As many folks know, Disney World Resorts offer Disney Refillable Mugs for guests to purchase and use for free refills! Here are a few of the most popular Frequently Asked Questions about the Disney Refillable Mug Program (also known as Rapid Fill):
Disney Refillable Mugs Overview
“Refillable mugs” are 16 oz. insulated coffee mugs sold at Disney hotels. Guests are entitled to unlimited free refills on fountain drinks, coffee, and tea from self-service beverage locations at Disney resorts for their length of stay.
The Rapid Fill program began in August 2013 and allows Disney Resort guests to buy (or receive as part of the Disney Dining Plan) a Resort mug which can be refilled for a certain period of time as designated at time of purchase. These mugs are enhanced by an RFID bar code which enables the mug to deactivate when the designated time is complete.
Mugs used to be considered collectibles, with each Disney resort offering unique patterns for their mugs. But starting with the Year of a Million Dreams, the mugs have been one standard design and shape no matter where you purchase them.
Disney Refillable Mug FAQ
I’m not on a Disney Dining Plan, so I’ll be purchasing my mug separately. How much do they cost?
$19.99 for Length of Stay (up to 14 days)
Refillable Mug Price Increase October 2019
I’m resort hopping. Do I need to purchase a new mug at my second resort?
Nope! Upon purchase, simply purchase the amount of total days that you’ll be staying on Walt Disney World property. Note that if you are switching to a non-Disney-owned resort (for example, WDW Swan and Dolphin), then you’ll only want to purchase for the part of your stay that is at a Disney-owned resort.
What beverages are available for Disney Refillable Mug 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.
Beverage Station
What beverages aren’t available for Disney Refillable Mug 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. Check with your resort front desk to be sure you know of all the locations at your hotel where you can get refills.
Rapid Fill Mug on tray
Do I get a Disney Refillable Mug if I’m using the Disney Dining Plan?
Yes! As of 2012, all Disney Dining Plans now offer refillable mugs for everyone on the plan.
May I only use the Disney Refillable Mug at my resort?
No. Mugs may be used at any Disney-owned resort on property.
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 theme parks.
Refill date notice
Can I save my mug when I get home and bring it back to use on all my subsequent Disney trips?
No. Mugs are for the specific number of days that you purchase.
What do the current mugs look like?
New mugs were recently released in February 2014. Take a look!
The new mug
If I’m paying an exorbitant amount for my room and there are Disney Refillable Mugs already in there, does that mean they’re free?
The mugs are never free (unless you get them as part of an already paid for Dining Plan). The cost will be placed on your bill as a charge.
Okay. So how do I use my Rapid Fill mug with RFID bar code?
It’s easy! Follow our step-by-step directions for using your RFID refillable mug.
Any other cool stuff you should tell us about the Disney 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!
Four colors to choose from
Rapid Fill mugs are here to stay!
We want to hear about your own refillable mug experiences. Share in the comments below!
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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.
I think the refillable mug – in all of its Disney incarnations – is one of the more genius ideas from Disney!
My original mug was a ‘lifetime’ mug but it didn’t survive over the years. I sorely miss the resort specific mugs!
As for re-using, I have been know to re-use my mug…but only on trips taken in the same year. I am a mug (and tote bag, but that’s another story) junkie so I LIKE buying new ones.
Since we will be on the QSDP in a few weeks, getting a new mug is a moot!
It really is crazy that Disney does not include the mug with the standard plan.
Janna — I was on a crusade to collect all of the resort specific mugs. I think I had Coronado Springs, Port Orleans Riverside, Wilderness Lodge, AKL, and Beach Club by the time they went to the same design for everyone. Sigh.
Can anyone tell what kind of coffee they serve in the Mara quick service eatery in the Animal Kingdom Lodge? It is very tasty. I bought some ground coffee in the gift shop and its not the same.
They were serving free coffee in the lobby of my Disneyland hotel one morning and it was the best coffee I ever had! I have been trying to find out what it was! It was so delicious. Does anyone know?
We’ve been using the same AllStar resort mugs from 1999. We go to WDW every year and have used them each time. I hate soda but I use mine for coffee and hot chocolate for the kids. No one has ever said a word to me about it when filling them.
Doug — Not sure on that one!! I’ll have to check next time I’m there. Hopefully someone can help out!
Elizabeth — Again, not sure on this one! Hopefully someone can help out! (I was just in the Disneyland Hotel a few weeks ago, too!)
Stelth — Thanks for the info!
It’s not honest. You can. try and justify it all you want but its petty theft and not a good example for your kids. We buy 4 new mugs each visit.
I get a mug free with the Quick Service plan. Can I bring it to the different parks and only use it for water to keep the kiddos hydrated?
Julie — As far as I know you can use your mug for water in the parks, no problem. Usually, if you go to the counter-service spots, you can ask them for a cup of ice water. Just get that and pour it into your mug! 🙂
I will be visiting WDW next week and I was wondering if its considered taboo to fill up my mug then pour it into another container (sports bottle) and refill the mug again. The reason being that I’d like to fill the sports bottle for a day out in the park and the mug for my breakfast which I will be having in my room.
Matt — I’ve never heard an opinion on this! *Personally,* I would be fine with that set-up, but I do not represent the Walt Disney Company. Let me know what you end up doing! Great question!
