What do you think of the "drinking" t-shirts that people wear at Epcot?

[Hikergirl]

I have no problem with DIsney having one section in one of their parks that freely flows the alcohol.
For me personally, I have no other reason to go to WS except for the food and drinks. It's one big glorified shopping center, and I would rather spend my money on the food and drinks offered there than the junk in all the stores, I mean "countries".
I can totally understand avoiding it if you feel that it's just a bunch of drunks walking around. Luckily Disney provides 3 other whole parks to take your kids too.

 

[sam_gordon]

He hasn’t seen it (except for clips) and I haven’t seen it in years. Disney of course hasn’t been perfect about the adult humor or topics it’s thrown into movies/shows (they had to remove a Toy Story scene recently). I looked up the clip, it seems to be both implying drunkenness and a mental break (neither of which are super appropriate topics for the toddler/elementary crowd, nor very respectful to those suffering from an actual mental illness).

So should Disney/Pixar edit out the "tea" scene in Toy Story? After all, wouldn't that be as hard to explain as a T-shirt seen in a theme park?

 

[PlainJane]

So should Disney/Pixar edit out the "tea" scene in Toy Story? After all, wouldn't that be as hard to explain as a T-shirt seen in a theme park?

I think the scene was in bad taste, but probably the most practical solution is to change the rating from G to PG. My husband and I are always there when showing my son a new movie, we turned off the LEGO movie within about 5 minutes because it didn’t seem appropriate for our son.

I doubt they are showing those antics on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which is about the level of what my son watches.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That makes sense - thanks. This leads me to another question - has anyone ever seen anyone stopped or questioned at the gates because of 'inappropriate' clothing? I have not in all my years of going to Disney World. However, I have heard that it is more of an issue at Disneyland.

I've personally not seen anyone stopped or questioned but I know some have said they've seen it. Usually Disney just has the person put the shirt inside out from what I understand.

 

[DietCoke18]

Oh, knock it off. We all make judgements in our head (and sometimes to people we are with) about what people are wearing, saying, etc every time we are in public. Sometimes, those judgements are discussed on a discussion board.

Hahaha ok mom. Who are you to tell anyone what to say or not to say on a public forum??

 

[dez1978]

I think the scene was in bad taste, but probably the most practical solution is to change the rating from G to PG. My husband and I are always there when showing my son a new movie, we turned off the LEGO movie within about 5 minutes because it didn’t seem appropriate for our son.

I doubt they are showing those antics on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse which is about the level of what my son watches.

I think this is where parental preferences/styles come into play. My boys are 5 & 8 and I have no problem with anything in any of the toy story or lego movies. But they cannot watch Spongebob or the Simpsons yet. Other parents let their kids watch all of those things with no issues. However, whenever they have seen those things outside of our house, I use it as a moment to talk about WHY those are inappropriate, and the things that are wrong with those shows because I know I can't keep them from seeing things outside of our house. There was a period when Nick jr and Disney jr were all they watched at home. But then the oldest started school and I quickly realized I can't control what he picks up on the bus or at school so they started watching more things. My point is that not all parents feel the same things are inappropriate, just like not all people feel the same about these shirts. And rather than shield them from ever seeing any of it, I choose to use it as a teachable moment.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I haven’t participated in Drinking Around the World (no one’s going to limit me to just 11 drinks, dadgummit!), nor would I likely wear matching shirts of any kind. That’s just because I find them cheesy, not because I think they’re trashy. I did, however, run around Animal Kingdom with Chip and Dale on my head and a banshee on my shoulder, so who am I to talk? While I agree that Disney is meant to be family friendly and therefore a reasonable level of decorum should be observed in the way one dresses and carries themself, I don’t consider alcohol pun shirts to be inappropriate or too obscene for the environment.

Shirts with drunk characters on them are pretty inappropriate given how many kids are present. Mickey is a role model to many kids (as are the other characters), so it’s a bit harder to explain at that point vs. a shirt that just has a saying about getting sloshed. I can easily explain that some adults drink to excess and think it’s funny (talking about shirts that glorify drunkenness), it’s harder to explain why Minnie Mouse looks trashed.

My son has seen mommy drink a glass of wine, but my husband and I do not get drunk whether he is present or not. And yeah, we will be instilling that value in him and avoiding situations where he would be exposed to drunk people (which would include the World Showcase on a Friday night during Food and Wine).

“Well honey, it’s because Minnie Mouse can’t handle her alcohol.” See? Easy peasy.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

But other people are beautiful when YOU'RE drunk.

 

[LilyWDW]

They don't cause any harm to anyone so I don't see why there is such a fuss about them. Let people enjoy themselves. A tshirt is nothing to even give a second thought to.

 

[PlainJane]

I haven’t participated in Drinking Around the World (no one’s going to limit me to just 11 drinks, dadgummit!), nor would I likely wear matching shirts of any kind. That’s just because I find them cheesy, not because I think they’re trashy. I did, however, run around Animal Kingdom with Chip and Dale on my head and a banshee on my shoulder, so who am I to talk? While I agree that Disney is meant to be family friendly and therefore a reasonable level of decorum should be observed in the way one dresses and carries themself, I don’t consider alcohol pun shirts to be inappropriate or too obscene for the environment.


“Well honey, it’s because Minnie Mouse can’t handle her alcohol.” See? Easy peasy.

I know people have their own views on what is an appropriate amount of alcohol to consume. Most people think they can handle more than they actually can. I know people who thought they could handle their alcohol and it came back to bite them in different ways some more extreme than others. It always makes me uncomfortable when people talk about “handling” alcohol as a point of pride.

