Remember When The World Was Going To End...

[Granny square]

Originally Posted by WDSearcher

Overreaction.

Not only are the drunken masses not stumbling out of BOG on a nightly basis (or ... really ... at all), apparently wine and beer sales haven't even come close to meeting the the predictions that had been made by the F&B folks.

That is interesting!

A percentage of People overreact to everything. And they tend to be the vocal ones. Complainers so often are.

[JimmyV]

Originally Posted by princessallegra

I was replying to a specific poster who asked what would make someone uncomfortable.

Understood. Just trying to get things back on the rails. No blame.

[Disney_Princess83]

As long as people are drinking responsibly, then I can't say that it worries me. I don't drink alcohol at all and don't like the smell, however unless it's really strong, I can easily deal with it. As long as people aren't stumbling around drunk, we don't mind. I would have prefer MK remained "dry" but it's changing with the times. As a society it's generally considering one can't enjoy themselves without alcohol.

[t_catt11]

Only once have I seen drunken behavior - and yes, it was at Illuminations during F&W. Several college age guys were obviously feeling no pain; one was loud enough (even once the show began) to embarrass his buddies. For some reason, they had a rental wheelchair, and he kept jumping into and out of it, making a spectacle of himself.

But again, it was F&W, at park closing. I did not enjoy the behavior, but neither did I left it ruin the day.

[Granny square]

Originally Posted by Disney_Princess83

As long as people are drinking responsibly, then I can't say that it worries me. I don't drink alcohol at all and don't like the smell, however unless it's really strong, I can easily deal with it. As long as people aren't stumbling around drunk, we don't mind. I would have prefer MK remained "dry" but it's changing with the times. As a society it's generally considering one can't enjoy themselves without alcohol.

Really? People can't just have a glass of wine because it tastes good paired with a meal? But they NEED it to enjoy themselves.

[Tropical Wilds]

Originally Posted by Disney_Princess83

As a society it's generally considering one can't enjoy themselves without alcohol.

I don't think that's true... I just think that it's the basic realization that a French restaurant in an opulent setting that didn't serve wine or beer to compliment their food would be a little silly. Especially considering they have a cheese and meat starter...

I can enjoy myself quite fine with no alcohol. I didn't start drinking very, very occasionally until the last few months (frankly, I had 3 drinks while I was at Disney a couple weeks ago and that represented the most alcohol I've had in, I think, about 5 years) and I can't stand wine, but at BOG it only makes sense to have a tasting wine or beer to compliment the dinner... And our whole table did and the sun still rose over Fantasyland the day after as it did every other day before it.

I think it's a nice change. I wish they served mixed drinks but I can understand why they don't. As much as I prefer mixed drinks over beer and wine, it doesn't fit with the food.

[mikerobrewer]

Originally Posted by Tropical Wilds

We've done F&W the last 2 years, will be doing it again this year. We've seen a lot of happy folks, some due to alcohol I'm sure, but none who were belligerent or bad drunks, or people who I'd be uncomfortable to be around. I'm not sure why other people would either... Honestly, in terms of brutal, rude, non-family-friendly behavior, it's always the stone cold sobers who are guilty of acting in a way that I'd be ashamed of.

Anytime I've seen somebody acting like a brat (pushing through crowds, yelling at CMs, or mob mentality behavior), it's been people who were not only old enough, but sober enough, to know the tantrum they're putting on over their expired FP, their long wait for TSM, the ride breakdown on ToT, the impossible-to-get walk-in to BOG, the "must have pin" that's for the AP/Visa/D23 folks only, the lame Vinylmation they got from the mystery box, and on and on and on... Is completely inappropriate and thoroughly ill-suited for a children's park.

The absolute worst behavior I have seen on a routine basis has been right before, and during, parades. I have seen some really nasty exchanges over the years.

[grimley1968]

Originally Posted by JimmyV

This wasn't intended to be a "bash Epcot" thread, but instead was intended to inquire as to whether the introduction of beer and wine into the MK has resulted in any perceived "slippage" of that park away from the "family atmosphere" that many sought to protect.

