Disney Resort Refillable Mugs FAQ

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!

Starting Oct. 27th: Make Your Disney Dining Reservations 180 Days in Advance

By AJ 8 Comments

Easier to Get at 180 Days Out?

It’s time to start thinking about your food 6 months in advance again, my friends! It’s being widely reported that, starting October 27th, 2009, Disney Dining reservations can be booked 180 days in advance of your check-in date.

Don’t forget that you can now book online! Also, you can find maps and menus on the Disney website.

Happy planning!

‘Ohana Character Breakfast: Mickey and Friends

By AJ 7 Comments

Pinvestigator Cody, of the Global Disney Pinvestigator Blog, is back with another round of comments and photos about a recent meal. This one, breakfast with Mickey and Friends at ‘Ohana, is one of his favorites; you’ll see why when you see these amazing photos! Thanks, Cody! sign-11

‘Ohana means “family,” and the restaurant stretches that feeling throughout the meal! Opening at 7:30am, we arrived at 7:20 for a 7:40 Advanced Dining Reservation (ADR). There were about 20 families in front of us waiting to check in, but we were the second family to be seated (they really do pay attention to those ADR times!)

'Ohana Breakfast Open Kitchen

The hostess took us to our table, giving us a short tour of the restaurant along the way. We briefly stopped by the open kitchen where the hostess took our appetizer plate from the rows and rows of Pineapple and Cinnamon Raisin Bread (both are delicious, by the way), explaining that giving bread to family is one of the ‘Ohana customs celebrated at the restaurant.

Pineapple Bread and Cinnamon Raisin Bread

We sat at our table, which included a great view of Cinderella Castle.

view from 'Ohana

Right away, a server came out with our “POG Juice” — Orange, Pineapple, Guava! It was delicious.

POG Juice

Not less than 5 minutes later, we got our food. It’s served family-style at ‘Ohana, with all-you-can-eat bacon, eggs, sausage, and potatoes.

breakfast

Another server also came around regularly with a bowl of Mickey Waffles, hot out of the “iron.”

Mickey Waffle

Additionally, we received a small fruit platter, with pineapple, cantaloupe, grapes, and more.

'Ohana Fruit Platter

Finally, the characters made their appearances! They were great and spent an equal amount of time at each table. Every 30-45 minutes is the ‘Ohana Family Parade, where the characters invite everyone to dance and sing and “shake!”, all to the song “Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride.”

Mickey Mouse

Stitch

Pluto

Lilo

Overall the meal was really enjoyable, and definitely delicious. This has to be my FAVORITE
Disney resort character breakfast.

Rating: 4.5 of 5
Tables in Wonderland: yes
Characters: 5 of 5
Food: 4.5 of 5

Disney Cookbooks

By AJ 11 Comments

In addition to eating Disney food, a lot of us like to try our hand at it at home! For those of you who want to bring Disney into your kitchen, I’ve compiled a few Disney-themed cookbooks for consideration.

Some of these I’ve used, and some simply come highly recommended. There are cookbooks that have recipes for dishes you can get in Disney parks and cookbooks that have “Disney-inspired” recipes — many of them will be fun to use with kiddos in the kitchen, too!

As always, I’d love to hear your favorite Disney recipes. Are there any you’ve tried?

COOKBOOKS FOR EVERYONE TO TRY
Disney Recipes: From Animation to Inspiration by Ira L. Meyer and Marcello Garofalo: This is a great option for adults cooking with kids (or adults who feel like kids!). The colorful book contains recipes connected to Disney movies and Disney entertainment (think: “Lady and the Tramp’s Spaghetti Bella Notte” and “Pocahantas’ Savory Indian Corn Pudding”).

DisneyFoodBlog Notes:

Written in 2003, you miss out on recipes referencing Disney movies in recent history, but the classics are here.
With margin notes of “things kids can do” while in the kitchen, everyone can participate.

Delicious Disney by Pam Brandon

Written in 2006, this will likely be one of the most “true to life” cookbooks for those of you hoping to duplicate dishes you’ve had in Disney Parks, Resorts, and Cruise Ships. With modern recipes from today (including your favorite dishes from the likes of California Grill and Jiko) and classics from yesterday (some date back to the 60’s!), there’re lots to try.

