Intoxicated "Guests" at Food and Wine Fest

[LMO429]

I have been to the food and wine festival many times and never saw anyone acting out of line or overly intoxicated. You have to remember that disney has plenty of plain clothes security officers out in the crowd. I am sure if someone is acting inappropriately they will be dealt with.


people use foul language regardless if its the food and wine festival or not. it doesnt make it right but unforuntately all you can do is move away and or not pay attention to it. if children are around at the time and happen to hear it do not overreact about foul language .even the most sheltered child at some point or another is goign to hear foul language offering a calm explanation of why that language is inappropriate is better than making a big deal of it.

op sorry you had a poor experience.

 

[BonnieA]

I like the F&W festival, and I do get to feeling pretty good. We go early and leave early. Last year we did see a bunch of crazy, loud, obnoxious, intoxicated college boys. I thought they were a riot, especially since I was just sitting there watching them. Heard later that someone tried to climb up the mexico pavilion. I'm betting it was one of them. I'm sure they got escorted out of the park for that stunt.

 

[TDC Nala]

Well, for those who do not believe there should be any alcohol sold in any Disney park, they're always going to believe there should be no glorification of alcohol at Epcot via a wine festival.

MK is dry, but it still doesn't stop people from acting like jerks. Disneyland is dry too, but you can drink at California Adventure (I am getting 2-park tickets because I want to visit the beer truck.) When Disneyland Paris opened it was a dry park - that didn't fly in France, so you can stroll MK with your wine there. As for the other parks at WDW, the profit margin is too great for them to even consider getting rid of the booze.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I went to the F&W festival for the first time this year. We were there Wed through Sat and you can see the crowds building towards the end of the day, end of the week. I didn't see any crazy drunken behavior but I wasn't really looking for any and wouldn't be surprised to see some tipsy people at a wine festival so it really wouldn't stand out to me.

But in general, I don't have any expectations that other people will act the way I think they should act. Unless someone is getting hurt or breaking the law, I will simply remove myself from situations that bother me or make me uncomfortable so my time is not ruined.

 

[JimmyV]

Umm...the problem with this analogy is that people know what Ipanema's reputation is all about. Epcot being a Disney park would be assumed to be family-type environment.

But Epcot during F&W does have this reputation on weekends. It is widely known that Saturdays at Epcot during F&W have an entirely different vibe. Mid-week, not so much. The fallacy here is that "being a Disney park, [it should] be assumed to be family-type entertainment." There is nothing in the laws of nature or the Disney corporate strategy that prohibits Disney from throwing a bone to adults every now and then, especially between mid-September and mid-November which are by far the months with the lowest "kid-to-adult" ratio. Is Disney's Grey's Anatomy "family friendly" TV? How about all the R rated movies from Disney's Miramax and (formerly) Dimension Films? I'll concede that Disney Parks are presumed to be family-based entertainment 99% of the time. But WS is the most adult section of any Disney Park on the entire planet. When Fantasyland starts selling jello shots, then we have a problem. But when adults who, for the most part, are taking public transportation and not getting behind the wheel of a car, have a few drinks and get giggly in mid-October when kids are in school, I think we just have to let that slide.

 

[turtlechick6]

But Epcot during F&W does have this reputation on weekends. It is widely known that Saturdays at Epcot during F&W have an entirely different vibe. Mid-week, not so much. The fallacy here is that "being a Disney park, [it should] be assumed to be family-type entertainment." There is nothing in the laws of nature or the Disney corporate strategy that prohibits Disney from throwing a bone to adults every now and then, especially between mid-September and mid-November which are by far the months with the lowest "kid-to-adult" ratio. Is Disney's Grey's Anatomy "family friendly" TV? How about all the R rated movies from Disney's Miramax and (formerly) Dimension Films? I'll concede that Disney Parks are presumed to be family-based entertainment 99% of the time. But WS is the most adult section of any Disney Park on the entire planet. When Fantasyland starts selling jello shots, then we have a problem. But when adults who, for the most part, are taking public transportation and not getting behind the wheel of a car, have a few drinks and get giggly in mid-October when kids are in school, I think we just have to let that slide.

haha YES! Very well put! Some people are just fuddy duddys about alcohol and they are going to complain no matter what.

True Story: Every very bad experience I have had in DW has been Magic Kingdom pretty much. The one dry park!!! People are way pushier and ruder at that park for some reason. Maybe because of no alcohol to mellow them out! Go figure.

