Walt, alcohol and the parks

[Tonka's Skipper]

As Alice pointed out , Walt was a typical social drinker of the day..........not a alcoholic be any means.

The nonsense the OP noted has never been even suggested in any of the book or articles written about Walt and is just that............Nonsense.

AKK

 

[Baptist]

Everybody saying he died in 1966...Walt obviously had such a stockpile of it in his house that just his purchases of it in the previous decade or so kept Chivas Regal in business for two solid years.

Whiskey gets better with age, right? Maybe he was afraid of another prohibition, so he stock pilled the stuff.

Seriously speaking, I think they do a good job at Disney keeping the streets clean. If someone spilled some beer, it would not start smelling like Wrigley Field (which has a stale beer/urine smell, sorry Cub's fans, it's the truth). Let's get more beer vendors throughout the park (and maybe a whiskey barrel or two for Walt).

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

For the record

Walts, drink of choice was a scotch mist.............some scotch and lots of soda.

Back in his Polo days Walt suffered a severe back injury and and h e had to give up the game.

Years later in the evening at the office his long time secretary would make him his drink or 2 and he would get a neck and back rub down, which relieved the pain to a great extent.

AKK

 

[Iowajes]

I think alcohol made its debut at the MK with BoG. Never before though.

Debut to the general public. It was available before in the exclusive club.

 

[Allison]

Debut to the general public. It was available before in the exclusive club.

What exclusive club is there at Disney World's Magic Kingdom?

Club 33 at Disneyland was already discussed.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

There was no club at the MK...........BOG was the first .

Club 33 was indeed in DL and no one could bring any drinks into the park.

AKK

 

[JenniBugInPink]

I like to point out to my sons how things were so much different back then mostly concerning drinking and smoking.

If you watched Bewitched Larry had a bar in his office and always made drinks for the clients. When Darrin came home from work he was almost always given or made martinis before dinner (Samantha must have used her magic to make sure the ice bucket was always full).

We have started to watch old Twilight Zones. Last night a patient in a hospital, in bed, reached over and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and LIT ONE UP. x100

Back when the earth was still cooling and I was getting my first college degree (during the 70's ), we smoked during classes. No, I'm not kidding. We used these little ashtrays that we carried with us in classrooms that didn't provide them. Not all classes allowed it. It was usually determined by whether or not the prof smoked, LOL, and we could smoke in all my psych classes (my major). We also drank at social events put on by the college, including the "mixer" held at the Dean's house for freshmen. Back then drinking age was 18 for everything. The thinking was that you could get just as drunk on beer as liquor & if you were old enough to fight for your country, you were old enough to have a drink. I remember my dad saying that when they raised the liquor drinking age to 21.

I also remember smoking as a patient in the hospital. Wasn't an RN back then, though. By the time I was an RN in the 90's, the roof would have flown off the building if an employee had lit a cigarette inside. Patients, though, still smoke in their bathrooms all the time...

Now I'm addicted to nicotine gum. Have been for almost 20 years, and haven't smoked in about 25. Yeah, do the math on that. Uh, huh.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

Pointless and why bring it up nearly 50 years after he died. I'm sick of people making allegations about long dead movie stars and famous people. I'm not going to repeat it, but, the silliest I heard involved Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn. Just because Walt drank doesn't necessarily mean he was an alcoholic. One way to get attention for yourself or a book you are trying to sell is to make outrageous and unprovable comments.

 

[Iowajes]

What exclusive club is there at Disney World's Magic Kingdom?

Club 33 at Disneyland was already discussed.

My mistake. I thought there was a counter part at MK. Now I'm wondering what I was thinking of...

 

[L&Lfan]

Well, if the OP is to be believed and I think Robert Osborne is a pretty stand up guy, I admire that Walt had the good sense to have a person with him who could get him home from a bar/restaurant without his trying to drive himself.

Another story of how things have changed.....I graduated high school in 1978 in South Carolina. We actually had a senior smoking area where any senior 17 and older could smoke during lunch period with parents' permission!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We have started to watch old Twilight Zones. Last night a patient in a hospital, in bed, reached over and grabbed a pack of cigarettes and LIT ONE UP. x100

In Twilight Zone: The Movie, during the airplane segment, John Lithgow lights up on an airplane to help calm his nerves.

 

[Micca]

Yes, Walt Disney wasn't perfect as much as people try to idolize him around here. He had human weaknesses and sometimes bad attitudes. However he was a creative visionary and that's what really matters.

