Georgia Aquarium uses RFID cups to track how many refills you have left.

[u/da_xiong12]

[u/travisofarabia]

Great Wolf Lodge does this as well, except instead of refills it tracks ounces. Once you hit the capacity of the cup you're done.

Little kids were hanging around the soda machine, as soon as you were done. Filling at 20 oz cup with 15 oz of soda because of ice. They would run up and grab the last five when you walked away.

[u/deadtoaster2 → u/travisofarabia]

Adaptation in action around the water cooler. Clever girl!

[u/TheVentiLebowski → u/deadtoaster2]

They do move in herds!

[u/CallMeSirWhacksalot → u/TheVentiLebowski]

[u/ACardAttack → u/travisofarabia]

Yep, I was so pissed when we went there, it was crazy to save a few pennies. If you want to lock it to a cup, sure fine you dont want people filling up their water bottles, but for fuck's sake let me refill my cup at least once

[u/Merry_Dankmas → u/ACardAttack]

They do the same thing at Universal as well but I wasn't surprised. Theme park captive audience and whatnot. I remember being really pissy about it too. It was my first time there since I was a kid except now I was the adult paying for it. Fiance (gf at the time)and I had spent the whole day hauling ass around the park in the blistering Florida heat to cram as many rides in as we could since it was only a day trip. Finally take a break to get some food and a drink to be greeted by restricted fucking cups. Soda is like 10¢ per gallon to make. Give me a break man.

[u/Malunalai → u/Merry_Dankmas]

Universal Orlando has a whole thing about soda cups. The real value comes from the unlimited refill cups, which is probably why normal cups are restricted to one use. The good news is that all of the soda machines dispense free ice and water if you have your own bottle.

[u/Retro-scores → u/Malunalai]

Universal does the $12 refills for a day. But if you have one of the refills cups you can pay for a single refill it’s like $1.50. So unless you’re gonna drink 12 glasses of soda it’s cheaper to do the single refills. We’re passholders so it makes sense for us since we can just keep bringing the cups back every visit.

[u/Ok-Independent8256 → u/Retro-scores]

Does it have to be on the same day you bought the cup or you can bring the cup and re-activate it for that day?

[u/mortificial → u/Ok-Independent8256]

It doesn't have to be the same day. You get unlimited refills the day you buy the cup, then can bring it back in the future and pay the reactivation price.

[u/HeavyBackPackNoBrain → u/mortificial]

It’s a whole subscription service for drinks. Give me a break.

They’ll over monetize anything and people will gladly pay. Folks just need to drink water

[u/desepchun → u/Merry_Dankmas]

That's what I don't get. RFID isn't cheap, soda syrup is. 🤣🤦‍♂️🤯spend $3 to save $0.13. 😡🤷‍♂️

$0.02

Edit: OK so RFID is way cheaper than I thought. Still seems like a ridiculous expenditure with little return. Goodwill fuels sales far more than tight controls. 🤷‍♂️💯

$0.02

[u/itishowitisanditbad → u/desepchun]

RFID isn't cheap

..its pretty cheap.

Def not $3 a sticker, or even close. Even tiny setups can be cheaper than that.

This also isn't just about savings but also data analytics, its another way to track individuals to preferences.

RFID absolutely can be quite cheap though...

[u/Froggy3434 → u/itishowitisanditbad]

I work at UPS putting RFID stickers on boxes. We get rolls of 2500 RFID labels and as of a year or two ago it came out to be around $0.03 a label. Fairly cheap but also muuuuuuccccch more expensive than regular paper labels

[u/electric2424 → u/Froggy3434]

It’s not even about savings OR data analytics really, it’s about opportunity cost (I think that’s the right term).

Without the RFID chips they would have people refill cups. With RFID chips a certain percentage of people will buy at least 1 additional soda cup through their visit and at the price they charge it definitely makes way more than the few cents more each cup costs.

[u/Visual_Shower1220 → u/electric2424]

Upselling too, like someone commented above you can get a cup with infinite refills/yr. So either they make a killing getting people to play $X/refill or they upsell a plastic cup that let's you get unlimited refills(which people who probably go for a week and then dont come back before said cup expires,) which even if you're getting a ton of soda every few minutes they're still making 10x or more the cost of the soda.

[u/incubusfox → u/desepchun]

RFID is cheaper than you think.

Next time you see a UPS package look for the small label with the address up top and then a 4 letter word dash 4 digit number, something like:

RDDT-6969

That label is RFID, in fact every UPS package gets an RFID label nowadays. In my building alone that's a quarter million packages a week.

