3 Disney cast members beat up by alleged drunk guest

[VWL Mom]

I think in a nutshell. This young man went to Epcot with the intentions of having a great time. Well along the way he had WAY too much to drink and got out of hand. They probably stepped in and tried to escort him out and he grew angry and violent towards the people trying to help him.

Only thing is he wasn't caught strolling around the WS, he was found in the underground tunnels. That is where he had the run ins with the CM's.

[Terra]

There is nothing wrong with it, except for the idea that anybody who makes a mistake (no matter how minor or how major) is somehow no longer a responsible person at all. What we do not know is when/how they lost their rational thinking ability (because clearly they did at some point along the way), or why. Does that immediately make them a less worthy or responsible person? I'm not sure that it does.




It seems likely the Cast Members are innocent parties, but beyond that we're very likely getting into shades of gray. Individual responsibility is a good mandate to the extent that everyone is operating with an unimpaired, fully matured, and sane brain. If you don't have that, for whatever the cause of that may be, you may have a hard time distinguishing what the responsible thing to do is.

Addressing your first paragraph.
Okay, I see now. I think you and I may have crossed wires.
I don't think people making mistakes makes them any less worthy. Not at all. If anything, I'm generally the one my friends call the bleeding heart. I mean seriously, I'm like the only one in my group of friends

Again my own father is an alcoholic and I have much sympathy for him. It's been awful watching him journey his life through an addiction. To watch a few months or a few years at most of being sober then it gets thrown away in one night because of a weak moment. It's hearbreaking. Heartbreaking because I never really had a father growing up. I didn't even see him for about 7 years at one point. He never made contact or anything.

Anyway, more than you want to know right I do understand about knowing the risks as a business if you *are* going to market alcohol. It's just that in the end, I'm going to place 90% of the responsibility on, my father for example, rather than the store or the bar that sold him the beer. Why? Because ultimately it was/is still my father's [or John Doe at the F&W festival] decision to have that first drink, that second, and so on.
Now granted, it would have been great someone had said, hey man, I think you've had enough.
But again, how would Disney really institute that? [Asking in all seriousness. I'm up for learning some ways because I really don't know! ]

It's tough. And I think most of us can agree that there is no easy answer. I do hope if there is more to the story that this young man will get the help he needs.

I guess I kind of intertwined my response concerning your second paragraph as well.
I agree that if a person has something more going on it becomes a much larger issue. And takes much more outside of that person to get it under control again.

[minnie04]

Only thing is he wasn't caught strolling around the WS, he was found in the underground tunnels. That is where he had the run ins with the CM's.

Got it!! Probably looking for a bathroom or got lost and wondered into to a restricted area ( it can happend).. Doesn’t make it right that he was in there, just doesn’t sound like he was a threat to the park itself, just the people he encountered when he was caught and asked to leave.. No matter, he is still a fool for acting that way and hurting people.

[quack arf squeak]

Is this the real life? ? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide. No escape from reality. Open your eyes and see.

[brad192]

I'm thinking there's something more behind this than we know right now.

The guy is/was a Naval Acadamy graduate, a Navy pilot, and a former Navy football player. You don't achieve all that without a lot of discipline & self control. My guess would be he was on some type of legit meds, had a few drinks, and had a bad interaction between the meds & the booze.

Then again, he could just be a first-class jerk.

Either way, if he's still Navy, he probably just ordered himself a Big Chicken Dinner.

[Daisy'sMom]

We were at Epcot on Saturday and left saying we would never go back during the wine and food fest. What started out as a great event has turned into a drunk fest. So much for Disney family fun. People were already intoxicated by noon, yelling, swearing and being obnoxious. Since we brought children with us, we were pretty disappointed.

[Ian]

According to the Orlando Sentinel he somehow got himself in to the back stage areas of Innovations and through the underground tunnels (which is where he got the PVC pipe).

"Hill then encountered cast member Timothy Beltley in the tunnels workers use to get around the theme park."

Okay so call me nuts and maybe I'm just unaware, but I did not think Epcot had tunnels or utilidors. I thought that was unique to the Magic Kingdom. Am I wrong here?

[Melanie]

Okay so call me nuts and maybe I'm just unaware, but I did not think Epcot had tunnels or utilidors. I thought that was unique to the Magic Kingdom. Am I wrong here?

First I've ever heard of it as well, Ian.

[Buttercup]

Okay so call me nuts and maybe I'm just unaware, but I did not think Epcot had tunnels or utilidors. I thought that was unique to the Magic Kingdom. Am I wrong here?

'
That's what I was coming here to say too, Ian! Magic Kingdom is the only park with utilidors. I can't imagine why they would transfer him from Epcot over to MK just so they could stroll through the tunnels. I'm guessing something is missing in the story here...

[DizneyFreak2002]

Epcot does have tunnels but not like MK's utilidors... I don't even know if CMs truly use them... I believe they are mostly for storage... and maybe break rooms... The utilidors are unique to MK... I guess Epcot's tunnels (small as they are), can be considered basements LOL...

