One of the coolest things to do when in Walt Disney World is to purchase their “Length of Stay” mugs, which can be refilled during your stay with soft drinks, coffee, etc. These have changed so much over the years: they now have an RFID chip embedded in them.
Walt Disney World changed how these mugs are used in the past several years, since everyone seemed to bring their “older” mugs each visit. Now, the mugs can be used for 1 day, 2 day, 3 day or length of stay. Cost depends on the number of days you choose. (Note: One refillable mug per person over age 3 is included as part of any of the Disney Dining Plans) It is my understanding the paper cups are also embedded with the chips that allow only so many refills before it is no longer active.
I do understand why Disney went this direction, since the fountain stations were continuously busy and it was quite obvious they were losing money quickly! There always seemed to be more wasted fountain drinks going down the drain rather than being actually consumed!
Over the years, I have purchased my share of “refillable” mugs that I have used and washed so many times at home, that the design is all but gone. Personally I love these mugs and will probably purchase another one on my next trip, but I do have 1 complaint with them that seems to be my issue alone. If you get a drink in the morning and don’t finish it, you end up taking it with you to wait on the bus. However, once you finish it, then you have to carry it (or all of them) throughout the day, unless someone is willing to return them to your room and then meet up with you. I know this seems like a petty thing, but I really hate to carry the mug the entire day, when you can only refill at the resort hotel or a water fountain in the parks.
I much prefer to recycle whenever possible, but using paper cups while in Disney is so much easier. We usually purchase disposable coffee mugs at home and then also bring a coffee maker than lets us have that “fresh-brewed-cup” first thing in the morning. I found the local $1 store had these in packages of (5), just the right size for our normal stays. I consider this my “splurge”, since I normally a recycle any other time.
What do you do? Do you like the refillable mugs or prefer to just use paper?
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Debbie and her husband live in Collegedale, TN where her youngest son is going to college. She is a huge Disney fan who dreams of someday retiring and working as a tour guide at Walt Disney World. She has enjoyed many trips to WDW with children, grandchildren and sometimes adults only. It is her ultimate goal to make sure everyone who visits WDW has the same magical time that she enjoys every time she visits.
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