The ice in those machines has to be MANUALLY loaded into the top bin of those drink dispensers. It is thermally insulated like an Igloo cooler so the ice melts very, very slowly and sits in the bin until it is used up by people refilling their cups with ice before they fill them with soda.
In a prior life, I used to shovel ice out of ice machines and wheel the tubs down to the soda machines where we had to climb up on a step stool and lift the tub of ice over our heads and dump ice into the top bin and "top it off" and put the lid back on before leaving for the end of our night shift. Or whenever it got emptied throughout a busy/warm day and lots of ice/drink usage. And we would re-ice those machines over-and over-and over-and over as long as guests were using them.
My point is it's not an automatic ice making machine up there. It requires a Cast Member to keep it full (and top it off at the end of the day if there will be overnight access). The CM at the Meadow Snack Bar at the pool window (if it's open) should be told because it is up to them to refill if the ice runs out.
Bama Ed
PS - I know something about fewthings. The first is repairing and replacing parts inside toilets. The second is servicing drink machines by refilling ice tubs, washing out dispensing nozzles, wiping out drain trays, replacing empty syrup sacks in the syrup racks where the syrup (supplied by the vendor) and water get mixed, replacing empy CO2 tanks that put the fizz in the syrup and water mix (if needed), and so on. It's physical work but it works if the staff is keeping up with syrup, ice, and CO2 and keeping the machines clean. Best part is having the key to turn off all the working parts of the machine EXCEPT access to the H20 (water) button. Lock it off and no attention needed. But if unlocked, it requires CM attention to keep it working properly.
I don't know much but I do know how to keep those drink machines working. So a CM needs to load more ice into the top.
PPS -the chips in the mugs add an overlay layer of control to the machines operating. But the fundamentals of walking up, pressing your cup against the ice lever (or using a button) and filling it with liquid are all fundamental operations like I described.
