Just back and holy wah did someone get over served!!!!

[Forevermarypoppins]

If a Soccer Superstar can get obnoxiously drunk at WDW, so can Joe public. And they do. I'm most "interested" in the fact of how expensive it is to do so. That's my eye roll. Why choose F&W at WDW , spending $$$.?

 

[Elle23]

We will be going to Epcot on a Saturday during our trip in January. I have the Frozen dessert party scheduled.

I really hope it’s not too bad when we are there.

 

[Judique]

We will be going to Epcot on a Saturday during our trip in January. I have the Frozen dessert party scheduled.

I really hope it’s not too bad when we are there.

This subject could be interpreted as way exaggerated depending on your experience level or tolerance of people who drink alcohol, or many other factors.

I've been going to Food and Wine Festival almost every year since at least the year 2000.

I've been weekends and weekdays. Weekend evenings seem to be more crowded. Crowds make every little thing intensify for me. And still, I've not noted any predominance of misbehavior involving alcohol.

The only reason that I would avoid weekend evenings would be because of crowds. People flock in to catch the concerts, as do I. The older bands are definitely my thing as I am older and I enjoy seeing people singing along and having a good time. Disney is not making much off me as far as alcohol goes. I'm an Epcot fan. It's one of those places where people can stroll hand in hand and just spend time together in a lovely atmosphere. I guess it's also one of those places where people can buy a ticket and watch what others are doing and then come back on here and judge.

You will enjoy your time at Epcot. The only thing to try to avoid is the long lines when it is busier on the weekends. And that said, I just realized you are going in January. I'll be there in January also. I'm a passholder and DVC member and I go several times per year. January may be pretty deserted depending on what day you are there.

 

[LovesTimone]

Local here and AP holder

We love F&W and visit several times while its going on. With that said...

This problem is getting increasingly worse and worse each year, and with the incident where they just had to remove Alex Morgan the Olympic soccer star and several other Orlando City Soccer players that happen in the last week or so. I am hoping that it will generate some new rules for serving, I have seen them serve people who honestly did not look even old enough to drive much less drink adult beverages. In the past 5 years we have seen a lot more totally impaired people from throwing up in the bushes around world showcase, along with them being passed out. 2 years ago I walked into the ladies restroom, and there was a young woman passed out on the floor, and ran outside and told my husband and he went to get help, and I went back in the restroom, myself and another lady got her sat up against the wall, she was completely out of it, I grabbed some wet paper towel and started wiping off her face, and another lady that came in went out and offered her some water which she could not even get to her lips by herself, she was not making any sense. A CM walked in and got on the radio, and the next thing we had a couple of managers, and some security and EMS, then this group of sorority girls try's to get in the restroom saying they are looking for their sister, come to find out they left her in the bathroom passed out, The manager and security thanked us for looking out for this young woman.... As I walked by and said shame on you, she is your sister and you left her like this, what if something terrible would have happened to her... what if that had been you... PDA is another issue that is really out of hand when people drink this much, I'm not talking hand holding and a few kisses, I talking about full on making out and further...

I think that they should have someway to keep people that are that rowdy off of the buses, because if they were that rowdy on the bus they were that rowdy standing in line waiting on the bus... Its a simple matter of safety and security for the other guest and driver.

As a previous bartender in my college years, there are rules for serving adult beverages, Rule 1 --- never ever serve someone you even think is already drunk, cut them off. Rule 2---card everyone and really look at the ID. At Disney this pose a lot of problems, the CM taking the orders are so overwhelm by the lines, I have seen them card more this year than in the years past. Also the number of adult drinks you order at one time needs to be address, in Mexico, we were in line watched 2 guys each order 8 coronas with the floater... then hand them to the group that they were with... so while they carded the 2 guys...what about the group that they hand them to?

Epcot is a theme park.... not a bar, not some frat house or sorority party, not some after hours club or house party...there are plenty of place here( Orlando) for you to do that type of partying.... a theme park is just not the place for that type of partying..

 

[Klayfish]

I agree. I'm in the Philly area and hang out/go out often. In the city and outside the city. I'm around drunk people regularly on Friday or Saturday nights. You'll have to be a really special kind of drunk for me to notice. Singing, yelling and dancing wouldn't phase me at all. Or puking.

"Back in the day", I both lived and worked on South Street. I then worked several years outside on Broad Street...at night, so I have seen the sights.

Just my own opinion, but as I mentioned in another similar thread, I'm just not interested in being around drinkers. Did my share of drinking many years ago, but don't touch it at all anymore. For me...happy drunk, sad drunk, quiet drunk, angry drunk...I just have no interest in being near them. So for me, I just stay away from things like F&W or even the WS in general at night.

