Alcohol at new magic kingdom restaurant...

thestevied

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 16, 2008
So, the Disney trip planning forums are going crazy right now about the news that the Be Our Guest restaurant will serve alcohol in the table service area.

I know it's been tradition for no alcohol to be served at magic kingdom, but personally I don't see it being a big issue for adults to be able to order a glass of wine or beer with their dinner. It's not like you can buy alcohol and walk around the park with it, like at Epcot.

Any opinions? Think this is necessary for moving forward, or a change for the bad?

It's pretty much 50-50 on the trip planning forum, maybe a few more shouts for it not to happen.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards
 
Personally I don't see a problem a s long as it's inside the restaurant only and the people are monitored and 'cut off' before they drink too much.

That may sound a bit draconian but I think the one thing that would make this bad is people walking (or should I say staggering) around MK legless.

There's nothing wrong with a drink with dinner but MK is primarily for the kids so it needs to be in moderation.
 
DisFanJen said:
Personally I don't see a problem a s long as it's inside the restaurant only and the people are monitored and 'cut off' before they drink too much.

That may sound a bit draconian but I think the one thing that would make this bad is people walking (or should I say staggering) around MK legless.

There's nothing wrong with a drink with dinner but MK is primarily for the kids so it needs to be in moderation.

I agree! Once people know their limit and the CMs make sure no one has one too many then I don't see a problem with it. Park guests just have to remember that MK is geared towards the littlies. I suppose its a sign that WDW have to move with the times! Alcohol is served in Epcot and I have yet to see a staggering drunk in the park.
 


MK is the park mainly geared towards children, it has no place for alcohol. CM's couldn't possibly monitor everyone, every day, there are going to be some idiots who drink too much and cause scenes.

You can get a drink anywhere else, outside the parks, at your resort/hotel/villa, i drive, pubs etc, MK should remain alcohol free IMO.
 
Me personally, if I saw a drunk person staggering about it would put me off ever going back, it's not Disney, it's not what the parks are about, it's not the atmosphere I want to be a part of.

If the CM's could realistically watch every single person to walk through their doors and make sure they stick to two drinks only, all day, every day, then great, but that's not possible.
 
I'm all for tradition and sentimentality, especially when it comes to Walt and Walt Disney World, but the custom at MK is no more than a sop to his wishes these days, otherwise alcohol wouldn't be sold in any of the parks. And alcohol has always been served at Club 33 in Disneyland at Walt's instigation.

I applaud the decision to bring fine dining to the Magic Kingdom, but, until now, I couldn't see it working. If I'm paying top dollar for a classy meal, I will want to drink wine with it.

I completely understand the viewpoint of those who are disappointed with the move, but for me it's a big thumbs up. In fact, I'd go as far as to say I'm thrilled.

I'm sure there have been incidences of out of control drunkenness at Disney parks, but it certainly isn't the norm. I can't see MK turning into an anarchic hell-hole.

Some interesting points in this Sentinel article, including the Club 33 comparison and the fact that alcohol has been served at private events in MK for years.
 


That's the difference though, private events, private club.

All the other parks serve alcohol, it's not like people are going to go without, MK is mainly for the kiddies :(
 
I can appreciate people being upset in terms of the break with tradition, but I'm really struggling to understand how people are making the leap from a couple of drinks with dinner to something akin to a Saturday night in a UK city centre. People who drink in Club 33 or at private events will go on to tour the park. I'm sure that doesn't make for a kid-unfriendly environment. People drink in other Disney parks and they're not debauched hellholes. I honestly don't think anyone will notice a scrap of difference.
 
I don't see the problem with it being served in sit done restaurant. Adults should be able to order wine at an expensive restaurant. i don't think it should be like epcot though with it sold at booths.

I have never seen anyone seriously drunk at any Disney park. At Disneyland parc in Paris you can get beer at counter services and never seen anyone drunk there.
 
I consider myself to be a bit of a "Disney purist" but this doesn't bother me at all, I don't see why MK is any different to every other park, and I can't stand it when people bring up "what would Walt have done"... Walt has been dead for decades, he could have done anything. Alcohol is not te devil and some decent beers and wines at a TS restaurant will have zero affect.
 
It's not the tradition for me. MK to me is for very young children and alcohol and young children should never mix imo. This is coming from someone who rarely drinks so I'm probably biased, I could go a lifetime without alcohol and be absolutely fine with it, I don't need alcohol in my life.

I also don't think it's possible for CM's to be able to limit drinks like they say they will. They'll see hundreds, possibly thousands of people every day, it's just not possible to make sure people don't drink too much.

And sadly there are people, far too many I know of and see every day, who drink too much and their children are always so sad. MK is supposed to be a happy place, children who are unfortunate enough to have parents who don't know when to stop should be able to have one place in the world they don't have to worry about them being pissed.