[u/bman87 → u/travisofarabia]

Great Wolf Lodge is not worth the money. It costs too much just for the room, then it's nickle and dime on everything else they offer.

[u/Papplenoose → u/bman87]

It's really, really not worth it anymore. It was pretty sick when I was a kid, but who knows if it was even worth it back then!

[u/bman87 → u/Papplenoose]

I started working there right when the original CEO left (2017-2021), ever since then, its been downhill. Blackstone investments bought GWL and cleaned house of the executives, moved corporate from Madison, WI to Chicago and hired a bunch of ex-Disney executives. That is when the nickle and diming really took off. You even get charged for parking there now! It's insane

[u/LookAlderaanPlaces → u/bman87]

Private equity companies like this need to be destroyed and classified as treasonous entities. All they do is destroy successful businesses and force them into bankruptcy and move on to the next one.

[u/dragongirlkisser → u/LookAlderaanPlaces]

Private equity is our retirements now. If you want to get rid of private equity, you need to bring back unions and pension funds, which weren't as bad but were fundamentally motivated by the same factors.

[u/WolverinesThyroid → u/Papplenoose]

I just went to a GWL for the first time with my kid. I never went when I was younger. It was so expensive. We also had a problem one night and went to the front desk. They said they can't help us and we had to message through the app to get help. I also noticed that basically no one working there was over the age of like 20.

[u/raytracer38 → u/Papplenoose]

It was worth it as a kid because you weren't paying! Lol

[u/SixersWin → u/bman87]

Yeah and there's never any real wolves there

[u/Gadzooks149 → u/travisofarabia]

That's my first encounter with these that pissed me off. No just because of the RFID

You can only pick one drink, no mixing. I wanted lemonade and fruit punch. I started with fruit punch, they didn't have the nozzle on so it sprayed everywhere for its designated time. I went up and explained, they offered to fill my cup there, I changed to mt dew, it had no fizz. Then finally got lemonade.

[u/jklolffgg → u/travisofarabia]

Private equity assholes bought Great Wolf Lodge so now they nickel and dime you on everything that used to be fun.

[u/ggf66t → u/travisofarabia]

Great Wolf Lodge does this as well,

I was just going to complain about that paticular place, but you beat me to it.

I took my kids there a few years ago and they just wanted water, so I ordered it from the poolside restraunt, and when the small paper cup was empty I went for a refill, and it did not dispense. I waited 45 minutes in line just to complain, and they told me I only get 1 fill....company policy.....sure enough rfid tracker so you can only fill it one time!

I have not been there in 4 years because of that, my wife wants to take the kiddos again, but we are hauling in all of our consumeables if we do!

[u/PuzzleheadedTrade763]

Will the machine not dispense if it fails to detect a tag?

[u/da_xiong12 → u/PuzzleheadedTrade763]

Yes. Machine won’t pour if there’s no tag

[u/FiftyEightWombats → u/da_xiong12]

Get a flipper zero and just replicate the signal

Edit: whatever you do, do NOT tell bojack1437 about pedialyte freezer pops. It will push him over the edge and he will block you, even though they’re a great way to beat the heat and get your electrolytes.

Edit: you guys, he unblocked me. I feel like this is the first step to building a bridge. ❤️

[u/Kitakitakita → u/FiftyEightWombats]

you wouldn't pirate a soda!

[u/TheShelterRule → u/Kitakitakita]

I miss that infomercial. If I could download a car I sure as fuck would

[u/CucumberError → u/TheShelterRule]

I did download cars!

I downloaded lots of 3D car models to load in to pirated GTA games.

[u/ShriveledLeftTesti → u/CucumberError]

I don't think it's completely unrealistic to think in my lifetime 3d printers will exist that could print every component for a car. If that happens, I can afford one, and my body still functions, I will absolutely pirate a cool print file and 3d print and assemble myself a pirated car

[u/Paxxlee → u/TheShelterRule]

If a car could be reproduced by using a (comparably) small amount of energy in a very short time, without the original diminishing in mass or value, I would absolutely reproduce it!

[u/ThisIsAUsername353 → u/Paxxlee]

That’s what she said.

[u/TheSheWhoSaidThats → u/ThisIsAUsername353]

I don’t get it but i support you

[u/Marshmallow920 → u/TheSheWhoSaidThats]

Obligatory username checks out. I also do not get it.