 

[IndianaRRT]

Maybe it's the cheapskate..err..frugal side of me wondering why would someone spend the money required for WDW (even if they are local, it's still not cheap) and not be able to remember it. I'm glad to say that we haven't seen too much of this.

 

[kydisneyfans]

We saw it last year, to the point I took our group(youngest was 11) out of the park.
Epcot is an adult playground after dark during festival season.

It would be nice to limit drinks, but really don't know how they could do it at Epcot.

My wife and I attended 3 concerts at Epcot over Columbus Day weekend, while the crowds were heavy, they were more well behaved than we experienced last year.

 

[jcvalenti]

I've been to Food & Wine 5 or 6 times in the last 10 years (last time was last October). I've seen a few obviously drunk people, but honestly, it's never been an issue for me. I've never seen anyone be aggressive, or completely inappropriate. I'm sure that happens (any time you get 100,000 in a place, you get some bad decisions). Sure people can be loud and overly festive, but honestly, the way some people on these forums complain, you would think they want everyone at Disney to walk in stone faced silence in a straight line making no noise at all. When we go, it's usually a group of 16 or so, and being from a traditional Italian family, we're not exactly quiet ... I'm sure there have been people before who see us sitting around yelling at each other thinking we've all been overserved, even though that's just the way we communicate.

 

[lovin'fl]

Local here and AP holder

We love F&W and visit several times while its going on. With that said...

This problem is getting increasingly worse and worse each year, and with the incident where they just had to remove Alex Morgan the Olympic soccer star and several other Orlando City Soccer players that happen in the last week or so. I am hoping that it will generate some new rules for serving, I have seen them serve people who honestly did not look even old enough to drive much less drink adult beverages. In the past 5 years we have seen a lot more totally impaired people from throwing up in the bushes around world showcase, along with them being passed out. 2 years ago I walked into the ladies restroom, and there was a young woman passed out on the floor, and ran outside and told my husband and he went to get help, and I went back in the restroom, myself and another lady got her sat up against the wall, she was completely out of it, I grabbed some wet paper towel and started wiping off her face, and another lady that came in went out and offered her some water which she could not even get to her lips by herself, she was not making any sense. A CM walked in and got on the radio, and the next thing we had a couple of managers, and some security and EMS, then this group of sorority girls try's to get in the restroom saying they are looking for their sister, come to find out they left her in the bathroom passed out, The manager and security thanked us for looking out for this young woman.... As I walked by and said shame on you, she is your sister and you left her like this, what if something terrible would have happened to her... what if that had been you... PDA is another issue that is really out of hand when people drink this much, I'm not talking hand holding and a few kisses, I talking about full on making out and further...

I think that they should have someway to keep people that are that rowdy off of the buses, because if they were that rowdy on the bus they were that rowdy standing in line waiting on the bus... Its a simple matter of safety and security for the other guest and driver.

As a previous bartender in my college years, there are rules for serving adult beverages, Rule 1 --- never ever serve someone you even think is already drunk, cut them off. Rule 2---card everyone and really look at the ID. At Disney this pose a lot of problems, the CM taking the orders are so overwhelm by the lines, I have seen them card more this year than in the years past. Also the number of adult drinks you order at one time needs to be address, in Mexico, we were in line watched 2 guys each order 8 coronas with the floater... then hand them to the group that they were with... so while they carded the 2 guys...what about the group that they hand them to?

Epcot is a theme park.... not a bar, not some frat house or sorority party, not some after hours club or house party...there are plenty of place here( Orlando) for you to do that type of partying.... a theme park is just not the place for that type of partying..

I do think there is a rule that you can only buy two drinks per person at a time. Not sure how that guy, you mentioned, bought 8 beers. I was in the beer line at Germany and the folks ahead of me, as well as myself, were only allowed two each. I was buying for DH and I.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I guess I'm weird that I don't see the big deal. Of course, I live in Chicago, and I see people puking all the time on a Friday/Saturday night. This just wouldn't phase me at all.

Ugh! It was no fun to have some stranger's puke land all over me! It was disgusting! Puke is a big deal.

Plain and simple: Vomit is a biohazard. Just for a start: 1 in 24 people carries HIV or hepatitis (A, B, or C). But that's just the start. A wide range of infectious bacteria can be present in vomit.

Beyond that, the smell was awful, and my clothes were stained. It put a significant damper on my vacation to have to deal with it.

[Technically, this happened at Universal, and I don't know if alcohol was involved. The guy who got sick couldn't get off the Mummy fast enough. His puke kind of went everywhere: the ride, multiple people. Some of it even bounced up off the pavement.]

 

[Claudia1]

DS and our now DDIL was served the hard frozen lemonade drink at the American Pavillion when they were young looking 17 yr olds during a regular, very hot day at Epcot. They thought there were ordering regular frozen lemonade but started feeling really funny. Nobody asked for their ID and they still don't look over 21, even tho they are 24 now. We often laugh about it now but they were upset when they realize what had happened.

