Let me start with saying I am not here to bash or judge anyone who is an aficionado of the food and wine festival and in fact we used to be.......until today! We are here now enjoying a wonderful family vacation. We have done the food and wine festival almost every time we have come here but, I was truly SHOCKED at the change in the atmosphere the food and wine festival has now. While I completely understand crowds and know you can't change crowd numbers but I have never seen this many people there for the festival. The lines were so long that the thought of waiting in them to spend that kind of money for a small sample (although good samples) was not worth it. The part that really disturbs me is that to me Disney has always portrayed a family atmosphere in their parks but what we saw and experienced was far from family atmosphere. I saw stumbling drunks, people laying down on the side of the walkways with friends laughing at them, cuss words left and right, people casually smoking in all areas around the park, groups of people shouting, and trash everywhere. Now correct me if I am wrong, isn't Disney a big proponent of their image and pride themselves on no trash allowed around the parks. I saw ZERO security patrolling (I would think with the amount of drinking going on, security would be enhanced), I saw minimal staff members lingering doing the their usual clean up work. We attended with our daughter who is 9 and even she commented on how different this was compared to our last visit and at one point just wanted to leave. Now I know some will say we could have just left and yes we could have but, we paid to be there, why should we have to waste our money because Disney doesn't have a better system in place. We did our best to stroll through quickly and tried to enjoy the shops but our usual stroll through was just not enjoyable. We felt like we were attending a spring break drunken frat party. You may look at what I am saying is just a big ol' giant complaint and yest technically it is but, google reviews for this and you will see a lot of people saying the same things! Get it together Disney! I know everyone has a right to come here, everyone has a right to enjoy themselves and I would never say you can't allow people to drink but if they want to promote this as a family destination than it should be kept that way! Can't some of this be solved by allowing people to continue to drink and enjoy themselves by doing something like a prepaid wrist band that requires you to show ID when you buy it. As you enjoy the festival and get your drinks you get a hole punched on your band and after you reach a certain number say like 10 or 12 alcohol drinks you can't get more? I mean I had to spend over $200 to attend the Very Merry Christmas Party and had to have wrist band to be able to get cookies and hot chocolate but Disney can allow people to just drink themselves stupid because they spend more money. I did not do any research on the food and wine festival because we have done it so many times before but, lesson learned and this long time foodie will not be attending this again unless we arrive first thing in the morning on a weekday for it. Just not impressed with the image portrayed to children today! end rant!
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Trip Report Disappointed!
- Thread starter natolij02
- Start date
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
UOTE="draybook, post: 6980849, member: 59957"]You're reaching really hard and it's kind of sad. Again, proper adults don't. get bombed out in public.[/QUOTE]
I'm not excusing anyone's conduct, IMHO drunks are just as egregious as chanting groups of any nationality to public order
Conduct on Disney property is enumerated and enforced by Disney. You can report misconduct, but that's the limit.
My point is that many distasteful people permeate society. Some are lauded for athletic ability, acting, or performance talent skirting the bounds of legality but they still are paid by a business for services rendered.
I'm not excusing anyone's conduct, IMHO drunks are just as egregious as chanting groups of any nationality to public order
Conduct on Disney property is enumerated and enforced by Disney. You can report misconduct, but that's the limit.
My point is that many distasteful people permeate society. Some are lauded for athletic ability, acting, or performance talent skirting the bounds of legality but they still are paid by a business for services rendered.
Dad 2 M & M
Well-Known Member
I'm not excusing anyone's conduct, IMHO drunks are just as egregious as chanting groups of any nationality to public order
[/QUOTE]Nice....can you imagine if the perpetrators is this thread happened to be "one of those international groups"?
networkpro
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- Yes
Cheerleaders, little leaguers, tour groups they are all equally intrusive as staggering bellicose drunkards.
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
Yeah. How dare these groups go to WDW and ruin your fun. May as well put out a sign, "your kind not welcome here"
jlsHouston
Well-Known Member
LOL yes at times they sure are.....
jlsHouston
Well-Known Member
LOL
draybook
Well-Known Member
We once had a trio of Pop Warner boys use extremely crude talk next to us at the little fry shack across from Pecos Bill. I traumatized them thoroughly with my behavior towards them. So, my outrage isn't limited to just the stumblers and mumblers at the Drunkytown festival. However, this thread is based off of said event, so bringing up those other issues is a moot point.
Dad 2 M & M
Well-Known Member
Right on.....but the tour groups get the most attention.....the domestic equivalent action rarely gets a mention
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
It's funny how this thread went to hating on tour groups and little leaguers. People complain all the time about how expensive it is to go to WDW these days. For these little leaguers, tour groups, and cheerleaders, this could be their only opportunity to be able to go.
