No, you do not have to be a resort guest..but you are suppose to at the least, be a park hopper ticket owner. Talk to people at the pools and you may be surprised, how they got to that pool. Many of them are staying outside and park in Downtown Dis and ride in. They show no shame. They may ask for ID at some of deluxe pools, but in five trips this year alone, I've never been asked at POR or AllStars (where I was staying..but I brought my own towel, so I could have been form anywhere). And we have freely gone looked at the other pools, and I've not seen people being asked. We've even rested in their pool chairs. We followed someone parking in the lot at the campground on the bus to the campground pool. We went to the campfire, and they showed up later, wet...we had an interesting conversation with them as we shared our marshmallows...so I know of what I am talking about.
You keep saying this does not make it right (the mugs) just because the suits and managers and cm's say it...I just don't agree. If a person has been told the mug is good for life (come on..this is over and over and over..I"ve heard it, so I know these people aren't just making it up) by CM's..and the suits know it..I saw that first hand in May...yes, I believe it does take the turn of the official policy.
Personally, I have always thought it was stupid of Disney to do it...I just figured it was a marketing stratedgy. But are you even reading what people are saying? They didn't see the signs...(the big writting says "get your mug for "$10). The signs are not that easy to see..as I said, I only saw them because I knew to look. But if you are thinking of buying the mugs, and the cm gives you (and just about everyone else) the same story..why wouldn't you believe them?
Yeah, it's only $10 a mug (and for us that was a well worth expendature of $50 since we stayed in a different resort this time around)..but darn it, I had just spent that $50 when the cm told the person behind me they are good in all the resorts..and that I could have used my old mugs from the AllStars..I questioned her about it and the suit...and they just don't care.
I do assume, since they were mapping out POR's counter that they may go with the new tags...but because the Disney trained cm's and court managers have not only ok'd this practice, but condoned it..it's going to be hard to convince the people who don't read this boards, why it's changed (since apparently, only we knew that was the way it always was).
When I go in August, I will be bringing back my new mugs...and as always will ask if I can use them. If they say no, then so be it..if they say yes, you betcha I will.
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You do not have to be a resort guest to use the transportation, you also get to use it if you have a park hopper ticket.
And yes a lot of official rules are ignored or not followed. FP is a good example, each fast pass as the time you can return on it, however many/most CM's will let you in even if your FP time is over. This does not make it right, or take the turn of the official policy.