Disney Adults: An Expose

Disney Adults: An Exposé

April 4, 2024

I am a Disney adult. I make no apologies for that, and I will never be ashamed of that. I want to clarify that right up front. However…

There is not one classification of Disney adults. I think it’s important to denote the differences in our ranks. Frankly, there are some in our collective that I don’t even understand. And I am pretty clear when describing my fandom that I don’t fall into any of these subsets. Of course, I’m not here to yuck anyone else’s yum, so to each his own. We each have our own role to play in this following, and you need to do you boo. However, when questioned about my Disney obsession, I clearly define my family, genus, species, etc. It’s not that I am ashamed to be lumped in with any other groups, I simply want to be understood by the unwashed masses.

So I am going to attempt to break down our little family in this article. Why am I bothering? I am not sure. The people that need to hear this aren’t reading mousethoughts.com, but it will make me feel better. So here goes: 

1. DISNEY CAN DO NO WRONG

The all caps title is no accident. These lunatics (please don’t take offense, you may be lunatics, but you are OUR lunatics) believe in 100% of what the company does 100% of the time. They would vote Walt’s frozen head into the White House. They are the true Pixie Dust snorters. Whatever decision is made by Disney is glorious and perhaps even divinely inspired. If you so much a suggest that something Disney related is lacking (looking at you Mulan live action remake. No Mushu? No songs? Ugh.), then you will be on the receiving end of voodoo dolls being made in your likeness. We love you all but dial it down please!

2. Are you really a fan??

These are the negative nancies in our group. You all are going to hold Disney to accountability no matter what. Did a great new attraction open? The queue had visible debris in it. Did a restaurant get great reviews? The service was poor, and the server only had 27 pieces of flare. These nit-pickers will find fault in every CM interaction, every meal, and every new movie. And they will claim to be doing it in the interest of making Disney better. There are a ton of WDW bloggers and podcasters that are this type of curmudgeon. We love you all but at least pretend you enjoy our happy place!

3. All the Feels

These are our nostalgia hounds. They have grown up with Disney movies and going to the parks. These are our peeps that will champion the classics and cry if they’re changed. These super-fans haven’t seen a Disney movie since Hercules but have an extensive VHS “direct from the vault” collection and watch them often. These fans will wait 90 minutes for Peter Pan’s Flight and cried when they got a picture with Mickey. They often threaten to stop going to the theme parks because of the constant changes, but don’t be fooled, they will always go back. Post-trip blues affect all of our fandom, but these fans will compose Shakespearean soliloquies on the way to MCO from their resort that can melt the hardest hearts. We love you all, but Walt’s idea was to be ever evolving, so please keep up!

4. Buying into the culture

It’s me. I’m this type of weirdo. I have no nostalgia. I didn’t grow up going to Disney World. WDW wasn’t even on my radar. But when I did make it down there at age 42, I was blown away. We culture fans are obsessed with the striving for excellence in service and attitude. We love the authentic architecture in World Showcase and the Imagineering intricacies that weren’t necessary but create incredible nuance and immersive theming. We are often in the parks sans children because we simply enjoy soaking in the atmosphere. We love that the characters are present because they add to the ambiance, but we have no interest in meeting them. We are always looking for new experiences and wanting to try the new restaurant even though we have favorites. The attention to detail, nods to Disney history, and the overall culture of excellence has us hooked.

Now, most people aren’t pigeonholed into a single fan category. I think all of us are a dash of this one, a pinch of that one. But we all have our primary group, and this defines our fandom. We accept all of the other classes, even if we don’t quite understand them, because we’re all weirdos. I realize my own bias, and I also realize that I probably made the last group sound the sanest. However, that is only because we always see ourselves in the best light. I’m self-aware enough to know that a Disney adult is a Disney adult. Welcome to the family ya’ freak.