I came across one in the wild when I made the mistake of visiting Universal Studios Orlando recently :/
Cruise lines were the first place I saw this used, years before UO implemented it. They would have a couple FreeStyle machines scattered around the ship, that would work with the cup they would give you when you bought the beverages package. Again, overall a UX win, because they had the same packages before, but you would have to go to one of the bars or whatever to use it.
EDIT: I also feel like saying that in both instances, the machines would still happily dispense plain water. So that's a nice thing.
The explanation I read back then was that they used to sell souvenir mugs with free refills for the duration of the stay. But guests would come back the next year with their mugs and abuse the system by taking more refills without paying for another visit.
So the RFID mug system enables the dispenser for the time duration of the guest visit (day, week, whatever). But now that means the dispenser also has to able to fill paper cups with single servings since the dispenser can't tell what is under the nozzle - a mug or a one-shot cup.
So now the paper cups have RFID in them and that's how we got to where we are.
But when exactly does a year start and end? =)
I'm not qualified at all to say this, but I'd say the park ticket is a loss leader.
The entire park is a shopping mall now. Mobile product carts and gift shops around every turn - not just at the exits anymore. The RFID MagicBands exist to eliminate any hesitation in purchasing something. The FastPasses were built to keep you walking around and buying stuff instead of waiting in a line for an hour. The hotels are full of upsells and overmarketed dining plans (if they saved you money, why would they be selling it?). I could go on and on.
I'd rather spend that money on flying to Europe or somewhere else.
I live with schedules every day at work. I go on vacation to get away from schedules...
My favorite thing to do is to just go to a forest preserve or other park and just walk around looking at the trees and the clouds.
I actually like that. Less waiting in lines.
At least that‘s what I do when I‘m going out dancing I buy one drink and the rest of the night it‘s tap water for me. In a theme park I probably could bring my water bottle.
The reasoning I heard was that people using it for water were also wasting a ton of ice and the machines would run out faster than they could be replenished. It did use to be common to see mountains of dumped ice in the dispenser so I do kinda believe it.
Ideally the park should be installing those water bottle fountains.
Back when I went there 20 years ago, they’d sell a reusable cup for around $40 that got you 50 cent sodas all academic year long (it was otherwise maybe $2.50-$3 for a soda). You were on your honor to show your reusable cup at the cashier to be charged for a soda. As with the paper cups, you’d get free refills once you paid for a drink with your meal.
Now they sell a prepaid RFID cup that has a certain number of fills programmed into it. If you use them all, you can add more to your cup account.
Because you still need a chip to authorize the fountain either way, the disposable cups are also chipped and programmed to allow two fills before deactivating.
It seems like a wasteful money grab at a place where it costs north of $50K/year to get in the door.
We truly are living in the future here.
Just not the one we expected.
They have RFID in the soda dispensers because they want people to buy the $15 "free refill" cup. I have never visited Orlando Universal two days in a row so I don't know if the cup "works" more than 24 hours.
You can use the cup any other visit as well, although I heard they've switched it up where the older cups no longer work - which is insane if true since it's the same tech. Guessing if it's true they want to have everyone buy a new cup.
Another example of their ridiculous wastefulness is integrating OLEDs into the wrappers of their plastic bottles to market Star Wars: https://www.engadget.com/2019/12/06/star-wars-coca-cola-oled...
What I find amazing is the dedication to extracting potentially a little more money from people who may buy one extra cola rather than allowing a refill when the production cost is next to 0, but leaves a more satisfied, and likely return, customer.
Practices like this are likely to turn people off. The fact that they think they can do something like this just displays how much of a monopoly/duopoly this company actually knows it enjoys. Where else will their customers turn? There's nowhere to turn. So gouge them.
The interesting thing was I realized that the syrup cost $.03 per cup, and McD's was selling it for - I don't remember 45 years later but it was a lot. Puzzled, I asked about it and was told that McD's lost money on the hamburgers and more than made it up with the drinks and fries.
It's also how movie theaters make money. They lose it on ticket sales, and make it up at the concession stand, especially on the soda.
Similarly for restaurants. The drinks are the big moneymakers.
Camera makers don't make money on the camera bodies, but on the lenses and accessories.
Car dealers don't make money selling cars, they make it on the financing and the service.