Whoa there coaster, the whole country is not in college, and does not overindulge.
Same sentiment here. People want to get stupid once in a while fine and dandy. I rarely get the urge, it's certainly not a weekly or even a monthly thing, but I'm "smart" about when and where to get stupid, too. But PI was created as a place where people could get stupid if they wanted to do so, and that means that any parent with half a brain in their head should know not to let the little ones tag along. And if the only way YOU can go to PI is to bring their children, then stick to CW and PI, and if you want to go to anywhere else with your kids knowing that some adults might have their inhibitions or lunches loosened, then you are an awful parent, putting your selfish wants over your child's protection. Time and place for everything.
Sure, you could argue that a WDW vacation is never the time or place to get stupid. I would counterargue that that was the reason Pleasure Island was created. Disney saw a chunk of tourists either without children or with sitters going over to Church Street, and created PI as a way to give grownups an opportunity to do grownup things. If you want to refuse adults a palce to do adult things, then as far as I'm concerned, you might as well scrap the golf courses and all the hotel lounges, too. Even Walt, while making DL and designing WDW, recognized the need for there to be places where adults could be adults, just as he recognized the need for there to be places where kids could run around and be nuts, whether it's in the rec areas of the hotels or places like Tom Sawyer Island.
Back on topic, when you allow 18 and up into clubs, sooner or later, you're gonna have underage drinking. Probably sooner. And as an increasingly litigious society, we're placing more and more of an emphasis on the responsibility of the club owners to halt underage drinking. 18 year old with a fake ID? No, it's not the kid's fault for having it, it's the bouncer's fault for accepting it. It's the bartender's fault for not really studying it. So even with the possible political sway WDW has based on what they bring to the local economy, it reaches the point where too many angry mothers and fathers call up with tales of their sons or daughters getting hammered and falling down the steps in PI that WDW has to do SOMETHING to look like they're taking a stand. This is one I agree with.
Personally, if I were under 21 I'd still rather be in the parks (Hell, I'd usually rather be in the parks at 37!) but maybe it would behoove WDW to come up with an entertainment venue strictly for WDW resort guests between the ages of, say, 16 through 20. A non-alcoholic dance club slash arcade, where the majority of security is as sublte and hidden as it is in the parks, so kids don't feel like they're constantly being watched by a big burly security guard, but are quickly escorted out if they're caught doing anything unseemly, whether it's vandalism, coercion, sexual harrassment or attempting to buy or sell drugs. And it could be a place where adults really aren't supposed to be, to cut down on the creepy Chester the Molester factor. At the very least, they could have a few nights a week like that at a place like the Atlantic Dance Club on the Boardwalk, so young adults have a place they could hang out independent of their families if they want (or young adults 18-20 traveling on their own can go). Only trouble is, I'm so out of touch with kids these days, what with their baggie pants and their ipods and their plea bargains, I don't have the slightest idea whether such an establishment has a genuine need at WDW, OR whether it's really economically viable for WDW to provide one.
