Help Needed-Disney Experts Only- Commet On This Thread...

[OLT2004]

Walt & Beer/Alcohol in the Parks...
Was he pro or anti......
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1653620

 

[OLT2004]

It Appears to me that the vast knowledge of Disney Wisdom rests with the regular posters on this board....

 

[Another Voice]

The single biggest problem had with Disneyland was that amusement parks of the time were dirty and dangerous places. Everything he designed at Disneyland was to make the place different - he wanted a family environment where people would feel safe with their childern. This meant no booze.

This doesn't mean Walt was against drinking - he was far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far from being a teatoddler himself. In fact, he got pretty well smackered the night before Disneyland opened at a party in the Golden Horseshoe and had (according to legend) to be carried to his apartment over Main Street. Walt also had a bar at his office in the Studio and his afternoon Scotch became a part of the average work routine in Burbank. The early part of the 20th Century was a very different era from what we live in now.

It's not clear what he would have thought or booze in "non-family" parks. Certainly he fully expected the hotels at WDW to have bars and restuarants with full menus. I've never heard of any booze-bans planned for other developments Walt have planned - Mineral King and the World Showcase Downtown section of E.P.C.O.T., but Walt passed away while those were in the very early stages.

All in all, I think he was interested in how the place would be seen. I really doubt he would have wanted Epcot to be filled with stumbling drunks, but he would have wanted to balance that off against the realities of fine dining (a French meal without wine!?!).

For a long time I think Disney had the balance right, but in recent years greed has won over common sense. Booze are a very high margin item and Disney seems to pushing it all over the place.