 

[Planogirl]

Count me as another who won't do F&W on a weekend again, a lesson learned 5 years ago without help of any unpleasant drunks. I just hate the crowds! We didn't witness any obvious drunkenness, just quite a large number of tipsy/giggly adults, and we had a good time. But next time we take a fall trip, we'll have a good time on a Tuesday night with fewer people!

And in defense of those puking in bushes, I've accomplished that feat stone sober on more than one occasion, either due to pregnancy or illness. Alcohol isn't the only reason someone might not quite be able to make it to the nearest restroom.

I was just thinking that you still hear about people getting sick after riding Mission Space too. You just never know I guess.

 

[Suellen]

Kids or no kids the behavior is inappropriate and can get you arrested for public intoxication.

To be honest.... I don't really want to hear vulgar language, be thrown up on or witness to any of the other stupid behavior that typically comes from being that drunk. I am an adult of drinking age and overindulgence of any kind is inappropriate in a public venue. You wanna get so drunk you can't stand? Do it at home where I most definitely will not be witness to it.

I'm confused why this is always made out to be a not in front of my kid thing. How about not in front of me? Or my mother, or my grandmother? Have some respect for other guests.

Having a few drinks and getting a little giggly is FAR from some of the things I have seen... FWIW we have only been during F&W once and I have seen at least one person over the top on almost every trip we have been on.

 

[KellyNY]

Kids or no kids the behavior is inappropriate and can get you arrested for public intoxication.

To be honest.... I don't really want to hear vulgar language, be thrown up on or witness to any of the other stupid behavior that typically comes from being that drunk. I am an adult of drinking age and overindulgence of any kind is inappropriate in a public venue. You wanna get so drunk you can't stand? Do it at home where I most definitely will not be witness to it.

I'm confused why this is always made out to be a not in front of my kid thing. How about not in front of me? Or my mother, or my grandmother? Have some respect for other guests.

Having a few drinks and getting a little giggly is FAR from some of the things I have seen... FWIW we have only been during F&W once and I have seen at least one person over the top on almost every trip we have been on.

I agree but some people do not take heat in the consideration. people can get drunk much faster then they usually do, so I would not say all of them drink too much, their limits just change in heat.

 

[mickeymyfavorite]

We just got back also, we were at Epcot on Saturday 11/13 and as you walked through world showcase you could smell the alchole on peoples breath, no one was rowdy it was just VERY VERY crowded, worse then a July crowd. But on the other hand it was the last weekend of the F&W fest.

 

[ntsammy5]

I have seen at least one person over the top on almost every trip we have been on.

I bet your standards of good conduct are different than my standards.

I say again, I have NEVER seen anyone at WDW whose conduct offended me in any way (excluding Brazillian tour groups and refillable mug abusers ).

I think it goes to a person's expectations and tolerence level. I did however serve over 30 years in the U.S. Army and that may have increased my tolerence. Serving in 3 wars makes some minor misbehavior at a theme park seem trivial in comparison and not worth noticing or commenting on.

 

[Suellen]

Well I am certainly no saintly person by any means.... but over the top bad language (or even topics for discussion) there are certain things I just don't need to know about you. My thread about what I overheard a CM say that I just didn't need to know got deleted so I wont' go there.... but there are lots of things that are not appropriate discussions. To me it isn't just the swearing and drunkedness (though those I don't like either).

Oh well. If my kids aren't there no biggie. If they are and I have to explain what something she overhead you say means and it is not age appropriate I am not gonna be happy.

I can sometimes pass off drunk as sick. Sometimes there is just no explaining it away.

 

[turtlechick6]

Well I am certainly no saintly person by any means.... but over the top bad language (or even topics for discussion) there are certain things I just don't need to know about you. My thread about what I overheard a CM say that I just didn't need to know got deleted so I wont' go there.... but there are lots of things that are not appropriate discussions. To me it isn't just the swearing and drunkedness (though those I don't like either).

Oh well. If my kids aren't there no biggie. If they are and I have to explain what something she overhead you say means and it is not age appropriate I am not gonna be happy.

I can sometimes pass off drunk as sick. Sometimes there is just no explaining it away.

