It was HUGE NEWS when it was announced that four Table Service restaurants in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom would start serving alcoholic beverages in late December 2016.
Glass of Wine at Be Our Guest Restaurant
Why? Because — with the exception of Dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant which opened in late 2012 — Magic Kingdom had always been a dry park, in keeping tradition with Walt Disney’s wishes for his original park, Disneyland.
And that’s why it remains relatively big news today that Crystal Palace and The Plaza Restaurant in Magic Kingdom have both just begun serving alcohol as well, with a selection of beer, wine, and a specialty cocktail at each location.
The Plaza Restaurant sign
Below is the Crystal Palace beverage menu, which is available for all three meals served at the Character buffet: breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Crystal Palace Beer, Wine, and Cocktail Menu
And here is the drink menu for The Plaza Restaurant.
The Plaza Restaurant Beer, Wine, and Cocktail Menu
Why the change? Well, we don’t know for certain, but it is easy to make an assumption based on recent changes to the Disney Dining Plan. You see, for the first time in 2018, the Plans include an alcoholic beverage for of-age guests as part of their Table Service and Counter Service credits. Could this be in response to guests wishing to maximize the full value of their Dining Plan purchase?
And, if that IS the case, does this mean it’s only a matter of time until we see alcohol served at Counter Service locations throughout Magic Kingdom?
We shall see… in the meantime, what do YOU think about this change?
Find out more about our thoughts on Table Service restaurants in Magic Kingdom in our DFB YouTube Video!
What are your thoughts on alcohol being served at more restaurants in Magic Kingdom? Please let us know with a comment!
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I feel as long as it doesn’t get out of hand as far as public intoxication, I don’t think a single glass of wine or beer with a meal should be frowned upon. It does help and create more value with the dining plans and will help add to the bottom line with an additional revenue generating offering versus raising existing offerings per say.
In somewhat related news, Walt Disney World has announced that they are looking to hire 25% more in park security cast members.
I’m all for this but they certainly could have chosen a better selection of beers like in the other parks.
Walt was ADAMANT about serving alcohol in the Magic Kingdom. It was not going to happen. PERIOD. Walt is not happy. Can’t we hold to some traditions? Can’t we draw a line somewhere? This is a really bad, bad idea if for no other reason than Walt himself was TOTALLY AGAINST it. The Magic Kingdom was dry for over 40 YEARS! This is totally uncalled for! There is no reason for alcohol to come to the Magic Kingdom! It’s just not right! Walt is not happy!
Really hope they don’t include it at quick service locations. I can’t wrap my head around seeing people walk around MK with a beer in their hand.
I don’t like it. Mr. Disney was very much against this. A good example is the loss of control that happens too often at the food and wine festival. It doesn’t hurt to have 1 park that’s alcohol free. You can drink everywhere else.
I suspect that this is being done to boost the restaurant’s bottom line, and because alcoholic beverages are not included on the dining plan, which I think was done for the reason of the bottom line. This is a big money maker. For example, the MacMurray Estate Pinot Noir is $15.99 at our leading grocer Wegmans, which has an extensive wine department. On the Crystal Palace and Plaza Restaurant menu, it is $55. Now, obviously nearly all restaurants upcharge wine and beer compared to what you’d buy it for at the grocery store, but that is a BIG difference.
Sorry…that is supposed to read… Alcoholic beverages are NOW available on the dining plan. I don’t see an option to edit my comment.
If you can smoke in the park, you should be able to drink. I hate having to smell smoke and see it but I don’t hear people complain about it.
Alcohol at Disney World is an incredibly bad value.
Essie is absolutely correct and I am sure there will be those that get shall we say stupid after a few drinks, which was one of Walt’s concerns. That is why he wanted the Magic Kingdom to be family and kid oriented and alcohol free. This decision should be rethought, especially at Crystal Palace which is a great character meal and always full of kids. Let’s not drive the families out of this experience to appease a few people who can’t go a meal without alcohol. They should honor Walt’s vision and keep Crystal Palace alcohol free, I think people booking there would fully understand the reason it is that way.
