EPCOT... UGH!!! DOUBLE UGH!!!!!!!!!!!

[CAS239]

If "quite a few" isn't an issue, how many does it have to be before it is an issue? Or is it possible that it is an issue, but not as big an issue as some people make it?

Imo people being drunk isn't an issue. If their not interfering with others or making a scene, it doesn't concern me and shouldn't be a burden to others. People can be drunk and not act out of hand

 

[squeezle]

What I'd be interested in knowing is what exactly makes a "family". Several people have mentioned it being a "family" place. My Disney trips are usually my husband and I, sometimes my 50 year old cousin comes with. Are we not a family?

Yes!!! Thank you! You said this very well! I have been to WDW 8 times with my family, and only one of those trip included people under the age of 21.

 

[Boski]

There's not an over run problem of drunks in the WS. If there was, something would be done. There's tons of families, bunch of people drinking, quite a few pretty drunk, and only a handful out of control and being loud. It's not an issue. The issue is created by a few people who blow it out of proportion and act like everyone is drinking to just blackout or create scenes. Then in turn, people who have never even been in the WS or have never witnessed anyone there drunk, get it in their mind that they have to avoid the WS because it's just a big drunk free for all.

I mean someone in this thread said they really don't go to the WS and hasn't experienced any of these issues, but it "sounds" like there are many who take it too far.

Who drinks to black out or create scenes on purpose?

 

[CAS239]

Who drinks to black out or create scenes on purpose?

Who knows? According to some there's plenty at Epcot

 

[GaryDis]

Imo people being drunk isn't an issue. If their not interfering with others or making a scene, it doesn't concern me and shouldn't be a burden to others. People can be drunk and not act out of hand

That's true, but it certainly increases the chances that an otherwise we'll-mannered person would act out of hand.

More importantly, in most jurisdictions, it's illegal to serve alcohol to someone who's intoxicated, and servers and bartenders who follow this rule play an important role in preventing problems. (Though according to this 2009 NHTSA report, Florida and Nevada are the two states with no such state law.) So if quite a few people are pretty drunk, what does it say about the job they're doing?

 

[hammie59]

I will be writing an e-mail stating my dissatisfaction even though I'm not the type of person that usually would do that. In fact I think I have done it one time before and coincidentally it was to Disney about the MNSSHP, when they started over selling it.

I'm not sure what writing and complaining to Disney will do. Do you expect them to ban alcohol and completely change part of the charm of WS because occasionally some people act like idiots? We were just at EPCOT for two full days (nights included) and didn't witness anything like that. As a matter of fact, we never have in 8 trips. Not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not the norm.

 

[Westcoastwild]

My first thought is that these are not habitual drinkers you see- they'd never go to get drunk at Disney because it costs too much darn money. I can't remember how much my avocado margarita was but that is not due to the amount I drank- it was probably the shock of the price that caused those gaps in my memory.

I did more than once see an overtired woman armed and dangerous with a stroller and think that the world would be a safer place if those people had a drink.

 

[HopperFan]

ONE:

Epcot is an unusual situation ... sadly many families do not include Epcot in their plans. How many times on here are posts made that Epcot is boring for their kids and what is there to do beside Kidcot? I know families that have not been in a decade waiting on their kids to get older.... So the park with probably the biggest capacity is barely full. So in a way, families are the reason Epcot has gone the path it has gone.

Of course Disney has partially created this situation with the decay of Future World and the virtually "frozen in time" World Showcase. The one thing Disney has done over the years to build attendance is increase the eating and drinking venues in addition to Food & Wine, which keeps getting bigger and longer. Add in Flower and Garden which has even moved to less garden and more food & drinks. Disney makes good money off these festivals and they will continue to develop them to cater to those who attend.

If families continue to treat Epcot as the adult park, why shouldn't Disney offer adult enjoyment?

TWO:

I will never get why folks continue to say that Disney World was built for "families" and "children" ? Yes, Walt Disney did say about DISNEYLAND - "We believed in our idea - a family park where parents and children could have fun- together." and I believe Disney Co has stayed true to that with both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. But everyone seems to forget some of Walt's other sayings including ... "You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway." And adults ALL have wallets.

