Great video! Another benefit we found is that we stay better hydrated during the day. It's so easy and convenient to take a cup we already have and pop into a freestyle station to fill up. No payment, almost never a line.
My husband and I have Sea World refillable cups we bought in 2010 for $5.99 each and we are still using them now with $2 refills. Best deal of all parks. Refillable popcorn bucket also. Plus, they can also be used at Busch Gardens.
It's too bad the current freestyle cups don't have a handle. The one we bought in 2018 (and still use, of course) has a handle we can attach to our fanny pack to make carrying much easier.
My girlfriend and I have two of the slightly larger designed ones and they're awesome. We definitely take them with us each time we visit and make sure we're hydrated on those really hot days.
Me and my gf saved a TON of money back in October for HHN. The park hours till 2am helped us get alot of use out of the cups. The coke station by men in black and the monsters cafe hut were our most used stations I would say. Also in islands, the one in-between Hogwarts castle and velocicoaster at I think Jurassic Digs? The free water and ice helped tremendously the last day of our trip. Tip: bring some flavor packets in your pack and boom, saving some money for some merch. Can't wait till our next trip!
@@cynthiar5309 from what I can tell the app only shows you restaurants where coke freestyle is available, not all of the locations the machines are at.
Glad they cut down the refill times. When I went to HNN it was 15 minutes. Plus not enough machines around to get the refills. Glad both have been sorted.
100% worth it. I had like 8+ drinks a day for the 4 days we had it was excellent. Well worth the money. I would fill up on my way out of the park and fill up with water for free in the hotels.
What does everyone do when they have cups and need to go on rides? In the past we always had a stroller or someone sitting out who could hold our cups.
Hi, i going to universal orlando in september, and we will stay on cabana bay, so understood they are diferrent sistems of reffill on hotel or universal both are diferrent, so i can't use 🥺the same cup in hotel and parks? 💛 Thank you.
Let us use it for butter beer that would be something 🙂 ... are the refill station in Island of adventure side as well or does this only work in universal side ?
HI RIX, ALOHA FROM HAWAII. GREAT VIDEOS ! So informative in helping me put my 2022 group fall trip together. can you please do a vid on purchase pick up (if it's offered, what stores give the option and where to pick up your purchases before leaving the park) i know disney offers it. i just wasn't sure if universal gave the option to. see you in universal in the fall.
Does it work with the water bottles from universal studios like, u know in transformers they have the optimus and bumblebee head water bottles fo they work as well
I bought 3 while I was there in August, one for me & my youngest to share, one for my two older boys to share, & one for my parents to share. They are sizeable cups and we rarely had an issue with the cups registering. Also, most free-styles will let you get water dispensed without needing the chipped cups. Only thing I do wonder about is the life expectancy of the chip... I've washed them a couple times in the dishwasher since then & don't expect to be back for another 3.5yrs.
@@angelastaples786 they might have made that change since I was there in 2021, but I didn't have any problems and no cast members ever said anything to me... even when I was blatantly sharing the cup in front of them... maybe it was because it was my kids, but whatever.
Out of curiosity…will the machines still dispense water if the cups aren’t reactivated the next day you come?? How would coming to the parks multiple days in a row work? Have to repay the reactivation fee everyday? With the hotel stays those resort specific mugs can be purchased for length of stay.
Another tip is if you want just one or two sodas while you’re in the park, you can get pay for single refill with that cup and it’s under $2 per refill (I can’t remember the exact price but I know it’s much cheaper than just buying a single soda without the cup.
Someone else asked this question but I didn't see an answer. What do you do with your cups on rides? Do you have to use a locker every single time ? I was planning on a Fanny pack / bum bag to avoid that. Anyone have any tips?
@@RixFlix that's what I was afraid of. I was hoping that somehow attaching it to the Fanny pack would be allowed , even if only for some rides. Okay , thanks for super fast response !
The snap lids on the plain coke free style cups (the white/ clear looking ones) are pretty good with holding in the liquid even upside down. HOWEVER; when my family of six went last October (four kids youngest eight year old) we did make sure to drink all/ most of the drink before putting in a locker so that the cups was empty when we stashed our stuff. Nearly all of those free lockers are super tiny and narrow, at it’s just not a good idea ever to put a full cup on its side and walk away. You don’t want to ruin your items, or potentially anyone else’s if liquid slips through the metal walls of the locker station. The only issue I found with the cups is it’s a pain to have to carry them. They don’t have handles or carabiner clips to go hands free, and if you’d like to ride an “items free” ride such as velosicoaster or the hulk, they make you take everything off/ out of pockets. cell phones, lanyards, keys, wallets, hats, sunglasses- EVERYTHING. you need to leave all those items in a locker in the queue line. So a cup would be the same situation, and sometimes that’s a pain.
The locker has a bin that you can empty your cup into. So if the cup is empty you can set inside the locker horizontally. Then once you are off the ride, 10 minutes should have passed and you can get another refill.
