HHN Alcohol

[Gargoyle]

This topic comes up every year, but I think it is getting way too out of hand this year. There were obviously drunk people in every house line I was in last weekend, a woman on line for B&T suddenly raced to the railing and hurled, and the bushes by the Simpson ride reeked of vomit. On the street by the entrance to Saws and Steam there was a bar kiosk, in the middle of the street was one of the ever-present blood-bag nurses, and across the street was a Coors wagon. All within 50 feet of each other. I know the alcohol is a big money-maker for the park, but has Universal finally taken it too far?

Each outlet is supposed to limit you to one drink per ID, but when there are 3-4 outlets next to each other, that rule is essentially meaningless.

I've seen cars weaving across lanes as I leave the park at night.

I feel this year that Universal is pushing the alcohol harder than prior years, and not only is it becoming more annoying while trying to enjoy the event, I think it is only a matter of time before there is a tragedy as people are driving home.

Has anyone else noticed this, or am I just becoming an old prude?

[Josh]

This topic comes up every year, but I think it is getting way too out of hand this year. There were obviously drunk people in every house line I was in last weekend, a woman on line for B&T suddenly raced to the railing and hurled, and the bushes by the Simpson ride reeked of vomit. On the street by the entrance to Saws and Steam there was a bar kiosk, in the middle of the street was one of the ever-present blood-bag nurses, and across the street was a Coors wagon. All within 50 feet of each other. I know the alcohol is a big money-maker for the park, but has Universal finally taken it too far?

Each outlet is supposed to limit you to one drink per ID, but when there are 3-4 outlets next to each other, that rule is essentially meaningless.

I've seen cars weaving across lanes as I leave the park at night.

I feel this year that Universal is pushing the alcohol harder than prior years, and not only is it becoming more annoying while trying to enjoy the event, I think it is only a matter of time before there is a tragedy as people are driving home.

Has anyone else noticed this, or am I just becoming an old prude?

There are just as many bar tents, mini bars in line, and blood bag nurses as there have been previously. Each time I've attempted to get a drink I've had to wait a few minutes for a line to clear, if they were to set up less distribution points for alcohol then lines would increase throughout the park and most likely lead to a profit loss. The area by Saws N Steam is typically bombarded with people, why would you not have a bar kiosk set up there? I've seen that line get 15-20 people long so why not set up a wagon / cart for those who just wanted a quick beer and not a mixed drink? When you break it down the amount of distribution points make sense in relation to the traffic of the given area.

Drunks are a problem, but that's why you have security and police. I see more issues with punk teenagers trolling the scareactors and being rowdy in line, or smoking, or ozone layers depleting, or people who walk extremely slow, or when you're stuck in a 30 minute line with someone who has terrible BO. Now I'm just ranting =]

[mikekilpatrick]

I was there all weekend and did not see one issue in or out of the houses with the drunks this year. I also don't think there was more alcohol this year than in previous years so no difference from what I could tell.

[atigeg]

Pretty much the same this year as in years past. I've seen some drunks this year, but none causing trouble. So far, I prefer them to the douche who crushed my toes twice, ripping the skin off on one foot, because he and the bimbos in his group kept running backwards (he stopped after I kicked him good & hard the second time; I figured it was only fair to share the intense pain). Some people turn into assclowns when you add booze, but many more are natural-born assclowns, and cutting back on liquor wouldn't stop them.

[AaronPaHHNFan]

It's up to the drinkers to act like adults and know their limits. They could line the park with one gigantic bar and I could care less. It's up to you and me as adults to know our limits. I always drink when I'm at a haunt (HHN or local) yet I know when enough is enough. I think there's more of a problem with pre gaming at one's home or hotel or even in the car, in the parking garage. I say that because it's not like they have drink specials where you can get a 2 dollar shot or 2 dollar draft. Let's face it, to get drunk at HHN cost's a lot of money. If someone is dumb enough to spend 80 bucks on some beer then they deserve to be throwing up in the bushes. Bartenders shouldn't serve visibly drunk patrons though. To combat the drunk driving stop serving alcohol an hour or two before park close. Then at least they sweat some of it out, maybe eat some food and drink some cola or something. There's no need to punish the rest of us responsible drinkers because a few people don't know their limits. I vote alcohol stays and even increases. Get drunk be happy. Just know your limits, problem solved.

