plutofan15
Well-Known Member
Probably because of the alcohol served in Disneyland Paris.
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MK New Beak and Barrel - Pirates of the Caribbean-themed lounge
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Tony the Tigger
Well-Known Member
Can we just discuss the venue, and not the merits of alcohol and/or gambling?
Chi84
Premium Member
Probably not. The venue appears to have nothing wrong with it.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
I think the reason they won't add gambling venues anytime soon is exactly the cultural norms that @BrianLo is alluding to. Just look at how the French reacted when Disney tried to import more conservative US norms around alcohol at the time to Euro Disneyland.
For better or worse, we just see alcohol differently to gambling and other vices and very few people are scandalised by the idea of children being around adults having an alcoholic drink. A lot of kids see their parents drinking (not getting drunk, hopefully!) on a pretty regular basis anyway. People taking their kids along to watch them gamble does feel more seedy than that. Whether that's logical or not, it would make me more uncomfortable and change the feel of the parks for me so I wouldn't like it. I'm also not thrilled they're getting into gambling apps.
That could all change or flip in time as cultural norms can, and Disney could turn dry and start installing themed gambling halls all over the place in some distant time.
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lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
The explosion of sports betting begs to differ.
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Then abide with Disney's decision on what they allow on property. Your opinion is just contrary to thiers. Even Legoland serves alcohol these days.
the_rich
Well-Known Member
Then they would have nothing to complain about.
the_rich
Well-Known Member
It's more of a solitary activity. I can't see groups going to a location to gamble together the same way they would grab a drink.
TheMaxRebo
Well-Known Member
I really can't see it in the parks for reasons including like what you are saying
Maybe if they still had ESPN Zone at the Boardwalk or somewhere at Disney Springs where like a real sports viewing location
Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
If Disney is the kind of company that doesn't want to pay another CM to work the register at one of their busier quick serve restaurants, they're not going to want to pay someone to deal cards or spin a roulette wheel.
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Animaniac93-98
Well-Known Member
A lot of Vegas hotels are also designed so that you have to walk through the casino to get to the elevators, other public areas, or just exit. It's for that reason that while kids are not allowed to gamble, you'll see many of them in Vegas casinos.
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lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
It’s not about being scandalized. That’s a straw man.
Again, the places where kids see their parents drink don’t tend to be straight up bars. Even the trend of breweries often involves such places having a strong emphasis on food.
All of this talk about cultural changes misses that US alcohol sales have been declining because the percentage of Americans who drink alcohol is at all time lows. Those numbers are even lower among young adults. If this is about changing cultural norms then Disney missed the boat.
Agent H
Well-Known Member
That’s online. I can’t imagine Disney putting a gambling establishment in one of their parks without there being a whole controversy about it in the news. I don’t think Disney (especially given their recent attempts to stay away from these Kind of things) would be keen to do such a thing.
Chi84
Premium Member
What kind of bars are you talking about? This is a highly themed lounge in MK with a drink and time limit. It’s probably different from what people think of when you say a place is a straight up bar.
Disney doesn’t lead the way; it follows its customers. If people are buying and requesting more non-alcoholic options I’m sure Disney will provide them.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Themed bars, a concept that is older than Disneyland.
Sir_Cliff
Well-Known Member
Ok, I will rephrase that to "worried" or "concerned".
I don't know whether cultural norms are changing, my point was that norms are different around alcohol such that children being around adults drinking alcoholic beverages is far more normalised than children being in gambling venues. Whether that is positive or negative is also another question and I guess we'll see if that changes in line with declining alcohol consumption.
Not saying anyone is wrong not to like Disney including themed bars or alcohol entirely in their parks. Just responding to the point about why it is different from gambling, cannabis dispensaries, or whatever else people want to mention. The answer is just that in our culture we see these things differently and I think that is borne out by the fact that, despite being a controversy magnet, no-one has really batted an eyelid at Disney adding themed bars like Oga's and now this to the parks.
I also do think that most of these places are very controlled settings. Geo-82 doesn't even allow children and this one barely caters to them as well as kicking you out after just 45 minutes. So, sure, they are venues for drinking and feeling the effects of alcohol, but they're not venues for getting hammered around children. That's where I think most people won't at least feel it being any worse than going with the kids to a brewery where there may be more focus on food but also a lot more drinking going on.
Chi84
Premium Member
I'm not familiar with themed bars, except maybe a few Tiki-type ones. What's the issue with kids seeing their parents there?
If parents don't want their kids to see them drinking at Beak and Barrel they don't have to go there. Disney built the bar, people want to patronize it, so I'm not sure what the problem is other than trying to control the behavior of others because you don't like the perfectly acceptable choices they make.
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Chester&Hester Enthusiast
Well-Known Member
Can I toss another match onto this dumpster fire and say that I find octopus on the menu kind of… icky? Not in the “ew, gross, I won’t eat that” kind of way, but more in the “with everything we know in 2025 about the intelligence and sentience of octopuses, it feels a little weird to me to still be farming them for mass consumption” kind of way.
I hope they at least plan to obtain and harvest them “ethically,” though I don’t have much faith in that.
I hope they at least plan to obtain and harvest them “ethically,” though I don’t have much faith in that.
DisneyHead123
Well-Known Member
I can’t find specific data, but unlikely that it is decreasing among Disney’s target audience, often college educated with relatively high incomes (because Disney ain’t cheap). Again, I don’t have comparative data over the decades, but drinking is more common with this group at this point in time. It’s declining among young people and teenagers in particular, which is great as no teenager in the US is of legal drinking age.
I’m sympathetic to people who have a different set of associations with drinking, bars, etc. When I was young a bar was primarily a place to dance, hook up, and maybe puke. They were dirty and sweaty and blasted music that might deafen you. No place for a child. As an adult suburbanite I’m surrounded by family oriented breweries and wineries where families can picnic. I think in many areas there has been a shift in drinking culture to something more moderate and social, but I get that those associations aren’t there for everyone. If Disney opens a dispensary on Main Street one day, there will be no changing my associations on that one, even if people born in 2050 are totally cool with it and see it as wholesome family fun.