Disney Alcohol Ban Forces Guests to Purchase Upcharged Liquor

If you are planning on visiting Walt Disney World in the future, there are always things that you will need to learn or refresh yourself on, as there are things being added, new app systems to use, and policies to understand. For example, if you have not been to Disney over the past few years, you may not know too much about Disney Genie+ and the Lightning Lane system that replaced FastPass, so you would have to explore the My Disney Experience app in preparation to ensure that you know the ins and outs with the system if you plan to use it on your trip.

If you plan on drinking at your Walt Disney World Resort, there are also some new policies that you will have to learn, even if you do not like it.

When Guests go to Walt Disney World, things are going to be expensive.

When it comes to spending money at Disney, it is the easiest thing any Guest can do. Take Walt Disney World Resort, for example. Do you want to purchase tickets when you visit? Will you be going to Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT? Will you be eating at Disney Springs? Will you be getting a snack at Magic Kingdom, like a churro? Will you enter the World of Disney or the Emporium on Main Street, U.S.A.? It is truly so easy to spend money at Disney — it’s actually impossible not to.

Food and drinks may be some of the most expensive purchases that you will be making, depending on where you dine. Alcohol specifically has quite the markup, and it is not out of the norm to have a normal cocktail at Disney’s Hollywood Studios for $17. Although you cannot bring your own alcohol into the theme parks, you can consume it in your own hotel, which will save you a ton of money. But how will you get it there?

In the past, Disney allowed Guests to hold alcohol at Bell Services. This means you could either bring it with you at check-in and hold it with your luggage until your room is ready around 4:00 pm, or you could have it delivered, held, and pick it up once you are back at the hotel. Since Guests typically spend a lot of their time at the theme parks, having Bell Services hold their drinks so that they don’t have to worry about missing precious theme park time is key.

Now, that is no longer allowed.

Because Guests cannot always be certain they will be at the hotel to collect an alcohol delivery as they may very well be riding Big Thunder Mountain at Magic Kingdom when the delivery is placed, and because they would have to waste their first day holding the alcohol and not going to a park or Disney Springs because their room is not ready, and bell services will not hold their drinks, they are resorting to another option, that is much more costly.

We already touched on the price of drinks at the Disney Parks being astronomical, and oftentimes, it is hard to be able to purchase multiple drinks and carry them all back to your room, especially if you are planning to drink often. Now, Guests are turning to the hard liquor that can be found at the gift shops in your Disney Resort.

Now, we can see a larger amount of Guests raising questions about how to get alcohol from their Disney Resort. One Guest said, “What’s the hard alcohol situation at the shops inside the value resorts at Disney? I stayed at the Yacht Club in January and was surprised to find a wide selection of spirits is that the same for every Disney Resort.”

Multiple others chimed in, assuring the Guest that the variety of alcohol that they found at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort would also be available at a Value Resort such as Disney’s Pop Century Resort. This comes in the form of hard liquor, beer, and wine — at uncharged to match the classic “Disney” pricing that we so often see while visiting. So, by banning the holding of alcohol at Bell Services and creating a convenience to work around the new ban, Disney will be able to siphon the Guests who were previously purchasing drinks from other locations, but forcing them to spend more money than they would if they would deal with the inconveniences that come with waiting for a delivery person when you have a ticket to EPCOT.

What do you think of this new alcohol ban? Would you be more likely to buy liquor from Disney because of this?  

If you are looking to visit Walt Disney World Resort for a magical vacation, the Walt Disney World Website can be a great tool to begin planning your trip! You can begin exploring their theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT. You can also take a look at their water parks where you can splash around in the chill of Disney’s Blizzard Beach (alongside new Frozen characters, Anna, Elsa, Sven, and Kristoff), or hit the waves at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. When you get hungry or want to go shopping, Disney Springs is the place to be, especially with World of Disney there ready to help you pick up some souvenirs! You can also begin looking for your Disney World Resort! If you are looking to stay at a Deluxe monorail Resort like Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa or a Value Resort where you can hop on the Skyliner like Disney’s Pop Century Resort, it is always fun to begin looking for a room that would best suit you and your party. Plus, it has all the information you need to know on Disney Genie+ so that you will be ready to go on your My Disney Experience app once you download it! Click here to check it out today.