[u/therealjoshua → u/TheShelterRule]

If you have old dvds from the early 2000s or so, you can see the ad in the previews sometimes

[u/FiftyEightWombats → u/Kitakitakita]

lol, just emulate the RFID signal from someone else’s cup and take their refill. You can become the robber soda baron

[u/gamertag0311 → u/FiftyEightWombats]

Better yet, just take a straw, get someone to smash one of the aquarium tanks, and drink from everyone's cup while they're all "Oh the poor fishuses". Classic heist plot.

[u/urabewe → u/Kitakitakita]

That's actually pretty bleak to think that yes in theory you can pirate a soda now

[u/TheRealCovertCaribou → u/urabewe]

You could pirate soda back in the day, too - you just took it off the truck while the delivery guy was inside.

[u/Elrecoal19-0 → u/FiftyEightWombats]

wtf is that edit

[u/NewspaperOld1221 → u/Elrecoal19-0]

Seriously I wasted my time scrolling through all the replies, who tf is he talking to

[u/Delicious-Ad2528 → u/NewspaperOld1221]

I’ll tag them then go on their profile. We can snoop together

u/bojack1437

Wait it’s right below your comment 💀💀

[u/EpilepticMushrooms → u/NewspaperOld1221]

Is there some sort of drama between these two redditors?

[u/Crazyblazy395 → u/Elrecoal19-0]

https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1jrmzyq/comment/mlgg86g/

Gotta go way deep 

[u/SolarApricot-Wsmith → u/Crazyblazy395]

Ahhh bless your soul for linking I told him the great news about the freezer pops I hope he’s heard

[u/MomsSpagetee → u/Crazyblazy395]

Still confused lol.

[u/IamVegi → u/Crazyblazy395]

Dude's defiently a Discord mod

[u/Feinberg → u/FiftyEightWombats]

That's not a really effective solution, but it points to one.

If you have a flipper: Scan your cup. Walk up to the dispenser and then go back to the counter and tell them the cup didn't work. Show them the dry cup. They should swap the cup, and you now have four usable fills without screwing other customers.

Without flipper: Deliberately fail your refill and say it didn't work. Demand another cup. Three fills for the price of one.

The important feature of both strategies is that it lowers faith in the system, which could eventually lead to its removal.

[u/K__Geedorah → u/FiftyEightWombats]

Spend $170 to save on a $5 drink. Hacker man 😎

[u/FiftyEightWombats → u/K__Geedorah]

No no, you can also use it to change the channel on a random tv display in a storefront! See, totally worth it!!

[u/Loud_Interview4681 → u/K__Geedorah]

You also get to keep the skimmer/broadcaster gadget. You can then use it make your own purchases after enjoying the closeness of someone else's wallet.

[u/Electrox7 → u/FiftyEightWombats]

big price to pay for free soda but worth it for the fuck you to the aquarium

edit: just realized it wouldn't even work. you can only replicate one tag (2 refills). if the manufacturer generates the keys for these tags using some kind of complex cryptography, you would need to predict the algorithm's next key which may be impossible.

[u/texinxin → u/Electrox7]

They would store the count sever side. Tag would be fixed ID. Even if you could generate the “next tag” you might very well land on someone else’s tag that is either already used up or you’d end up fng over another customer.

[u/thumbs_up23 → u/texinxin]

At Disney they have to “activate” the cups by putting them on a reader. Which I assume is just saying hey this tag can now work for this period. So even guessing real tags wouldn’t work unless they were already active and had refills left.

[u/fapsandnaps → u/thumbs_up23]

All my friends from the dark web dream of hacking the FBI.

Me? Im after a real challenge. Getting free soda from the mouse.

[u/smithflman → u/texinxin]

Exactly this -

Cup 00789356 is back - denied!

[u/Electrox7 → u/smithflman]

Nah, more like Cup# 16A691HiO07dGk5324Jf6Z3mLj86fDtIO430

[u/DroidLord → u/Electrox7]

I bet they went full GUID: 287645b1-f229-48bd-a500-112018383175

[u/DrPepperAddict41 → u/FiftyEightWombats]

Just bring a huge solid color jug with you in a bag and once the soda starts flowing, put your jug under that shit and chug away. Did something similar when i was living in florida, a local cinema charged per cup and wouldn't allow refills because you were required to buy a new up. One time i brought a gas station mug that holds 2 liters ( the one from a gas station when they were doing a promo and offered a year of free refills when you bought the mug like many years ago ). WORTH

[u/NessTheGamer → u/DrPepperAddict41]

Operation Soda Steal 2

[u/DuckCleaning → u/DrPepperAddict41]

This machine is probably smart enough that it'll only fill up a cup worth and then stop.

