BYOS bring your own straw (Disney removing straws and more in 2019)

[Farro]

I'm glad I'm not the only one essentially laughing at how over the top this thread has become. Just to make sure we are clear, Disney is removing a tiny amount of plastic, and that's all. Prices aren't currently going up, they aren't refusing to serve people, they're just getting rid of a little plastic. I agree that it is a PR stunt, but it will have minimal impact on the great majority of us. Afraid you'll now spill your venti beverage or soda? That was always a possibility! Try not to dwell on it and enjoy the rest of your trip. If it is a big enough deal to you, let your money do the talking and just don't go.

Sorry, disagree there! I was fine with paper straws, or using the new lids Starbucks uses.

Now this will only be a problem for me at Starbucks. I get a venti refresher. I don't just stand in Starbucks and drink it, I walk around the parks.
It's idiotic to expect me to walk around with no lid. The cup itself is plastic, what's the difference with the lid? Both are recyclable.

I'm just hoping that Starbucks uses their sippy lids. That's totally fine.

Oh, and whoever said this has been working fine at AK - they always didn't have lids? I thought it was just paper straws there.

And no, this isn't consuming my life, but when I see a thread about it, I need to complain!

 

[rteetz]

At WDW now and went to Jock Lindsey’s in part to get one of the poison apple glow cubes and they don’t have them yet and the waitress said they don’t know when they are getting them and even that they are still tweaking the recipe for the drink

It seems they are releasing each Halloween item at different times.

 

[Dingdingding]

I absolutely hate this. I use straws all the time to protect my teeth and the rest of my family does too. I am stocking up on them at the moment (2000 and counting at the moment) in fear of a ban.

And environment wise: they banned free plastic bags where I leave so a lot of shops switched to paper bags (because the ones that didn't got complains), paper bags are much worse for the environment (more poluting to make) and not reusable (I used to reuse my plastic bags all the time, a paper bag is broken the minute you arrive home).

 

[Ben E N]

Sorry, disagree there! I was fine with paper straws, or using the new lids Starbucks uses.

Now this will only be a problem for me at Starbucks. I get a venti refresher. I don't just stand in Starbucks and drink it, I walk around the parks.
It's idiotic to expect me to walk around with no lid. The cup itself is plastic, what's the difference with the lid? Both are recyclable.

I'm just hoping that Starbucks uses their sippy lids. That's totally fine.

Oh, and whoever said this has been working fine at AK - they always didn't have lids? I thought it was just paper straws there.

And no, this isn't consuming my life, but when I see a thread about it, I need to complain!

That's fair. I didn't mean to imply that no one has the right to be upset about it, and people can still continue to go on about it. I just saw it going from small complaints into a snowball effect over the course of 10 pages of comments. Kind of a nut falling on someone's head turning into "the sky is falling!". If Disney notices that this has a major negative impact on their customers' satisfaction, then of course they will make a change as needed. Their #1 responsibility is to make money.
As for Starbucks, I am curious what contract rules win for them. They have separate contracts with their corporate suppliers which could possibly override what Disney wants. It's also possible that because they are in the Disney parks, though, that what Disney wants will override what their other contracts state. I honestly don't know there, but wouldn't be surprised if they follow their own rules.

 

[delilah]

We have used cloth or the plastic reusable shopping bags for years. I prefer cloth because they can be washed more easily. It is somewhat awkward and inconvenient to turn the plastic bags inside out to wash and dry. I have loads of reusable shopping bags that I have gotten for free over the years.
I seldom use straws at all. We carry reusable water bottles, and seldom if ever buy a drink. Coffee is an exception. I prefer a ceramic mug in the morning and don't usually carry coffee around with me all day. The idea of a reusable straw is disgusting to me. I am going to be a bit graphic here. People normally have a variety of normal bacterial and fungal flora in their mouth, which is shared with the respiratory tract. When I have a cold, I use saline rinses instead of any type of medication. The bottle for saline rinses is supposed to be reusable. I once used a bottle, following the instructions of using boiled then cooled water to make the solution, and then washing the bottle in warm soapy water afterward. I took it out the next time I needed to use it, and it was full of black mold. Yuck. You can be sure that any reusable item that goes into the mouth or nose is going to be similarly contaminated. Unless you boil your reusable straws, there is no way around it.

 

[mcarlson]

But YOU spilled your drink. Once you buy it, YOU are responsible for it.

This has been working just fine at AK .....

Some of us might, maybe, perhaps, have motor issues and a lid helps. Others of us have been bumped into and that's not our fault at all. A lid could prevent spillage. If you read what I wrote I didn't say eliminate I was talking about helping to prevent.

Also, I was at Tusker House years ago, spilled my drink on the way back to the table, and they replaced it. They told me that was the policy.

I really am finding this outrage ............. so ........... WOW ......... especially when there are much worse things happening.

- How have folks survived in the Animal Kingdom the last 10 years without lids and straws? Or do they skip that park altogether? Or I suppose you eat before you go and after you leave.
- Why can't these people drink out of cups? I laugh, my pediatrician made me teach my kids how to drink out of a cup before allowing sippy cups. Maybe these folks never learned how.
- I get not fun to walk with, but not impossible and maybe have the party share in the carrying??? Again ... AK.
- If it's an issue throw a sipper cup, refillable mug, drink bottle or tervis type cup in your bag. Pour it over into the cup at the counter, not like next guest's food is ever ready that fast anyway, so there is time.
- Drink water, the spill will be refreshing ...
- Drink bottled drinks. This includes bringing your own and saving money.
- I guess my more personal one .. why are spill age kids drinking soda? The water, juice and milk comes sealed.

