by: Canadian Diva

The RapidFill mugs (refillable) which are available at all Walt Disney World Resorts are a great way to quench your thirst during your Disney World Vacation. You can purchase a Refillable Mug if you are staying at any Resort in Disney World. If you are on a Disney Dining Plan, on ALL the Disney Dining Plans, the Refillable Mugs are included with your plan, for each person on the plan in your family/party.

As soon as you check into your resort, head over to the Quick Service Food Court area to obtain your mugs. There will be a few colours to choose from. When you pick a colour for each member of your family, head over to the cash register where a Cast Member (CM) will link the Refillable Mug to your resort room and Dining Plan (if you are on a Dining Plan). If you are not on a Dining Plan but want the Refillable Mugs for your vacation, the current cost (at the time of writing this article) is $18.99 for the length of your stay. This is a flat rate so if you are staying for only a few days and feel that you will be drinking A LOT of soda, tea or coffee, then definitely go for it!

Diva Tip: if you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort with a Free Style Coke Machine, I feel it’s definitely worth it to buy, if you are not on a Dining Plan. However note that NOT all Disney Resorts have the Freestyle Coke Machine.
The drinks included vary from Resort according to whether your Resort has a Freestyle Coke Machine or not, but basically all resorts offer, various sodas, lemonade, coffee and tea.

Trick: Sometimes there may not be a variety of colours left of the Refillable Mugs, and some members in your family/party may want the same colour, LABEL your Mugs as soon as you purchase it. I personally love to use Mabel’s Labels. Before a vacation, I order in advance and prepare to bring a pack of Mabel’s Labels whenever I travel. Mabel’s Labels are durable and water-resistant so it will stay on and last on your refillable mug.  I use the regular labels on the mug, the mini labels fit nicely on the handles and the circular labels, which are designed for shoes, actually fit really well on top of the LIDS! This way your family/party will never get mixed up with which mug belongs to which person. I also like to label all of our souvenirs that we get during our trip.

Mabel’s Labels are a great way to label your mugs and other souvenirs at Disney World,

Allergy-Friendly Tip: My son has severe anaphylactic food allergies, so we definitely do not want any risk of Cross Contamination. By labeling my son’s Refillable Mug, we were sure which was his.
Note: although most of the sodas and drinks MAY be safe for allergies, please always check ingredients with the Walt Disney World company or speak to the Manager at the Quick Service Restaurant if you are concerned.

One of the disappointing issues about The RapidFill Mugs is that they are ONLY available to fill up in the Resorts. YOU CANNOT refill it for free at any of the Theme Parks (I know, I know! See “Fun Fact” further down this article). BUT you can bring your refillable mugs into the parks. Although you cannot refill it at any of the Soda Machines in the Parks, you can ask for FREE ice water at any of the Quick Service Restaurants. They will basically give you a lidless cup with water and ice, which you can either drink from that cup or if you want your water to stay cool and carry it around with you, pour it into your refill cup.
Diva Tip: Disney is going GREEN by not offering straws or lids. Bringing your refill mug for any drink is a great way to keep your drinks spill proof and safe. Keep reading about Disney going Straw-less below.

Trick: The Lids to the Rapid Refill Mugs are extremely user-friendly, all you need to do is swipe the small notch on top to open and close the straw holes. Little kids, like my 3 year old son can open and close the lids with ease and it’s pretty easy to hold and handle for almost any age, and fun to drink out of. This may help you to rethink bringing a sippy cup for your child (if your child is old enough) into the parks.

More Tricks! – I saw a GENIUS hack from a parent carrying all their family mugs in the parks! They brought a giant hook, in some stores they call it a “Mommy hook” which is used on strollers. This hook is able to corral all the mugs and you can place it easily on your stroller or in your bags (it can be cumbersome to carry all of them in a huge bag). What we did was bring a lot of giant Ziplock Bags (did you know Ziplock is an official partner with Walt Disney World). I would place the Refillable mugs in the bags once it’s been used and place it in our backpack or day bag. But for our next vacation, I’m totally using the “Mommy Hook” to carry our mugs!

If you are filling your Refillable Mugs with a variety of drinks, of course you would want to rinse your cups! There are rinsing sink stations at all the Quick Service places in the resorts.