[u/stepprocedure → u/DrPepperAddict41]

Unfortunately if it’s anything like the ones on cruise ships that use the Coke freestyle machines, those machines stops automatically as soon as the cup is lifted off the sensor.

[u/Joshua_xd94 → u/FiftyEightWombats]

Not how that works.

It’s not reading to see if it’s a valid chip. The rfid counts the refills

[u/Slijmerig → u/Joshua_xd94]

Are RFIDs not static? Surely the scanner head counts the refills

[u/Jer_061 → u/Slijmerig]

I think the point they're trying to make is that the RFID is likely just a serial number. The machine counts the refills on the server side. So copying the tag isn't going to charge the count on the machine. You would have to encode a new, and valid, serial number. Which is likely going to screw over a different customer. 

[u/whatwhatnowson → u/Slijmerig]

Yes the RFID is static. It tracks the unique ID of the tag and decrements available usage count when served.

[u/Metallibus → u/Slijmerig]

It depends, but not necessarily. NFC (a subset of RFID) tags can be read and rewritten repeatedly. And most phones have been able to do this for like, 15 years at this point.

So either 1) the soda machine is reading an ID and just never allowing the same ID more than X times, or 2) the soda machine is reading an ID and querying a server over a network, or 3) it is reading a count off of the tag, decrementing it and rewriting the tag.

1) it'd likely be easy to just print a random tag and get free soda.

2) requires networking hardware and a server, so it's the most complex to build and is the most expensive to maintain, but is the most secure since only paid for IDs would be valid. But you could still skim someone else's tag and "steal" it.

3) could likely be rewritten by anyone with a phone

1 and 3 would also likely be vulnerable to flippers as well.

With my experience working with corporations to build stuff like this, and the amount they care about this kind of stuff vs the time/cost to build, I'd bet they went with option 1.

But to your question, no, not all RFIDs are static.

[u/Joshua_xd94 → u/Slijmerig]

Ok if you copy it and it has 2 refills and you put it in your own chip. All you’re doing is writing it to a new chip and if you use it on one chip it’ll read on that other chip too. Every cups is t the same chip code.

[u/OneWingedA → u/PuzzleheadedTrade763]

Correct. It throws an error if it can't read the rfid. Also allows the system to program things like limited refills or time gated refills

[u/Toddw1968 → u/PuzzleheadedTrade763]

Jeez god forbid you get an extra refill and cost them 2 fkg cents more, when you probably paid $20 or more for your ticket. And that drink had to cost you $5 at least?

[u/MrNostalgiac → u/Toddw1968]

It's not about what it costs them - it's about the extra money they aren't extracting from you.

Bastards.

[u/SPOOKESVILLE]

Someone did a massive write up on these at Disney/Universal a year or 2 ago on one of the cyber security subs and they’re actually incredibly hard to trick

[u/Weak_Shoe7904 → u/SPOOKESVILLE]

Disney has been using these for a decade at least. Disney doesn’t fuck around.

[u/ronchee1 → u/Weak_Shoe7904]

[u/rascalrhett1 → u/SPOOKESVILLE]

RFID is used for credit cards and access cards for hotels and hospitals. I would damn well hope it's hard to trick

[u/Cykablast3r → u/rascalrhett1]

It's not the RFID that is hard to trick, it's the reader. Access cards are easy, since they usually have unlimited access to the intended reader (door). This thing only has limited number of accesses and you can't change that from the RFID tags end.

[u/itrivers → u/Cykablast3r]

TLDR changing an RFID is easy, changing it to something useful is hard.

[u/IGuessIamYouThen → u/SPOOKESVILLE]

I was at the aquarium last weekend. These chips are supposed to be good for two fills. One of my kids only worked once. I also saw a number people who couldn’t even fill their cup once.

[u/jpiro]

Disney does this too now.

EDIT: In the spirit of Mitch Hedberg, “They do it now. They used to do it too, but they also still do.”

[u/zarkon18 → u/jpiro]

So does Universal. But if you buy their reusable cup for $20, you can bring it back and “reactivate” it and have unlimited refills for the entire day for $12. The only limit is that you’re allowed one refill every 10 minutes. Or you can pour ice and water out of the machine for free.