(And don't worry. Three months after the Main Street Bakery re-opens, there will be a follow-up thread inquiring whether the introduction of Starbucks into the MK has ruined anyone's vacation. )

I understand this, but the original post explicitly invited the comparison to EPCOT. I'll say it again, I think one reason BoG serving alcohol has not changed MK the way F&W changed EPCOT's WS is the limitation to consumption only inside the restaurant, and not being able to walk around with it. Consumption of food along with it, as mentioned by others, also probably contributes to a more restrained environment at BoG. Theming certainly plays a role. As for those who suggest not to bring pre-teen children to WS in EPCOT near closing time, my example of the cigar-smoking stumbling drunk guy occurred at about 3 in the afternoon, which is hardly "better take the kids out of EPCOT so they can avoid public drunkenness" time. My example would have been much less likely to have occurred if he had been inside one of the restaurants, if he had consumed some food, and because the restaurants keep people out of the walkways for a few minutes. Our experience certainly didn't ruin our time, and I actually had a couple drinks myself, but I used that one extreme example to show how MK with BoG serving alcohol will probably be a totally different experience than EPCOT during the F&W Festival.

[Tropical Wilds]

Originally Posted by mikerobrewer

The absolute worst behavior I have seen on a routine basis has been right before, and during, parades. I have seen some really nasty exchanges over the years.

Tell me about it.

I was at the oft-mentioned, disaster MNSSHP night of last year, where it rained the whole night and they couldn't make up their mind if they were cancelling or postpoining the first parade, then they cancelled it without announcing it, then delayed HalloWishes by over 2 hours...

Anyway, we'd staked out a spot to watch the fireworks and sat on the soaking wet curb for over an hour before, finally, they said they were starting in 5 minutes (which ended up being 30 minutes... Anyway...). When the lights dimmed, a guy and his wife along with their kids pushed in front of us, when we thought they were just crossing through, stopped, stood there, and proceeded to put one of the kids on their shoulders. We, and everybody in our area, were like what the heck? My other half said something, and the woman said "oh, they can't see otherwise. I'm sure you understand. You'd do the same if you had kids!" and she giggled and went back to the fireworks. He said "We do have kids, but we wouldn't cut in front of people... We've been waiting here in the rain over an hour...." and they ignored us.

I was baffled and made a face and a gesture to a CM that was reminiscent of Beast staring down Belle's bedroom door while she was being defiant, and the CM came and whisked them away. He'd been doing crowd control in the area the whole time and knew just how long we'd been waiting and we weren't bugging him or being hostile about the perpetual delays, so he had no issue moving them along because they were in a "walkway" (wink, wink).

I was pretty sure the couple behind us though, they were going to kill the folks. They were beyond livid and the family... If they'd been oblivious, that'd been one thing, but they knew what they were doing was wrong, and as a parent to 1 child and 2 stepkids, it makes me bonkers to see people use the "oh we have kids, you understand" excuse when they're doing something they know is wrong. It's like dude, it's Disney... Everybody here has kids... That's not an excuse. And even those who don't have their kids with them, it's not like it didn't cost anything to be there.

[kbelle8995]

My parents recently returned from WDW. They went to EPCOT, Last time they were was during F&W. I asked her how it was.

"OH much better than it was during the DRUNKEN FESTIVAL." And my mom is one tough lady who can take much with a shrug.

[madge]

our vacation always falls during the Food & Wine festival -- we've learned to steer clear of the World Showcase in the evenings, particularly on weekend nights, mainly because it's so CROWDED. Between the booths & the people, there are parts of the World Showcase that are impossible to navigate with kids, strollers, etc. In the dark, that can be overwhelming as a parent or a child. What we've found is that there are certain areas are more popular than others for drinking around the world ... the areas around Mexico, Canada/UK/France, and Germany are the ones that stand out in my mind more than anyplace else. We broke our rule once and found ourselves in the area around UK/France on the Saturday night of opening weekend and it was SO crowded, noisy, and many people were obviously drunk. It was the first time in all the years we've traveled that it left an impression on me & my family (and another family we know that was there at the same time).

a couple of weeks ago, we kept bumping into a bachelorette party drinking their way around the world. On a Sunday in January, it was much more noticeable because the park wasn't very crowded, and they were LOUD. And then they were sick. I think it was the sake

[madge]

October 4? that MNSSHP?

