Drinking Around the World Responsibly

The Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is starting soon at Walt Disney World and as always there will be a plethora of fantastic cocktails to try as you make your way around World Showcase Lagoon. DFB Guide to the 2018 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival e-Book offers a fantastic selection of "crawls" to help you make your way without missing a sip. The book offers on point suggestions for not to miss beer, wine, and cocktail stops all the way around the world.

Drinking Around the World Responsibly


If you're looking forward to drinking your way around the world during Food & Wine Festival, or at any other time of the year, be sure to do so responsibly. No one wants to be "that guest" that gets carted off by security or tosses their cookies in the shrubbery. While this is an older article has been updated from it's original, it is just as important today as when it was first published. The Walt Disney World for Grown-ups team wants you to enjoy your festival experience, without incident. WDWFG community member and Registered Nurse Rebekah Pierce-Monzon offered us some common sense tips to make the best of the festival without getting carried away.

Remember to pace yourself. Rebekah says that "the average person can metabolize 1 serving of alcohol in about an hour. That's 12oz of beer, a 5oz glass of wine or a 1oz of hard liquor" When hitting the festival, be conscious of how much you're drinking in an hour. Tips for being able to try more great sips include buying one drink and sharing it with other adults in your party. Also, some festival booths offer tasting portions of libations, choosing a 3oz tasting portion is a great way to be able to try a larger variety without over-doing it.





Staying hydrated in the sun and heat is even more important when you're drinking. "Alcohol inhibits the production of ADH (anti-diuretic hormone) which helps regulate the fluid balance in your body," Rebekah's suggestion is to be sure and alternate servings of alcohol with bottles or glasses of water. Ice water is always free at all Disney Restaurants and marketplace booths carry bottles of Dasani for a fee.





Don't forget the food! It is the Food & Wine Festival after all, and there's a lot of great tastes waiting for you, don't forget to eat during your quest around the world. "People metabolize alcohol at different rates based on body weight and gender" says our expert, but that "alcohol is absorbed directly in the stomach and small intestine, so having food in your stomach or eating while drinking will slow the absorption."





Know your limits. Contrary to popular belief, Disney magic does not increase ones alcohol tolerance. When you combine that with heat and covering long distances on foot, you can have a recipe for disaster. When browsing through the long lists of wonderful libtations at the festival it's hard to make choices of what's best to drink, which is why touring with friends and splitting cocktails is a fantastic idea.

Pack and Hang-over kit. If you know that you will be indulging don't let it take away from your next day. It's no secret that booze is a big part of many Disney vacations, a little pre-planning when you pack can make a huge difference in how you feel the next morning. Here are a few things you may want to include.

DIY Vacation Hang-over Kit

• Natural Silk Sleep Mask
• Tylenol
• Disposable Foam Earplugs
• Blowfish for Hangovers
• Basik Eyewear

My thanks to Rebekah for her help with this post. Rebekah's bottom line to share "Go slow, have a good meal, drink way more water than you think you need to (at least 1 glass of water for every alcoholic drink) and if you've been drinking AT ALL - DO NOT DRIVE." That complimentary Disney transportation can really come in handy on your Epcot days.