I get what you are saying but someone can be perfectly sober and curse or say inappropriate things in public. It is just a risk of taking your kids out in public. I am not happy about it when it happens either, but honestly that is why I avoid certain situations with my kids like taking them places where there might be a lot of adults having a good time.

 

[disneymomma1978]

When Fantasyland starts selling jello shots, then we have a problem.

sounds great, where do I sign up??!

 

[Suellen]

I get what you are saying but someone can be perfectly sober and curse or say inappropriate things in public. It is just a risk of taking your kids out in public. I am not happy about it when it happens either, but honestly that is why I avoid certain situations with my kids like taking them places where there might be a lot of adults having a good time.

Absolutely. I just don't consider any parts of Disney World on my "places to avoid with my children" spots. Well maybe like Jelly Rolls or ESPN or someplace like that. The bus from Epcot to our resort if a completely different story!

I usually expect that to be a safe zone.

Drunk or sober people should try to be more mindful of who is in earshot (again not just children) but usually the filter is not on as tight after drinking.

 

[DisneyLegend]

Does it mean it didn't happen? No--with thousands of people in Epcot at any one time, I'm sure things like this do (and will) happen. But IMHO the stereotype of F&W being nothing but a drunken revelry is incorrect, at least from my experience.

I tend to agree.. there are definitely some folks who've had too much to drink but I've never witnessed any "horrible" behavior. The worst I've found is people talking loud and just being overall obnoxious in lines waiting to order some more drinks. Oh well..

 

[bobbiekins]

I was there on Saturday the 13th and witnessed a couple things but they were funny things. My girls who were with me just laughed. One was an older gentleman that was so drunk he had to lean on the female he was with. She was trying to navigate him through the crowd but unfortunately had to go past the stage where they were playing some swinging music. This of course made him decide he needed to dance. It did not end pretty and after the OMG are you okay, etc we got a big laugh out of it.

The second was while my oldest daughter and I were in line at china. The young couple in front of us were going "at it" pretty heavy. We kept looking everywhere but in front of us hoping they would stop. Finally my daughter pipes up " God, get a room already". they did have enough sense to be really embarrassed and apologized. My oldest daughter ( she is almost 13) said " If that is what you do when you make out count me out" lol! Neither incident was life altering it was just funny and really all anyone was doing was having fun.

 

[Kay1]

As was written in the OP, if you are on vacation, there's no need to visit F & W on weekends when it's going to be so busy.

 

[SDSorority]

I just recently returned from WDW, and had the unfortunate experience of going to Epcot on the last weekend of the Food and Wine Festival. My family are huge Beatles fans so we decided we wanted to go and hear a couple of sets of The British Invasion at the UK pavilion. In between sets my wife and daughter went into a couple of the shops nearby and said they ran into a few people who were somewhat intoxicated. I guess that's to be expected, but what made it worse was the language that they were using.

When my daughter turned around to look at them, one of the people in the group tried to tell the others that they need to be careful because there are kids around. Then my wife overheard one of them state something to the effect that kids shouldn't be here. Umm...the last time I looked Epcot was a WDW theme park. Granted there is alcohol around, but what about kids wanting to try some of the different food? I'm not sure what Disney can do about this, however. It put a bit of a damper on what was our last couple of nights on vacation. I've seen other reports on various boards about intoxicated individuals screaming on rides and jumping lines as well, although I didn't personally witness this.

I guess we will just have to schedule around Food and Wine Fest in the future. I know we definitely will never go to Epcot on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday during the fest again.

Anyone else feel the same way or have similar experiences?

HELLO! We're in the same boat. DH HAAAATES F&W because of all of the drunk people. THERE WERE A TON during October 2-9 this year. I ACTUALLY have video proof of a guy and his GF on Maelstrom. He walked on with his big old glass of beer, SALUTED THE CAST MEMBER OPERATING THE RIDE WITH IT, and then proceeded to drink it... and spill it on his girl friend.... throughout the entire ride. He was very loud... stumbled out of the boat... UGH! DH and I SWORE that we would never do F&W again. This was our 2nd time doing it and it really made our evenings at Epcot not fun at all. Lots of guys with Irish accents running around (literally running) people and singing at the top of their lungs, too. Multiple nights. I'm sorry- it's just not for us. Here are two less bodies at the F&W festival next year. Shorter lines for the rest of you.

 

[Simba22]

I didn't hear anything language wise, but one girl did vomit right in front of me... and she was almost at the bathroom, too