You should've been in the line at City Hall, where people had been peacefully & patiently (for the most part ) waiting in line to speak to someone about a refund .... at some point, the CM's were told to move the line over by the train station & leave a space for people coming/going. There was supposed to be a CM watching where the line was split, so they could move the line along & keep the flow of traffic moving.

that worked well, until the CM quit paying attention & people thought the split was the end of the line. Katie bar the door, I thought the guy in front of me was going to kill someone. then, there was a guy a few people behind me that saw what was going on and I thought HE was going to kill someone ... it was NOT pretty.

what a night that was. whew.

Originally Posted by Tropical Wilds

Tell me about it.

I was at the oft-mentioned, disaster MNSSHP night of last year, where it rained the whole night and they couldn't make up their mind if they were cancelling or postpoining the first parade, then they cancelled it without announcing it, then delayed HalloWishes by over 2 hours...

Anyway, we'd staked out a spot to watch the fireworks and sat on the soaking wet curb for over an hour before, finally, they said they were starting in 5 minutes (which ended up being 30 minutes... Anyway...). When the lights dimmed, a guy and his wife along with their kids pushed in front of us, when we thought they were just crossing through, stopped, stood there, and proceeded to put one of the kids on their shoulders. We, and everybody in our area, were like what the heck? My other half said something, and the woman said "oh, they can't see otherwise. I'm sure you understand. You'd do the same if you had kids!" and she giggled and went back to the fireworks. He said "We do have kids, but we wouldn't cut in front of people... We've been waiting here in the rain over an hour...." and they ignored us.

I was baffled and made a face and a gesture to a CM that was reminiscent of Beast staring down Belle's bedroom door while she was being defiant, and the CM came and whisked them away. He'd been doing crowd control in the area the whole time and knew just how long we'd been waiting and we weren't bugging him or being hostile about the perpetual delays, so he had no issue moving them along because they were in a "walkway" (wink, wink).

I was pretty sure the couple behind us though, they were going to kill the folks. They were beyond livid and the family... If they'd been oblivious, that'd been one thing, but they knew what they were doing was wrong, and as a parent to 1 child and 2 stepkids, it makes me bonkers to see people use the "oh we have kids, you understand" excuse when they're doing something they know is wrong. It's like dude, it's Disney... Everybody here has kids... That's not an excuse. And even those who don't have their kids with them, it's not like it didn't cost anything to be there.

[TDC Nala]

I would have been happy having water with my mussels. But Be Our Guest had beer on the menu. I didn't need the beer, I like beer. If it's on the menu I'm going to order it unless I have to drive somewhere.

so when posters say they don't understand why you NEED alcohol at WDW, they are trying to say they don't understand why it's sold at all. Because most of us don't NEED it, we buy drinks because we like them, we're on vaction and we don't have to drive.

[JimmyV]

Originally Posted by grimley1968

I understand this, but the original post explicitly invited the comparison to EPCOT.

Perhaps. But to the extent that a comparison is invited, it would be sufficient to say: "No, I have not witnessed anything in the MK like I have witnessed at Epcot." (Or the contrary observation.) But for some reason, people feel inclined to tell us thier horror stories about their times at Epcot when that is not the point at all. Maybe we should take that as instructive of the fact that no one (yet) has a horror story to tell from their visits to the MK in general or BoG in particular.

[grimley1968]

Originally Posted by JimmyV

Maybe we should take that as instructive of the fact that no one (yet) has a horror story to tell from their visits to the MK in general or BoG in particular.

Exactly. But it's useful to recount the EPCOT examples to illustrate what sometimes happens at EPCOT and why it probably won't happen at BoG or MK in general.