Anyone else feel the whole "Drinking around the World" theme is ruining the Epcot experience?

[disneyworldsk]

I believe Craig on the podcast last week had raised this topic as well with his recent experience for the concert series and made a comment.

 

[ShannyDoesDisney]

For me growing up - Disneyland/WORLD etc is supposed to be the Happiest Place on Earth! I don't want to see people drunk while I revert back to being 8
I did DATW at Epcot but other than the first country we ended up sharing drinks because I didn't want to feel sick or ruin the magic for someone else.
I like peoples obnoxious shirts and going full tilt on the fun but it is a family destination so I do prefer if people wait to finish getting hammered after they've left the park.

 

[Summer2018]

Wineries are not only for adults. Many have entire Fall festivals set up, train rides, bounce houses, etc. There are some coming up in December with sleigh rides, cocoa trails, lighting of the vineyards and so on. Trust me, as a family member of someone who owns and operates and vineyard and winery in NY, they are most definitely NOT for adults only. Wineries will specify if an event is for all ages or adults only.

And Disney is for anyone who enjoys Disney movies, theme parks, rides, shows, etc. Not primarily for children. My young adult children who have gone to WDW since 1994 grew up loving it and continue to visit. None of them have children yet.
Disney does a good job making it a safe space for all ages who visit.

These drinking threads always spiral into "Epcot is a cesspool of drunkenness", "But what about the children!? Disney is for children", and "Disney has to stop opening new places to serve alcohol", "Walt would be against alcohol in the parks!". PP, I'm not mentioning these because of your post specifically, but because of what I've seen here over and over.

It boils down to
1. Disney serves alcohol, there's a market for it and people like it, it's not going to stop.
2. Disney keeps on top of anything offensive, attire, drunkenness, behavior, etc.
3. What one person finds offensive may not bother anyone else or they have had a different experience.
4. Do you own thing and if it bothers you or you feel unsafe, go somewhere else or avoid certain times of day/year.

I, of course, can only speak from experience. My trips to wineries were adults only, and I never saw any children. If there are in fact children participating in child-friendly activities at wineries or breweries, I had never seen it nor experienced it.

I do believe that I stated that although Disney is a place designed mainly for children, adults including myself, my husband, my daughter, and my friends who don't have children truly enjoy Disney. It is a wonderful vacation for adults. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have gone in July to celebrate a 25th Wedding Anniversary Vow Renewal, nor would we be planning our first trip to Disneyland in April.

My point is that the adults who love and frequent Disney parks should be sensitive to families with children and especially the children themselves and not carry on like drunken idiots.

 

[sharadoc]

Only issue I ever had was drunks on the boat back to Boardwalk. Embarrassingly drunk and dropping the F bomb. A teaching moment for my family, showing how ridiculous drunks look and act. We drink in our family too, just don't make fools of ourselves.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I’d be more interested in getting to know the groups that can afford to get drunk from F&W

Nope, it doesn’t bother me. I roll my eyes at some of the cheesy shirts. Although someone did have a “Mary Poppin’ bottles” shirt last weekend that I found funny. You can find drunk people anywhere that alcohol is served.

 

[Alesia]

I have only witnessed one very drunk person at Epcot and that was a decade ago. I've heard so many more reports of violence at MK than I have at Epcot. It's just not a huge problem.

 

[Davey Jones II]

I don`t care about the shirts. But the one and only time I visited WS on our trip last year, practically the first thing I saw was some woman throwing up in the bushes. Not exactly Disney magic, folks...

 

[mckennarose]

I, of course, can only speak from experience. My trips to wineries were adults only, and I never saw any children. If there are in fact children participating in child-friendly activities at wineries or breweries, I had never seen it nor experienced it.

We have had very different experiences. In some wineries up here, there is more of a family celebration vibe, with a focus on the tradition, craft of wine making and art. I know of, and have been, at wineries with a "party wine" vibe. We generally don't go to those and would not recommend taking kids there. Same with some Oktoberfest's up here.

I do believe that I stated that although Disney is a place designed mainly for children, adults including myself, my husband, my daughter, and my friends who don't have children truly enjoy Disney. It is a wonderful vacation for adults. If it wasn't, I wouldn't have gone in July to celebrate a 25th Wedding Anniversary Vow Renewal, nor would we be planning our first trip to Disneyland in April.

Congratulations! We also celebrated our 25th in Disney and our 29th. I understand what your point was, but I respectfully disagree. I think Disney is geared toward anyone who appreciates and loves Disney.

My point is that the adults who love and frequent Disney parks should be sensitive to families with children and especially the children themselves and not carry on like drunken idiots.

I agree, but I would remove "drunken" from "not carry on like drunken idiots." Just last month we saw a mom and dad, each pushing strollers, and mom screaming at dad. She was not drunk, just acting like an "idiot." Disney is a stressful vacation and I have seen lots of crazy behavior not attributed to drunkenness. I'm sure it does happen, but I've seen far more from non drinking people.

I’d be more interested in getting to know the groups that can afford to get drunk from F&W
......

Right?! I can have one or possibly two drinks in Disney per day, if that! Not just because of cost, but that's also not my vibe to get tipsy.

 

[Alesia]

I don`t care about the shirts. But the one and only time I visited WS on our trip last year, practically the first thing I saw was some woman throwing up in the bushes. Not exactly Disney magic, folks...

Are you certain that she was drunk? Maybe she had some severe motion sickness. Maybe she was overheated. Maybe she had a stomach bug. There are any number of reasons why someone might throw up in a theme park. I would imagine that drunkenness is among the least common.

 

[Tbella]

I posted here after my Festival of the Arts experience at Epcot this year. I saw several groups of intoxicated young adults. I got behind a group of 2 that became a group of about 10 in minutes. The first 2 were ordering drinks and passing them back to the rest of the group. The server at the Sake House in the Japan Pavilion did ID the first 2 patrons but not the others. This group did look very young. This group was loud, obnoxious, and using fowl language. I wasn’t able to take it and left the line. I saw others leave the line as well. We go almost every year as a family during food and wine, and I have seen this type of belligerent drunk behavior increase throughout the years. I am planning another trip with my kids for the end of August and have already told them that we will only be hitting the Food and Wine booths at lunch. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to avoid weekends on this trip. I did go to guest services before leaving the park and I suggest that all that have similar experience do the same. It really is worrisome if Disney refuses to control this type of behavior. If Disney wants there dollars, then they need to bring back a Pleasure Island type experience for this group.

 

[KenHutch]

Does it bother me? Well no because in my case I would never drink there because with the many thousands of dollars I spend there, walking around drunk makes no sense to me. And in 5 trips the only thing I have seen at Epcot was 2 girls announcing very loudly that they were going to swim across the lake. Got to see how good Disney Security was that day. As soon as girl #1 started pulling her top off there were 6-8 security people surrounding and moving them away from everyone. Now Disney Springs is another matter after our latest trip in June (and I must admit this happened very late at night) my daughter has canceled all trips there. The number of very drunk and obnoxious people got on her nerves.

 

[AurumPunzel]

I wouldn't have thought so. It's not like Epcot's Ibiza, is it?