Disney Headlines for January 9th, 2024
We’re one week into 2024, and people are already day drinking. It’s that kind of week for Disney Headlines.
If You Like Pina Coladas…
I don’t make my way to Disneyland Resort often, which is regrettable since I have friends and family in the area.
However, I interact daily with Disneyland fans and have heard many stories about the Disney biker gangs out west.
That’s a real thing and a source of endless amusement to me.
Until last week, I had no idea that a similar group had formed at Walt Disney World, and they’re currently expressing their outrage.
What has these passionate Disney fans so upset? Disney has banished their patron saint to a new location.
Herein lies the tale of The Disney Day Drinkers and the Missing Mascot.
A couple of years ago, two middle-aged adults were doing what middle-aged adults do at Disney.
They were hanging out at the World Showcase and getting their drink on.
Note that nobody says “getting their drink on” now and hasn’t in many years, but the people at the center of the story lived through that era.
Anyway, while drinking, these Disney fans did what everyone does.
They started speaking nonsense that made perfect sense to them in their intoxicated states.
Specifically, they swore allegiance to a new concept and a new club.
At that moment, the Disney Day Drinkers were born. In your face, biker gangs of Disneyland!
Where Everybody Knows Your Name…
Of course, when you start a new club, you try to make it as official as possible.
Drunks aren’t big on bylaws, but they do like recognizable visuals that are currently right in front of their face.
So, a couple of individuals christened a mascot from their surrounding area. And they didn’t put a lot of thought into it, either.
Instead, these folks selected a random trash receptacle as their mascot. They named it Binny. I’m not even joking.
Apparently, Binny meant something to these winos, so much so that a retired military chaplain performed an actual ceremony to commemorate the occasion.
Well, he splashed ale on the trashcan, something he claims was intentional…but I have my doubts.
Anyway, in that moment, Binny became more than a trash can. Instead, that big pile of garbage represented a way of life.
Binny’s is the place where Day Drinkers sit at EPCOT and share their communal experience.
It’s a lot like Cheers, only without Norm or Cliff…but with much more trash.
Whither Binny?
I don’t pretend to understand social media, but the idea of day drinking at the World Showcase apparently resonates with a LOT of people.
More than 85,000 people have joined the Day Drinkers of EPCOT social media group.
I presume they don’t type well and have dropped their phones in their beers a time or two, but still. It’s a real group.
More importantly, this group is popular!
Disney officials are aware enough of its existence that you’ll find some special drink menus for members.
I presume there’s a code phrase or a secret handshake or something.
Anyway, if you say, “Take me to the summit…” to the right Disney bartender, they’ll hook you up.
That’s how powerful this group has become, which is remarkable since it’s just a couple of years old.
One of the tell-tale signs that you’re a member – other than knowing the secret phrase – is that you pose for a picture with Binny.
Alas, in perhaps the most villainous move since the days of Alexander Pope, EPCOT cast members did the unthinkable.
Under cover of darkness, they subverted the will of the people, the noble Day Drinkers of Disney, by moving Binny.
I’ll give you a moment to control your outrage. Are you good now?
No, that’s okay. Take your time. It’s always hard the first time you learn you live in a society where someone can move a trash can.
What I’m saying is true, though. Last September, Disney randomly relocated Binny from its spot at Rose & Crown Dining Room.
Now, you’ll find Binny’s new home across the street by Sportsman’s Shoppe.
A Love Song from a Different Point of View
In lieu of trivializing your pain with another quip, I’ll say something else here instead.
My family loooooves Rose & Crown. It’s one of our go-to places at EPCOT.
This recent reveal about the Day Drinkers of Disney explains a LOT about why the area in front of the restaurant gets so congested.
In Disney’s defense, I can fully understand why the frequent stops for picture-taking had become a problem.
Sportsman’s Shoppe includes more space, so it is the better spot for this, at least logically.
To Binny’s loyal friends, it’s the darkest hour, though.
Disney just took that poor, defenseless trashcan and moved it across the street. It had a family! An often drunk but surprisingly loyal family.
The story temporarily had a happy ending, as Disney moved Binny back in front of Rose & Crown last month.
Alas, that change proved temporary.
The shock of Binny’s return caused even greater congestion than previously. So, Disney has moved it again.
The Wall Street Journal recently covered the story, and it has garnered other mainstream media traction because, well, people getting drunk at Disney is pretty funny.
So, the newfound media spotlight may force Disney to come up with a longer-term solution here. But I’m gonna let you in on a secret.
The Day Drinkers of Disney don’t need Binny to have a good time. The spirit comes from the ales, not the garbage can.
Herein ends the Ballad of Binny, the Patron Saint of Day Drinkers.
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Feature Photo: NY Post