DisneyFoodBlog Notes:

Pam Brandon is a guru of Florida travel and Disney cookbooks. An author and foodie extraordinaire, Pam is working on another cookbook for Disney and writes a Divas of Dish column.

Cooking With Mickey and the Chefs of Walt Disney World Resort by Pam Brandon: 224 pages of Mickey’s finest! This is another book that contains recipes from Disney World restaurants and chefs. This was one of the original Disney Resort cookbooks!

DisneyFoodBlog Notes:

Published in 1998, this may not have your most recent favorites, but it will most definitely have the classics.
This is a more straightforward cookbook and doesn’t have as many glossy photos as the others do. Those of you who find it distracting to flip through endless pages of photos to get to your recipe will love this one!
Note — there’s a new version of this cookbook published in 2004

Cooking with Mickey (Gourmet Mickey Cookbook) Volume II: The Most Requested Recipes from Walt Disney World and Disneyland by The Walt Disney Company:

This 298-page tome contains recipes from the chefs of Walt Disney World as well as Walt Disney’s personal recipes! You can also find recipes from the parks and resorts, including Disney World’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts and Polynesian Resort, and the Disneyland Hotel. Published in 2000.
DisneyFoodBlog Notes:

Word has it that this is the same book, word for word, as “Mickey’s Gourmet Cookbook” (not mentioned in this blog post). Probably no need to buy both!

The Disney Bakery: 30 Magical Recipes by Adrienne Berofsky: If your sweet tooth has been clamoring lately, this little book contains recipes inspired by Disney movies. Within its colorful pages, you’ll find Cinderella’s Cream Puff Coaches, Canine Crunchies, and Peanut Butter Dumbo Dunkers, among many others. The table of contents is arranged by movie, so be sure to decide what you want to watch before you head for the kitchen!
DisneyFoodBlog Notes:

If you couldn’t tell, this is another great one for adults and kids to enjoy together. The book won’t serve as a challenge for my professional baker friends, but it’s fun for a rainy afternoon!

COOKBOOKS TO USE WITH KIDS
Tiana’s Cookbook (The Princess and the Frog), Recipes for Kids by Disney Press: Here’s what Disney says, “This kid-friendly cookbook features recipes inspired by Tiana’s restaurant in The Princess and the Frog. With simple instructions, large photographs, and charming character art, the book features everything from Tiana’s famous beignets to a bayou smoothie. A star-rating system lets kids know how difficult the recipes are and the characters offer cooking tip. This charming cookbook is sure to please!”

The Disney Magic Kitchen Cookbook by Stephanie Karpinske: This is basically 128 pages chock full of your kids’ favorite Disney characters, end-to-end pictures, fun activities, and healthy eating ideas. Dory and Nemo’s Breakfast Cookies and Buzz’s Blast Off Burritos are just a couple of the interesting dishes you’ll be making together.

DisneyFoodBlog Notes:

With a “School Lunch” section, fruits and veggies guide, and fitness log included, this can be a helpful learning guide for your kids when it comes to making healthy decisions in their everyday food and activity choices.

Food Blog Weekly Round-Up: August 9th

By admin Leave a Comment

Animal Kingdom eat here

I can’t believe it’s August 8th already! And lots of good foodstuffs ’round the web this week my friends! Let’s dive in…

Main Street Gazette reminds us of the Beastly Bazaar in the Animal Kingdom: Few guests (myself included, I think!) know about or make use of this little spot, where you can get sandwiches and snacks to go. Thanks for the info, Ryan!

Only WDWorld reports on the 2010 Disney Dining Plan price increases: You’ll be paying a bit more for the convenience and savings of the dining plan next year…especially if you’re headed to Orlando during “peak” seasons!

SoloFriendly reviews Liberty Tree Tavern: As you know, this is a Food Blog Favorite, so I couldn’t wait to see what SoloFriendly had to say. Verdict was pretty positive!

Yet Another Disney Blog gave some insight into DCL’s Palo and Animator’s Palate: I’ve been craving some DCL food finds lately, and these photos and descriptions fit the bill!

Scott Joseph’s Orlando Restaurant Blog discusses the added costs to this year’s Epcot Food and Wine Festival: We’ve had some strong opinions expressed by comments here on the Disney Food Blog about the higher costs of this year’s events; be sure to check out Scott’s thoughts on the matter.