[marchofprogress]

On my way in to the park, my Lady Friend and I had to immediately throw our beers in the trash (we got some Affordable Beverages at a local gas station while killing time waiting for cheap parking). The security guard not only wouldn't let us finish them off, but he wouldn't let us walk off with them in the direction we came (i.e., out). He essentially said we needed to throw them in the trash or he was going to call OPD. And he also carded us (what the butt -- sorry for the offensive language).

Once you get in to the park and you're paying 83 dollars for a bottle of beer, I think it's actually pretty self-limiting. . . The people who get drunk off the drinks they serve at HHN are going to be drunk somehow no matter what. People are ludicrously creative when it comes to Habits...

Not to mention that set and setting are way more important than actual alcohol consumption. Time and time again, it's been proven that if you give people "beer" in huge quantities they will get "drunk" even when the "beer" is nonalcoholic. It's a group dynamic thing and an expectation thing. UCF's psych department actually has a lab on campus devoted to research into that - it's called the SURG lab. So even if they didn't smuggle something in it wouldn't matter. Add to that the fact that people equate the price of the drink with the amount of alcohol it contains (again regardless of what is objectively True) and you've got yourself a drunken festivity!

You're going to have drunks at HHN. Every year. All the time. Every night. All night. That's just the way it is - people like to get drunk at HHN and have a good time. And you know what? Me in my Ivory Tower with my Frequent Fear Pass, I personally enjoy them. Nobody wants to watch someone puke. That's totally gross..... But.... Well... I can pretty much guarantee you it was a helluva lot worse for the puker. They'll wake up the next day almost certainly hung over (you lose quite a bit of water puking..) but also looking like a total jackass. Then you get to live with that.

Yeah drunks can be loud and crazy, but Humans can be loud and crazy. You don't need to give those animals liquor.

Now then . . . . The part that really gets me is the part about the cars swerving out of the garage, because I've seen that too pretty much every night I've ever gone to HHN. Which is a lot of nights. .... I think that maybe Mr. "If you leave the park with your beer I'm calling the cops and you'll be charged with .... of-age drinking!" security guard should check people on the way *out* of the park....

Let's get some money together, start a taxi service, and set up a contract with Universal to shuttle their drunks home anywhere in Orlando for free!

[Cramer]

On the topic of calling OPD just for having a drink, if I'm not mistaken, having a drink in public is illegal in Orlando. I frequent downtown Orlando, and always hear a huge fuss about it. Nobody is allowed to bring their drinks outside of the venue they obtained them from, the cops are extremely strict about it, and have arrested people over it. Probably just to release them a few hours later, but I've seen it happen. On top of that, they aren't allowed to sell alcohol after I think it's 2AM, but that's irrelevant for HHN as it hardly ever extends past 2AM.

[Jakemeister]

My exact sentiments on the alcohol at the event.

[Hush]

Didn't see any crazy drunks Sunday night at all. Eric and I actually both made the comment that it was probably the best behaved crowd we've seen in years and every bar we walked by, there was no line at all.

I would venture to guess that on any given day at Epcot you'll find just as many randomly drunk people drinking "around the world" as you would find drunk guests at HHN.

As someone else in this thread stated, I noticed more punk ass teenagers trolling scareactors and acting like idiots than I did drunks...and that was just in one night.

Booze is a long standing tradition at this event, some people can handle their alcohol, others can't.

Same thing happens every night at bars, restaurants and clubs across Orlando.

[marchofprogress]

On the topic of calling OPD just for having a drink, if I'm not mistaken, having a drink in public is illegal in Orlando. I frequent downtown Orlando, and always hear a huge fuss about it. Nobody is allowed to bring their drinks outside of the venue they obtained them from, the cops are extremely strict about it, and have arrested people over it. Probably just to release them a few hours later, but I've seen it happen. On top of that, they aren't allowed to sell alcohol after I think it's 2AM, but that's irrelevant for HHN as it hardly ever extends past 2AM.

No. Disagree. Cop's logic was that I wasn't allowed my buh and he can demand I throw it out because Uni is a private property. Therefore, no arrest for public drinking. Not in public. Also the cop didn't have to be such a hardass about it ... He could've just said "fine finish it make it quick" and I'd be trashing an empty bottle before the sentence was over. I'm not the guy he needs to be after.

And also, if you want to know why I call it "buh" you can blame 50 cent: "You can find me in the cluh / bottle fulla buh" ..

Didn't see any crazy drunks Sunday night at all. Eric and I actually both made the comment that it was probably the best behaved crowd we've seen in years and every bar we walked by, there was no line at all.

I would venture to guess that on any given day at Epcot you'll find just as many randomly drunk people drinking "around the world" as you would find drunk guests at HHN.