Crystal Palace? Really, Disney? Having a beer with Pooh Bear? Could we not at least keep the Hundred Acre Wood a place of childhood? It saddens the heart.
I am against alcohol in the Magic Kingdom. It was designed for families, with a focus on our little ones. The Magic Kingdom was designed to be the “happiest place on earth”. Alcohol can ruin that for some people, including children. Adults can enjoy alcohol at the other parks. It’s sad to see that Walt Disney’s purpose for this magical place for children is being thwarted.
While I don’t agree with serving alcohol in the Magic Kingdom, if it at least remains at the table service restaurants guests can be limited in the number of drinks that they are served. I feel that the reason it tends to get more out of control at other parks is because of the easy access to all the different booths and quick service venues serving it and it allows guests to quickly hop between locations having drink after drink.
I love it!! I hope they expand it!I always wish I could have a glass of wine or beer towards the end of the day watching the fireworks.
do you really CARE TO HEAR WHAT I THINK? If you really cared, Walt would of never done this!!!!!!!!!!
Walt’s been dead for over 5 decades. Get over yourselves people. if you don’t want alcohol, don’t buy it.
I am totally disgusted with this decision !! That’s all we need is a park full of drunks running around !! This is not the Disney I know ! Who is making these ignorant decisions anyway !
What would Walt say?
The cost to visit WDW and Disneyland have skyrocketed. This seems just another way to improve the bottom line.
Well said, Roz! Only those who have truly grown up, can realize that they can survive without a drink being available every minute, everywhere they go.
Shaun, you can not smoke in the parks. They have recently started too do away with the ‘designer’s smoking areas, also, because some intelligent people realized that smoke travels, everywhere!!!!!!!!
People, The Magic Kingdom isn’t opening any bars! They are offering an option to have a drink with dinner at two of their sit down restaurants. Wow! Relax! Perhaps a nice glass of wine would calm your nerves!
I personally enjoy an alcoholic drink with a meal and have the dining plan for this years trip and will use my drinks quota within reason. However, I agree with the aforementioned comments who quite rightly note that Walt Disney himself, without whom these magical places would not exist, was very clear that he did not want alcohol in the Magic Kingdom. Lets be clear, WDW is making a profit led, not a morally led decision. Shame on those now in charge. I will not be ordering alcoholic beverages in Crystal Palace, imagine if someone spilled their red wine on Eeyore …!!
I am 66. I have been going to the Magic Kingdom almost yearly since it opened. I love a good drink at the right time. My children never saw me drink at Disney, nor my grandchildren. I will keep it that way. Walt would have liked that. This is not needed at the MK. This place is for kids.
I have been to Disney a ton of times since they started serving alcohol and have never seen anyone inebriated to the point where I said “its because of the damn alcohol sales now”. I think the cost will prohibit most from drinking any more than 2 drinks, and yes I know it is included with the meal plan now but at least people will be eating with their drink to lessen the effect. I personally have kids and still don’t mind responsible drinking or having a drink with their meal. I don’t think people go to Disney to get drunk as there is no Happy Hour and most are respectful of the park’s aura. And I also assume park security/bartenders will be right on top of anyone who remotely looks/sounds like they could be starting to become noticeably distracting of the parks values.
This makes me so sad. Magic Kingdom was a place where adults could let go of inhibitions and worries without needing alcohol.
This past January, we had alcohol at most of the counter service restaurants in WDW. We had ONE beverage with our meal. We were ok with that. We would often share a beverage with lunch anyway. Just one…..Control is the key here!
I have been going to Disney World for about 30 years and have no memories of seeing anyone obnoxiously drunk.
Remember that people are on vacation. If they want to have a drink, let them have a drink. If they are overdoing it, then park security has the right to remove them. If you are worried about your kids seeing a drunk person, maybe point out to them that people act “silly” when they drink too much.
Sure, Walt was adamant that there should be no alcohol when the park was opened in 1971, but times and customer demands change. Walt was a terrific man who built a wonderful world that has given me and my family a lifetime of joy, but not all of Walt’s viewpoints were exactly spot on or saintly despite how he has been portrayed.
