By Connor Hart

Rusty Featherstone and Willy Donnellon began their most recent trip to Epcot with palomas in Mexico. They chased the cocktails with two Norwegian beers, then moved on to China for some hard hibiscus iced teas.

At that point, the duo was still in the early innings of the "Drinking Around the World" challenge -- a worrisome fact for a theme park built around families and fairy tales.

More than eight drinks later, with the challenge complete, both Featherstone and Donnellon were hammered: "I could walk out of there on my own two feet, but I was like, 'I need to go lay down,'" Donnellon, a 25-year-old content creator, said. "You get pretty f -- ed up."

Drinking Around the World, a fan-made challenge that entails ordering a drink from each of the 11 countries in Epcot's World Showcase, has existed for decades. But a recent surge of social-media attention has pushed the tradition into the spotlight. It has also highlighted the thin line between magical and messy at the Disney park.

Proponents say the challenge is an enriching experience, allowing parkgoers to sample global cultures and flavors. There are myriad ways to complete the challenge without getting trashed, especially since there's no rulebook stipulating all 11 drinks contain alcohol and be consumed in one afternoon, said AJ Wolfe, founder of Disney Food Blog and author of "Disney Adults."

"If you're going to Disney World to get drunk, then you have a problem," she said.

For some, though, that's the whole point.

Jose Lopez, a bartender at La Cava del Tequila in the Mexico pavilion, said it's easy to tell who comes to the bar to learn about tequila and Mexican culture and who's just there to drink.

"They want 10 shots and 10 margaritas, and they want to go on to the next country," he said.

Lopez receives training every six months, covering topics such as how to spot the warning signs of over intoxication and what to do. Over the 35 years he's worked at Epcot, Lopez has seen guests fall asleep at dining tables, slump sideways off of park benches and occasionally get rushed to the emergency room for a stomach pump.

The result: He's not afraid to cut anybody off. "I will look at them and say, 'Get a glass of water because you don't look good.'"

Featherstone and Donnellon have done the challenge several times and documented each of their attempts, amassing tens of millions of views across TikTok and YouTube. They said getting drunk surrounded by vacationing families is a high-wire act that is part of the appeal.

"There's something funnily sobering about the setting," Donnellon said. "It becomes an internal drunkenness, where if you walked by us, you wouldn't know. But if you tried to talk to us -- game over."

In other words: "You have to stay locked in, so as to not scare the children," Featherstone said.

Featherstone and Donnellon said it's important to remember the challenge is a marathon, not a sprint, and to plan accordingly. Their recommendations: Don't have too many sweet drinks in a row (stomach ache), don't have too many frozen drinks in a row (brain freeze), and make sure to stop for souvenirs (trophies).

And contrary to popular belief, they said, you should start in Canada and end in Mexico. That allows you to ease into the challenge at one of the least exciting pavilions and cap things off with a high-energy fiesta.

"Some people will tell you that's backwards, but those people just don't know ball," Donnellon said.

Disney said Epcot is the only place where people can savor flavors and traditions from 11 countries in just one day. "We expect our guests to enjoy these offerings responsibly, so the experience remains fun and safe for everyone," a spokesperson said.

Guests who cross the line face the consequences.

Brooke Kelly tackled the challenge with friends earlier this year, documenting the experience on TikTok. Early clips are captioned, "How 'drink around the world' started" and show members of the group in front of the American Adventure pavilion, drinks in hand, as a woman belts out "The Star-Spangled Banner."

At the song's crescendo, one of the men jumps into the fountain outside the pavilion, prompting Disney cast members and security to intervene. The final clip, captioned "How it ended," shows the man being escorted out of the park.

Kelly, who didn't respond to a request for comment, said in the video's comments that the group wasn't banned from the park.

Skip Sher, who founded the Disney Day Drinkers Club, said the first thing he does when he sees a headline about drunken behavior at a Disney park is to check his group's social-media pages and make sure the person isn't a member.

"It's embarrassing for me when I see those things," he said, "because that's not what the park is built for."

Sher said members of the club tend to be a bit older and have a genuine love for the parks. His favorite aspect of the challenge -- besides the community -- is the chance to sample exotic, higher-end cocktails, wines and beers that are best sipped and savored.

Armed with all of this knowledge, I traveled down to Orlando and took on the challenge myself. My girlfriend and I arrived at Epcot a little after noon on a recent Friday, and after a quick ride on "Remy's Ratatouille Adventure" in the France pavilion, we embarked on our journey around the world.

After avocado margaritas in Mexico, frozen Viking coffees in Norway, boba-infused cocktails in China and dunkels in Germany, we stumbled into Italy, far from sober and feeling somewhat defeated.

A rest, coupled with food and water, was enough to get us moving again and finish our trek. But by the time we left the park, I fully understood Donnellon's earlier assessment: I had made it out on my own two feet, and I was more than ready to lie down.

Write to Connor Hart at Connor.Hart@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 30, 2025 05:30 ET (10:30 GMT)

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