As someone else in this thread stated, I noticed more punk ass teenagers trolling scareactors and acting like idiots than I did drunks...and that was just in one night.

Booze is a long standing tradition at this event, some people can handle their alcohol, others can't.

Same thing happens every night at bars, restaurants and clubs across Orlando.

Uh, you can find drunk people "around the world" in the real world too. When that stupid gas ball you Humans call the sun finally disappears, if I go into a convenience store I always operate under the reasonable assumption that there's a 71% chance there's some drunk in there being drunk.

In fact, I bet if you took any random selection of people as big as the crowd at HHN on a Friday night, the amount of drunks would be about the same.

I stand by my commitment to be amused by them. The only other choice is to flip out and turn into Michael Douglas in Falling Down. .... Or perhaps just turn into Michael Douglass.

[Oysterhead00]

I didn't see any crazy drunks in the 4 nights I was there....with the exception of one girl (who looked about 15) repeatedly saying the following when pointing at Rip Rocket "I'm gonna ride that coaster like I ride a d**k".

Quite entertaining drunk in my book.

Did see some guy puking in a garbage can, and leaving the park some guy fighting with security about asking to see his manager....but no obnoxious drunks at all.

[AaronPaHHNFan]

No. Disagree. Cop's logic was that I wasn't allowed my buh and he can demand I throw it out because Uni is a private property. Therefore, no arrest for public drinking. Not in public. Also the cop didn't have to be such a hardass about it ... He could've just said "fine finish it make it quick" and I'd be trashing an empty bottle before the sentence was over. I'm not the guy he needs to be after.

And also, if you want to know why I call it "buh" you can blame 50 cent: "You can find me in the cluh / bottle fulla buh" ..

Be happy the cop could have taken you to jail instead of just making you pour out your buh.

Oh and by the way it's You can find me in da club, bottle full of BUB. As in bubbly or as most humans call it champagne. So you can call it beer again if you want.

I saw 2 people throw up at EPCOT last year when I was there. It was a warm day but they we're both hammered. As Hush said some people can handle their alcohol and some can't. If someone gets drunk at HHN most likely their going to do the same at a football game or rock concert. All public events that serve alcohol have problems with people who can't handle their drinks, not just HHN. So to those who think there's a problem with alcohol at HHN, should we just ban alcohol outright? Ban it at all public events? What should be done about it because it's not just a problem for HHN. Like I said before get drunk be happy but know your limits.

[marchofprogress]

Be happy the cop could have taken you to jail instead of just making you pour out your buh.

Oh and by the way it's You can find me in da club, bottle full of BUB. As in bubbly or as most humans call it champagne. So you can call it beer again if you want.

I saw 2 people throw up at EPCOT last year when I was there. It was a warm day but they we're both hammered. As Hush said some people can handle their alcohol and some can't. If someone gets drunk at HHN most likely their going to do the same at a football game or rock concert. All public events that serve alcohol have problems with people who can't handle their drinks, not just HHN. So to those who think there's a problem with alcohol at HHN, should we just ban alcohol outright? Ban it at all public events? What should be done about it because it's not just a problem for HHN. Like I said before get drunk be happy but know your limits.

In decreasing order of importance:

Re: relevant stuff. Agree: People get drunk at public events. Agree: foolish to ban liquor outright. But.... Think about this. In order to curb smoking habits in interest of public health (among other reasons), the taxes on cigarettes in NYC are enormous - last I heard a pack cost 9 dollars in Manhattan. Same logic at HHN. Ninety dollars for a beer means that the people who get drunk are spending a whollllle lot of money to do so, which means two things: A- The people who are drunk would get drunk whether the beer was sold there or not, because they are committed to it, and B - Universal's never going to stop selling alcohol at HHN, ever, ever, ever, until they are forced by the gubment - it's too big a moneymaker (and makes people spend even more money because of impaired judgement!). What you and others see as a Problem, Uni sees as a HUGE Bottom Line. And they can always hide behind "you don't like it? Don't go!" and even if many many people boycotted the event because they sold alcohol ("Puritans," I think they're called), they wouldn't make a dent in Uni's Bottom Line. There's a lot of artistry and wonderful fantastic things that go into HHN, but when it comes down to it, it is a profit machine. This is not a public service Uni provides for fun. They're doing it because when you walk in the gate they've already got 50 bucks from you. Next time you go, look around you. Every one of those people gave Uni at least 50 bucks. I gave them 90 for my ticket, and if all goes as planned I'll have given them well over 200 bucks by the end of it all. Some of that may even be ninety dollar beers - who knows?