Come freestyle machines are absolutely disgusting. Everything I have tried tastes flat, and the fact all those flavors pump through one straw is such a bad idea.
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So do u think it makes more sense money wise to buy the ones at the hotel or the parks? I never knew it was separate or that the parks even did this
Great video! Another benefit we found is that we stay better hydrated during the day. It's so easy and convenient to take a cup we already have and pop into a freestyle station to fill up. No payment, almost never a line.
My husband and I have Sea World refillable cups we bought in 2010 for $5.99 each and we are still using them now with $2 refills. Best deal of all parks. Refillable popcorn bucket also. Plus, they can also be used at Busch Gardens.
Rick - I like these “under six” videos. They are a helpful, targeted info burst. Really helpful.
Love my freestyle cup! Got a new fanny pack with a cup holder to try in a few days when I come down for a visit!
It's too bad the current freestyle cups don't have a handle. The one we bought in 2018 (and still use, of course) has a handle we can attach to our fanny pack to make carrying much easier.
My girlfriend and I have two of the slightly larger designed ones and they're awesome. We definitely take them with us each time we visit and make sure we're hydrated on those really hot days.
Me and my gf saved a TON of money back in October for HHN. The park hours till 2am helped us get alot of use out of the cups. The coke station by men in black and the monsters cafe hut were our most used stations I would say. Also in islands, the one in-between Hogwarts castle and velocicoaster at I think Jurassic Digs? The free water and ice helped tremendously the last day of our trip. Tip: bring some flavor packets in your pack and boom, saving some money for some merch. Can't wait till our next trip!
You done it again Rick, under 6 minutes. That's 2 for 2!!!
Could you possibly do a video showing all the locations of the free standing machines? My last trip, it was so hard to figure out where they were.
You can bring up all the locations on the app
@@cynthiar5309 from what I can tell the app only shows you restaurants where coke freestyle is available, not all of the locations the machines are at.
@@freefalling1087 oh I see what you’re saying yeah that would be helpful
Thanks for the great info Rick!!! We bought a cup our last Universal vacation in 2019 and were hoping we could use it our next trip to Universal.
Another fine production. Greetings from Ireland....We will be there in a few days!!!!!! Can't wait to see the Sun!!!!
Love the Freestyle cups! Wish Disney had this in the parks!
They won't bc Disney doesn't care about their people anymore
They do but for resort guests
Also the ice water is completely free! So you can bring your cup and just get water and not need to pay for drink at ALL throughout your whole day
You made in under 4 mins. Great job!!
That's a great video! Nice idea!
Glad they cut down the refill times.
When I went to HNN it was 15 minutes.
Plus not enough machines around to get the refills.
Glad both have been sorted.
Great info. I always wondered about the cups.
Absolutely love these videos!!
Always good material…. Coming down 8/8 to 8/12, will be at Universal parks 10th-12th.
Great reminder on the Coke freestyle machines. Can't wait to see the press penny under six minute video 🤣🤣
Perfect explanation 100000/10!!!
I have 6 freestyle cups. 2-regular, 2-2021 HHN Cups and 2- Hoilday Cups and I love collecting as many as I can
You did it under 6 minutes 👍🎊🎉 great video thank you
I love the under 6. Less blabber and straight to the point.
100% worth it. I had like 8+ drinks a day for the 4 days we had it was excellent. Well worth the money. I would fill up on my way out of the park and fill up with water for free in the hotels.
Just need to find a bumbag (fanny pack) that’s big enough to hold a freestyle cup and small enough to fit in the free lockers. 😁
What does everyone do when they have cups and need to go on rides? In the past we always had a stroller or someone sitting out who could hold our cups.
Hi, i going to universal orlando in september, and we will stay on cabana bay, so understood they are diferrent sistems of reffill on hotel or universal both are diferrent, so i can't use 🥺the same cup in hotel and parks? 💛 Thank you.
Let us use it for butter beer that would be something 🙂 ... are the refill station in Island of adventure side as well or does this only work in universal side ?
Both theme parks
HI RIX,
ALOHA FROM HAWAII.
GREAT VIDEOS ! So informative in helping me put my 2022 group fall trip together. can you please do a vid on purchase pick up (if it's offered, what stores give the option and where to pick up your purchases before leaving the park) i know disney offers it. i just wasn't sure if universal gave the option to.
see you in universal in the fall.
Love Rix under Six - Good Job!
Love these short video tips! More, more, more of them!
How many ounces do the cups hold?
Could you also make a video about the refillable cups in the hotels?
Is there a map of where you can find these refill stations?
Thanks Rick. Is there an AP discount?
Yes, your usual food and merchandise discount applies.
And sometimes, there will be a buy one get one free for passholders, just sometimes
Does it work with the water bottles from universal studios like, u know in transformers they have the optimus and bumblebee head water bottles fo they work as well
Yes, those work for water only
Thanks for this!
