drinking and driving in epcot?

[disney*princess]

:wave: hi guys!
im planing on a trip back to disney world in june, and i was just wondering if you guys recomend taking small kids (ages 7 & 3) to see the fire work show in epcot ? the kids loved it last year, but a guy (on a mobility scooter!!!!!!!!) that had quiet clearly spent his day drinking "around the world" crashed in to DD (6) and broke her ankle! not the best start to my holiday. so im just wondering if i should skip it with the kids this year ?
even when we went back on our last night there was still drunk people driving through wsc.. so i dont feel it was an isolated ocasion.. any body else notice this...?

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Oh wow, so sorry that happened to your daughter!

If you enjoy going, I wouldn't let that one experience stop you from enjoying. Just keep a special eye out for her and any drunks on scooters!

 

[wdwfan100]

I would say go. If it is something everyone enjoys and wants to do, don't allow something that may never occur to effect how you live your life. I would say people that are so drunk they can't navigate around the parks are not to high in numbers. So your exposure should be limited any way. Have fun, try not to worry about it

 

[Master Yoda]

I would say go. Don't let an isolated incident ruin a great experience. If you see a drunk driving recklessly on a scooter inform a CM to call security. Filming it with a cell phone would not be a bad idea either.

 

[Andrew54]

Thats rediculous...I would have had a hard time controlling myself if some drunk scooter ran over my kid.

 

[wdwwdeagle]

First, welcome to the wdwmagic boards. I'm so sorry about your daughter.

I think the biggest problem about going back would be that she (and you) would be preoccupied with concern or fear that something like that might happen to her again. It would certainly ruin the show if she/you were constantly looking around to make sure no one was about to drive up behind you.

I wonder if you could try to get a reservation at Rose & Crown so that you could enjoy a dinner and watch the show from their outdoor area, which would be much 'safer' feeling. Or you might be able to stake out a spot at a table or bench so that you could have a buffer between you and the masses. We watched the show from a lovely park-style bench in Canada once. The bench was along a fence and faced away from the lake, but we just let the kids stand on the bench to see over the fence and we stood behind them. It worked out beautifully.

Like other posters have said, the chances of something like that occuring again are very slim (I don't think I've ever seen a "drunk driver" in Epcot, even though it obviously does occur). But it's understandable that the worry would be there for your family anyway.

I hope you have a great accident-free trip, whatever you decide about Illuminations!

 

[heartodisney]

That is very terrible! I am very sorry you and your family had to endure this on a vacation that should be magical. Very sad that you also have too be on your guard in places like this, but as a parent it is our job. VERY irresponsible on the other persons fault and they should have been made to pay for medical bills for your family along with being charged with a public intox. I have not had this problem, but have run into many rude and obnoxious people just trying to watch the show in Epcot...just have to deal with it...I say go, just like Master Yoda says, call security and have it filmed..just so sad this has to be resorted to. Have fun and good luck!

 

[Steve-B]

I think the biggest problem about going back would be that she (and you) would be preoccupied with concern or fear that something like that might happen to her again. It would certainly ruin the show if she/you were constantly looking around to make sure no one was about to drive up behind you.

I agree . . .

On our last trip, we were watching the "child acrobats" (don't remember what they were called) in the China pavilion when they were upstaged by a handful of college-age drunks. I don't know if these guys were "drinking around the world" or not, but we saw them two or three more times that afternoon (in other pavilions). I probably should have reported them.

My personal viewpoint is that alcohol should not be served anywhere in WDW. Period. There are plenty of places one can go to get a buzz if they want to. How can anyone truly appreciate their surroundings if they either can't see clearly or can't remember later what they saw/experienced?

Just my two cents' worth.

 

[jerseygirl407]

We're pretty frequent visitors to Epcot (at least 2x/month) and my DH and I were just commenting on how many more drunk people we see.....I think a lot are 'drinking around the world' -- there seemed to be lots more groups during F&W who were clearly drunk. I'm no teetotaler but there is a time and place for everything.....