I am in my early 50s. My parents took me to WDW often, starting when I was about 7. We always stayed at the Poly, and gasp, my parents would often enjoy a cocktail before dinner at the restaurant or the luau when I was with them. The horror. After I was grown and out of college, my mom and I took a few trips to WDW. We would, gasp, have a cocktail together sometimes when eating out. I have fond memories of enjoying delicious strawberry margaritas at what was then Captain Jack’s and gazing across the water at the holiday lights at the marketplace. The Magic Kingdom has been serving beer and wine with dinner at BOG since December 2016, and the sky hasn’t fallen. Just because an adult wishes to enjoy an adult beverage with a meal does not mean he or she hasn’t matured, isn’t “fully an adult” or “has to have a drink to get by.” The sanctimonious attitude toward people who responsibly enjoy a cocktail, beer or wine is way over the top and quite frankly very condescending. I don’t look down or put down people who choose not to drink alcohol. Those of us who do should receive the same treatment.
Terrible Idea Walt is not happy. After the ever increasing prices at WDW and the very unpopular charge for resort parking this is horrible if you need a drink go to one of the other three parks. The MK should remain free of alcohol. What’s next a Bud Light sign hanging from the castle. As annual pass holders I am reevaluating whether I want to continue bring my many grandchildren to what was once my true Happy Place. Very sad news. If we do return we will definitely avoid restaurants serving alcohol at the MK. I am personally a person who enjoys a drink but not at the MK.
Cheers. Walt was no teetotaller. Disneyland has had a liquor license since 1955. You just had to know how/when/where alcohol was available on the property. It was more of an image and context thing for Walt. The degree to which dining has become an attraction at the parks, it is only natural for the various dining venues to want to be able to attract customers on an equal basis.
I own a restaurant & tavern and I totally DO NOT want alcohol in MK. There’s a time and place for everything and drinking booze at the MK isn’t the time or the place!!!
Lets have ONE dry park….please!!!
I’m happy! I do hope they hold the line at table service establishments. I do NOT want to see beer or plastic go-cups staggering through MK. I don’t think too many people will become intoxicated enjoying beer or wine with dinner (and I will!) and even Walt knew things have to change over time.
Picture this. Walking down Main Street with a beer in one hand and a child on the other. Ask BILL what he thinks.
Ok thanks. I’m am extremely disappointed in Disney management It hurts
The world and WDW has changed since the time of Walt, meaning that it is high time that alcohol is added to Magic Kingdom. Walt didn’t want alcohol in his parks during this time because they were little more than glorified amusement parks without table service dining, and he didn’t want people stumbling around drunk like they did at Coney Island. Walt was quite the drinker himself, and wasn’t completely against alcohol.
I just returned from WDW, where the evening Safari at Animal Kingdom was invaded by drunkards! I could barely hear the driver, and the drunks were loud enough to scare the animals away. They were also arrogant enough to challenge miuch of what the driver was saying. Geez, did you REALLY have to explain that storks do not deliver babies, followed by how babies are created? Drunks in F&W is bad enough … this crap is ridiculous. No more Annual Pass for me!
Personally I love the idea that I can now have a mimosa with my breakfast at crystal place, makes it feel a little bit more special (we are eating there on my birthday)
However I totally understand what everyone’s saying about Walt being adamant he wanted it to be a dry park… seems a shame to go against that.
Been to Epcot during the Food and Wine Fest….big mistake! My family and I witnessed several, shall we say, drunk off their ass people who literally had to be half carried onto and off of rides. Completely ruins said ride for people. Also, I saw a child get knocked over but a drunk, father of child almost lost it but the wife calmed him down….would have been interesting to see a knock down drag out fight between the drunk and the father. Wonder who would have won that one?
Disney will continue to do whatever it takes to rake in the cash. Not shocked by this in the slightest. I’m sure we’ll see “Drinking around the Central Hub” soon enough.
Also, those should really be labeled mocktails, not cocktails. Cocktails contain liquor. These are just made with wine.
Could be in Disney’s best interest to help families take the edge off after a melt-down in MK, and alcohol is more socially acceptable than Valium dispensing machines.
For every ‘Drinking around the Hub’ security call, there will be 10 less ‘raging guest interaction’ calls. Money saver!