Universal Studios Class Action Says Souvenir Cup Refills Aren’t ‘Unlimited’

A recent Universal Studios class action claims that the amusement parks fail to follow through on their day of free refills with souvenir cups.

Universal offers a special Coca Cola Freestyle Souvenir Cup at their three amusement parks: Universal Studios, Universal’s Island of Adventure, and Universal’s Volcano Bay.

For an additional price, consumers are reportedly able to purchase unlimited beverage refills for a full day at any Coca Cola Freestyle machines in any of the three parks.

The unlimited beverages are reportedly authenticated with a radio frequency identification chip attached to the souvenir cup. This chip acts similarly to a bar code and is scanned by the Coca Cola Freestyle machine whenever consumers attempt to get a refill.

Although the day of free refills seems like a good deal, plaintiff Luis Arnaud claims that the refills are not actually “unlimited.”

The RFID chips on the souvenir cups allegedly track how often consumers get refills and limit soda refills to only one every 10 minutes for a total of only six per hour.

Arnaud allegedly purchased a Coca Cola Freestyle Souvenir Cup in July 2019 for $16.99 and reactivated it the day after purchase for $8.99. Unfortunately, Arnaud was reportedly disappointed when he realized that his refills were not actually unlimited.

“At Volcano Bay, Plaintiff noticed his refills were not unlimited after attempting to quench his thirst and refill his cup again,” the Universal Studios class action claims.

According to the Universal Studios class action, Arnaud and other consumers relied on Universal’s representations that refills would be “unlimited” when choosing to purchase a day of refills. Arnaud argues that he and others would not have been willing to pay as much as they did if they knew that the refills were not “unlimited.”

“Defendant delivered Products with significantly less value than was affirmed by their representations, thereby depriving him of the benefit of his bargain and injuring him in an amount up to the purchase price,” the Universal Studios class action claims.

Arnaud also says that Universal Studios intentionally markets their refill service with deceptive “unlimited” claims in order to capitalize on the growing customer preference for “self-service and unlimited style consumption.” Universal Studios allegedly knew that consumers would be willing to pay more for this service if they deceptively marketed the refills.

In his Universal Studios class action, Arnaud seeks to represent a Class of consumers who made purchases of Coca Cola Freestyle Souvenir Cups with “unlimited” refills.

Arnaud brings claims of breach of express warranties and violations of Florida consumer protection laws. The Universal Studios class action lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, injunctive relief, court costs, and attorneys’ fees.

Were you denied unlimited free refills after purchasing a Coca Cola Freestyle Souvenir Cup? Share your experiences in the comment section below!

Arnaud and the proposed Class are represented by C.K. Lee and Anne Seelig of Lee Litigation Group PLLC.

The Universal Studios Free Refills Class Action Lawsuit is Arnaud v. NBC Universal Media LLC, Case No. 1:19-cv-09594, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

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