Last Sacred Cow Slaugthered. BOOZE IN MK

[PSUMark]

This is a mug of beer with dinner. Not just a beer kiosk. Things will be fine. People aren't go to Be Our Guest and get totally hammered, especially at eight or nine bucks a glass.

I don't think anyone (myself included) is arguing that. I'm not worried about people getting wasted in Fantasyland 'cause I don't think it will happen. And were this Epcot, or DAK, or DHS, I'd be excited to try one of those beers myself. That's not the argument. The argument is that the MK-style parks were designated alcohol free out of respect for Walt and his wishes. As someone who cares deeply about Walt, his legacy, and his original intentions, I don't want to see that tradition end. I don't want to see WDW further distance itself from its namesake because TDO thinks they can make a little extra cash. It's extremely disappointing and totally unnecessary.

[JCSkipr79]

Tokyo dosen't have the ........CLIENTELE MK gets......

[PSUMark]

A company has to adapt with changes in society.

Just think, would Walt want women in Pixar or in Disney Animation. Probably not. Would he today? most likely.

Please. Have you read a single book on Disney history? Ever heard of Mary Blair? Dorothea Redmond? Alice Davis?

---------- Post added 09-13-2012 at 07:20 PM ----------

TOKYO DISNEYLAND/SEA both serves beer and alcohol and never had problems with it because it has restrictions to it like you can buy that when youre 20 years old and up

Tokyo Disneyland does not offer alcoholic beverages outside of Club 33.

[JCSkipr79]

Just think, would Walt want women in Pixar or in Disney Animation. Probably not. Would he today? most likely.

WOW. This shows your COMPLETE IGNORANCE on ANY history on the Company. Mary Blair was a major color stylist and art director on the Post War films. Hell, she's an Imagineering Legend. Who inked and painted all the cels?? WOMEN dofus. Harriet Burns started the WDI Model Shop. Thank YOU for showing your complete lack of knowledge.

[Disneytwins]

Men did the animation back then. Not women. They also had their own lounge separate from the men. I'm referring to that.

[PSUMark]

The park used to allow smoking...
The park used to close certain days of the week...

There are reasons for those choices that made sense at the time. Things evolved, and so did the policies. No reason this policy can't evolve either.

Let's face it.. the MK is no different from any other of the theme parks in this regard. Its been allowed in those parks and the sky hasn't fallen. So evolution here isn't going to ruin it all.

And if you truely feel so strongly that concepts voiced in the 50s should be strictly adhered to still... I fully expect you to show up to work in a suit and tie and dress up when you do goto a Disney park. After all, it was Walt's desire.

Nothing you list above was an explicit policy at the time of Walt's death that was explicitly upheld by TWDC for decades for the express purpose of honoring Walt and his wishes. You're comparing apples to oranges here.

[flynnibus]

Nothing you list above was an explicit policy at the time of Walt's death that was explicitly upheld by TWDC for decades for the express purpose of honoring Walt and his wishes. You're comparing apples to oranges here.

So SOME ideas of his are hands off... but others are allowed to be adapted?

It was tradition - nothing more. But a tradition that is dated and out of touch. The opinion of Walt was a function of the context of the time - not some universal law of the universe against alcohol, children, and theme parks.

Walt adapted... we should stop acting like he never did and treat things as universal simply because they were true at a point in time.

It belittles the man to argue Walt was so fixed in his ways that it's blasphemy to suggest Walt's very own ideas may have changed so we must stick to them to the letter, no matter how much the context has changed. It infers the man could never evolve and was a man so stuck in his ways he would never change.

Reality is.. we don't know what he would think today.. so why do we apply what he thought decades ago in entirely different context, as his decision today?

[Disneytwins]

Why do you think they got rid of smoking park-wide? why did they get rid of cigarettes at the parks?

Society wanted cigarettes and tobacco back them. It was widely used. That doesn't mean they want them now in 2012.