If they serve alcohol, they need to be sure to check IDs. I know guests may still drink too much but I hope they have the ID system locked down.

 

[cindyfan]

Just want to disagree with those that say Food and Wine is an "adult" event. Just because alcohol is served doesn't mean everyone drinks it! I love the F&W Festival but I don't always drink when there. I simply go to experience/eat the great foods! And I have a DD who loves to do the same. Even before she became of drinking age she thoroughly enjoyed going! I also have a grandson that is 11 yrs old and he loves eating all different kinds of foods and would kill to be able to enjoy Epcot at this time of year!! He hasn't had the opportunity yet because of school... but maybe next year!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Just want to disagree with those that say Food and Wine is an "adult" event. Just because alcohol is served doesn't mean everyone drinks it! I love the F&W Festival but I don't always drink when there. I simply go to experience/eat the great foods! And I have a DD who loves to do the same. Even before she became of drinking age she thoroughly enjoyed going! I also have a grandson that is 11 yrs old and he loves eating all different kinds of foods and would kill to be able to enjoy Epcot at this time of year!! He hasn't had the opportunity yet because of school... but maybe next year!

I'll be taking my DD12 to F&W. She likes to try new foods and I know she will thoroughly enjoy it also. In my mind it's still an adult event that kids are allowed to attend. Just like when I take my kids to a pub to eat. It's still an adult place. People WILL be drinking and I take that into account. But I'm not bothered by drunk people. And if someone is really obnoxious I just use it as a learning experience with my kids and we laugh it off.

I get that some people are really put off by alcohol or people drinking. If so this isn't the event for you (generally speaking). PP's have stated it's why they avoid the whole festival or WS.

 

[GeneralTso]

The problem is, it's very easy to over-serve an individual. They are moving from booth to booth. Some can hold it together for the quick interaction. They can also have other people order their drink for them. I don't think they will cut anyone off unless it's an obvious situation, like that stupid soccer player gal the other day.

I also giggle when people mention the cost of doing this. Come ON. It's Disney, people drop big bucks while on vacation there. Sure, there are the super budget conscious who count every penny and have saved for a year to take their family there, but for the most part, so many are there with excess money to drop. And do.

 

[dalt01]

We've encountered Vomiters at Fort Wilderness after Hoop Dee Doo and Epcot.
Gross!!

nuthin says good night like greasy ribs, greasy chicken and buttered up cornbread washed down with "all the beer, wine and sangria ya can drink"

 

[amberpi]

I do think there is a rule that you can only buy two drinks per person at a time. Not sure how that guy, you mentioned, bought 8 beers. I was in the beer line at Germany and the folks ahead of me, as well as myself, were only allowed two each. I was buying for DH and I.

They only sell 2 at one time. All else is hyperbole.

 

[StraightToDumbo]

I have only been to F&W three times and while I have heard of people getting overly drunk and obnoxious I haven't really seen it before this year.

I drank a pretty crap ton at F&W this year, but found it difficult to keep a solid buzz going with all the crowds, food, serving sizes and the like. The servings weren't really enough to push me over the edge. Not that my kids minded this one bit

 

[loves to dive]

We’re about to head to Athens in a minute lol. But we’re just going to Outback for a family dinner. We go to Ru Sans a lot. We’re just down the street in Winder.

right now we live between Jefferson and Athens but I've lived in the area for 39 years, even worked at UGA for a while. I don't go "into town" unless you force me to. I work on the east side of Athens now so am at least a little away from the downtown madness.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'll be taking my DD12 to F&W. She likes to try new foods and I know she will thoroughly enjoy it also. In my mind it's still an adult event that kids are allowed to attend. Just like when I take my kids to a pub to eat. It's still an adult place. People WILL be drinking and I take that into account. But I'm not bothered by drunk people. And if someone is really obnoxious I just use it as a learning experience with my kids and we laugh it off.

I get that some people are really put off by alcohol or people drinking. If so this isn't the event for you (generally speaking). PP's have stated it's why they avoid the whole festival or WS.

Our family likes to try new foods as well, but I haven't really seen any F&W foods that I wasn't able to get elsewhere for less money, and often better quality.

While eating onsite is often convenient, venturing offsite to dine has many rewards. There are a number of inexpensive and interesting options close to WDW. Equivalent offsite meals cost a fraction of onsite meals, taste better, and your dollars can help support small businesses.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

They only sell 2 at one time. All else is hyperbole.

I'm not in any way advocating this, but it is entirely possible to drink alcohol in one's room at, say, the Beach Club, then walk over to the back gate of Epcot.

While I'd guess the CM's keep some folks out if they look too intoxicated, they also don't require 100% sobriety either.