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Drinking around the World at Epcot

Walt Disney World: A tale of two alcohol aficionados.

From Joshua Counsil
Posted December 21, 2009 at 10:17 AM
On my last trip to Epcot, my friend Todd and I made an interesting trip around World Showcase, both for pleasure and journalistic research on TPI's behalf. Drinking around the world has been a debated topic on this site, so I thought I'd give it a whirl to see what all the fuss is about. I should note that I am a recent college graduate still living like an undergrad. I drink fairly frequently and feel I can handle myself when I do drink. I do not endorse Drinking around the World, nor do I condone it.

And with that, let's get drinkin'.

We started at around 1 pm in France, where we drank a semi-sweet, semi-dry, white wine (nice on a hot day) while watching the French chair acrobats. We also caught Impressions de France before heading to the pub in the U.K. We had a pint of lager by the World Showcase lagoon and people-watched.

We then went to Morocco, where I had a Habibi Daiquiri (can't recall what Todd had) while the Arab-rock fusion band "Mo'Rockin'" played. The daiquiri was really sweet and refreshing. We then enjoyed the drummers in Japan with some Sapporo beer before heading to Italy for Moretti. Since the Italian performer was not present that day, we watched the acrobats in China and drank Tsing-Tao.

Norway didn't have any Norwegian drinks, so we watched the glass blowers in Mexico while enjoying margaritas and pina coladas. The pina colada was excellent, a close contender for the best drink of the day. We also saw the new tequila bar. Very cool and very authentic - it's quiet, remote, and tiny - felt like a private tavern. There were tequila connoisseurs present to help you with your choice of over 70 tequilas. Very cool, and I'd love to sample some time, but the prices were steep. Only a few shots were less than $10, and some were upwards of $500.

We returned to the U.K. pub because the "Hat Lady" was to perform soon, and she came highly recommended. I grabbed a pint of Strongbow cider and a table. Good thing, too, as the pub became extremely crowded in the next 30 minutes. The Hat Lady was great - she played piano and wore ridiculous hats. She made freestyle songs about various patrons, including one about engineering for me.

By the time our pints were done, it was time to rush to Germany for our Biergarten reservation, where the rest of the group was to meet us. I cannot recall for the life of me what the amber beer I had was called, but it was so good that I opted for two of the liter pints. Easily the best drink of the day. We finished the night with chicken dancing, a performance of the American Adventure, and a ride on Mission: Space (great idea).

And thus concluded our Drinking around the World experience. You may have noticed that we skipped Canada, Norway, and the U.S. Being from Canada, we have plenty of exposure to Canadian and American beer, so we saved our money and instead opted for repeat visits to Germany and the U.K. Norway, as noted above, did not have any Norwegian drinks. We had some beers back in our hotel room to compensate for these discrepancies.

And how were we feeling? Sure, I was buzzed, but I did not act obnoxious or cause any disturbances. Todd fell asleep during the American Adventure, but did not interrupt the show. I'd say that's pretty successful. There were, however, some other drunks at the American Adventure who kept interrupting the show by yelling patriotic slang.

Overall, I'd say the experience was very fun and worthwhile. I wouldn't recommend completing the circuit with "lightweights" or children. We met a heavily intoxicated couple with their kids at the U.K. pub.

Your thoughts?


Comments in chronological order. Most recent at the bottom. Scroll down to respond.

From Anthony Murphy
Posted December 21, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Fantastic!

I am so glad you made this report. Let this be a testiment that Disney is not just for Kids.

From James Rao
Posted December 21, 2009 at 10:54 AM
So what was the final tab for your excursion?

From Joshua Counsil
Posted December 21, 2009 at 1:10 PM
I forgot to include the tab. It was well over $70. Some may consider that ludicrous, but our alcohol prices in Canada are much steeper than in the States, so it really felt like your average college bar night. Beer at Epcot was only a tad more expensive than it is up here.

I knew I'd be doing this excursion before the trip, so I put some money aside specifically for that day. And what a day it was.

From James Rao
Posted December 21, 2009 at 1:41 PM
$70 is a small price to pay for happiness! Did you check into the Betty Ford clinic on your way out? ;)

From Joshua Counsil
Posted December 21, 2009 at 3:57 PM
Haha - actually, I checked into our hotel room... where we continued drinking.

Some say I'm addicted to alcohol. I'd say I'm addicted to good times.

From Rob P
Posted December 22, 2009 at 12:48 AM
I do hope that you got your fastpass for Test Track before you embarfed...sorry.....embarked...on your World tour.

From Joshua Counsil
Posted December 22, 2009 at 11:01 AM
This day was all about the drinking. We had seen most of the attractions on a previous visit.

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