My family used to wrestle with the question – should we buy the refillable mugs? If you are on any of the Disney Dining Plans, the answer is an easy “no” because the mugs are already included in your dining package price. For those of us who do not purchase the dining plan, then evaluating the refillable mug purchase is worth consideration. The refillable mugs are purchased at your Disney resort and offer free refills of coffee, pop, tea, or hot chocolate. The refillable mugs can be purchased for length of stay ($17.99), 1 day ($8.99), 2 days ($11.99), or 3 days ($14.99) and can be refilled at resort self-service beverage locations. Now that the mugs have RFID chips in them, they are set to expire at midnight the last day of whatever length you purchased.
The value of the refillable mug comes down to how you vacation while you are at Disney. Many families also consider the refillable mug itself to be a souvenir. If your family falls into that category, remember to factor in that value when you are figuring out whether you should purchase the refillable mug. When thinking about your Disney vacation, consider how much time is spent at your resort and how often you would be purchasing a drink at the resort’s self-service beverage location(s). You can then use that number of drinks to figure out whether the mug price is a good value by multiplying the number of drinks you will be getting at your resort and comparing it against the cost of the refillable mug. If you break even or the cost is more than the price of the refillable mug, then purchase the mug. If the cost of the mug is more, then you need to consider how much value the mug brings you as a souvenir and if the answer is not much, then perhaps purchasing the mug is not the best investment.
What did you decide? Should you buy the refillable mug? What other factors do you consider when trying to decide?
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We actually decided to get them and even though we don’t spend that much time at the resort (before and after the parks) we find they were a pretty good deal. During breakfast we each had a couple of drinks (some did a couple cups of coffee then got a pop) then when we got back must of the nights we went back to get some hot chocolate, coffee or pop.
Unless you will be spending a good bit of time at the resort, I would skip them. We maybe got 1 drink per day. Not worth the extra $ in my opinion.
We went this past year and didn’t get the mugs, but we primarily drank water the whole trip and there was coffee in the hotel room so, splurging on a coke once in a while wasn’t a big deal.
We got mugs (pre-RFID chips) last year on our trip with a free dining promotion and didn’t use them at all despite being there for 8 days (6 at the parks + arrival / departure days)
If we had kids and needed a resort day or an afternoon break we might have used them more, but we spent very little time at the resort. Hauling the mugs around the parks or walking back and forth between the room and the food court in the morning/ evening was equally unappealing so they just sat in the room.
I might purchase alone if they change the decor – just for a souvenir. I have plenty as well as the current one (before RFID started) so I certainly have plenty right now! For our trip in May, I haven’t decided yet if we will get the dining plan but I certainly don’t need 4 cups & as you pointed out we don’t spend that much time at our resort to get good use out of it. It would be a waste.
What is the cost of a one time drink now? We aren’t getting the dining plan when we go next month but pretty sure the refill mugs will be the better deal
I purchase only if I don’t have free dining! It’s worth the money!