Walt Disney World resort guests have a ton of options to choose from when it comes to staying hydrated. Which option is the best? In reality, it depends – which is why staying up-to-date on all your options will help you make a well-informed decision, especially when it comes to getting the most of your money at Walt Disney World. Enter the Disney World refillable mugs.
Also known as a Rapid-Refill mug, this previously beloved item made its return to the Walt Disney World resorts recently, but with a few changes. Let’s go over everything you need to know about Disney World refillable mugs so you can decide whether or not this option works best for you.
In this article:
Disney World Refillable Mugs Basics
This 16oz insulated refillable mug currently costs $21.99 (a $2 increase in the past 2 years). Guests can purchase these mugs at Walt Disney World resort hotel food courts, quick service locations, pool bars, and gift shops. Guests also have the option of having the refillable mug provided via the Disney Dining Plan.
At these refill stations, guests can choose from a variety of Coca-Cola products, hot chocolate, coffee, and tea. Some stations also have Hi-C lemonade, fruit punch, or Powerade. Beverages that are not available for refill include milk, orange juice, and apple juice.
Guests usually have a choice between refillable mug designs, which are currently iterations of the purple and silver Disney 100 designs. Some locations may also have Pixar-themed mugs.
For those wondering, these mugs are both microwave and dishwasher-safe. However, we’re not sure what the microwave or dishwasher might do to the RFID chip within the mug. In general, many RFID chips should still work after going through the microwave or dishwasher, but not all do. More on RFID in a bit.
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Rules for Using Disney World Refillable Mugs
At $21.99, you didn’t think this Disney World refillable mug didn’t have any strings attached, did you? As previously mentioned, guests can purchase a refillable mug at food courts, quick service locations, pool bars, and gift shops within most Walt Disney World resort hotels. This excludes Shades of Green, the Swan, the Dolphin, or third-party Disney Springs area hotels.
Where at Walt Disney World Can Refillable Mugs be Used?
Guests can refill their Disney World refillable mugs wherever refillable beverage stations are located at most Walt Disney World resort hotels. This means that guests are able to purchase their refillable mug at one location and refill at a different resort hotel location. So, for example, feel free to refill your mug at a beverage station at Captain Cooks at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort even though you bought your mug at The Mara at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge.
It’s important to stress that these mugs can only be refilled at Walt Disney World resort hotel locations. This means that guests cannot refill their mugs inside the theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, or any other non-Disney owned hotel. So, feel free to load up on coffee at your resort in the morning. But once you finish your coffee and make your way to the Disney theme parks, you’ll have to wait until returning to your resort to refill it again. Make sure to check with your resort front desk to learn of all the locations at your hotel where you can get refills.
As a side note, guests can also buy refillable mugs specific to the Disney water parks – Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. However, guests can only refill these mugs at quick service restaurants or self-service soda fountain inside the water parks for the day of their visit.
How Long Can Disney World Refillable Mugs be Used?
The resort-specific refillable mugs are only valid for the length of guests’ stay, with a maximum of 14 days. How does this work? Using the Rapid-Fill system and RFID technology, Disney can keep track of how long guests use their mugs. This ensures that guests have “valid” refillable mugs that they can refill.
How to Refill Your Disney Mug
Rapid Refill beverage stations are easily distinguished by the screens above the beverages. To get their refill, guests place their mug on the stand below the soda dispenser, which senses the RFID chip inside the mug. If the mug is not on the stand, the station will not dispense anything. Once the station senses the mug, guests can to dispense the soda of their choice. Interestingly enough, there are no RFID chip readers for the coffee, tea, or hot chocolate dispensers.
What are those screens above the beverages for, anyways? When your mug is placed on the tray, the screen will show how long your mug is valid for refills and will display a 2-minute timer in between refills. It will also show if your mug isn’t placed properly on the tray and it will tell you if your mug is completely full – that is, if you don’t already notice your mug about to overflow.
Beware of the 2-Minute Rule
As mentioned previously, guests must wait 2 minutes in between each full refill. Disney implemented this rule to prevent groups from sharing a single Rapid-Fill mug by filling one drink, then pouring it into another cup, then quickly getting a refill.
The take-away here? Be careful, because if you pause when filling up your mug for whatever reason, you’ll have to wait 2 minutes to finish filling it.
