When Walt Disney first designed Disneyland, he wanted to separate it from any of the amusement parks and carnivals that had preceded it, and one way he did that was by keeping alcohol out of the park. While Walt did not live to see Magic Kingdom open at Walt Disney World, this rule was kept in place, and it lasted until 10 years ago, when Magic Kingdom began to serve adult beverages in some restaurants. Now, a decade after this massive change was made, it is being expanded once again, as cocktails will be available in some Magic Kingdom restaurants for the first time very soon.
Up to now, the alcohol available for purchase at Magic Kingdom’s table service restaurants have been limited to beer and wine but beginning September 13 three Magic Kingdom restaurants, Jungle Skipper Canteen, Liberty Tree Tavern, and Diamond Horseshoe, will each offer a pair of cocktails. Attractions Magazine reports the cocktails are:
Jungle Skipper Canteen
- Jungle Bird Cocktail – Gosling Black Rum, Campari, and cane syrup blended with pineapple and lime juices.
- Golden Haze Margarita - Teremana Blanco Tequila, Grand Marnier, agave syrup, lime juice, and smoked chili bitters.
Liberty Tree Tavern and Diamond Horseshoe
- Gold Rush – Elijah Craig Bourbon, lemon juice, and honey, garnished with crystalized ginger.
- Magical Beacon Cocktail – Created in celebration of the 50th Anniversary is this concoction of Empress 1908 Gin, Bols Blue Curacao, Minute Maid premium lemonade, Orgeat (almond), lemon, hibiscus grenadine and a souvenir glow cube.
It was a big deal 10 years ago when the Be Our Guest Restaurant opened and offered alcohol to the general public. While the other parks at Walt Disney World had always offered adult beverages, Magic Kingdom was kept dry, seemingly as a tribute to Walt Disney himself and the way he wanted his parks to be.
Of course, alcohol is a huge money maker and it tends to be something that guests want, especially with meals, so the decision was made to allow beer and wine sales in the park, but only at table service restaurants. The drinks cannot be taken out into the park in the way they can at Epcot or the other parks.
Disneyland was kept dry until Oga’s Cantina opened with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in 2019. Alcoholic beverages can now also be found at the Blue Bayou restaurant. Cocktails have been available there, but are not currently on the menu.
While nothing official has been said about the future of cocktails inside Magic Kingdom, it seems more than likely this will go the same way of beer and wine before it. Unless, for some reason, guests don’t take to the available cocktails, we’ll likely see Disney World expand them to the other table service locations. Although it took years after the introduction of beer and wine at Disney World for all table service locations to get it.
People have come to terms with having alcohol inside Magic Kingdom and Disneyland so adding liquor to the beer and wine list probably won’t raise too many eyebrows.