I’ll be teaching my son to err on the cautious end of the spectrum.

I think this is where parental preferences/styles come into play. My boys are 5 & 8 and I have no problem with anything in any of the toy story or lego movies. But they cannot watch Spongebob or the Simpsons yet. Other parents let their kids watch all of those things with no issues. However, whenever they have seen those things outside of our house, I use it as a moment to talk about WHY those are inappropriate, and the things that are wrong with those shows because I know I can't keep them from seeing things outside of our house. There was a period when Nick jr and Disney jr were all they watched at home. But then the oldest started school and I quickly realized I can't control what he picks up on the bus or at school so they started watching more things. My point is that not all parents feel the same things are inappropriate, just like not all people feel the same about these shirts. And rather than shield them from ever seeing any of it, I choose to use it as a teachable moment.

He’s quite young. He obviously won’t be watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse when he’s 13. He’s still at the age where real and imaginary are quite intertwined. A church I attended actually showed the LEGO movie as a park event, so I’m not throwing parents under the bus for showing it. It was pretty clear though, that he was not ready for the content it was portraying. We put on Finding Nemo instead.

 

[CarolAnn856]

I think they're both tacky and hilarious. Not really my style, but I sure don't care if other people are wearing them. It seems like a lot of people get judgy over people just having fun.

 

[leebee]

DD and I wore these for our Epcot day on our mother-daughter trip in 2018. She was almost 25 at the time. I occasionally wear it here at home, but never to work (where casual clothes are fine) as I teach at a University. I honestly don't understand people's aversion to tee shirts. Just because people want to have a drink once in awhile, to play and have fun, doesn't mean they are going to get trashed, vulgar, abusive, and puke all over the place. I think Americans have a twisted viewpoint on alcohol, from those who are judgmental and say "if you can't have fun without booze you are an addict" to those who think fun is to drink as much as they possibly can, vomit, and start over. Anyhow... DD and I enjoyed choosing these shirts, enjoyed anticipating wearing them, enjoyed sharing our time together at Epcot over a few fancy cocktails while wearing them.

 

[luvnwdwgal]

Good grief! Some of you must be a blast at parties!

Who cares? I don't care what you wear, you shouldn't care what I wear. Reminds me of a stay we had at the Grand Floridian when a group/family all dressed alike turned their noses down, and even commented out loud at what my teen son and his friend were wearing.... basketball shorts and t-shirts. I assume everyone should have been dressed in khaki shorts and polo shirts with boat shoes, like them. Some of the replies here, remind me of those folks.

Anyway, speaking of what Walt would want, how do you think he would feel about banning smoking in the parks? He was a smoker (look into the reason why CM use two fingers when directing guests) so I'm sure he wanted to allow smoking. Lets not pretend his visions would still apply today. Times change as do people. Disney is a business and is run like one. They will target as many audiences as they can, in an effort to make a profit. I would think there are bigger, more important things to be worried about, other than t shirts.

CM’s using two fingers to direct people refers to smoking?

 

[TAX GUY]

CM’s using two fingers to direct people refers to smoking?

No

 

[penn19]

wow.

That was my first thought also.

 

[mmouse37]

Since we are wondering how Walt would feel about things today.....not sure how he would feel about this!! LOL

....

MJ

 

[luvnwdwgal]

No

I didn’t think so. That’s pretty dumb to think they would actually be trained to do that for that reason.

 

[BrianL]

DD and I wore these for our Epcot day on our mother-daughter trip in 2018. She was almost 25 at the time. I occasionally wear it here at home, but never to work (where casual clothes are fine) as I teach at a University. I honestly don't understand people's aversion to tee shirts. Just because people want to have a drink once in awhile, to play and have fun, doesn't mean they are going to get trashed, vulgar, abusive, and puke all over the place. I think Americans have a twisted viewpoint on alcohol, from those who are judgmental and say "if you can't have fun without booze you are an addict" to those who think fun is to drink as much as they possibly can, vomit, and start over. Anyhow... DD and I enjoyed choosing these shirts, enjoyed anticipating wearing them, enjoyed sharing our time together at Epcot over a few fancy cocktails while wearing them.

I think though that alcohol is a complicated thing in general. Many issues can come with it and it has affected people differently. Certainly there are extremes on both sides. Some act as if alcohol is never a big deal, when clearly it can be. Others think it is always a problem. Our own experiences play into that. I'm not one to preach against moderate drinking, even though I don't do it myself. That very fact though causes some to bristle against me, as if my choice affects theirs. They feel judged, whether that's true or not - clearly because they feel like they may be doing something "wrong" - again not my words. I would probably say that "if you can't have fun without booze" you may have an issue - that is not to say that if you just prefer to have some drinks with your fun that it's a problem, more if you never find anything fun that doesn't involve alcohol.

I don't really think people thinking a t-shirt is tacky is making a big fuss about it. Some of them warrant no more than an eye-roll from me. I don't think anyone on this thread has called for banning them. This is just a general conversation about a somewhat silly topic.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I've never noticed them.

 

[lancermom]

CM’s using two fingers to direct people refers to smoking?

They point with 2 fingers because in some cultures, pointing with an index finger is rude. In other cultures, pointing with one finger is reserved for inanimate objects. So, pointing with 2 fingers eliminates the possibility of offending others.

I used to organize the Disney Institute's professional development programs around the country, and a DI facilitator gave me a quick lesson when she saw me point with one finger.