NOTE: I completely understand there are folks with disabilities that this is an issue for. My DS has a disability .... I always carry everything he might need. I never rely on others.

I have Tourette's. I take some pretty severe medications that help suppress it so it's fairly mild anymore but that doesn't mean that my body doesn't have a mind of it's own. So I guess now you'll laugh at me because I never learned to drink out of a cup while walking? Go ahead. Tourette's is a funny thing. I've done funny things because of it (I've sprayed Hershey's chocolate syrup all over my kitchen once...floor, walls and ceiling...everywhere except the glass). I'm not one those folks that get that uptight over my issues. I do get upset when people think they've got my life sorted because they can deal with or without something I might want/need.

But that notwithstanding I shouldn't have to play that card in order to get a lid. I shouldn't have to prove this to you or anyone else. And anyone else that doesn't have my same sort of issues should be able to get a lid if they want one.

 

[mom2rtk]

But that notwithstanding I shouldn't have to play that card in order to get a lid.

I totally agree with that. People should not have to describe their medical limitations to get a cover for the drink they're about to walk back to their table with.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I shouldn't have to play that card in order to get a lid. I shouldn't have to prove this to you or anyone else. And anyone else that doesn't have my same sort of issues should be able to get a lid if they want one.

I totally agree with that. People should not have to describe their medical limitations to get a cover for the drink they're about to walk back to their table with.

Definitely! I think the waste comes in when they automatically give out things that only some people need or care about. Just having to ask for them - even if those requests are never denied - will reduce the impact, and I'm definitely an "every little bit helps" sort of person.

 

[mom2rtk]

Definitely! I think the waste comes in when they automatically give out things that only some people need or care about. Just having to ask for them - even if those requests are never denied - will reduce the impact, and I'm definitely an "every little bit helps" sort of person.

Totally agree. I would be all in favor of a "by request" policy. But I don't think that's what's happening here.

 

[dina444444]

One other comment on the lids. It looked like the kids size drinks (smaller cups) still have lids on them. This was the photo I took yesterday at Cosmic Ray's. Coffee also still comes with a lid, which is probably wise.
View attachment 346263

It was like this yesterday in DCA at Flo's with the no lids on larger beverages. We still had straws at the condiments bar. We didn't have the stick/no stick though since our QS places don't prepare any drinks expect ice water.

 

[AurumPunzel]

If you look at the photo, the diet Cokes had a stir stick in them, while the regular Coke had no stick.

Edit: the more I think about the lid thing, I wonder if they are actually telling the truth about this being a waste reduction thing. I seriously doubt the cost savings is even a penny a drink. Though I bet they will eventually roll it back and do something like "lids upon request" when enough people are spilling their drinks into their food.

That was my reasoning. I did have concerns about spillages skyrocketing, but then AK is a sui generis case, having been the only WDW park to never have lids from the onset, but as it's been years since I've last been, I can't gauge the likelihood of drink spillage in crowds in AK vs the other WDW parks, though I can imagine MK's crowds being a lot heavier.

 

[soniam]

That was my reasoning. I did have concerns about spillages skyrocketing, but then AK is a sui generis case, having been the only WDW park to never have lids from the onset, but as it's been years since I've last been, I can't gauge the likelihood of drink spillage in crowds in AK vs the other WDW parks, though I can imagine MK's crowds being a lot heavier.

AK has plastic lids but not plastic straws; they use paper straws.

 

[AurumPunzel]

AK has plastic lids but not plastic straws; they use paper straws.

I thought sans lids was also the case, but then that was just my memory. I definitely recall the paper straws, but wasn't so sure if sans lid had always been the case or not.

 

[unbanshee]

I thought sans lids was also the case, but then that was just my memory. I definitely recall the paper straws, but wasn't so sure if sans lid had always been the case or not.

There are no lids at DAK

 

[EveDallas]

Oh, and whoever said this has been working fine at AK - they always didn't have lids? I thought it was just paper straws there.

I went back and checked my pics from 2015. Granted, it was 3 years ago, but the AK cups had lids then.

 

[soniam]

There are no lids at DAK

There are at least a few people on this thread who remember lids at AK. Now, maybe it depends upon what you get and where. We usually eat TS, but I remember getting a lid at Restaurontasaurus when I got a souvenir mug. The beverage came in a cup with a lid inside the mug.

 

[rteetz]

There are no lids at DAK

Since when? I know at least my Starbucks had a lid in March.

 

[Ponderer]

Is it me... or is MDE REALLY REALLY glitchy today. For the trip I'm planning with another family, all I can see is THEIR Dolphin reservations and not mine at Beach Club Villa.... on both the mobile app and my desktop using Chrome and Explorer. I know this app is really unstable, but it makes me panic, at least a little, when stuff like this happens!

It's not just you. It's been giving me error messages all afternoon on Safari.

 

[disneygirlsng]

There are at least a few people on this thread who remember lids at AK. Now, maybe it depends upon what you get and where. We usually eat TS, but I remember getting a lid at Restaurontasaurus when I got a souvenir mug. The beverage came in a cup with a lid inside the mug.

Pretty sure all QS places at AK don't give out lids when you order a fountain drink. Souvenir cups and Starbucks/coffee is likely different. Just did a super quick google image search of quick service restaurants at AK and in over 100 pics I looked at, none of the cups on trays had lids on them, just the paper straws.

 

[rteetz]

Pretty sure all QS places at AK don't give out lids when you order a fountain drink. Souvenir cups and Starbucks/coffee is likely different. Just did a super quick google image search of quick service restaurants at AK and in over 100 pics I looked at, none of the cups on trays had lids on them, just the paper straws.

Ah ok. I haven’t gotten soda at a quick service in AK in a very long time. I don’t usually drink soda at all.