Walt Disney Family Museum Cafe

By AJ Leave a Comment

Walt Disney Family Museum Dopey Model

By now you’ve seen countless harbingers of the Walt Disney Family Museum’s historic October 2009 opening. Tickets are on sale, and sneak peeks of gallery items have been floating around the web for a while now. (Here’s an interesting introductory article by WDWforGrownups.com.)

And while I can’t wait to see Walt’s father’s fiddle, the first Dopey model figure from Snow White, Walt and Lillian’s marriage certificate, and everything else in those galleries, you KNOW what I’m most excited about in this brand new Disney establishment… .

All we know right now is that the Museum Cafe will be run exclusively by Wolfgang Puck, which you know is nothing to sneeze at if you’ve ever experienced his incredible restaurants. We’re hoping for more info about potential dishes soon, but in the meantime, the website lets us know that the cafe, “offers a menu inspired by fresh, local ingredients including healthy, organic items and many child friendly selections.” Sounds very San Francisco-y and yummy, don’t you think?

I probably won’t be able to get there for the museum’s opening, so should any of you D23ers or San Francisco-ans be willing to take photos or share a review of the cafe, let me know!

What CAN’T You Get in Disney Parks?

By admin 21 Comments

What food items do you wish you could find at Disney Parks, but just aren’t there?

Does Epcot Need More Spanish Food...Permanently?

In other words,

What CAN’T you get to eat or drink in Disney parks?

I posed this question on facebook and twitter last week and got some really interesting answers.

Some folks wanted old-school items to return, like the cheese omelet from Electric Umbrella and those yummy character-shaped filled chocolate truffles (remember those? I liked the peanut butter ones.). But the rest of the answers were clamoring for things folks have been missing (or haven’t yet found) in Disney parks, like:

Good Maryland-style crab
Spanish food
Sweet Tea

Now THAT'S a Cheesesteak

Fondue
Philly Cheesesteak
A good gyro
A make-your-own salad bar
Good Italian food
“Decent ribs”
Mr. Pibb (only available at McDonald’s on property)
Chic-fil-a 🙂
Toblerone bars
And…everyone’s most emphatic answer…GOOD PIZZA!

Personally, I’ve got my sights set on some good Buffalo Chicken Wings, though I’ve been told I can find those at the ESPN Club on WDW’s Boardwalk.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear:

Sometimes Hershey's Just Ain't Enough...

1. What favorite items do YOU wish you could find in the parks?

2. If you’ve got an idea where folks can find any of the items listed above, please chime in! I figure, between all of us, we’ve been to every restaurant and food stop in the Disney parks. If those items are available, someone who reads this blog will know about it!

Photo credits: Spain: Joe Shlabotnik, Toblerone: Ultra, Cheesesteak: Sauce Supreme

Spotlight: Yachtsman Steakhouse

By admin 10 Comments

Yachtsman Steakhouse is one of those Disney Resort restaurants that I didn’t even know was there for several years. Then one day I caught Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel eating steak at some hoity-toity restaurant during the Yacht and Beach Club “Great Hotels” special, and I knew I had to try it!

Restaurant Forum Plaque

I was lucky enough to do so during Disney’s first free dining stint several years ago. It’s now become a standard in our Disney restaurant rotation whenever we need a special treat or celebration.

Located in the Yacht Club Resort, Yachtsman Steakhouse is a high-end dinner spot with a view of Stormalong Bay. Specializing in delicious grain-fed beef steaks, the restaurant has a glass-walled butchering room where guests can actually see their steaks being prepared!

Butchering Room

Led into the restaurant past the open kitchen, guests can catch a glimpse of the dessert offerings before being seated in a dining room furnished in sturdy knotty pine, leather, and brass. If you’re lucky enough to be seated in my favorite section – the semi-circular room with plenty of window tables – be sure to take a glance upward at the simple, elegant chandelier above.

Open Kitchen

Dining Room

The View From Our Favorite Table

Chandelier

As I said, this restaurant is a permanent fixture on our “fancy places” rotation; and I will say that spots only get on that list when we know we can expect excellent service, fabulous food, and a comfortable atmosphere. We’re picky, and this place fits every one of our guidelines.

