Walt forbid alcohol at Disneyland - is it true?

[Phroobar]

I know the popular tradition is Walt Disney never wanted alcohol to be served inside Disneyland but is that really true? Is there hard evidence of this or is it just a fan made legend? What is the real story behind it?

 

[westie]

He was also opposed to chewing gum.

 

[Deleted member 107043]

I know the popular tradition is Walt Disney never wanted alcohol to be served inside Disneyland but is that really true? Is there hard evidence of this or is it just a fan made legend? What is the real story behind it?

Good question. Beer was available at Holidayland and of course the Monorail Bar at the Disneyland Hotel Monorail station made it easy for guests to grab a quick cocktail and head back to the park for the price of an E coupon. Then there was Club 33.

He clearly didn't have any issues with guests consuming alcohol under the Disneyland name, but avoided serving it outright inside the park to the general public for some reason.

 

[Darkbeer1]

It depends on the definition, Walt want to change the image of Amusement Parks, many of which had drinking as one of the activities. (Think Country Fair Rides, or Coney Island), so he didn't want an attraction inside the park serving Alcohol, to make the place more "family" friendly. But Walt was also a businessman and knew that having alcohol was important for the style of how business was done in the era, in fact Walt Disney was known to have a few on occasion. For example, when the first event was held at Disneyland on July 13th, christening the Mark Twain with a group of invited guests (Celebrities and investors), the bar on the Mark Twain was open and active (and so was the Golden Horseshoe Bar). And it kept being active for after-hour events for a long time.

On July 17th, the Official Press Preview of Disneyland, and the day Walt Disney hosted the live ABC special (a very big deal back then), there was bars set up in off-stage areas of the park, which the guests (once again, the press, but also celebrities and other related guests, plus investors) had access to these "break areas". On opening day, July 18th, there was no alcohol back stage, and the park opened to the general public.

The Disneyland Hotel didn't open until October of 1955, and was not owned by Walt Disney, but his friend Jack Wrather, and a bar near the entrance was an important part of the package, and was a good money maker, and additional bars were added over the years.

When Walt Disney built Holidayland (a corporate picnic area, basically where the Haunted Mansion is today) in June of 1957, it actually served all you could drink Beer and the area had a special entrance into Disneyland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holidayland

This gave Walt the best of both worlds, an on-property location to sell alcohol (aka make a profit), but to keep the "image" of Disneyland the same as when it opened 2 years ago. Also, Walt knew he had a hit, and the park was making a good profit, and good attendance. So he was a bit less worried about trying to differentiate Disneyland from other locations.

When Walt Disney expanded the Monorail in 1961 and opened the Hotel Station, as a thank you to Jack Wrather for sticking with Walt from the beginning, they both wanted a bar near the station, and it was right next to the exit. (The Monorail was nicknamed the "Dad's Ride" back then.)

He also allowed Club 33 to be designed to serve Alcohol in the park, and kept the after-hour events access to alcohol and special bars being brought inside the park. (Disneyland has held a Liquor License for the site since 1955). So it was more an image thing, than an ban. When he worked on Walt Disney World, and EPCOT, he knew that a true operating city would have alcohol (bars), and was included in the plans before he passed. And with all things, image and general public thoughts change, and why the Walt Disney Company started to serve Beer and Wine at the Magic Kingdom, and also allowed it at Euro-Disney, that the market (aka guests) wanted it, and that they decided if it was offered in a discreet way and not pushed, it was something to embrace.

So every since a pre-opening event that had a toast to the success of the park in 1955, and throughout the years, alcohol has been part of Disneyland, and more than likely, a new restaurant setting will open at Disneyland (Anaheim) that will have alcoholic beverages as part of a meal.

 

[Phroobar]

Thanks Darkbeer that makes more sense. It wasn't because Walt didn't want alcohol to be served in the park but it just wasn't needed.

 

[indianajack]

Thanks Darkbeer that makes more sense. It wasn't because Walt didn't want alcohol to be served in the park but it just wasn't needed.

Actually it was both, he didn't want it and it wasn't needed for the in-park guests. Walt didn't want the carnie atmosphere in the park with the smell of alcohol. It's also instructive to remember that 1955 was only a generation or so removed from the Prohibition era when alcohol consumption was completely banned in the US (though, of course, people still found ways to get it). Alcohol had a more negative public stigma attached to it then than it does today.

That said, I'll be shocked if a cantina table-service restaurant in Star Wars land doesn't serve alcoholic beverages. On the other hand, I will be shocked if there's an actual cantina bar where you can sit on a bar stool and imbibe ad nauseum.

 

[Phroobar]

That said, I'll be shocked if a cantina table-service restaurant in Star Wars land doesn't serve alcoholic beverages. On the other hand, I will be shocked if there's an actual cantina bar where you can sit on a bar stool and imbibe ad nauseum.

Sounds shocking.

 

[yookeroo]

Actually it was both, he didn't want it and it wasn't needed for the in-park guests. Walt didn't want the carnie atmosphere in the park with the smell of alcohol. It's also instructive to remember that 1955 was only a generation or so removed from the Prohibition era when alcohol consumption was completely banned in the US (though, of course, people still found ways to get it). Alcohol had a more negative public stigma attached to it then than it does today.

When people assume Walt would still "ban" alcohol is the park, they never consider this. The whole context of the question is so different that we have no idea how Walt would feel about serving wine in the Blue Bayou (for example) today. I think it's just as arguable that he'd be all for it. The whole carny stigma is loooong gone. Prohibition is a distant memory. History book stuff.

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

He also loved smoking cigarettes and never saw Star Wars. What a loser!

 

[21stamps]

Actually it was both, he didn't want it and it wasn't needed for the in-park guests. Walt didn't want the carnie atmosphere in the park with the smell of alcohol. It's also instructive to remember that 1955 was only a generation or so removed from the Prohibition era when alcohol consumption was completely banned in the US (though, of course, people still found ways to get it). Alcohol had a more negative public stigma attached to it then than it does today.

That said, I'll be shocked if a cantina table-service restaurant in Star Wars land doesn't serve alcoholic beverages. On the other hand, I will be shocked if there's an actual cantina bar where you can sit on a bar stool and imbibe ad nauseum.

That would be pretty cool.

 

[indianajack]

That would be pretty cool.

Maybe Disney will put a Star Wars cantina bar in the new hotel they're building.