While it would appear that the closures throughout Disney properties don't have a firm reopening date, hopefully they reopen the fist part of April. Our hearts go out to those who have had their plans interrupted, and those whose families have been effected by the Cronovirus. Speedy wishes that everyone recovers, and it stops spreading. Even in our small town, there have been those who have tested positive. 

There's a new Disney Dining Plan option, and it might be a good fit for some families. 

This new plan is a happy medium between the Standard Disney Dining Plan and the Deluxe. If you'd like a little more flexibility in your dining options, and a little less food, this might be for you! 

Whereas the Deluxe plan is three meals a day, and the Standard one table service and one quick service meal a day, the new Disney Dining Plan Plus, is two meals a day, your choice of quick service or table service.  

Like the other plans, two snacks a day and your refillable resort mug are included. Priced in the middle, this new plan is $94.61 for ages 10 and up per night, and $35.01 for ages 3-9. 

With several new quick services opening with an above average menu, like the Regal Eagle in Epcot, you might might this a good fit for your family. With two meals a day it's easier to space out so you don't feel so full and sluggish, but you can still enjoy two table service meals a day if you like, including the perks that some may have, like meeting characters or special show seating. 

​What do you think? Is this a plan you might try? 

I went to buy a few Disney gift cards for our upcoming trip. We enjoy having a few different cards, the kids each have a different design, then we have a different design for food, then one for souvenirs, etc. Well, those days might be gone. 

Disney no longer offers the huge collection of gift card designs. They have two to pick from now. Two. Standard Mickey, and Frozen 2. 

Disappointed, I wrote, asking what happened and "To improve efficiency and an overall better experience, we recently updated our gift card vendor, which did result in the decline in available designs. "

I'm not sure how it improves anyone's experience to no longer have dozens of card designs to pick from, but I suppose it does improve the efficiency, on their end. 

​RIP Gift card designs! And if you are lucky enough to still have some of your old cards, might want to save them! 

It was family movie/preview night in our house this last weekend, and we watched the best thing ever. A preview of ALL of the shows that are dropping on Disney+ in about 3 weeks. Want to see them? I promise, this won't be a quiet video. Everyone in the room is going to be full of "Wow!" or "I loved that one!" or "I remember that!". It's awesome. You won't regret a second of this. 

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Disney has had a LOT of price changes in the last few weeks. The Disney Rapid Refill Mugs are not excluded.  Is it still worth it to buy one? 

The price of the rapid Refills Mugs in 2017 was $17.99 for the length of your stay. 2018, it's $18.99, 2019 it has gone up to $19.99 plus resort tax. That's just a dollar and tax more, but... is it worth it? 

That depends. 

​Lets start off with a review about what the Rapid Refill Mug is. 

Disney offers a really nice perk to those staying on Property. A souvenir mug that's not only solid quality but will stand up to many times in the dishwasher and many tumbles onto the floor without any fading, cracks or marks. We have a ton of these mugs and they get used more than any other cup in the house for hot or cold beverages. With the exception of, surprisingly, the 2019 mugs, none of them from 2014, 2015, or 2017 show wear.

Anyone staying at an on property resort can buy one of these refillable mugs, but those who purchased the Disney Dining Plan get to have the mug included at no extra cost. If you want to learn more about the Disney Dining Plan, click right here to read my post about it. 


What is this mug? 

The refillable Disney mug lets you fill up your mug as often as you want, with whatever you want in the food court area of your resort, or any other for the length of your stay. There is a RFID chip in the bottom of it, that allows the owner to fill it up. There is a small time delay between fill ups. If you tried to use a different cup, say a regular sports bottle without the RFID chip in it, the machine won't dispense the beverage.


What can you fill it up with? 

Disney has Coke products, and you'll generally find the same things on tap that you would most any fast food place, Sprite, Coke, Diet Coke, Hi-C, lemonade, root beer, etc. You can also get tea from their tea machine, which usually has four different kinds available, sweetened, unsweetened, white citrus or green. If you like hot drinks, it's all you can drink hot tea, hot coffee or hot chocolate. You will not find juice or milk available to fill in the mug. There are also mug wash spots near the drink dispensers to rinse your cups so if you want to fill your mug with orange soda, the last few drops from your morning coffee won't make it taste strange.


How much does this cost? 


The mug, and it's unlimited refills costs $19.99 for the length of your stay.


Where can I fill this up at? 

At your resort, or any other Disney resort if you feel like carrying it around. You cannot fill it up within the Parks though. If you want to fill it up in the morning and drink it at the bus stop, be prepared to carry it with you until you get back to your room. Since parks no longer have lids or straws available when you buy a drink, it might actually be worth it. 


How does this work? 

After you have selected the color mug that you want, (usually available are red, green, blue, yellow, purple and pink) take it to the cashier and he or she will activate it. Go over to the drink station and follow the instructions on the digital pad. (Basically setting the cup down, waiting a few seconds, then pushing the button to dispense the beverage choice) 


Why is this right for me? 

This might be right for you if

1. You are getting it for free on the Disney Dining Plan
2. You prefer to drink something other than water several times a day
3. You want to take home a mug as a souvenir of your trip
4. You plan to hang around your resort for at least a few hours each day to make use of the mug

Why should I skip this? 

You might not want to buy the mug if

1. You prefer to drink water
2. You aren’t going to be at a Disney resort but for a day or two
3. You don't want the hassle of walking to the food court each time you want a refill
   
   
   

Can I have an example of the savings if I bought this? 

If the average person bought only three drinks a day, let's say (current prices, and subject to change) a morning coffee ($3.29), an afternoon soda ($3.99) and an evening tea ($3.29), based on food court prices it would come to $10.57. On a 3 day stay that equals $31.71. The mug is more than paid for, and it's cheaper to have the drinks, plus the mug to take home as a run reminder of your vacation. Chances are good, you'll fill your mug more than three times a day, too. 

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I'm on the fence as to if I should get this. 

In our opinion, it's completely worth it for the mug since just three drinks in it a day and it's paid for by day three, sooner if you drink more, but I know there are people who don't drink anything other than water, so you'll need to figure out what works best for you. There is always the option of just buying one or two mugs for a family, if some are soda/tea/coffee drinkers and some are not, and sharing.

Since our family does buy the mugs, but also likes to save HUNDREDS with this super easy trick, we consider our drink savings covered. 


What about you? Have you ever gotten the Refillable Mugs before? Do you like them or is it not a good buy for your family?