[u/ericscottf → u/zarkon18]

Man, I haven't had twelve dollars of soda this entire year. 

[u/CarlosFer2201 → u/ericscottf]

Inside an amusement park, that's like 2 cups only.

[u/deadtoaster2 → u/CarlosFer2201]

Hell even at a theater it's $9 for a soda.

[u/ConversationVivid395 → u/deadtoaster2]

Prices must be crazy in the US

[u/Suddensloot → u/ConversationVivid395]

Yeah for stuff likes zoos, aquariums, amusement parks and cinemas. They make sure you can’t bring things in so they can charge the shit out of you.

[u/FrenchTicklerOrange → u/Suddensloot]

That's why you use nature's pocket. They aren't doing cavity searches.

[u/AVdev → u/FrenchTicklerOrange]

Don’t let them pick your pocket

[u/donnerpartytaconight → u/FrenchTicklerOrange]

Those also cost extra.

[u/Formal-Working3189 → u/FrenchTicklerOrange]

The good ol prison pocket!

[u/stackjr → u/Suddensloot]

Man, the theaters where I live are staffed by teenagers that absolutely, 100% do not give a fuck. I watched a dude come in with a bag of McDonald's, buy a movie ticket, and go to his seat and the workers didn't say a damn word. I'm so on board with that!

[u/Ohiostatehack → u/stackjr]

Same. I’ve walked in with carry out from restaurants all the time. I don’t even think they have a policy against outside food anymore.

[u/herbmaster47 → u/Ohiostatehack]

The theater near us is smaller and unless you go to the concession stand I don't even think they scan the tickets you buy at the kiosk.

[u/Hot-Ability7086 → u/stackjr]

Our local theater allows blankets and pillows. No one cares what food is brought in there

[u/et50292 → u/Suddensloot]

Nobody checks pockets or anything at the movie theaters. My mom and I were just walking into a theater the other day with boxes of candy rattling around in our pockets as we walked, joking about what we would say if they brought it up. Like "no it's not candy, it's uh.. medical issue. rattle ow. rattle ow."

[u/Plaid_Kaleidoscope → u/ConversationVivid395]

When they have you hostage like that, it's insane. $5 bottles of water and shit. $15 hamburgers.

They have you by the balls and they know it. If you go to an amusement park and spend all your money just getting in, you're gonna have a bad time.

[u/Chazzybobo → u/ConversationVivid395]

Yes they’ll surely drop soon /s

[u/IntrinsicGiraffe → u/zarkon18]

The only limit is that you’re allowed one refill every 10 minutes.

Damn, and here I thought I was gonna be all hackerman with an RFID cloner.

[u/andarthebutt → u/IntrinsicGiraffe]

That still works better than you think

The drinks are pretty big, you're not gonna finish it inside of ten minutes, so it means you can get a second or third cup simultaneously, allowing several people to have a cold drink all day

[u/RichardBCummintonite → u/andarthebutt]

Pretty sure that's exactly what the RFID is trying to prevent: multiple people benefiting from one purchase. You only get one cup.

[u/sprucenoose → u/RichardBCummintonite]

Pro tip: Stuff in a cup can be poured into another cup.

[u/fascfoo → u/zarkon18]

This shit makes me sad

[u/Demons0fRazgriz → u/fascfoo]

You're not seeing the bigger picture. If they get another 10c with of soda, that 10c that isn't going to shareholders. Who's the real monster here???

[u/cactusmoosecat → u/zarkon18]

The cup was worth it for me, I drank so much powerade zero. I'm also a diet coke addict so I got my money's worth.

[u/zarkon18 → u/cactusmoosecat]

Me too. I also use mine for water, which is free / unlimited. And it’s so cold coming out of the freestyle.

[u/clandestine_cactus2 → u/jpiro]

Disney has had this for well over a decade now

[u/LTareyouserious → u/clandestine_cactus2]

Can confirm, Disney has plastic souvenir cups for those staying on site that would work for the duration of your visit as far back as 2013

[u/statslady23 → u/LTareyouserious]

In the old days, you could bring Disney souvenir cups back visit after visit 

[u/brktm → u/jpiro]

But Disney’s system is time-based to allow unlimited refills for the length of your stay.

[u/HowlingWolven → u/brktm]

Exact same system, exact same pop fountains, different programming.

[u/JonSpangler → u/brktm]

Disney has length of stay hotel mugs for but individual cups are not like that.

I haven't tested the times for a individual Disney cup lately but last time I was at a Universal hotel the base cup was between 60 and 90 minutes.