Disney Company is a business, much different from when Walt was alive and while they are good about adhering to the spirit ...... they also realize that MANY of the guests are non-children. Most the time when I am at Disney (I avoid summer) there are way more adults of all ages than there are children. My "family" is all adults and we enjoy Disney way more now than when the kids were small. Adult groups spend lots of money and of course Disney is not going to ignore one of their most profitable demographics. Disney has basically kept Magic Kingdom "pure" and free of alcohol. There is zero reason for them to follow suit at the other parks. Not only do they need that cash flow, they would indeed lose many more guests than the few who will not go because it's there. And honestly at Disney drink prices, getting sloppy drunk is pretty expensive and I have rarely seen anyone outside the few at Epcot F&W who have crossed the line of sloppy.

I absolutely have seen much worse behavior from un-parented children and the parents themselves. I have had multiple incidents of parents/children interfering and putting a damper on my visits ... every single trip .... and yet I have never had a drunk person impact my trip, not even at F&W.

What I'd be interested in knowing is what exactly makes a "family". Several people have mentioned it being a "family" place.

I prefer this definition "people you love and love you back, not necessarily blood or biological, but you trust them and they trust you, and they take care of you and you take care of them."

It has nothing to do with age, children, two parents, one parent, generations, blood ............


AS ALWAYS vacation is priceless time, if you no longer enjoy it ... time for a new vacation destination. Since OP also was upset about Disney Springs, am thinking this ^ applies ... http://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-springs-ugh.3541503/

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

That's true, but it certainly increases the chances that an otherwise we'll-mannered person would act out of hand.

More importantly, in most jurisdictions, it's illegal to serve alcohol to someone who's intoxicated, and servers and bartenders who follow this rule play an important role in preventing problems. (Though according to this 2009 NHTSA report, Florida and Nevada are the two states with no such state law.) So if quite a few people are pretty drunk, what does it say about the job they're doing?

Not only is there no state law, but Walt Disney World is its own jurisdiction below the county level. The gubernatorially created Reedy Creek Improvement District governs its component paper cities of Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, which together encompass all WDW property. And the few governmental officials for RCID and its component "cities" are all Disney employees. As long as it doesn't serve underage drinkers, Disney can do what it wants in terms of serving alcohol or anything else. Building codes, environmental impacts, pretty much anything. So the only rules are Disney's. And since the whole economic point of WS is for visitors to spend money eating, drinking, and shopping, Disney isn't going to do anything that would unduly dampen one of those revenue streams.

 

[CAS239]

That's true, but it certainly increases the chances that an otherwise we'll-mannered person would act out of hand.

More importantly, in most jurisdictions, it's illegal to serve alcohol to someone who's intoxicated, and servers and bartenders who follow this rule play an important role in preventing problems. (Though according to this 2009 NHTSA report, Florida and Nevada are the two states with no such state law.) So if quite a few people are pretty drunk, what does it say about the job they're doing?

Idk about the exact law here in Florida but bartenders will cut you off if you appear past your limit and if they don't they can lose their job if something happens to you. Also, if you drive drunk and get into a wreck that establishment can be held accountable.

 

[chapie1968]

I'm going to suggest that you're not doing a very effective job of describing the bothersome behavior. There's nothing in your original post describing behavior any different from your having drinks on weekends, just that it was more people. Here you wrote "need to drink mid afternoon (to get drunk)". Why not write "need to get drunk mid-afternoon" if that's what you meant? Most people distinguish between drinking and getting drunk, but the way you've been writing doesn't.

No I stated it exactly the way I intended.

Need to drink mid afternoon (to get drun) = drinking with the full intent of getting trashed and stumbling around World Showcase as many of these Bacherlorette parties were doing.


You can enjoy alcoholic beverages and not get drunk. In fact we had a couple at Trader Sam's yesterday, the day before I saw this mess at World Showcase.

 

[chapie1968]

I Love having a few drinks at Epcot. Sorry.

I'm the original poster, no need to apologize(and yes I get your sarcasm) but I am not talking about the adults that have a beverage or two as they stroll the SHowcase. I am talking about the groups that are there with the clear intention of getting trashed.