ITA! It would be interesting to know about the "real Walt Disney", but it's his accomplishments for which I admire him most. One needn't think too long to come up with a list of creative visionaries with issues of one sort or another. Sorta goes with the territory.

 

[Land Shark]

In Twilight Zone: The Movie, during the airplane segment, John Lithgow lights up on an airplane to help calm his nerves.

First few times I flew over 25 years ago, I could light up. You can still see where the ashtrays go in the seat arms on many planes today.

 

[Tonka's Skipper]

Well, if the OP is to be believed and I think Robert Osborne is a pretty stand up guy, I admire that Walt had the good sense to have a person with him who could get him home from a bar/restaurant without his trying to drive himself.




Except it never happened...there has never even been a peep of anything like this in any of the books or interviews or articles about the man, even the people that did not like him have even hinted at this.

My guess Is the OP misunderstood the question and/or the answer

AKK

 

[chartle]

In Twilight Zone: The Movie, during the airplane segment, John Lithgow lights up on an airplane to help calm his nerves.

First few times I flew over 25 years ago, I could light up. You can still see where the ashtrays go in the seat arms on many planes today.

Or this version, wait until you get to 1:16.

http://vimeo.com/34153673

and yes everyone wore dresses, suits and ties when they flew, it was a very big deal back then.

 

[BRG226]

I feel bad that this has gone downhill. Let me explain:

I did not misunderstand the podcast. If you go to 1 hour 11 minutes of the Robert Osborne podcast with Gilbert Gottfried they talk about Walt and Osborne says, and I quote "He was a total alcoholic". So this, of course, piqued my interest because I had never heard that. I listened to it again today to make sure I hadn't misunderstood. I respect Robert Osborne, so I don't know what to make of it.

My misunderstanding came from Walt not drinking. Walt did drink, it was Elias who never touched alcohol. I got the two stories confused, so for that I apologize.

Then, just because I didn't want to look like I got you all worked up for no reason, I emailed Jim Korkis to see what he had to say. He agrees with what has been said here, that Walt did drink during the day, as most did, but the no alcohol policy was completely unrelated. Walt didn't want alcohol at the parks because it started fights, and he disliked the smell of stale beer.

I agree with one of the previous posters. It is irresponsible of someone like Osborne who is so well respected, to make claims that appear to be baseless. Sorry if I irked anyone, I was really just trying to find out if that claim was false, as I thought it was!

Brendan

 

[PeterPanic]

OMG, you folks are so young. Yes, you could smoke anyplace. You smoked in your office or anyplace you worked that didn't have flammable items close by. I had wisdom teeth taken out (1977) and was kept overnight in the hospital due to some minor complications that they wanted to watch. I had slept most of the day so I was wide awake at night. I walked up and down the corridors smoking away. Airplanes, yes sir, you could smoke on those as well. Disney world... anyplace you wanted other then the show itself. Restaurants, yup, right at your table. It's a wonder we aren't all dead isn't it. (that was sarcasm)

Drinking, I don't remember as being everywhere. That was mostly social or in a bar. Most people did not require alcohol to get through the day, but, did enjoy a cocktail or two at the end of the day. In business, there was usually a pop or two at lunch but I don't remember it ever in the workplace, at least not out in the open. One of the most popular Christmas gifts given by businesses was a fifth of Whiskey.

Ah, the good old days!

 

[Elevationist]

OMG, you folks are so young. Yes, you could smoke anyplace. You smoked in your office or anyplace you worked that didn't have flammable items close by. I had wisdom teeth taken out (1977) and was kept overnight in the hospital due to some minor complications that they wanted to watch. I had slept most of the day so I was wide awake at night. I walked up and down the corridors smoking away. Airplanes, yes sir, you could smoke on those as well. Disney world... anyplace you wanted other then the show itself. Restaurants, yup, right at your table. It's a wonder we aren't all dead isn't it. (that was sarcasm)

Drinking, I don't remember as being everywhere. That was mostly social or in a bar. Most people did not require alcohol to get through the day, but, did enjoy a cocktail or two at the end of the day. In business, there was usually a pop or two at lunch but I don't remember it ever in the workplace, at least not out in the open. One of the most popular Christmas gifts given by businesses was a fifth of Whiskey.

Ah, the good old days!

All I can think of is Don Draper now!