Walt Disney World Resort Tickets and Deals: Now You Can Finish Your Orlando, Florida Vacation With Alcohol After the Park Closes
If you enjoy a good drink, good ambiance and good adventures, there's a good chance you've thought about getting a bit inebriated at Disney World and gallivanting around at night. Good news: now you sort of can.
Recently, Disney introduced its After the Hours Wind Down package at the Epcot Center in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
"Following a fantastic fireworks spectacular, stick around Epcot as you take your pick from 4 exclusive lounges and satisfy your senses with tempting cuisine, as created by award-winning Epcot chefs and sommeliers," Disney explains.
The most exciting part of the After Hours Wind Down package is you get to drink. The $35 ticket deal (which doesn't include tax or tip) gets you one drink and access to a selection of light snacks. Once you pay, you'll be allowed to drink in the Epcot bars while the rest of the park remains closed from 9:20 p.m. until 11 p.m.
"The goal was not for the bar to be open later, but it was for you to be able to take something new or pair something new from a culture that you might not be as familiar with," Mandy DiGiammarino, general manager of food and beverage at Epcot, told Orlando Sentinel.
Drinks will match the restaurant's theme. La Cava del Tequila will give patrons one tequila shot, for example.
"Many people think of tequila as a party beverage," DiGiammarino said. "Tequila is very sophisticated -- but many of us do not realize that."
Don't get too twisted though, it's still Disney after all.
"It's more of an educational experience than it is a party-bar atmosphere," DiGiammarino explained.
Of course, participants must also pay for regular park admission, which is about $95 at Epcot for a single-day entrance pass.
"The idea that everyone has to leave and you can sit and relax and have the park to yourself for a little while [is appealing]," Lou Mongello, host of the independent WDW Radio podcast, said. "You're paying for the sense of exclusivity and doing something special."
Not everyone is on board, however.
"A lot of people are frustrated by that price point," A.J. Wolfe, operator of the independent Disney Food Blog, argued. "It's hard to get into those places -- they're packed, especially Rose & Crown and La Cava."
The deal is available up until Sept. 15.
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