Diva Tip: if staying at a Value or Moderate Resort, bring Dishwash Liquid Soap. I always bring 3oz or 100ml to include in my TSA carry on liquid items. This will help to wash out your mugs even better in your Resort Room.
Trick: I also bring a small sponge. Before our vacation, I cut up a regular size sponge in half or quarters and bring it with me. This is a great way to wash your mugs in your Disney Resort room. I also bring a microfibre dish drying mat which is super easy to fold and pack in my carry on. These towel-like mats are a great way to absorb the water if you are drying your mugs for several hours or overnight.

Another tip: all Disney Resort bathrooms, the toilet and shower/bathtub area is separated by a door to the sink area. If you still don’t feel comfortable having your mugs dry that close to the bathroom area, put your drying mat on top of the refrigerator area or one of the desks or tables closer to the front door. At Deluxe Resorts and suites at the Value and Moderate resorts, you can rinse and dry mugs easily in the kitchen or kitchenette area.

Diva Tip: if you prefer to drink with a straw, bring your own reusable straws. Walt Disney World is slowly getting rid of plastic straws and lids. You can read Devo CabDisney’s article here regarding this policy. A great investment would be to get a Stainless steel reusable straw which would fit nicely in the straw hole of the lid of the refillable mugs. The Refillable Mugs will be even more useful to keep drinks intact with the lid on top as you can pour drinks you get from the Theme Park inside (as we mentioned you can do with the FREE ice water that they also provide at all Theme Parks).

FUN FACT: You can use your Rapid Fill Refillable Mug at ANY Walt Disney Resort for the length of your stay. So if you are resort hopping, checking out another resort or having a Quick Service meal at resort (like at a monorail resort to take a break from the Parks), bring your Refillable Mug and get your drink there. You don’t even need to purchase any food, just go to a Soda Machine at a resort and fuel up! On our last vacation this was very helpful, we stayed at the POP Century Resort but enjoyed visiting the Art of Animation which is just across the Bridge, we made sure to bring our mugs to get drinks! On one of our “Free” days, we visited Port Orleans French Quarter to have a meal at and brought our refillable mugs to drink there.

Common Question: But don’t your get a drink with your meal if you are on the Dining Plan? And would that be a waste of your drink included with your Quick Service Meal Credit?

Ah Ha! Another great trick is (and you must politely ask a Cast Member to do this for you), since you already can use your refillable mug to get a drink at a Disney RESORT Quick Service Restaurant, ask a Cast Member if you can EXCHANGE your bottled drink (included with your Quick Service Meal Credit on all Dining Plans) for a Dessert/Snack. You should be able to get anything that qualifies as a snack on the Disney Dining Plan. You can also use your drink for a single serve alcoholic beverage, since alcohol is included on the dining plan!

Alcohol Tip: OR instead of getting a dessert/snack above, stock up on small bottles of beer or wine to store in your resort refrigerator! Our family did this, where we used our refill mug to have our drink with our meal and saved the alcoholic beverage that comes with the Quick Service Meal for later. It’s a nice way to have in the resort room and unwind after a long day at the parks, of course for Adults only.

What about a Split Stay?
Most of the rules state that the RapidFill Mugs are for length of stay. However when our very own Travel Agent, Patricia Payne (aka Military Diva) recently vacationed at Walt Disney World with her family, they had the Dining Package for the first part of their vacation and paid out of pocket for meals for the last few days of their trip. Their refillable mugs still worked for the latter part of their trip that was not part of the Dining Plan. This may be because they started their vacation with the Dining Plan and it consisted with their “length of stay”. However you must always check because rules can change which is why you need a Travel Agent to make these arrangements for you. Check out 5 reasons why our Travel Agent can work for you, her service is FREE if you book a Walt Disney World vacation through her and get a FREE quote as well from her.

Another great insight from Travel Agent Patricia Payne (Military Diva) is that she compared and calculated on her last trip how many drinks her family would have paid for if they didn’t get the RapidFill Mugs. For her family of 6, at $18.99 a mug for length of stay, she would have paid a total of $121.35 (but she had the dining plan that includes the mugs, which is a huge bonus). If they were to pay out-of-pocket for all of the drinks they had, it would have cost them $306.99 which doesn’t even include the extra split stay they did, mentioned above which they were able to use their refillable mugs for. Patricia (Military Diva) will be doing an article on Price Comparison on the Quick Service Dining plan vs paying out-of-pocket in an article soon, so stayed tuned!

Note: you cannot re-use your Refillable Mug for a future trip. There is a RFID chip in the bottom that sensors and knows when your vacation is and when it has ended. The chip is also the reason why you cannot put your mug in the microwave when you get home (see below for more at HOME with your mug tips).

