Calling all alcohol-loving Disney fans! We have IMPORTANT NEWS.
Starting on Dec. 23, Disneyworld's Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida, will serve MORE BOOZE! That's right. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Tony's Town Square Restaurant, Liberty Tree Tavern, Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen and Cinderella's Royal Table will have beer and wine offerings during lunch and dinner designed to match their themes and pair with certain dishes.
For example, Tony's, an Italian restaurant, will offer wine and beer from Italy, like a Chianti Superiore intended to go down smooth with their grilled marsala and mushroom pork chops. Liberty Tree Tavern is adding American beer, wine and cider to go with its local theme, Adventureland's canteen will offer drinks from around the world like Riesling, and Cinderella's Royal Table will have champagne and sparkling wine fit for royalty.
Until now, Be Our Guest Restaurant was the only spot in the park that served booze. The decision to add it in 2012 was a controversial move, since Walt Disney himself forbade the park from serving alcohol, according to assistant hospitality professor Scott Smith of the University of South Carolina.
"There was always a fear that people would drink to excess and become unruly," he told the Sentinel.
The original park, Disneyland in Anaheim, California, only serves adult drinks in one spot, and it is a very exclusive, hard to get into, members-only type deal also known as Club 33. In order to get in, you have to first ask to join the club with a written inquiry and then wait years until they'll let you in, according to an unofficial Club 33 website. Seriously.
But as Disney parks like Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot started incorporating drink menus, park owners realized that nobody was causing mayhem or hysteria, so they loosened up their policy. Plus, selling alcohol is incredibly lucrative, so we're crossing our fingers that they'll finally stop raising the costs of admission on us.
"I don't think Walt (Disney) is going to be spinning in his grave as long as it's done tastefully," said Smith, who pointed out that the offerings are only available at upscale restaurants, so it's not like people are going to be running around the park with a beer funnel.
We would be down though.