So, you say some people can handle their alcohol and some people cant........ I'd like to add that some people can handle their drunks and some people cant. I know Uni can. Uni squeezes them for profits! Another suggestion for next time you're there : hit one of the bars and get a shot of something that you know the taste of. For me, that was a whiskey, neat. Taste said drink. Does it not taste watered down? Did you not expect it to? The beers are ninety dollars each and I don't know about you but I'm 6' just under 200lb and not a drinker, but I could put away a six pack and my size + the time that passes = me maybe having a cool little buzz but there's no puking or bad decisions involved. I can say the same thing about my Lady Friend, who's almost 80 pounds lighter than me. Maybe if SHE sat and drank six beers in a row she might be pretty drunken but ... Meh.

Now think about the DRUNK people you see at HHN and try to think of how much it took to get them that drunk. Keep in mind that the liquor is watered down. Keep in mind that the beers are ninety a pop, and that the liquor drinks are five hundred a pop. Extrapolate. Do math. Carry the ones. Look at that DRUNK person. How much money did they drop to get that drunk?

I have literally tried to get smashed at HHN. I budgeted 60 bucks to get drunk throughout the night. Maybe around 10 I started feeling a little lightheaded and tipsy, but when the park closed I was fine - I drove home, which was against the plan. I had a friend meet me there to drive me home because I planned on being too bombed to drive. Nope. Would've taken twice that much.

So suppose you're the average HHN goer. You probably go on a peak night, so you probably pay about 70 right away. Then you probably want to show up to get the most out of your ticket and be there when the event starts, so you get there before 8, so they hit you for another 12 for parking. Then you're in the park. You've already spent 82 dollars. If you take the results of my experiment and say that it takes 2x as much to make you drunk.... then.... by the time you're puking in the bushes making a fool out of yourself, Uni's probably squeezed you for 300 bucks, at least.

Now look around at everyone else. And imagine you're Uni. Do you really care at all if the guy puking in the bushes ruins someone's experience? Eff someone else's experience - they got 82 dollars out of that someone else too. Bottom line, bottom line, bottom line.

This discussion has happened every year since as long as I can remember. Every year people say thisandthat has to be done about alcohol... Well, once you realize that alcohols never ever going to be banned from HHN, you'll see that not only is the "what can be done" already occurring (that is, charging way too much), but it's fueling the fire to make it enough of a moneymaker that there's never going to be any ban!

On top of that, I bet that for every person that can be assembled to boycott HHN until it becomes a dry event, there's at least two who will boycott it if they hear liquor is not served.

So, let's get real here. People get drunk at HHN, some of them get stupidly drunk, stupid people do stupid things, let them do it, who cares ? I certainly don't. I welcome it. Want to know why?

Because the past few years have been economic Poo, and I believe that the profit margin on the liquor is part of what's keeping the doors open at HHN to begin with, and I am grateful for that. Uni is a corporation - a legal entity designed almost specifically to make sociopathic urges allowable - but HHN is way more than that to me. To all of us.

And I say that if it takes one out of every thousand people getting stupidly drunk and puking in a bush to keep HHN alive........Make it two out of every thousand and add more scares.

Re: Fiddy: Sure, the lyric sheet says bub as in bubbly ...... But .... If I believed everything that people were *supposed* to say (or supposed to have said) rather than what they *did* say, then I could no longer rank Neil Armstrong's first words on the moon as one of the most Epic Fails of all time. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" ? In that sentence, 'man' and 'mankind' are referring to the same entity. He obviously *meant* to say "one small step for A man," to offer that juxtaposition the entire phrase depends upon to have any value beyond the tautological or just absurd...... But that isn't what he *did* say. Similarly, what's written in 50 Cent's lyric sheet/Faustian contract - whatever is written is written, what he *says* is "Buh"..... And if that isn't enough proof, I have a photograph of me and a friend holding up what are clearly labelled bottles of Buh. So that's proof itself! PHOTOGRAPHIC proof!