[u/whitephos420]

Seems like a lot of effort for 10 cents worth of product

[u/high_throughput → u/whitephos420]

They don't aim to save 10 cents worth of product.

They aim to make people pay $4.75 $5.50 for another cup.

Edit: sorry, used last year's pricing. This is the 2025 menu.

[u/dalgeek → u/high_throughput]

Yay capitalism.

[u/Solid_Snark → u/dalgeek]

Some places literally have a subscription model for drinks. You have unlimited refills but you can only refill once per hour, or sone asinine structure like that.

Panera does it.

[u/Humdumdidly → u/Solid_Snark]

At my last job we had a 24 hour Panera so my colleagues and I shared a subscription. Only 2 of us were on during the day and one overnight so it ended up working out for 6 people on one subscription. Probably not how it's supposed to work. And probably not supposed to offer to get drinks for the rest of the team every hour I wasn't getting myself a drink, but it worked for us and I'm not going to feel bad for Panera about it.

[u/kjacobs03 → u/Humdumdidly]

If they create stupid policies. Create smart solutions

[u/Wermine → u/kjacobs03]

"I'll give you money for each dead cobra you bring me."

[u/Raethule → u/Wermine]

Cobra breeding intensifies.

[u/Hunter_S_Thompsons → u/Humdumdidly]

I ordered a sandwich with soup from Panera and swore never to return bc of how small the portion was for the price lmfao. My one and only time buying there 😂.

[u/Iohet → u/Hunter_S_Thompsons]

It sucks because the food is pretty tasty for fast casual, but the portions are horrifying for the price. I could make a weeks worth of french onion soup for the cost of a pick 2 with their bastardized (but tasty) french onion soup and half a sandwich with a sliver of meat on it

[u/GroceryScanner → u/Solid_Snark]

i did the panera sip club a couple years ago and it was actaully a fantastic value, considering i would grab a coffee on the way to work, and a lemonade or something on the way home from work. 2 large drinks for free every day, paid off the monthly cost by like ~day 4, and i would very rarely ever buy anything else when i stopped.

now, the charged lemonades almost killing me is another story

[u/partumvir → u/GroceryScanner]

What you do is get one charged lemonade and extra lemons and then mix with cheap tea at home, we called them arnold parkinsons

[u/irishlnz → u/partumvir]

I haven't literally laughed out loud in a long time. Today was the day.

[u/Zealousideal_Brush59 → u/GroceryScanner]

I wanted to try that lemonade so bad once I heard that people were being killed

[u/Tyranis_Hex → u/Zealousideal_Brush59]

Get a refresher from Starbucks. Same premise caffeinated juice. The issue is most people didn’t realize they were caffeinated and were way over drinking.

[u/Saucermote → u/Tyranis_Hex]

Add some vodka to balance out the stimulant?

[u/RVelts → u/Saucermote]

Original 4Loko has entered the chat

[u/MidwestAbe → u/GroceryScanner]

So I used a ladies at work sip club membership for a minute. I started to like the lemonades after I found their tea tasted gross (used to think it was the best tea ever) So i go back and one day I'm really gonna get my (hers money worth)

Get a lemonade, drink a little. chug a bit more. Fill the cup up to the brim. Then I stop again on my way back by after an hour. Same deal. I 've probably had 3 or 4 large cups by this point and I just start to feel off. Drink some water and move on. Go back a day or two later. Grab a giant lemonade, down half. Refli and go. Somehow I thought i should look up what "charged" meant.

And I'm "Oh that's why I felt so fucking weird"

That was the end of me and charged lemonades.

[u/waldo-jeffers-68 → u/GroceryScanner]

Those lemonades were like meth. We have one at my college, and i used to have the sip club, and I probably did a lot of damage to my heart over the year

[u/TheDisapprovingBrit → u/Solid_Snark]

There was a nightclub near me that did this about 20 years ago. £10 entry, free bar all night.

They didn’t bother with any kind of complicated limits though, they just had a bar that was only 6ft long and only had two bar staff on, so they created a deliberate bottleneck in the bar queue. They also required you to hand in a used glass for every drink so you couldn’t load up.

Meanwhile they had a full bar upstairs that didn’t serve the inclusive drinks but meant you could get served immediately.

It actually worked really well, and I miss that place a lot.