Refillable Mugs are Good for One Trip
Finally, guests cannot refill their mugs on subsequent visits to Walt Disney World. But can guests reactivate the refillable mugs? We’ve heard and read mixed responses on this: some have said that guests can reactivate refillable mugs for a fee identical to their purchase price. However, others have said the opposite.
My take: It would probably be safer to assume that you should purchase a new mug on your next trip.
Thoughts on Disney’s Refillable Mugs – Are They Worth it?
Value: Is the Refillable Mug Worth it?
There are a couple of ways to look at the Walt Disney World refillable mug. The first is its value. At $21.99, this is not a major purchase like a Disney Spirit Jersey would be, but it’s still a good amount to consider spending.
Let’s consider the typical drink prices at the Walt Disney World resorts. Assorted fountain beverages usually cost $4.49 and coffee, tea, or hot cocoa usually cost $3.79. Without factoring tax, a guest would have to refill their mug about 5 times with a fountain beverage or about 6 times with coffee, tea, or hot cocoa in order to “break even.” During my last trip to Walt Disney World, I found myself filling up with coffee in the morning and soda at night, making my initial purchase “break even” within 3 days. Not bad considering my stay was 5 days!
It’s worth keeping in mind that many beverage refill stations are only open during quick service or food court operating hours. More importantly, many of these quick service or food court locations close before some of the Disney parks close. So, guests may be able to refill their mug after a day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom (which closes at 7pm on select days) but might not be able to refill their mug after a day at Magic Kingdom (which can close at 11pm on select days).
If you’re really looking for a late night beverage, check with a Cast Member to see if your resort has other refill options available late at night. For example, The Drop Off Pool Bar at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort has an outdoor beverage station that I’ve used to refill my mug after a late Disney park day.
Refillable Mug: Souvenir Status
The second way to look at the refillable mug is its value as a souvenir. There used to be a time when each Walt Disney World resort had different designs on their refillable mugs. While resort-specific mugs haven’t made their way back, it does seem like Disney is slowly heading in this direction.
Other than special designs to celebrate Walt Disney World’s 50th anniversary and the Disney Studio’s 100th anniversary, there have been seasonal variations, along with designs to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s birthday, Star Wars, Pixar, and other characters. In the end, however, I side with the mug’s utility over its value as a souvenir, since there are more desirable merchandise options around Walt Disney World.
Utility in the Disney Theme Parks (or Lack Thereof)
The one aspect of the Disney refillable mug I’m not a fan of is its lack of utility in the Walt Disney World theme parks. Since guests cannot refill their mug inside the theme parks, filling the mug in the morning with coffee only to have to carry it around at the theme park for the rest of the day can feel like extra work. On top of that, the mug is not spill-proof, so I highly advise against filling the mug and placing it in your backpack for the day.
My take: I’m satisfied with filling up with coffee early in the morning and drinking it for the first few hours of my theme park day before stowing it away into my bag for the day. I can then refill it with water around the theme parks.
The 2-Minute Rule Can Bite Back
There have also been a few times I’ve found myself having to wait 2 minutes to finish refilling my mug because I accidentally let go of the refill button. This is more of an inconvenience than anything. However, when you’re in a hurry to get to the Disney parks in the morning, this 2 minute inconvenience can mean the difference between catching your bus to the Disney theme parks and having to wait another 15 minutes.
An Alternative to Disney World Refillable Mugs
A worthy alternative for guests who prefer to drink soda is to purchase several 2-liter bottles of soda for their trip. At around $3 and full of over 4 mugs worth, guests will certainly get more “bang for their buck” with this strategy.
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Currently, Walt Disney World offers a refillable mug that guests can purchase at resort hotel food courts, quick service locations, pool bars, and gift shops. Guests can also purchase refillable mugs at Disney water parks, but mugs purchased at these locations can only be refilled at the water parks.
Walt Disney World refillable mugs can be used for refills for as long as your resort stay or up to 14 days from purchase.
Walt Disney World refillable mugs cannot be refilled in the Disney theme parks unless it is to refill on water.
Returning in January 2024, the Disney Dining Plan will offer refillable mugs to guests through the Quick-Service Dining Plan and the standard Disney Dining Plan.