I don't see the problem with MK being alcohol free, you have epcot, ak, dhs, dd, universal, hundreds of off site restaurants, resorts, walmart etc to have alcohol if you wish, there's nothing wrong with just 1 location out of thousands of places you could go, to be alcohol free, especially the 1 park that is focused on very small children.

As I said, if the CM's develop magic powers and are somehow are able to limit drinks, and have the ability to say 'no more', all day, every day, then there would be no problem. I can't see that being possible myself but Disney is Disney after all, they can do anything. :D

Also, during f+w people do drink too much in epcot and many people have complained of drunk people wandering around. I don't understand how anyone can think that's ok.

I'm not saying MK will become full of drunk morons all of a sudden, I'm just saying it's THE children's park, children and alcohol don't, and shouldn't, mix. It's not like there's nowhere else to drink if you want, there are hundreds of places, alcohol drinkers are not deprived if MK is a drink free zone, not by a long shot.

I do think the hype of this announcement is a bit of an over-reaction, I'm sure it won't change MK that much and we won't start seeing drunk people in the park all of a sudden, it's just that it's MK, magical and childish, for young children and innocence...it just doesn't gel for me, doesn't go together.
 
Reading that back, I am definitely biased. My ex thought it was ok to use a child's birthday party as an excuse for a piss up. He saw no problem being drunk and in charge of children. He also had a drink problem and is the reason drunk people scare me.

I don't think alcohol and children should ever mix but I do understand I'm coming from a completely different perspective and experience than the average person.

I think the hype will die down when it's in place and it does well, if after a year of the restaurant being open there are no complaints of drunk people then everyone will be fine with it.

I just hope it doesn't start the ball rolling and we start seeing kiosks and stalls selling alcohol as well. :(
 
And I'm afraid to say that the only 'drunk' people I've ever seen at Disney have been British & in the UK at Epcot - I was quite ashamed - not suitable for any family theme park.

Having said that, whilst I'm not bothered by alcohol either, DH I'm sure would enjoy a nice glass of wine with his meal. Don't think alcohol at a fine dining restaurant in MK will be as 'risky' or likely to attract/encourage behaviour as the pub in UK Epcot does.
 
And I'm afraid to say that the only 'drunk' people I've ever seen at Disney have been British & in the UK at Epcot - I was quite ashamed - not suitable for any family theme park.

Having said that, whilst I'm not bothered by alcohol either, DH I'm sure would enjoy a nice glass of wine with his meal. Don't think alcohol at a fine dining restaurant in MK will be as 'risky' or likely to attract/encourage behaviour as the pub in UK Epcot does.

It is always the Brits, Brits are notorious for not being able to stop when they should :( And since we make up a very large amount of visitors to WDW this isn't going to help that. :(

I do agree though, and I know this will sound controversial, but almost everyone I see in day to day life who drink far too much and have problems with alcohol, with their sad children, are either on very low incomes or have no income and live off benefits (nothing wrong with that btw!), so the people who are lucky enough to be able to afford to go to WDW are not going to be those people, so hopefully anyone who dines at BOG are responsible enough to know when to stop without having to be stopped by CM's :D
 
I do understand I'm coming from a completely different perspective and experience than the average person.
Yes, for most people drinking doesn't equal drunk, and the notion that one thing inevitably leads to the other is wrong.
 
Yes, for most people drinking doesn't equal drunk, and the notion that one thing inevitably leads to the other is wrong.

Yes, again, that is your experience. My experience did in fact equal that so is not wrong in my case. I still stand by my opinion that small children and alcohol should not mix, that to me is wrong.
 
I consider myself to be a bit of a "Disney purist" but this doesn't bother me at all, I don't see why MK is any different to every other park, and I can't stand it when people bring up "what would Walt have done"... Walt has been dead for decades, he could have done anything. Alcohol is not te devil and some decent beers and wines at a TS restaurant will have zero affect.

If people dont hold up the memory (what they stood for and believed in) of a dead person then what was the point in them being alive?
 
I'm not sure I would go as far as saying that the MK is mainly for kiddies or a childrens park. I once read a statistic about the number of adult only groups that go to WDW and it's surprisingly high.
That being said, I agree that the 'magical' element of the park appeals to youngsters. However, having one restaurant serving alcohol with meals will have no impact on the park at all in my opinion. The CM's will not have to monitor alcohol intake as I understand it, as alcohol will only be served tableside. Just how long would you have to take over your meal to get blinding drunk? It's just not going to happen. Heck, if people were that desperate to over-indulge, they would go to a bar at the Contemporary or GF before entering the park.

I can understand that people would be unhappy at alcohol being served freely throughout the park, but as an accompaniment to a meal in one restaurant I see no problem.

Kev
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top