[u/AbsoluteSupes → u/dalgeek]

Georgia aquarium does a lot of research and marine conservation. Something has to pay for it, especially now since the government won't

[u/Skreamie → u/high_throughput]

You guys do well with drinks in general, as far as I'm aware free refills aren't a thing outside of the states

[u/tommyk1210 → u/whitephos420]

You’re looking at it the wrong way.

Sure they might save $0.10 worth of product by not having you get extra refills. But they also lose the $5 they could have made by having you buy another.

It’s the $5’s they care about, not the $0.10’s

[u/Marc-J → u/whitephos420]

Across the street from the “World of Coca-Cola” too

[u/CrazyLegsRyan → u/whitephos420]

The effort is rewarded by making you pay a second time for 10 cents worth of product.

[u/IChurnToBurn → u/whitephos420]

The system will pay for itself in 600 years.

[u/Cien_fuegos → u/IChurnToBurn]

Luckily the cup will still be here then.

[u/gotwaffles]

I love the Georgia aquarium, not for these shenanigans, but the aquarium itself lol

[u/Wishy → u/gotwaffles]

Every time I visit, there’s less and less fish. Last time, a Whale Shark died.

[u/kimdianajones → u/Wishy]

How many whale sharks are they down now? When I visited in 2019 there were four: Alice, Trixie, Yushan and Taroko. I know Alice and Trixie have since passed. Are Yushan and Taroko still around? :( It’s so sad.

[u/Hot_Presentation_713 → u/kimdianajones]

Two right now

[u/defdoa → u/kimdianajones]

I used to work there. The habitat is not big enough for the largest fish in the ocean, much less 4.

[u/kimdianajones → u/defdoa]

Crazy to think because it’s a massive tank in person, but honestly I believe you.

[u/defdoa → u/kimdianajones]

I swam in it with them and I always thought it was bigger till I got in. It is bleak inside. It is NOT the ocean. Now we live in Saipan and recently someone saw a whale shark outside the reef. Humpback whales, dolphins, you name it. Now that I have kids, they want to go to aquariums still, even though we snorkel and see rays and turtles in the ocean. Go figure. However, it is a business. Too much of the guest experience is revolving around analytics about how to squeeze more money out of you and get you out as soon as possible. That sucks the inspiration and fun from working at a magical place like that.

[u/kimdianajones → u/defdoa]

I’m so sorry you had that experience working there, and so glad you have better, unfettered access to appreciating marine life now.

[u/defdoa → u/kimdianajones]

I appreciated it while working there. I just did my best to give good tours and educate guests on how best to interact with animals. I hated the ray touch pools, but I also see kids grabbing puffer fish and throwing them to each other like water balloons here. So....

[u/defdoa → u/kimdianajones]

Also, you aren't allowed to call it a 'tank' if you work there. You have to say habitat or some other 'not sad' word.

[u/hullowurld → u/kimdianajones]

I still remember Ralph and Norton, RIP

[u/yumepenguin → u/Wishy]

Please stop killing the fish.

Edit: Too many of y’all missed the joke.

[u/kimdianajones → u/yumepenguin]

They don’t do it on purpose, friend. If you know anything about GA AQ, it’s that they take exceptionally good care of their animals.

[u/gotwaffles → u/kimdianajones]

It's probably one of the biggest conservatory aquariums in the US, if not the world, right? They really take in "weak" fish and animals and care for them, iirc?

[u/kimdianajones → u/gotwaffles]

A quick Google search brings up, “Georgia Aquarium is now licensed as a Class R research facility under the Animal Welfare Act. This license is the highest standard of establishing ethical review of animal research for advanced scientific understanding. regulated by the Animal Welfare Act under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)”. So yes, they’re a highly ethical institution.

[u/3_quarterling_rogue → u/kimdianajones]

Even at the most reputable of facilities, of which Georgia Aquarium is one, animal mortality is still going to be an extremely regular occurrence. A lot of zoos/aquariums of their caliber have world-class veterinary staff, but even then, they’re not magicians. You know what they say, in the aquarium world, there are only two constants: fish death and fish taxes.

[u/kimdianajones → u/3_quarterling_rogue]

Y u p. I keep an aquarium at home. Obviously apples to oranges in scale compared to an operation like GA AQ, but you’re right in that fish death is a common thing and not always in our control.

[u/SouthernStatement832]

Holiday World would never

[u/DeflatedDirigible → u/SouthernStatement832]

Good gravy, it took long enough to scroll and find someone mentioning HW’s free sodas.

[u/kippy3267 → u/DeflatedDirigible]

Don’t forget the free sunscreen

[u/cjgist → u/kippy3267]

Don't forget the free parking either!