 

[chapie1968]

I agree with the OP- to an extent. I have no issue with responsible enjoyment of beverages, however the last time we were in Epcot there was a lot less "responsibility" on display than I expected at WDW. And yes, the drunks most definitely affected our visit as they were having very lewd and very loud conversations around other guests. Our party had to leave the area due to the obscene conversations taking place. Not just for the kids, but *I* don't even want to hear that nonsense. I also saw several groups of college age people, clearly past their buzz limit, staggering around WS and bumping into other guests. This was this past January, not even F&W.

If WDW is going to CATER TO FAMILIES by putting Frozen Ever After and character Meet and Greets in WS then they need to get a handle on the drunks in Epcot.

^^^^^^^^ EXACTLY what I am talking about

 

[Delirium]

I find it interesting that many threads asking for information or advice barely get any response, while an over the top rant goes viral.

 

[squeezle]

@chapie1968 you've mentioned "Bachelorettes" several times. Is there something about them in particular that bothers you more than seeing other categories of people drinking?

 

[chapie1968]

Imo people being drunk isn't an issue. If their not interfering with others or making a scene, it doesn't concern me and shouldn't be a burden to others. People can be drunk and not act out of hand

When I see gaggles of drunk bridesmaids stumbling around, banging into people and dropping the F-Bomb seemingly every other word in front of little children(and mine are grown at 15 and 19) I have a problem with that. If you don't have a problem and think there is nothing wrong with that just because they paid the same amount for their ticket, you need to rethink your morals.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

No I stated it exactly the way I intended.

Need to drink mid afternoon (to get drun) = drinking with the full intent of getting trashed and stumbling around World Showcase as many of these Bacherlorette parties were doing.


You can enjoy alcoholic beverages and not get drunk. In fact we had a couple at Trader Sam's yesterday, the day before I saw this mess at World Showcase.

I'm glad you finally got to the point. After dancing around it for five pages, your point to begin with, as you just made clear, is that you don't think anyone should ever be drunk at Walt Disney World. You're welcome to that opinion. However, objectively, it's perfectly OK to be drunk at Walt Disney World. It's not illegal. It's not against the rules. Not at all.

If you had a problem with the way that some of the people around you were acting, and how that behavior impacted you or others, that's completely valid. Because there do happen to be rules against behaving in a way that would negatively impact others, whether because of alcohol or anything else. It's totally reasonable to contact Disney to complain that you think unruly behavior isn't being managed adequately in World Showcase. However, saying that you don't want anybody to be any less than sober in areas of Walt Disney World that serve alcohol is not reasonable. If that's what you're after, then you should probably avoid World Showcase, every resort pool, every bar, and every table service restaurants on property. Not to mention Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, which also serve alcoholic drinks to go. Because what you're looking for isn't going to happen.

 

[chapie1968]

@chapie1968 you've mentioned "Bachelorettes" several times. Is there something about them in particular that bothers you more than seeing other categories of people drinking?

They were the ones that were most offensive. A few groups were worse than most. I did see some bacherlorettes just having fun, not bothering anyone else.

 

[dnkmmw]

When I see gaggles of drunk bridesmaids stumbling around, banging into people and dropping the F-Bomb seemingly every other word in front of little children(and mine are grown at 15 and 19) I have a problem with that. If you don't have a problem and think there is nothing wrong with that just because they paid the same amount for their ticket, you need to rethink your morals.

So it seems that we've moved on from alcohol being the issue, to bridal parties using the "F-bomb". Honestly, I have no problem with people going to Disney and having drinks. I have been bumped into people at Disney probably darn near every day of every trip. Usually it's someone not paying attention. I have heard people swear, I've seen non-drunk people puke, etc. etc. Disney is not in a bubble. Unpleasantries are a part a life, I just shrug and move on, enjoying my vacation. And just because I'm having a drink at 11 a.m. Doesn't mean I'm doing it to get drunk or that I have a problem, but thanks for passing judgement.

 

[squeezle]

They were the ones that were most offensive. A few groups were worse than most. I did see some bacherlorettes just having fun, not bothering anyone else.

You paint with a broad brush.