That said, there are always little changes and updates being made to the menu. Desserts are tweaked, the cheese plate is rotated, and even steak offerings can be different from time to time (we were sorely missing the boneless rib eye), but we always walk out happy. It’s like a miracle.

This evening, we ordered our dinners and were faced with the first change: weird butter. Usually, Yachtsman brings a basket of gorgeous onion and sourdough rolls along with a HUGE pat of butter topped with sea salt. Today, the butter was in a dish with oil and balsamic vinegar. Butter’s my favorite, so I was a bit concerned; but this stuff was amazing. Yes! Please add weird oil and balsamic vinegar to my butter!

Yachtsman Steakhouse Onion Rolls and Roasted Garlic

Sourdough Rolls

Butter with Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, and Salt

We moved on to salad and my cheese plate. The salad was simple and elegant; the cheese plate was delicious as always. I know I owe you guys a cheese plate blog, which I’ll do soon, but for now, here’s the pic and description of the plate.

Cheese Plate

Cheese Plate Descriptions

Caesar Salad

From there, we enjoyed our entrees (…steak) and extra order of fries (what can I say? We were in the mood for fries!). My steak — the Cowboy Steak — was a bone-in rib-eye. I substituted gratin potatoes for the fried onion strips on the menu.

Cowboy Steak and Potato Gratin with White Diamond Cheddar

Yachtsman Filet with Mashed Potatoes

French Fries

At this point, you can imagine we were stuffed, so we skipped dessert. But no worries; I took a shot of the dessert tray for you!

Desserts

Here’re the specs! Enjoy!

Dinner menu here. All other menus (including wine and dessert) can be found here.

Sneak Peek at Kouzzina Menu

By admin 13 Comments

Cat Cora and Mickey

*Update August 17, 2009*: Disney World has posted menus for Kouzzina!
Kouzzina Menu: Dinner
Kouzzina Menu: Breakfast
Kouzzina Menu: Dessert

You can see some photos of some new Kouzzina menu items here!

The restaurant had a “soft” opening on August 15th. Grand opening is still scheduled for September 17th.
________________________________________
Also, thanks to DisBoards poster, StepDisney, here’s another sneak peek at what might be on Kouzzina’s menu!

Appetizer:
Saganaki
Spinach Salad
Spanakopita
Goat Cheese Stuffed Grape Leafs
Vongole (clams, Sausage, Wine Broth & Garlic Croutons
Calamari & Lemons
Brick Oven Bread
Kouzzina Spread
Kouzzina Sampler

Dinner Entree:
Oak Fired Pork T-Bone
Wood Grilled Flank Steak
Fisherman’s stew
Cinnamon Stewed Chicken
Char grilled Lamb Burgers
Traditional Whole Fish
Spiced Briami (Oven roasted Veggies, Oregano & Mazithra Cheese with Orzo)
Greek Spinach Pie
Tastitsio ( Greek Lasagna)
Slow cooked lamb shank

Dessert:
Baklava
Chocolate Budino Cake
Galaktoboureko – Custard in Baked Phyllo Dough & Vanilla Praline Ice Cream
Loukamathes – Freshly made greek donut dipped in warm honey
Yogurt Sorbet with fruit & mint syrup
Greek Cookies

Thanks to @jlovely for the tip!

Campfires and S’mores? Who knew?

By admin 9 Comments

That’s right. What started with an innocent campfire sing-a-long at Fort Wilderness has turned into one of the most-loved (and most unknown) activities for Disney World Resort Hotel guests — campfires, movies on the beach, and…s’mores!

Yacht and Beach Club Resorts Campfire and Smores

In addition to the original Chip & Dale campfire sing-a-long and movie at Fort Wilderness, free (yep — I said it) “movies on the beach” can be found at several resorts, including the Yacht and Beach Club Resorts, the Contemporary Resort, the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa, Saratoga Springs Resort, and All Star Music.

Movie on the Beach at Yacht and Beach Club Resorts

The best part, in my humble opinion, is that some of these include campfires! And where there are campfires, there are s’mores! You can either bring your own s’mores fixin’s or purchase a s’mores kit (around $5) at nearby refreshment stands.

Movies are shown at varying times (usually beginning between 7-9pm EST); check with the front desk of each hotel for an activities sheet, which will give dates and times of movie nights, and a listing of which movies will be showing.

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