How are parks managed?

I had my All Season cup deform in the back of a hot car a few weeks ago and guest services at Cedar Point refused to replace it, stating that the cup is now mine and they are not responsible. I kept the cup and tried my luck on a visit to King's Island this past weekend. Lo and behold, the lady took the deformed bottle (even let me keep the lid in case I needed a spare) and printed out a voucher for a replacement bottle. Why is there such a distinct difference in the policies at different parks?

Lol...You didn't get the answer you wanted from mom so you went to dad...Works every time. But as far as why the policies are different, I can't answer that.

Do we really need another thread started by someone who joined just to complain about these damn cups?