[u/AvonMustang → u/SouthernStatement832]

Found the Midwesterner. Unlimited sunscreen as well.

[u/TheDidact118 → u/SouthernStatement832]

Holiday World is honestly my favorite theme park. Free soda stations, free sunscreen, good atmosphere, good rides, food, etc.

[u/Magister5]

The reefill exhibit is just too popular

[u/velvetmandy → u/Magister5]

First thought: this idiot doesn’t know how to spell.

Second thought: shit im the idiot.

[u/SGTSHOOTnMISS]

I know it's a little off topic, but it's crazy to know exactly where that seat is from a post on the internet.

I love that room with the gigantic wall where you can see the huge manta.

[u/J3sush8sm3 → u/SGTSHOOTnMISS]

The Georgia Aquarium is absolutely stunning.  Ive been there multiple times.  The price for admission is outrageous though.

[u/fohktor]

r/ABoringDystopia

[u/Greatadvicefrom]

All major theme parks do this as well. I've seen it in both Universal and Disney. Yay Captialism

[u/Prezdnt-UnderWinning → u/Greatadvicefrom]

Yeah gotta get that number up by at least .1 that quarter otherwise investors have a meltdown

[u/Leinheart → u/Prezdnt-UnderWinning]

Listen. You don't understand. To a wealthy person, not making more this year, than last year is absolutely worse than death. It's worse than 10,000 deaths. And they'll destroy the planet and all of us to continue the cancerous cycle.

[u/allthingsbangboomzip]

Disney does the same thing in their parks when you buy meal plans

[u/Dangerous-Ball-7340]

Right outside of this place is the Coca-Cola museum and at the end of it you get to drink all the different flavors from around the world. 10/10 experience after not being able to get tickets for the aquarium.

[u/Doryk58]

Are these reusable or single use? If it’s the latter - it’s so sad that we are throwing away single use chips for the tiniest increase in profits…

[u/Synth_Ham]

Litercola

[u/Valentari]

Who is staying in an aquarium long enough to need so many drink refills?

[u/tubbis9001 → u/Valentari]

It's the Georgia aquarium. I spent 11 hours there and could have stayed longer. It's massive, and has tons of opportunities for behind the scenes exhibits if you're into that.

[u/feresadas → u/Valentari]

When I went to the Georgia aquarium I spent 9 hours there. Plenty to watch. 

[u/TheW83 → u/Valentari]

We spent 4 hours there when I went last and we didn't really take a proper time to look at everything either. I'd say 5 hours is enough to casually look at everything. 

[u/therapeutic_bonus]

How dystopian.

[u/OnasoapboX41]

My college does this too.

[u/NoRecommendation9404]

Disney has been doing this for at least 10 years to make sure you’re using a current cup from your visit and not one from last month or year or one that was stolen.

[u/Top-Caregiver7815]

Me pulling thrown away cups from the trash to peel off the RFID’s to get more refills.

[u/alberquerqueen]

Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola are butt to butt. They share a plaza. I'm sure this is the result of a symbiotic relationship.

[u/JacksonRiot]

I think actually falls under r/mildlyinfuriating

[u/MooTheGrass]

i feel like the refilled coke amount would be cheaper than the rfid chip on each cup??

[u/omnichad → u/MooTheGrass]

But they can just increase the price by 50 cents and you're the one paying for the chip anyway.

[u/seeiswood]

Crazy when they got the coke factory around the corner.

[u/RyanChamp]

It costs less than 7 cents for like 24 ounces of soda without ice (tea is even cheaper) from a machine. You’re charged $4-10 and limited to 1 or 2 refills. Absolutely insane.

[u/PrettyRetard]

The last time I was at Disney they did this too.

[u/TheDoobyRanger]

Today I stopped judging people digging in the trash at the georgia aquarium

[u/JACKTODAMAX]

There’s no way that a little extra soda costs more than the technology to do this

[u/darwin_green]

that seems more expensive that just letting people have refills.

[u/PaceFair1976]

buy or build a flipper zero and scan the rfid then modify the code, unlimited refils.

[u/longinglook77 → u/PaceFair1976]

Real /r/restoftheowl vibes here.

[u/FunSmoke4476]

No way this is cheaper than syrups

[u/pizza99pizza99]

Whoever implemented this should be shot…

[u/Donald_Marcato]

Has this tech really gotten so cheap that it’s better for them than a refill??