[PSUMark]

It was tradition - nothing more. But a tradition that is dated and out of touch.

You're right. It was tradition (and still is at DL and TDL). But traditions exist for a reason, and you generally are supposed to have a good reason to break them. I haven't heard one yet. It's not like the entire property was dry and no one could get a drink anywhere. Hop on the monorail or a bus and you've got tons of options. If the tradition is so dated and out of touch and has no value, why aren't the street carts in the HUB selling Bud Light? Why is Disney trying to introduce this so quietly and only in one location in the park and in a limited setting at that? Why not treat it like Epcot? If we don't care about alcohol in the MK, then why don't we really not care? Disney wants it both ways.

[Disneytwins]

Heres a good reason - Guests want it.

That was the second most asked question when I worked there. I referred them to Hollywood Studios. You can probably figure out their reaction.

[flynnibus]

You're right. It was tradition (and still is at DL and TDL). But traditions exist for a reason, and you generally are supposed to have a good reason to break them

Not really - many traditions exist simply because of habit.. some change simply out of chance. Most that persist not because they make sense or are still valid, but purely out of respect that it's a tradition in itself.

I haven't heard one yet

A simple one.. people wanted it. A second one.. it fits the location and menu.

It's not like the entire property was dry and no one could get a drink anywhere. Hop on the monorail or a bus and you've got tons of options. If the tradition is so dated and out of touch and has no value, why aren't the street carts in the HUB selling Bud Light?

Strawman...
Selling walk up beer cups for carry away consumption is an entirely different application than alcohol on a dinner menu.

Why is Disney trying to introduce this so quietly and only in one location in the park and in a limited setting at that?

So quietly? They put it right up on the blog...
Limited Setting? It's almost two full pages of wine choices plus a beer selection
One Location? Because they are introducing a new menu here.. not everywhere?

Your statement infers the choice is to push alcohol everywhere at once.. and that's not what is happening. Disney is simply allowing it on a new menu. Where is this 'it must be all or nothing' rule that if you have alcohol it needs to be everywhere at once?

[BlAcKoUt510]

Doesn't bother me.

If people wanted to get drunk, they easily could in the park. I'm not going to over-exaggerated about them serving alcohol.

[unkadug]

Nobody is going to make a reservation to eat at BOG six months in advance so that they can get drunk at the MK. Too much planning and it will cost too much. Not to mention it is a restaurant with a turnover policy in place. You won't be allowed to linger at your table for hours.

[JCSkipr79]

Sorry, if guests kept asking to drink in MK, they should go back to teh SF/Cedar Fair parks where they belong. Obvisouly don't know what MAKES a Disney park

[danyoung]

But traditions exist for a reason, and you generally are supposed to have a good reason to break them. I haven't heard one yet.

OK, here's the reason. The BOG is the first restaurant in the MK to offer fine dining. Now, some might say that Cinderella's Royal Table fits this bill. But while its food is a notch or two above burgers & fries, the focus at CRT is the princess meet & greet. BOG will be a whole new thing - true fine dining. As one who really enjoys fine dining while on vacation, not being able to enjoy a fine wine with dinner would keep me away. It's just something that goes with a really good meal. It's not about getting drunk, or even about getting buzzed. It's about presenting fine dining in such a way as to appeal to those of us who enjoy fine dining.

As to the whole Walt thing, I don't think there's any doubt that Walt didn't want alcohol sold in his park. Would he have approved of it in DCA, or E.P.C.O.T., or DAK? Would he even have prohibited it in the MK? Who knows? Would he have seen that it really hasn't been a problem in DCA and then loosen his own booze edict in DL? You can second-guess what Walt would have wanted all day, but it doesn't change the fact that NO ONE KNOWS how he would have felt in 2012. Yes, it's a big break from tradition to serve it in the MK. But to me it seems totally justified, and will make the new BOG restaurant a much better dining experience. Seems like a really good thing to me.