Back on January 14th, I published “Mug(ged) in Disney?”. It was my ‘tongue-in-cheek titled’ look at Disney refillable mugs and is still the ‘second-most read’ post in All in WDW’s short history. Today, exactly six months later – to the day – I’m back for another round. It’s Disney’s fault, I assure you.

In short, the question we asked, earlier this year, was, “How can anyone justify spending $15.49 on a coffee cup?” Now, it’s, “You want us to pay what?!”

Well, according to recent reports like this one on MouseSavers.com, as of this month, “Disney resorts will be rolling out …

… new RFID-tagged refillable mugs. Once rolled out, only current, valid RFID-tagged mugs will work in the beverage stations. The cost will be:

$8.99 for 1 day

$11.99 for 2 days

$14.99 for 3 days

$17.99 for “length of stay” (4-14 days)

[It comes] with an option to extend if your trip is longer than 14 consecutive days. The RFID-tagged mugs allow you to refill the mug at any resort hotel beverage station. For the purpose of mug use, “days” are calendar days, not rolling 24-hour periods.”

Yikes! $17.99?! Can you imagine being a family of four staying at Pop Century, for instance, for a week? That’s just under $72 for the mugs! And, I’m sure they’ll still need to add the sales tax. Wow! So, I guess the question remains. How can we justify the cost?

Looking back at “Mug(ged) in Disney?”, let’s assume that beverage costs haven’t increased since January.

Mrs. All in WDW and I have a 4-night stay booked for later this month. When we visit, we typically have two mugs of coffee each morning as well as, at least, one soft drink (or coffee) later in the day. Just that amount would cost $9.57 to $10.07 per day, per person. With three days of use, you’d spend $28.71 to $30.21 on beverages for each member of your party. At four days, you’d spend as much as $40.28. The $17.99 for “length of stay” price pales in comparison.

I don’t necessarily want to re-ignite the debate as to whether “refillable” means for the visit or for life, but you can’t argue with the math. The price tag might sound outrageous, but, if you drink coffee and/or soda, the refillable mug still makes sense. Even the $8.99 ‘one-day charge’ can be easily recovered by drinking a soft drink and two refills.

Cheers! Drink up!