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Credit: DisneyDisney made two major announcements about its new Spaceship Earth lounge earlier this month. The first was that the facility would be for adults only and be named GEO-82 Bar and Lounge.
It was the latest in what some Disney fans have called the “Barification” of the theme parks, explicitly going against Walt’s vision for his theme parks. He wanted a place that families could enjoy together without alcohol.
Anyone who has gone to EPCOT on a weekend night knows that “Drinking Around the World” takes over that end of the park, and now, Disney is pushing more alcohol into the front end of the park. Drinks have been available in the former future world for quite some time, but now it’s becoming more prevalent.
This has led some Disney fans to wonder if alcohol is ruining ECPOT. The answer that most guests came to is probably going to surprise you.
Is Alcohol Ruining EPCOT?
When a social media user posed that question to Disney fans, most of them agreed that the situation had gotten out of control at the park. But most diehard Disney World fans know that if you don’t want to deal with drinking, stay away from World Showcase on weekend nights.
Despite this, most respondents believed that it wasn’t alcohol that was ruining EPCOT but the park’s lack of cohesive theming. Just like with the sale of booze, EPCOT seems to have lost Walt’s original vision.
EPCOT was conceived as a park that would look to the future and represent the world’s cultures. While there is still cultural representation, it mostly comes in the form of drinks.
Walt’s idea of creating a “utopian city of the future” has long since disappeared, and Disney’s IP has come in its place. One user wrote:
I think the people coming to Epcot solely to get blackout smashed are absolutely one of the factors ruining it. But for the average guest, I think the alcohol options are still a great way to experience different cultures and have fun. The main problem I have with Epcot is the lack of a cohesive theme, which at least the alcohol options stay on theme with the different countries or areas they’re in lol.
No matter what guests think, EPCOT’s alcohol isn’t going anywhere, and neither is the IP that Disney continues to push into the park. Guests will just have to figure out how to enjoy the park as it is now, not what it was.
Do you think alcohol is ruining EPCOT, or is it the lack of cohesive theming?