Re: Cop taking me to jail: I grow weary of talking about this since it's at best tangential to the topic......I don't believe there was any possibility of me going to jail, and if I was breaking a law, it's the stupidest law I've ever heard of because if I met him coming the other way, I wouldn't be breaking it. I don't think laws should depend on which way I'm facing. But, okay, fine, I'm grateful the security guard didn't call OPD to send a squad car with two armed uniformed policemen to come pick me up and take me to 33rd street on charges of ...what are we saying I did again?......doesnt matter....charges of Whatever, then spend an hour or so filling out a bunch of paperwork being grateful they got one more sober non-violent guy off the street, because then I'd have to be booked into the jail, wait to be bonded out, then wait in the mail for a notice of Hearing from the Court, then show up at that hearing, have the cop not show up because cops don't waste their time showing up at hearings that are wastes of their time, then having the charges dropped as a nolle pros because there's no witness or at the very worst case, I'd be issued a citation for .... what? Public intoxication is a Real Crime. Underage drinking is a Real Crime. What would I get ticketed for? Possession of buh? Fine of 12 dollars? ..... No, sorry, I'm not actively going to be grateful I wasn't taken to jail because that is ridiculous. If I lived in constant gratitude that I'm not being taken away to jail, I'd shoot myself in the face right now. It's that kind of thinking - gratitude for not having basic rights violated - that leads to a fascist state. We must be careful with acceptance and complacency. And be even more careful with unrealistic expectation: the only reason that security guard would've called the cops was if I started trouble, and then it wouldn't be for Possession Of Buh (which carries a mandatory life sentence), but for Punching A Stupid Security Guard In The Throat or some other unrelated but Real law. He may as well have said he was going to count to 3 or that Santa would know I'd been naughty.

(PS - Seriously how do you eff up the first words spoken on the moon? Did he not have enough time to rehearse during the trip?)

[Jakemeister]

On the note of people being drunk at Epcot, yes they do get hammered, BUT there are way more children around so they behave themselves more.

Also tl;dr

Edited October 7, 2011 by Jakemeister

[AaronPaHHNFan]

Hey MarchOfProgress I think we agree on most of the alcohol stuff. I was just saying the security guard could have been worse. I agree with you when you say if 1 person out of 1000 puking in a bush keeps HHN alive then make it 2 out of 1000 and add more scares. Alcohol is already grossly overpriced at the event so there isn't much more they could do to stop people from getting hammered. It brings in money and they'd be fools to ban it. I think the main problem is people showing up already drunk and then drinking a few more drinks at the event. Oh and get a straight shot and it's not near as watered down as the mixed drinks.

Are you saying 50 wrote bub then actually said buh? Because I clearly hear bub. You can call a cat a kit but it's still a cat. It's not a big deal either way. I have more important things to do that argue over a gangster rap lyric. If you call beer buh then that's all you. I call beer buurr most of the time anyway.

[marchofprogress]

Hey MarchOfProgress I think we agree on most of the alcohol stuff. I was just saying the security guard could have been worse. I agree with you when you say if 1 person out of 1000 puking in a bush keeps HHN alive then make it 2 out of 1000 and add more scares. Alcohol is already grossly overpriced at the event so there isn't much more they could do to stop people from getting hammered. It brings in money and they'd be fools to ban it. I think the main problem is people showing up already drunk and then drinking a few more drinks at the event. Oh and get a straight shot and it's not near as watered down as the mixed drinks.

Are you saying 50 wrote bub then actually said buh? Because I clearly hear bub. You can call a cat a kit but it's still a cat. It's not a big deal either way. I have more important things to do that argue over a gangster rap lyric. If you call beer buh then that's all you. I call beer buurr most of the time anyway.

Security guards can always be worse, but that goes backwards too: he could've been understanding and been like "finish your beer you got thirty seconds" ... Oh well, eff'm.

Gotta remember that alcohol itself isnt the only moneymaker at Uni - the manufacturers of the stuff they serve are paying for advertising and all as well. . .QUICK: What kinds of beer can you get at HHN? Bet you know! If you're a beer drinker anyway.

About the shot... the whiskey I got tasted watered to me. But what do I know? It doesn't matter anyway since the shot cost more than a mixed drink - I seriously think the neat whiskey was $12.....

Now, to address the most important point of this discussion (and most others that I have) : Fiddy. What matters - what he thought, what he wrote, what he said, or what he meant? Because what he thought/meant/(probably)wrote is bub. That's a given. But what the man *said* was "buh" I hear it cluhrly. In fact, I'm going to go listen to the song right now. I'll be back in Three Minutes and Thirty-Nine seconds. Why do I know that? Because back in 2003 my roommate's new years resolution was to listen to the song once a day every day. He made it all the way to May when he blew out his speakers. For some reason nobody wanted to give him a new set....

There, I listened. Clearly Buh.

We can agree to disagree. Either way, this thread seems to have been hijacked by absurdity, which was not my intention! Never a full hijack!