Resort Snooping: Refillable Mug Style

This article was written pre-pandemic. Currently Disney World is not offering any dining plans, but resort refillable mugs are still available for purchase for $19.99 to use at resort quick service beverage stations for the length of your stay. 

The resorts at Disney World  are attractions in and of themselves. 

All of them have at least some level of theming and certainly all of them have atmosphere.  Some of the resort lobbies even have their own “signature scent” that guests love. Disney fans have recreated those scents to sell as candles or oils to bring a little Disney resort magic to your home.   The love of Disney resorts runs very, very deep.

The resorts are not just a hotel room, and you don’t have to limit yourself to just the resort you are staying at. Aside from the pools and the Club Level lounges, everyone has access to the dining locations and activities at ALL of the resorts.

In fact, “Resort Hopping” is a popular activity on property.

Guests make reservations for meals at other resorts to check them out. Some folks  hop on a boat, bus, or monorail to hang out in one of the many resort lounges with a cocktail and some appetizers. The Disney World Monorail bar crawl is a thing as well as  a hard ticketed event, Highway in the Sky Dine Around Progressive Dinner.  These are all great ways to take a break from park hopping shenanigans. However, hard ticketed events are expensive and those resort cocktails are as well.

Split stays are also a common way to experience more than one resort while on vacation. 

While a few days at the Polynesian followed by a few days at the Beach Club sounds lovely, it also sounds like a lot of work. I don’t want to spend ANY of my Disney vacation time with all of that packing, unpacking and repacking. Chances are that I already spent an inordinate amount of time pre-trip figuring out what to pack, how to fit it all in and repeatedly weighing myself while holding my luggage to see if it’s under the 30 lb airline limit.   Unless I hire a lady’s maid for my trip, split stays are not in the cards for me. I prefer for all of my Disney World “work” to be in the planning BEFORE I get to the parks.  Split stays do not sound magical to me.

Here’s my secret to checking out resorts without too much effort.

I like to grab my refillable resort mug and resort snoop.  My version of resort hopping  doesn’t involve a lot of fuss OR set me back $15 for a mixed drink.  Have mug, will travel.

For those of you who don’t know, resort refillable mugs come with the purchase of a Disney Dining Plan or can be purchased separately. For those of you that are familiar, I know a lot of you HATE the refillable resort mugs. They are not cheap, that’s for sure. If you get the mug without the dining plan,  they are pretty expensive and the dining plans aren’t super cost effective either.  A reusable plastic mug is NOT an incentive to buy into a meal plan. HOWEVER, even though you can’t fill the mugs up with adult beverages,  the cost of one mug for the duration of your stay isn’t  much more expensive than a single cocktail at Trader Sam’s.  Just saying.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to get anyone to go out of their way to get a refillable resort mug.

However,  if you find yourself in the fortunate position of having one by default or because Aunt Edna just bought you one on a whim, the BEST use for resort refillable mugs  is resort snooping.

What better way to take an afternoon break from the heat and the crowds and the WALKING than to head over to Animal Kingdom Lodge. Just whip out your mug, stroll on down their quick service location, Mara, and fill up with a frosty beverage.  Lastly, park your butt in a comfy chair in the main lobby with that frosty beverage and take in the scenery.

On our last visit, we did just that and witnessed a surprise bonus. As we were lounging with our mugs in the lobby, a whistle sounded and African drummers appeared out of nowhere. Resort snooping bonus! Free entertainment, a cool drink, use of an overly air conditioned space, comfy chair and ambiance.

To all of you who moan that you can ONLY use the mugs at the resorts,  I say that’s the PERFECT use for them.

Don’t just use them to trudge down to your resort’s Food Court or Grab ‘n Go self service beverage station. Think out of the box, people. Why are you slumping in the lounge chair at your resort’s pool with the soda going flat in your mug?  Take yourself and that mug over to the Wilderness Lodge, fill ‘er up at Roaring Fork and have a relaxing mini mountain vacation in the lobby. I can’t wait to take mine to the Grand Floridian and listen to the orchestra. That’s on my resort snooping bucket list.

And, that is just my favorite use for the mugs. There’s more….

I can grab a quick cup of coffee as I run to the bus stop in the morning. On my way back to the room after a long day in the parks, I can snatch a cold drink and take it back to the room. Finally, after I get home I can use it as my go to travel mug.

I will say that one downside to the mug situation is dealing with it while it’s NOT in use.  It’s messy and wet after it’s rinsed out at the mug washing station AND it can take up precious park bag space.  I get it, but I still LOVE my  resort refillable mugs.  Even though I have to lug the thing around in a ziploc bag stuffed into my park bag, they are totally worth it to me.

But you know what would be SUPER awesome?

Being able to use them in the parks. I have a suggestion for the Disney World Powers That Be. Why stop at just removing plastic straws, lids and shopping bags to be environmentally friendly?  Raise the price of the refillable mugs and then let folks use them in the parks.  Add self service beverage stations at all Quick Service locations and watch how fast you sell those things.  Especially if you produce seasonal or limited edition mugs like you do with the popcorn buckets. Just a thought.