I’m speaking primarily about adults with either no kids (or grown kids) who live their lives for Disney. This isn’t judging, its an effort to understand.
I have a few adult friends who live their lives for Disney. One (60M) has written three books on applying Disney Park and internal management culture concepts to use in the business world. He also lives his entire personal life and vacations around the events and attractions at the different parks. His clothing, house decor, conversations, and dreams are all Disney-based. Another (54F) friend has destroyed her credit by taking dozens of Disney vacations and maxing out her credit cards. She even used a family member’s credit card without his knowledge to take one of those trips. She buys trinkets and clothing inline weekly. She even took her car off the road because it needed about $1,500 in maintenance work and she wanted to go to Disney instead of fixing it. She has racks of Disney baby clothes despite having no kids. In total, she’s probably done 25 to 30 Disney vacations conservatively.
Whenever I’ve mentioned this phenomenon to others, I’m told about dozens of their acquaintances who do the same stuff. Disney-themed collections. Disney kitchen stuff. Even Disney plates and mugs. I can’t think of any other company or corporation that affects this demographic of people like this.
Help me understand.
Comments
yeah it’s weird
I grew up going to Disney often with my family so for me it holds a lot of nostalgia. It also just feels like a safe space in a world that isn’t very safe for a lot of people.
Same reason why adults love Pokemon and Harry Potter and Star Wars.
It was a fixture of a lot of people’s childhoods and they just got obsessed with it.
It’s easy to be a fan of Disney – not too many characters unlike Pokémon, there’s generally a positive and wholesome vibe behind their movies, people grew up with it, it’s a good family entertainment across all ages. If people are gonna be a fan of something then it helps when merch, content, and experiences are readily and frequently available.
Obviously it makes them happy . People are free to like “childish” things . There are many people who dedicate their lives to sports they don’t play and cheer for millionaire football players. And wear merch of those teams . Maybe some adults happen to love and enjoy animation films and Theme parks??
I’m a Disney adult because Disney is my ideal vacation . I don’t have to like museums and beaches just because adults are supposed to . I don’t own any Disney merchandise but I’d like to have some tshirts and keychains.
Im free to like themed and animatronic rides . It’s an escape from the dullness of everyday life . Why don’t adults who go to Universal Studios trigger anyone?? What about six flags???
I’m not into this idea that adults have to have drab interests or something super “meaningful” . Everyone’s idea of fun is different .
I don’t approve of stealing from anyone to fund a trip ever though. But using one’s own credit card to pay for a trip for a little escape is fine.
I adore theme parks like Disney because it brings to life stories and experiences otherwise left on screen. If Disney adult = grown adult who likes to frequent Disney parks and can’t wait to go back that’s me! The rest doesn’t apply to me.
Do you ever revisit your favorite media from your childhood because you find it comforting? These people are taking that to the extreme.
Disney isn’t really seen as a company or corporation in the same way (even though it is) because people have a lot of memories and nostalgia for the movies and the park. As for going into debt, that is usually indicative of some sort of need they are looking to feel, that’s not something a typical even “Disney Adult” does. Anything can be addictive if you try hard enough.
Peter Pan syndrome.
When I was growing up I knew a kid whose parents had entire rooms of their house that were I Love Lucy themed. Another friend of mine, their parents had more Peanuts (the comic strip) memorabilia than I have ever seen in one place. Some adults get really into specific pieces of pop culture, always have.
I think it’s because Disney World only opened in 1971, and so now, you have people who went there as kids going there as adults.
It’s kind of like how nowadays Nintendo fans are adults, but in the 1980s and 1990s, Nintendo fans were kids. People who grew up with the experience as kids continued to value it as an adult.
When I read the title, I was thinking about the Disney Hardcore P0RN that I used to see back in the 80’s. There was a guy in LA that had been fired as a cartoonist at Disney that was drawing famous Disney cartoons in an X Rated manner. A friend of mine had a leather jacket with a back panel that was very risque with Mickey and Minnie in vivid detailed x rated pose. I am thinking that the dark corners of the web have similar renditions.
Disney is arguably the original Otaku Cultural phenomenon
Events, movies, music, figures, costumes…
Some folks know how to have fun and enjoy something.
I wish I could explain it. It has always sort of weirded me out.
People can like what they want to, I just do not get it at all.
is it that different from adults who are hardcore into sports teams? or bands?
I haven’t done any of the things mentioned, but I do love Disney. I’m 42 and have a 3yr old. I didn’t take my first trip until I was 35 and even then it was with people I nanny for and their kids. But, I discovered it helped “heal” the kid that I never got to be. I was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of my step father, I grew up in an unstable environment where we moved every year. So much trauma and I was never able to seek treatment until I was 35. But I found that letting that little girl that never got to be a kid, be a kid once in a while, helps something deep down. It’s hard to explain. I’ve been 5 times now, but I could never max out a credit card, choose Disney over a car…buy baby clothes without having a baby. They sound like they’re working through something of their own.
If I lived anywhere near a Disney theme park I’d be there regularly. I live it! It’s the happiest place on earth. 😁
No clue.
There’s a multi-million dollar house near me with Mickey Mouse ear adorned gates.
I get being the fan of something, really. I get that its not always logical. OK.
But these Disney adults- they scare me.
Escapism is powerful. Can’t deal with the real world? Don’t want to start a drug addiction? Disney.
Traditional adulthood doesn’t leave much time for make-believe. In the real world, things definitely don’t always end well. They do at Disney.
The capitalism of it all and Disney’s weird copyright fights and artistic dominance make me uninterested, but I do understand why some people are obsessed.
They have created a whole new category of “adult” not to date! Be grateful.
I mean, you could consider asking your friends why?
It sounds like in the first case, the guy found a place that he enjoys, and a thing he likes to do, and has successfully managed to make it into a career he is doing well at is happy.
In the second case, that sounds like a person who has had some part of her life broken, and is using Disney to cope, and doing so in destructive ways.
Generally speaking, adults who like Disney (and I am one, though not anywhere NEAR as hardcore as this, and I am a parent) like it because 1) It ties into good memories from their childhood OR things they wanted in childhood but couldn’t have and can now get for themselves. 2) Disney vacations are EASY. They’re basically like the restaurant version of normal food, everything that you’re looking for, none of the mess and fuss, everything turned up to 11. 3) Disney has hundreds of franchises and thousands of designers skilled in pumping out a lot of well designed, eye catching materials for each of those franchises. 4) Disney is fun, and a lot of people lack ‘fun’ or whimsy in their lives, and it’s an available way to have some of that.