Don't get me started on rude people during Illuminations....when my sister was visiting her small kids staked out a spot on a bench for a good view -- just as the show started a woman stepped up & said "I just want to take a couple of pictures...." The adults were standing back a bit and before you know it this lady her 2 kids standing in front of ours watching the show!! Of course the kids didn't say anything but boy was she annoyed when we moved in and -- very politely -- asked her to move since they were blocking the kids view and they'd staked out the bench prior to the fireworks!

 

[RealHawker]

The classic debate, of those that can't handle some privlidge or benefit correctly- and people wanting to ban that for the everyone.

I enjoy having a beers of the world as I travel- but I have never tried to do them all- that's a bit too much.

 

[disney*princess]

ya we have been a few times and its getting more and more out of hand,,
i dont think that alcohol should be banned from the site but there should be some limit as to how much you can have esp if your on scooter,
"the guy that hit in to our kid was too busy trying to hold his margeritta and drive that he simply didnt see her,"

does any one know if there is a limit as to how much alcohol you can consume in world show case, ?/

as for us going back to see the show i think we'll leave it till the end of our vacation this time.....

thanks for your thoughts and advice ...:kiss:

 

[DizneyPryncess]

Drinking around the world is becoming more and more popular each year. On our last visit, we saw a group of guys being thrown out of the park by security. They were REALLY drunk. They weren't hurting anyone, just being loud.

I can't believe that happened to your little girl. I would have lost my mind - I really feel for you. Incidents like that are probably small in numbers, despite the numbers of people drinking. And it could happen anywhere in The World Showcase, not just during IllumiNations. So you have to decide whether you want to avoid that part of Epcot, or brave it and hope another bad experience doesn't happen.

In all my time reading these boards, I have never heard of anyone else being seriously injured by a drunk in WS. Stories about drunks? Sure. But injuries caused by them? No. So I think the odds of this happening to your family again are very low. Just be wary, and report anything that makes you uncomfortable. I hope your next trip is a better experience for you all.

 

[trr1]

i think if i saw someone drunk on the scooters i might diconnect the battery then tell the cast members . the cast members should be able to get security to issue a dui to these people

 

[tampabrad]

Not sure where the legal bounds are, but that person could technically get a dui. You can actually get a dui on a bike, lawn mower, golf cart, horse....pretty much anything that, as a person, you would have control over the direction, speed ect. Yes, I do know a person who almost got a dui on a horse.

 

[Steve-B]

. . . those that can't handle some privlidge or benefit correctly . . .

Exactly. I don't care if somebody has a couple of beers, but Disney has long been associated with family entertainment. IMHO, drunkenness is not a family activity.

 

[xdan0920]

i think if i saw someone drunk on the scooters i might diconnect the battery then tell the cast members . the cast members should be able to get security to issue a dui to these people

This would be phenomenal. I can just imagine an overweight drunk trying to scramble out of his/her scooter to re-connect the battery/chase you down. :ROFLOL::ROFLOL::ROFLOL:

 

[kstella]

Not sure where the legal bounds are, but that person could technically get a dui. You can actually get a dui on a bike, lawn mower, golf cart, horse....pretty much anything that, as a person, you would have control over the direction, speed ect. Yes, I do know a person who almost got a dui on a horse.

You can get a dui for driving a scooter while intoxicated because it just happened in Milwaukee.

 

[Bernini98]

Are you sure he was drunk?

:wave: hi guys!
im planing on a trip back to disney world in june, and i was just wondering if you guys recomend taking small kids (ages 7 & 3) to see the fire work show in epcot ? the kids loved it last year, but a guy (on a mobility scooter!!!!!!!!) that had quiet clearly spent his day drinking "around the world" crashed in to DD (6) and broke her ankle! not the best start to my holiday. so im just wondering if i should skip it with the kids this year ?
even when we went back on our last night there was still drunk people driving through wsc.. so i dont feel it was an isolated ocasion.. any body else notice this...?

Some of those "disabled" Mayer McObeese Americans aren't drunk..they just have too much Mayonaise on the Brain