Epcot Food and WINO festival

[disneysteve]

We just got home today from WDW. We spent a day and a half in Epcot. The Food and Wine Festival was still going on (it ended today). We've been there for the festival numerous years. Both DW and I noticed this year that there seemed to be a particularly large number of clearly intoxicated folks in the park, and sometimes rather early in the day. We encountered several couples and groups that had obviously had a few too many and at times it really detracted from our sober enjoyment of the park. Plus we found ourselves having to explain the excessive drinking to our 10 yo DD. She knows all about alcohol and its use but I think this is the first time she was really in a place surrounded by so many drunk folks. Its not easy to explain to a kid why people do stuff like that, especially when we don't understand it ourselves. Sure, we both drink, but we would never drink ourselves into the state that so many people we saw had done.

Seems to me that if I wanted to go out and get drunk, there are far cheaper places to do it. Why waste a perfectly good (and pricey) park pass to fill up on overpriced wine and beer? Come on folks, its a family resort. I know there is no way for Disney to control how much people drink but I wish there was some way to police this event better.

Did anyone else notice this?

 

[greenyskp]

I understand where you're coming from. Drunk people at Disney, well.. it doenst make sense. I can give the names of some bars in orlando, that will get you drunker, cheaper....

But on that note, im celebrating my birthday at Disney (as i always do) and this year I'll be turning 21. And i plan on spending some time 'drinking around the world' Not sure how intoxicated I'll get. But Im never belligerent, or violent, or mean. Just giggly and I get sleepy. But i'll have friends in tow to make sure i have a place to sit.

Anyway.. lol.. Ive definitly seen what your saying.. I saw some drunk people dancing and singing (loudly) along to the British Invasion. Although im easygoing, and dont have kids, so i thought i was funny more than annoying.

But thats just me...

 

[legs22]

I was just there at the Food and Wine fest on Friday. In France we saw an intoxicated lady fall off of her chair.

 

[ADisneygirl]

Wow ~ glad we missed the drunks. That's too bad that you had to explain drunken behavior at WDW of all places to a 10 year old. I hope your vacation went well aside from this.

I must say your title to the thread is funny though with the play on words. Made me smile.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

This surprises me! We usually go to the Food and Wine festival at least twice each year and have been going for years - it is our favorite time to go!

That being said, we love to take advantage of the fact that we are not driving (as we stay on property), and overindulge on all the tasty wine.

Do we get obnoxious - no. We are just very happy people at Epcot.

 

[disneysteve]

Wow ~ glad we missed the drunks. That's too bad that you had to explain drunken behavior at WDW of all places to a 10 year old. I hope your vacation went well aside from this.

I must say your title to the thread is funny though with the play on words. Made me smile.

To be honest, some of the behavior we witnessed was rather humorous, the kind of stuff DW and I would have been laughing about if DD wasn't with us. But we figured that wouldn't have sent a very good message to her about public intoxication.

 

[disneysteve]

This surprises me! We usually go to the Food and Wine festival at least twice each year and have been going for years - it is our favorite time to go!

This was probably the 5th or 6th time we've gone during F&W, maybe more. We just don't recall noticing this so prominently in prior visits.

 

[melanie18]

We have a friend who lives near WDW that said the same thing -- too many drunks this year! They went 5 or 6 times over the course of the festival. She said she wouldn't be surprised if Disney somehow curtailed the drinking in the future.

 

[kerrynic78]

My DH and I were there last night for the third time in 3 weeks and all we happened to see were people having a great time...no obnoxious drunks which we unfortunately always get to see at PI. I guess we just got lucky or maybe we were too drunk to notice!

Sorry you had a less then great time.

 

[MinnieM21]

I noticed some drunk people during the F&W festival but they weren't incredibly annoying...entertaining actually.

 

[diznygirl]

We were just there a week ago on a Friday night. We didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. I guess you just got lucky!

BTW - DH used to work security at WDW and overindulgence at Epcot is a problem at any time of the year, not just during the Food and Wine Festival.

 

[momof2inPA]

I saw a drunk chick and her date sneak onto the roped off Norway ship and umm disappear down into/onto the ship. This was in August, so I guess you see that stuff at any time, but I bet there are a few more drunks the first and last weekends of F&W, just people trying to make the most of the special event.

 

[JimB.]

We were at Epcot Friday afternoon & saturday. Did not notice anyone intoxicated.

Then again, I was not really looking. I DID notice the price of wine by the glass though.

You are right, there is a lot cheaper ways to get tanked..........

 

[RitaZ.]

BTW - DH used to work security at WDW and overindulgence at Epcot is a problem at any time of the year, not just during the Food and Wine Festival.

I believe it. I have never been to the F & W Festival, but I have seen several people drunk at Epcot over the years. We saw a couple one time (in their 40's), the husband was clearly drunk and had his hand up the woman's blouse. Their children and everyone around them got to see the "show". I thought they were going to go at it right on the bench.

 

[arminnie]

I didn't get to go this year as I cancelled my trip to go check out my home in New Orleans, so I don't have any first hand knowledge.

I'm sorry that your daughter had to witness this, but it may have ended up being a good learning experience for her. I'm sure it made an impression on her how silly and stupid people can look when they have over indulged.

 

[WDWLVR]

We were at F&W on the 5th and noticed the same thing. At one booth (Austrailia I think) we were behind a group of 12 and all they were buying was beer and wine - no food. They had it down to a science with 3 of the group going up to buy armed with id's for all the others. By this time they all seemed to be feeling "very good" I felt sorry for the poor woman working the register. They gave her a lot of hassle when she was trying to check id's of 12 people spread out (some not even near the line).

 

[Mandabella]

I only noticed one drunk person. At the end of Party for the Senses as we were leaving, there was a woman who was being escorted by her children in their teens/early 20s out. She was ranting and raving about something or other and then demanded to go to PI to continue to drink. He children looked embarassed.

However, everyone else at the party knew how to contain themselves.

 

[Aidensmom]

I am going to give a slightly different perspective:

It is called the Food and Wine Festival. We know what is there. When DH and I go for this, it is specifically to sample the food and wine. I am a wine connoisseur, getting to sample all of these wines is heaven to me. Yes, it is expensive, but good wine is never cheap. I am not looking to get a "cheap drunk", I am looking to taste some wines. Yes, I may get a little intoxicated doing so, but to us this is a special event. A special event where we choose to go without our son, and to stay onsite (even though we live in driving distance) so that we are responsible and don't drive after drinking.

My son also loves to go to Epcot. But when we are planning a trip with him, it is during a different time of year. I just expect there will be some intoxicated people during this time of year, myself and DH included, so plan accordingly.

And just a note, you can run into "drunk" people anywhere, even places that alcohol is not served. Why not see it as an opportunity to explain to children that sometimes people drink too much and it can have bad affects. Use it as a learning experience.

 

[FroggyinArk]

i agree, its a park designed for a more adult crowd, the wine is hte draw during that time, and i seem to recall there being drunks in the parks at all of the parks, when we were there on july 4 03.

i would rather deal with a few tipsy adults, than hoards of unsupervised teenagers running rampant through the parks when we were ther ethere were always a couple of "packs" in each park that seemed bent on trouble making.

the people we saw that were drunk, seemed to be either rather sedate or headed out of the parks.

 

[safetymom]

The last several years has seen more drunks in Epcot during Food and Wine. I love the event but really like when it goes back to normal after the event is over.