I bought 3 while I was there in August, one for me & my youngest to share, one for my two older boys to share, & one for my parents to share. They are sizeable cups and we rarely had an issue with the cups registering. Also, most free-styles will let you get water dispensed without needing the chipped cups.
Only thing I do wonder about is the life expectancy of the chip... I've washed them a couple times in the dishwasher since then & don't expect to be back for another 3.5yrs.
You can trade them out if the chip doesn't work
@@rickygalusha8870 Awesome advice! THX!!!
I thought you cant share a cup..it says right in the guidelines..so can you easily get away with sharing?? Cause were travelling in jan.
@@angelastaples786 they might have made that change since I was there in 2021, but I didn't have any problems and no cast members ever said anything to me... even when I was blatantly sharing the cup in front of them... maybe it was because it was my kids, but whatever.
Excellent time!
Do disney do a cup like this also?
Great video...we were wondering how that thing worked!
I have a freestyle cup with a straw that I've used for at least 5 years and still works 😀
How much do you pay to reactivate?
$11. Most of the time I don't even reactivate and just use it for cold water all day.
Out of curiosity…will the machines still dispense water if the cups aren’t reactivated the next day you come?? How would coming to the parks multiple days in a row work? Have to repay the reactivation fee everyday? With the hotel stays those resort specific mugs can be purchased for length of stay.
Yes, water is dispensed for free. No activation needed.
For drinks other than water / ice, daily recharge is needed in parks.
Does Universal Studios still have the refillable character cups?
How will they know if u bring a cup from a previous visit?
Another tip is if you want just one or two sodas while you’re in the park, you can get pay for single refill with that cup and it’s under $2 per refill (I can’t remember the exact price but I know it’s much cheaper than just buying a single soda without the cup.
Do these cups work in other parks as well ?
Someone else asked this question but I didn't see an answer. What do you do with your cups on rides? Do you have to use a locker every single time ? I was planning on a Fanny pack / bum bag to avoid that. Anyone have any tips?
Cup, need to be emptied then placed in lockers
@@RixFlix that's what I was afraid of. I was hoping that somehow attaching it to the Fanny pack would be allowed , even if only for some rides. Okay , thanks for super fast response !
how do I get free water? are there water fountains?
Press the water button on the coke freestyle machine, the water is free
If they kept the machines stocked it would be great.. Was there in july and over half the machines were sold out or not working.
My only issue is how are these gonna be able to go in the lockers (the free ones), will they spill or would I have to empty it before?
The snap lids on the plain coke free style cups (the white/ clear looking ones) are pretty good with holding in the liquid even upside down. HOWEVER; when my family of six went last October (four kids youngest eight year old) we did make sure to drink all/ most of the drink before putting in a locker so that the cups was empty when we stashed our stuff. Nearly all of those free lockers are super tiny and narrow, at it’s just not a good idea ever to put a full cup on its side and walk away. You don’t want to ruin your items, or potentially anyone else’s if liquid slips through the metal walls of the locker station. The only issue I found with the cups is it’s a pain to have to carry them. They don’t have handles or carabiner clips to go hands free, and if you’d like to ride an “items free” ride such as velosicoaster or the hulk, they make you take everything off/ out of pockets. cell phones, lanyards, keys, wallets, hats, sunglasses- EVERYTHING. you need to leave all those items in a locker in the queue line. So a cup would be the same situation, and sometimes that’s a pain.
They have bins to dispose of your drink before you put it in a locker. Just dump it out and get a fresh drink after your ride :)
Love it.
Okay, but do the unlimited refills last 24 hours from the time of purchase or just that day that you’re at the park until closing time?
The park hours for that day only
Is the $11 reactivation the next day good for all 3 cups ... ?
Per cup
What do you do with the cup when you’re on the rides?
Same as any loose articles, but with it pour out any liquid and put it in a free locker
Plain water is free with the freestyle cup. You just don’t set it in the sensor
Where can I refill my cup in island of adventures?
Anywhere that sells foundation drinks
I purchased a cup and my expiration date was over 1000 years away. Not joking. I've had free drinks for years
Only flaw is that u gotta now take to cup everywhere with u and I don’t think they’ll fit in the free locker 😅
The locker has a bin that you can empty your cup into. So if the cup is empty you can set inside the locker horizontally. Then once you are off the ride, 10 minutes should have passed and you can get another refill.
Rick....what do you do with the cups while you are on the rides?
Same as any loose articles
But of course pour out any liquid before you put it in a free locker
Whoa
If you're a water drinker, just bring water bottles in and get free water from the same machines and also food kiosks. No time limits and no cost!
The More You Know
Anyone else out there think the coca cola classic tastes odd out of freestyle machines? I've tried so many of them and they all taste weird.
👍
💖
Come freestyle machines are absolutely disgusting. Everything I have tried tastes flat, and the fact all those flavors pump through one straw is such a bad idea.
And they are always out of ice