Welcome to planDisney, Mechelle.
Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to Walt Disney World Resort you go! In only a matter of DAYS, you'll be standing right in the middle of Main Street, U.S.A. with a Mickey Pretzel in hand and the beauty of Cinderella Castle in your view. I bet you can't wait!
From a fellow refillable mug collector to another, I can empathize and have wondered the same thing recently. I used to love getting the special refillable mugs from each theme park. In fact, my kitchen cabinets are bursting at the seams with mugs from past trips. My favorites are the one with Mickey and pals dressed in costumes from the Tower of Terror and the one where they are dressed in traditional clothing from different countries in World Showcase at EPCOT. They were such a fun, affordable souvenir! I wish I knew why they stopped selling them, but it's a mystery to all of us.
I'm hopeful we might see the return of these mugs in the theme parks one day, but let me give you a few tangible alternatives you can look for right now. You can purchase a refillable mug at your
Disney Resorts Collection hotel. These mugs are the same material and style with handles as the ones that used to be sold in the parks. There were three designs available on my last trip in January: One with R2D2 and C3P0 from
Star Wars, one featuring different elements from each Disney Resort hotel, and one featuring elements from the theme parks for the
50th Anniversary Celebration. When you purchase one of these mugs from your Resort, you will be able to refill it with tea, coffee, soda, and more at your Resort for the length of your stay.
There are still specialty cups of sorts being sold within the theme parks as well. They may not be the style you've come to love, but they are every bit as cute and fun to collect. Keep in mind, they are subject to availability and could be sold out from time to time, but here are a few I found for you:
- Magic Kingdom Park: Cosmic Ray's Starlight Café, The Lunching Pad, Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe, and Pinocchio Village Haus have an adorable 50th Celebration Minnie Premium Sipper. Sunshine Tree Terrace has an equally adorable Orange Bird Sipper.
- EPCOT: The EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival will be going on during your trip, and two of the Outdoor Kitchens have special cups available - The Citrus Blossom has an Orange Bird Sipper Cup and The Honey Bee-stro Hosted by National Honey Board has a Spike the Bee Sipper Cup.
- Disney's Hollywood Studios: ABC Commissary, Backlot Express, and Rosie's All-American Café have BB-8 and Darth Vader Steins on the menu. Woody's Lunch Box has an Alien Sipper on its menu.
- Disney's Typhoon Lagoon Water Park: You can get a cute All-Day Refillable Mug at Typhoon Tilly's, Lowtide Lou's, Leaning Palms, and the Snack Shack.
Mechelle, I hope this information helps you find a suitable alternative to the refillable theme park mugs you hold so dear to your heart. I'll be over here crossing my fingers they return in the future, so you and I can both add a new one to our collections. I hope to see you here at planDisney again real soon. Enjoy your trip!
Alyssa