[Scar]

I seem to remember reading that Epcot has a single tunnel that runs from The Land, under both Innovantions, to Mission: Space.

[NJGIRL]

We have been going to the Food & Wine since the first year it started. I have posted before that I have seen a downward spiral in the last four years. So many drunk people (not just college aged) getting sick in plain sight, being rude & pushy, and overly loud. I have never seen one cast member or security guard put a stop to the actions of these sloppy drunk people. This year instead of visiting EPCOT twice we only went once, avoiding the weekend when it seems most of the problems occur.

This is Disney's fault. When you have an event that revolves around drinking you must have security that is willing to remove the drunks. You must also have cast members that will refuse to sell drinks to people that already have had too much to drink.

[mickclub1955]

Okay so call me nuts and maybe I'm just unaware, but I did not think Epcot had tunnels or utilidors. I thought that was unique to the Magic Kingdom. Am I wrong here?

The only utilidors I have heard about at Epcot is below the American Adventure. I read about it in "The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World".

[TheDuckRocks]

We were at the F&W on Monday, Oct. 21. No problems with rowdy drunken people at all.
We went back on Friday, Oct. 25. Holy cow, it was a whole other story! By 2 in the afternoon my 16 year old granddaughter started playing a game she called, "Needs to Be Cutoff". The crowds were hitting the booze fast and furious. As the day progressed loud, rude behavior kept escalating. We took a break from World Showcase and hung out in Future World until it was time for our dinner ADRs. Sad.

[Tekneek]

My understanding was that Future World was built with some of the same utilidor and underground access concepts as MK, but I've never seen any of it myself.

We just came back from a 9 day trip to WDW, with a few days spent at Epcot. I was surprised how much World Showcase emptied out before Illuminations on the weekend. Those people were there primarily for the beer (based on what I saw the vast majority walking around with). I didn't see too much outrageous behavior from guests, but more than a handful were having trouble standing up (mostly young ladies, which I hope weren't getting themselves into serious trouble).

[Patricia]

How scary for the CMs! You never know what someone is going to do in these situations.

Epcot's tunnels are mostly under and around the Spaceship Earth area. There is a basement under American adventure. We were able to go down there during a Backstage Magic tour, it's part of the elevator type stage system they use for the show. I Don't think it travels as a tunnel would, but then.. we may not have seen it all.

[Main Street Jim]

Okay so call me nuts and maybe I'm just unaware, but I did not think Epcot had tunnels or utilidors. I thought that was unique to the Magic Kingdom. Am I wrong here?

EPCOT does have a single tunnel running kind of east/west in a "half-circle" shape underneath Innoventions East and West. Google "EPCOT Utilidor map" and you'll see a map, along with pictures.

[Yo Mickey!]

my wife and i head down every year for a 4 day weekend for f & w (got to see night ranger this year!). we like to have a few (and by a few i mean a few) we never really see people getting out of control. last year we did see two disney people quietly approach a guy that had two much and quietly ask him and his friends to leave. we were by hawaii and it was clear that the person selling the beverages alerted someone.

it was handled well and the party finally left.

i do see a lot of people having fun but i guess i haven't seen it really out of control.

[Lindsey]

i do see a lot of people having fun but i guess i haven't seen it really out of control.

Same for me. Sunday - Thursday I have never seen a person who has 'had too much'. It's different on Friday & Saturday though. For one it's much more crowded. There are a lot of locals and near-by residents, (like Tampa), who come to F&W for the weekend. I have seen people who were tipsy on Friday's & Saturday's, but nothing crazy. Everyone has always been friendly, asking what food and drink you have had, what was your favorite, etc. When my husband and I lived in Orlando we went to F&W most weekends and we always had fun. It's definitely more popular now, (so busier), but we still enjoy it when we visit.

[firefan43]

I have seen several drunk people at the F&W festival. The worst I ever saw was a while back when there was a Sam Adams tent in the America pavilion to demonstrate the different types of beer (with samples). An older woman on one of those mobility scooters drove in right in during the presentation, pulled up to any empty seat, slurped down all the samples and left. Disturbed the entire presentation. The gentleman from Sam Adams made a joke about it and then said that she had been through there 3 times. After it was over we left and as we were passing France (where there was a free wine tasting event in another tent) we saw the same woman being asked to some cast members. She started swearing at them dropping multiple F bombs. Then she sped off on her scooter. I have no idea what happened to her after that. I know I shouldnt have, but really, I just laughed.

It USED to be the case that the drunks would hang out at downtown Disney. The locals and townies would go there to drink, and they would harass the vacationers. I saw a group of pretty hardcore white trash guys that had to be in their mid 30's at least, following and harassing a group of teen girls. The girls were clearly shaken by it, and went to one of the stores and asked them to call security. When the guys heard them saying to call security, they started walking away laughing and shouting back at the girls calling them "b**ches" and other such words. When security showed up, the girls quickly pointed out the men who were being offensive, and security did NOTHING. Didnt even confront the men and ask them to behave. Nothing.