Hi Emily,
Welcome to planDisney!
Well, this is a question that speaks to my heart. The answer is YES! You may certainly buy a resort refillable mug without purchasing a
Disney Dining Plan. My family has actually done so in the past because we find those mugs so useful when staying at a
Disney Resorts Collection hotel. We just try to get different mugs so that we can easily distinguish each other's mugs when we get back to the room. I also bring a permanent marker with us just in case we need to write our initials on the mugs.
As you continue making plans, I hope you make some
advanced dining reservations. Remember that when you dine at Quick-Service locations at Disney resorts, you can use your refillable mugs. We also always refill our mugs when we get back to the resort hotel in the evening. Depending on how far your room is from the Quick-Service location at your resort hotel, you may want to take the mugs with you in a backpack during the day so that when you return to the resort, you do not have to go back to the room to get the mugs and then head back to refill them. We typically request a room close to the main building or book a preferred room (if that is an option when booking) so that we don't have too far of a walk back to the dining areas to refill our mugs. Double-check the location of your resort hotel's mug refill station(s) so that you know how far you will have to walk to get there.
Emily, I hope this helps! We have quite the collection of mugs at our house now. My family loves to use them on a daily basis. They bring back so many happy memories! One final tip - if you are a coffee drinker, do not forget the coffee. I love using a mug to go grab a cup in the morning, especially on those days when we plan to just relax at the resort hotel!
Magic and memories,
Donyell