Drinking around the world at Epcot

The hard drunks are usually quietly escorted away.

If you are concerned about sticking out like a sore thumb, go during the Food and Wine Festival. There are ton of bar craw....er....tour groups enjoying the drinks.

I would check out on Amazon Drunk Disney's drinking guide to Disney World. It is hilarious and he has a pretty good twitter handle (@drunkatdisney)

I think the Drinking Around the World crowd seems to proliferate on weekends during the F&W Festival. With a much wider selection and kiosks serving alcohol that are right off the main path (not buried in pavilions), Drinking Around the World becomes more of a sport with groups sporting t-shirts and sometimes dressing up for the occasion. I've never had an issue with them, and occasionally find myself entertained by the groups, especially when they're near the end of their journey.

I can say that I've only really gotten "hammered" once at EPCOT, but that was after the Party for the Senses, where it's essentially an open bar for 2+ hours. I think with all the walking and water you need to drink to keep from passing out even in fall weather, most people are pretty responsible, even the "frat-boy" groups.

Thanks @Anthony Murphy for the recommendation on the twitter handle. Gonna give that a follow. I'm not concerned about standing out, just was more curious about what the theme park enthusiasts thought of the drinking around the world crowd.

@Russell Meyer, Party for the senses? 2 hour open bar at Epcot? Prob expensive up the wazoo, but sounds like my kind of party!

They haven't released details for this year yet, but it's typically every Saturday evening throughout the F&W Festival (end of August through beginning of November this year). I seem to recall the price last year was @$150-170/person for a standard ticket with higher prices if you want more perks (VIP seating, table service for cocktails, exclusive drink options, and early entry). The Party for the Senses is kinda a free for all if you get just the base ticket with 20-40 individual dishes served at stations scattered about serving small plates of food with accompanying wines. You also don't know what will be served or even what chefs will be there (mostly local Disney chefs, but sometimes famous visiting chefs will present dishes), so it's frequently a roll of the dice that favors those with adventurous palates.

I haven't been in a while (2010), but I believe they've started serving more craft beers as well to pair with the dishes (used to be exclusively wine). The event also usually includes a spirit or two (with more offered to VIP ticket holders). Guests are also treated to entertainment (used to be LaNouba performers, but don't know what they'll do when the show closes at the end of the year), and you receive a wine glass with the F&W logo to take home (used to be nice Reidel glasses, but I had heard they switched to a different provider a year or 2 ago).

Some people are turned off by the atmosphere, which is rather chaotic with people scrambling for tables and chairs that quickly become a scarce commodity (thus the upcharge for early entry), but if you don't mind the craziness, it's a pretty fun event. The event occurs in the World Showplace Pavilion, which is between Canada and Great Britain in the World Showcase (relatively close to the International Gateway). Depending upon how our itinerary shapes up this year, and what other F&W Festival events are offered, we might do it again this year.