You can buy a Refillable Mug as a souvenir. Military Diva mentions how the RapidFill mugs are her favourite souvenir here. And many visitors who are not staying at a Walt Disney World Resort, like to buy the seasonal mugs that become collector items like these Halloween Mugs below. Thanks to Soarin’ Diva for taking this photo.

Holiday Themed Refillable Mugs like this Halloween one are a special one to add to your collection.

You enjoyed your trip, what do you do with your Mugs when you get home?

There are so many GREAT uses for these mugs. Of course the favorite way is to use them for hot or cold drinks at home to carry to work or around your city. It’s a great memory of your trip. It’s also a great conversation starter as other Disney World Fans will notice your Resort mug and you can talk about Walt Disney World more.

The mugs fit wonderfully in most Car cup holders. I like to walk around my city a lot and the Refill mugs fit perfectly in my stroller. I also like to be environmental friendly and bring my Refill Mug to my local Starbucks or any other coffee shop. So that they don’t need to use their disposable cups, it also looks kind of cool when your drink order is in the mug and presented among the other standard cups (plus they most likely won’t need to write your name, ha!)

Did you know the RapidFill Mugs fit perfectly in the new Nespresso Vertuoline machines? YEP! Just take the bottom insert out, place your mug to fill up with Nespresso coffee/espresso and voila, you have gourmet coffee on the go.

At HOME, have gourmet coffee/espresso or homemade lattes on the go as the Refillable Mugs fit perfectly with Nespresso Vertuoline Machines!

As I mentioned above, the lids are so kid-friendly, it’s a great way to travel for children to quench their thirst on the go. They simply need to just swipe to have a drink (but don’t forget to teach them to swipe back or they may spill their drink)
Bedside Drink! Since the mugs have a lid that easily swipes back and forth, I find these mugs are a perfect “cup” to have by your bedside with water. Who has accidentally tipped a glass of water that was on their nighttable while switching on and off your lamp? (eeeks, I have) With the refillable mugs, if, of course you remember to easily swipe the lid back to close, you have a sealed drink of water to last you through the night and in the morning!

The refillable mugs make excellent “brushing teeth” mugs. We usually keep mugs and toothbrushes inside the bathroom closet because obviously the mugs won’t fit in a medicine cabinet. We never have our toothbrushes out in the open because of germs. If you have multiple mugs, label or write each family member’s name on the mug, place their toothbrush in each one and place in a cabinet or bathroom closet in between uses! I have broken glass cups before when using them in the bathroom to brush my teeth, they either toppled over or my child knocked them down, so these sturdy refillable mugs are perfect for safe and mess free teeth brushing!

The RapidFill Mugs ARE Dishwasher safe (Yay!). I have put my mugs in the Dishwasher many times, although some of the images may fade over time.

However, the RapidFill mugs ARE NOT microwavable. It has something to do with the RFID chip on the bottom that might make it explode!

OTHER USES (besides for drinks).

Here at the Tips from the Disney Diva, our writers have been to Disney World many many times, some writers visit multiple times within just one year. Our writers also LOVE the Disney Dining Plan, so you can imagine how many Refillable Mugs we have collectively amassed. Here are ways to use your RapidRefill Mugs when you get home that doesn’t involve drinking from it!

I have mugs from 8 years go. I use a Sharpie to write “pens” “markers” “pencils” on the cup, and use them as holders and organizers for the above items! I used a tip from Marie Kondo and found a perfect (thin) shoe box to hold the cups for easy access and storage.

Pixie Dusted Diva likes to use some her older Refillable Mugs as Bath Toys! How genius!

I like using them for our sandbox. I always write SAND or whatever I’m using the mugs for so it will not be used mistakenly for drinks.

You can even use these mugs for all sorts of DIY projects. I think I may use future ones for growing plants or herbs in our Kitchen by our window.

I hope you enjoyed our tips and tricks for the RapidFill Walt Disney Resort Mugs. Do you like the new designs? What are your favourite drinks you like to refill at a Walt Disney World. And what do you like to do with your mugs when you get home?

The new 2019 RapdFill Mugs design at Walt Disney World. Thank you to Military Diva for this photo.

***Disclaimer – We at Tips from the Disney Divas and Devos hope you enjoy reading our articles, and encourage you to share any you feel may be of interest to someone else. We do ask, however, if you choose to share the photographs attached to our articles, you give credit to the photographer. Thank you for your cooperation and sharing our love of Disney!

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