Though alcohol has always freely flowed at Disney parks like Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Disney California Adventure, out of a sense of tradition, the two most-attended theme parks in the world, the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland, have historically been dry. However, that all started changing a little over a year ago, when alcohol began being served across the Magic Kingdom’s table service restaurants after only being served in one dining locations. And now, alcohol is coming to Disneyland, and in a very similar way…
Alcohol confirmed to be coming to one (highly controlled) area of Disneyland only…for now
Image: Disney
Last year Disneyland fans were shocked to learn that Oga’s Cantina, a new watering hole inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, would be offering alcoholic beverages inside Disneyland. This is the first public restaurant at Disneyland Park that offers guests the chance to purchase and drink alcohol, which is a massive change for the park, which has been dry for over 60 years.
However, earlier this week Disney clarified some things about how this park is going to handle its first alcohol-serving establishment. First off, all drinks served inside this establishment will be pre-mixed, and guests won’t be able to order any “off-menu” items (like a Long Island iced tea or margarita, for example). In addition, guests who order alcoholic beverages must drink them in the restaurant, and will not be able to take these beverages “to go” anywhere else in the parks.
Image: Disney
We don’t exactly know how this conservative drink policy will be enforced, but if we had to guess we’d say this establishment will probably use non-disposable glassware to discourage guests from walking away with beverages, and there will likely be Cast Members standing at the exits making sure guests don’t accidentally leave with an alcoholic drink.
Guests will also have a strong incentive to hang out with thier drinks in this location, as there will be characters and live entertainment to check out at this establishment, Though not specifically stated, we’re also guessing there will be a limit to exactly how much alcohol can be purchased at Oga’s Cantina as well, just so Cast Members can keep this establishment from getting too full as guests enjoy their drinks before leaving.
Will this new policy stay this strict?
Image: Disney
Limiting alcohol in this park to one location only may seem like a good way to introduce adult beverages at Disneyland in a very small way, but one only has to look at the example of Magic Kingdom to see how quickly adult beverage availability can expand quickly at a formally dry park. Ever since the first drop of alcohol was served inside the Magic Kingdom back in 2012 at the Be Our Guest restaurant, many predicted that Disney would expand their alcoholic options inside this park some day, and sure enough in 2018, Disney added beer, wine, and cocktails to the menu at every single Magic Kingdom table service dining restaurant.
Of course Disney has yet to bring alcoholic drinks to quick service locations or roaming carts at the Magic Kingdom, which at least makes alcohol more limited in this park. In addition, guests also are unable to bring alcohol out of restaurants, which preserves at least some measure of this park’s formerly dry policy. And while some fans expressed discontent with this change in policy at first, the expansion of alcohol in this park largely went off without a hitch and could provide a good template for Disneyland’s implementation of adult beverages in areas of the park beyond Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, which is opening this summer.
Image: Disney
While we don’t know for sure what is going to happen with the introduction of booze at Disneyland, it seems very unlikely that adult beverages will stay confined to this one location for very long, especially as alcohol is a big moneymaker at every other Disney park. While we don’t know when an expansion might occur, at least for now, Disney is going for a very conservative approach to the implementation of alcohol at this park, and it will be interesting to see how fans react to this addition at the park, coming this summer!