Yes people can be jerks and you can find jerks in these groups but to paint an entire group of people with a single stroke is just as jerky. It's just like saying that everyone at F&W are drunks.
Everyone should be welcome at WDW. The hope is that everyone act responsibly and like human beings.
Yes people can be jerks and you can find jerks in these groups but to paint an entire group of people with a single stroke is just as jerky. It's just like saying that everyone at F&W are drunks.
Everyone should be welcome at WDW. The hope is that everyone act responsibly and like human beings.
ShareBDwithMickey
Active Member
I suspect that this was the worst Food & Wine weekend possible as I believe it is the last one for this year.
Sadly there is an element of largely local patrons who plan their weekends at the event & attend with the express intent of getting drunk. How on earth they can afford to get hammered is beyond me when you look at the prices, I can only assume that they start off site & continue on arrival. Bizarrely Epcot is a very safe place to engage in such behaviour precisely because it is Disney, should anyone be taken ill they know they will be looked after & its a darn site safer than off site, making it an even more attractive proposition.
Disney has well & truly let the genie out of the bottle & whether by ignorance, naivety or reluctance are now cast in the role of providing tacit approval of all the excessive behaviours seen by not policing things sufficiently.
Sadly until the money lost, out weighs the money made nothing is going to change. Perhaps one night at the weekend attendance of F&W should become a hard ticket event restricted to over 21s only & make that the only time when alcohol is on sale from the booths & can be drjnk outside of the various restaurants.
Extreme yes but it might well go a long way towards resolving some of the worst excesses, it also gives those who want the opportunity to drink the access they require. It also removes children from the environment & reduces the chance of them being exposed to behaviours that most parents would rather they didn't see.
Sadly there is an element of largely local patrons who plan their weekends at the event & attend with the express intent of getting drunk. How on earth they can afford to get hammered is beyond me when you look at the prices, I can only assume that they start off site & continue on arrival. Bizarrely Epcot is a very safe place to engage in such behaviour precisely because it is Disney, should anyone be taken ill they know they will be looked after & its a darn site safer than off site, making it an even more attractive proposition.
Disney has well & truly let the genie out of the bottle & whether by ignorance, naivety or reluctance are now cast in the role of providing tacit approval of all the excessive behaviours seen by not policing things sufficiently.
Sadly until the money lost, out weighs the money made nothing is going to change. Perhaps one night at the weekend attendance of F&W should become a hard ticket event restricted to over 21s only & make that the only time when alcohol is on sale from the booths & can be drjnk outside of the various restaurants.
Extreme yes but it might well go a long way towards resolving some of the worst excesses, it also gives those who want the opportunity to drink the access they require. It also removes children from the environment & reduces the chance of them being exposed to behaviours that most parents would rather they didn't see.
Your point about everyone is welcome is correct and I hope everyone can act responsibly and like human beings but when they don't Disney should step up and take action.
You said exactly what I am thinking, couldn't have said it better! We personally do not shelter our daughter from everything. She knows what bad words are even thought we don't use them in our house, she knows what a drunk person looks like and times like that have given us the chance to teach her how not to act when she is that age and what being a responsible drinker/party goer. What I don't care for is is groups of young people jumping around drunk, plowing through the crowds calling out things like f---ing sl-t. This to me is completely unacceptable in a family theme park. Now when it comes to something like a sporting event or concert and I expose her to an atmosphere that is largely adult based attendance and known to have drinking and inappropriate behaviors than that I take responsibility for. I would not expect for one minute a family theme park to have that kind of atmosphere and if I were a first timer how would I have known what to expect at all let alone that. Like one poster said. Make dates that make it a hard event that separate tickets could be purchased for those that are 21 and older. Problem solved!
lostpro9het
Well-Known Member
Won't happen and wouldn't do a bit of good considering folks will just get their "pregame" on in the parking lots before they enter and lets face it, getting alcohol into the parks is not exactly a difficult task.
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
lostpro9het
Well-Known Member
alissafalco
Well-Known Member
I was just there during the first week in October and I have to say I'm over the F&W Festival. I really don't think I will be going back during that time of the year again. The small food samples were hit or miss, where as in the past they were always a hit, not this year. While I didn't experience the drunken mess you describe (maybe because I went during the week), I experienced the crowds & the over priced hit or miss food. F&W- I'm over it!
lostpro9het
Well-Known Member
Yes! We hit that point last year with F&W and think we've hit that point with F&G this year too.
alissafalco
Well-Known Member
Lol....I'm doing flower & Garden in the spring, we'll see if I will be over that as well lol
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
What is there to get sick of during F&G? To me it just makes the park look prettier.