When we first started buying the mugs, they were $9.99. Now they are $13.49, a pretty steep price rise over 6 or so years. Someone has to pay for all that soda and coffee–you may be refilling your mug year after year for “free,” but the costs are actually being passed along to others down the line. People who refill without paying again are not sticking it to Disney; folks who buy the mugs each year are absorbing your beverage costs in the increased price of our mugs. Outside of the first few years when they sold mugs that people could bring back forever, they have been refillable for the duration of the stay only, because no company can afford to give away millions of beverages forever, even one as large as Disney.
I used to say you wouldn’t bring an old McDonald’s cup back to refill, as that is clearly taking something you didn’t pay for–but last week, I saw a guy do just that. So I guess many folks’ philosophy is buy once, use forever, even for consumables. Maybe I should try that at the grocery store…my milk jug is empty, give me a free refill.
And if I were a CM, I wouldn’t want to confront a possibly violent guest about refilling their mug (and yes, some of them can be pretty ugly). Personally I would welcome the barcode idea if it helps slow the rise in price for our beverages. I would also probably pay for a park-refillable mug too, just like we did at King’s Dominion, with 99 cent refills.
IS the mug only avaliable to refill at the hotels in the park or is there stations around the parks as u walk around to do the rides and etc……………….Example, we are staying off disney property but are doing disney for 5 days.
Refills are only available at the hotel where you purchased the mug 🙁
I will be at the Poly and we have deluxe dining so we’ll be getting the mugs included. We’re not big soda drinkers but we love seltzer. Do you know if there’s a way to get club soda without the syrup out of the dispenser?
I looked at the pictures of the mug wash station. I don’t see soap to wash the mug with. Is it there and I’m just missing it?
Heather — Not sure on the soap at the mug wash station! I’ll have to check that out! Also, I haven’t seen club soda at the mug locations. I’ll have to ask about that, too. Thanks for the great questions!
We buy the mugs and use them around the house nearly every day all year. I wonder if anyone knows if the plastic is bad for you after a certain amount of time. I had heard that bad stuff leaches out.
Well, I’m glad I found this b/c when we bought our mugs from the Polynesian years ago, it was with the understanding that they were “FOREVER” mugs. This was the appeal, that we could use them over and over each trip. Right now I’m packing for our trip and was just getting those mugs together. Realized I had seen something about new mugs and thought I’d double check… I guess I’m assuming that if I bought the mugs when they were “forever” mugs that they would be grandfathered in so to speak and still be considered “forever” refillable…..
Hi! First of all, I love your blog! This is a great post as usual with lots of info & great pics. I love the Refillable mugs and definitely get more than my money’s worth out of them. Also they are a nice souvenir to bring home with you. Just wanted to let you know that I was staying at The Beach Club this past December & tried to use the mug at Beaches n Cream. The waitress said that they were no longer giving out free refills there & that she would get in trouble if she gave me one. I ended up having to walk outside to the pool bar to refill mine for my meal there, since it seemed silly to pay for soda when I had already bought the mug!
Quick question – I am going to DW in May and our dining plan includes the mugs. Since each meal on the plan also includes a beverage, does that mean I can get a bottled beverage on the plan to take to with me to the parks or wherever, and refill the mug to use with the meal? That would be a great way to save money if so but just wondering if that is how it works?
Andrea — You can only use the refillable mug at designated locations at your resort. If you are dining at the food court or quick service location in your resort for a counter-service meal, you should be able to use your refillable mug there. You’ll only be able to get a bottled drink if those are included as DDP “drinks” for the particular meal you’re getting. I’m not certain if counter-service meal drinks only include the fountain drinks.
I have the deluxe dining plan and we are at the All Star Movies – I was thinking for breakfast in the AM because that is the only time we’ll be eating at the resort (actually only a few times for even that). So – since no one in my family likes coffee, we could drink soda or hi-ci with breakfast with the free mug, and then a bottled water or something like that to take with us to the parks. That’s what I am thinking – I’m trying not to use snack credits on drinks 🙂
I bought a mug in November and it paid for itself just with my morning coffee. In the afternoons I used it for soda while lounging by the pool. I’m surprised by the people who said they don’t use it after their vacation. I use mine all the time. I will have the deluxe dining plan this year so I’ll get a new one with the plan. I read somewhere the design has changed from last year. It makes a great usable suvenier.
Can you use your mug for water? We do not drink soda, but would like to have a mug for water while in the parks and for tea when we eat dinner.
I just cleaned black good off the tip of the spigot of my Pur water refrigerator dispenser. I am going to pass on the refillable mugs because I can’t see CMs cleaning these things with q tips and alcohol (and yet no one has ever gotten sick! I know!)
Ignorance is bliss.
I’m bringing my own water filter, electric kettle and travel mugs instead of using the in room coffee maker. Boiled sulphur water = delicious!
We like to stay at two different on-property resorts each time we go down: 4 days in one followed by 4 days in another. I know that the signs say the mug can be used at “this resort” so I’m assuming the mugs technically should only be used at the first one of the two resorts in our 8 consecutive day stay but I was wondering if anyone had ever asked a cast member about this? I didn’t see it addressed in the comments. Thanks.
Hi Beth — Technically, you are supposed to purchase a new mug for each stay, and since each resort is considered a separate stay, you’d technically have to buy a new mug. Technically.
This is probably a fairly stupid question, but I’ve never gotten a mug before, and the 2012 dining plans all include one now. How do you actually go about getting the free mug? Common sense tells me that you just grab one on your first trip to the resort’s counter-service location, and tell them you are using your dining plan to pay, but I wanted to be sure.