. The debate continues…
@Bill Ricker — That is a GREAT idea. I clicked over to that link and saw that massive caribiner and thought, “perfect!!” Thank you so much!
We had heard that you can recieve the mugs thru the dining plan…is that true?
We had visited Disney back in April and we are sooo gonna bring back our mugs to use again when we come back in November. This will make my second trip to WDW within a year and it will be my moms third!! We just love Disney World! ;]
Hi Sherry — You receive a refillable mug on the Quick Service Dining Plan, the Deluxe Dining Plan, the Premium Dining Plan, and the Platinum Dining Plan. The only plan you DO NOT receive a mug with is the regular Dining Plan.
Hi this is Sherry daughter…she had said that we had the Magic Your Way PLUS dining plan…is that the same as one of those that you had named?? Does that include the mugs as well?
Hi Sherry’s daughter! Nope, that one does NOT include the mugs. That’s the regular dining plan. You could move down to the quick service dining plan and receive mugs, or move up to the deluxe dining plan and receive mugs. Hope that helps (and if anyone knows better, be sure to comment!)
ahhh ok thank you so much
We just booked a trip with the regular dining plan.
No cup in that plan…guess I gotta fork out $25 for the hubby and I.