Alcohol at MK?

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

I did a search and didn't see anything pop up (and I'm shocked about that), but they're serving alcohol in MK now?! My family and I ate at Be Our Guest on September 1, 2013, and they had beer and wine from France/Belgium. Guess Disney's finally caving on the no booze in the MK rule.

I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I mean, I like a nice Belgian beer and i enjoyed some there, but I'm afraid it's possibly symptomatic of some sea change going on at the decision making level at WDW/Disney Parks.

They also have the High Octane Bar at DHS which serves hard alcohol at a counter service bar (i.e. walk around the park with a Long Island Iced Tea) which seemed kind of strange to me too.

[boilerbabe]

That's kinda disappointing to me. I just felt like Disney had a different standard. Is it really necessary to have alcohol in MK?!

We've had a drink at the High Octane bar at DHS, but wouldn't miss it if it were gone.

[Boilerdude]

AK has Dawa Bar. And Epcot is well, Epcot.

I guess I don't know how to feel about MK serving alcohol. I guess along they do not open a bar where the ability to be over served comes into play.
Rum has be brought in to be put in dole whip's though

[Wizzard419]

That's kinda disappointing to me. I just felt like Disney had a different standard. Is it really necessary to have alcohol in MK?!

If you are only at the park because your kids wanted to go then yes, a thousand times yes.

It won't be like Bourbon St. or Vegas where people are drunk in public and whipping out their fun bags. They do use discretion when serving since any alcohol related incidents in most of the parks would trace back to single locations.

Think of it this way, World Showcase serves (hard stuff too) in every pavilion, how many drunken brawls have you seen?

[Chuckus95]

This isn't really a problem to me. It is one restaurant that is almost impossible to get a reservation at anyway. If it goes farther, I could see it bothering me though.

[theBIGyowski]

Nothing to see here.

Alcohol is only being served with meals and I'm sure the server/manager can stop serving alcohol to any guest if they feel that guest has had enough to drink. There is nothing wrong with that and I applaud the move to serve drinks that will complement the meals being prepared.

Remember that Club 33 has been serving alcohol for decades...so there's that.

[Wizzard419]

Don't forget the legal liability that they also take upon themselves as servers. If the drinker or anyone/thing is hurt, damaged, or worse and alcohol is a contributing factor, then the establishment that served is also held accountable.

[Cardinals314]

I see no issue with this. I would say that whenever parents are dinning with children, especially during a vacation, will drink in moderation. This is the only place in MK that has alcohol. It isn't like Epcot where people do try many different alcoholic drinks from different countries (calling myself out here). There's a lot of drink options in AK, but it's not a big issue there. It's also a way for the restaurant to make more money.

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

I'm not suggesting that it's an issue in general to have alcohol at a theme park- obviously Epcot has been doing it for decades and both DAK and DHS have been serving for years as well. I guess the issue I'm questioning is the breaking of what's been a tenet for Disney for even longer. It was always the case that MK was not supposed to serve alcohol. If they're breaking some rule they've held for so long, I guess I'm just concerned that it's another sign of the erosion of Disney-values for guest experiences.

BTW it's really not impossible to get a reservation - we got reservations for 6:20 pm at like 11:00 am the day of just walking to the desk. They have seats for over 500 guests at any given time currently for dinner and they're planning on opening the third dining room for dinner as well.

[Wizzard419]

Is it really a core value when DLR had been serving to people who wanted to pay a lot more money?

[theBIGyowski]

Is it really a core value when DLR had been serving to people who wanted to pay a lot more money?

spot on

MK was a "dry" park only because Disneyland was a dry park. But...Disneyland wasn't really a dry park because Club 33 has been serving alcohol from the beginning. I would dare say alcohol was probably served to VIP guests at events at Disneyland back in the 1950s and 1960s if they were tied to a sponsor giving Walt money.

so the fact that MK has been dry all these years was really just because "it has always been that way"...which doesn't even really make sense when you think about Club 33

[Len90]

This is already old news lol. I personally at first was against it, but having eaten at Be Our Guest and seeing how there is no real impact (that I observed), I'm okay with it. There are no alcohol sales carts in the middle of Fantasyland and it's not like EPCOT where you just have people walking around drunk after drinking around the world.

[Sharonofwindham]

AK has Dawa Bar. And Epcot is well, Epcot.

I guess I don't know how to feel about MK serving alcohol. I guess along they do not open a bar where the ability to be over served comes into play.
Rum has be brought in to be put in dole whip's though

I was under the impression that the Dole Whips with rum were only at EPCOT

[Wizzard419]

I am sure when you whip out a flask, at least in the US, the people around you show absolutely no signs of disgust or contempt.

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

Is it really a core value when DLR had been serving to people who wanted to pay a lot more money?

spot on

MK was a "dry" park only because Disneyland was a dry park. But...Disneyland wasn't really a dry park because Club 33 has been serving alcohol from the beginning. I would dare say alcohol was probably served to VIP guests at events at Disneyland back in the 1950s and 1960s if they were tied to a sponsor giving Walt money.

so the fact that MK has been dry all these years was really just because "it has always been that way"...which doesn't even really make sense when you think about Club 33

Well I guess that would be a discussion whether "private clubs" on property are the same as a sit down restaurant open to all. If Walt was drinking a scotch every night above Main Street I wouldn't consider that the same as a bar sitting on Main Street. In the same way, I wouldn't consider Club 33 that same as the Blue Bayou.

Club 33 is something now that is far from its roots, but is still a private club. I don't think comparing that to Be Our Guest is an apt comparison.

As a beer geek/snob and avid homebrewer seeing some fine Belgian and French offerings didn't offend some deep-rooted puritan instinct in my Bay Stater core or something- I just still think it was a core value. Those private sponsorship suites/clubs they have hidden in attractions and a sitdown restaurant open to all guests are very different in my opinion.