Disney For Adults

Is Disney for adults? Allow me to tell you a story to answer that question. It starts with a young boy who is getting ready to enter Magic Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando, FL. He has his Mickey ears on and is filled with joy and excitement as he anticipates what waits on the other side of the admission gate. He scans his magic band and makes his way in. As he passed through the tunnel and stands at the top of Main Street, USA, his heart feels like it’s going to burst. This is not his first time, you see. It all comes rushing back to him at once. The familiar sights, sounds and even the smells…he has arrived at Disney’s Magic Kingdom! Immediately, those familiar senses take over and gone are the stresses of a job he doesn’t really like, deadlines and demands that come with everyday life and even if just momentarily, his sick mother back at home. Okay, in case you haven’t figured it out by now, that young boy is actually a 42 year old man, and that man is me.

Aren’t You A Little Too Old For Disney?

I had previously thought that everyone loved Disney just like I do. Disney for kids, Disney for adults….Disney for everyone, right? It wasn’t until someone commented on one of my Facebook posts asking, “Aren’t you a little too old for Disney World?” that it hit me that I realized maybe not everyone loved Disney as much as I do. At first, I was a little put off by the suggestion. How can anyone be too old for Disney? I mean, it is the happiest place in the whole world. Why not Disney for adults? But in an attempt to try and explain why I feel about Disney like I do, this is my story when I spent three magical days in Disney World on my own.

Some Background

The first time I went to Disney World, I actually was a young boy. I went with my family somewhere around 1982 or 83. But I really don’t have any memories of that visit. I was only 5 or 6 years old. It wasn’t until I went back for the second time with my wife thirty-something years later in 2015 that some memories were trigged from that first visit all those years ago. Almost like moments of déjà vu, but with something more tangible behind it. As we stood in line for It’s a Small World, I got the sense that I had been there before. Well, I had. Candy and I were actually going on a cruise that left out of Florida, so we thought it might be kind of cool to check out Disney World after all those years. I was in no way a Disney fanatic at that point. It was just more like when in Rome, or in this case, when in Orlando. That second-thought visit back to Disney World turned out to be so much more for me.

Now, I should preface that I have always been a kid at heart. I never really felt like I was a grown-up…well not at least until recently. But as we spent that day in Magic Kingdom in 2015, as dramatic as it may sound, something changed in me. Or maybe it was that something inside of me was awakened…it’s hard to say. I didn’t realize it right away. We entered the park when the gates opened and stayed until closing time. As I was buying my final piece of Disney merch, already wearing my Goofy ear hat purchase from earlier in the day, the cast member behind the register asked me the simple question, did you have a magical day? I paused for a moment and took the day in before I answered. Then, as sincerely as I have ever answered any question before, I said, “You know what….I really did!” And I meant it. It was as if Peter Pan and Tinkerbell had carried me off to Neverland and I became an official lost boy. It was that day that I became a Disney fanatic!

Up In The Air

Ever since that visit in 2015, Candy and I have gone back to Disney World at least once a year. I should mention that we don’t have kids, so it’s just the two of us. Disney for adults! The visit in 2019 would prove to be one of the most memorable for me thanks to a most unfortunate reason. Candy was going to attend a travel conference that happened to be held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in September of ’19. And as a dutiful husband, I could not let her make the trip alone. Oh, the perks of being married to a travel agent! But the fate of our trip quickly went up in the air as Hurricane Dorian practically shut down most of Florida, including Disney World. But luckily…or perhaps I should say magically, we got to take our trip. We had missed the worst of it by just a couple of days, and planes resumed flying into Orlando again so away we went.

Because of the hurricane, many…actually, most people either postponed or canceled their plans to visit Disney World. That meant that for three days I had access to the parks like people only dream about. I parked hopped from park to park in a way that would make Tigger himself proud. I stood on the front row to watch shows at Cinderella’s Castle, I walked on to rides that normally have lines that go on for hours! Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge had just opened at Hollywood Studios. People had been anticipating this for years, and the lines were expected to be epic. I got to Hollywood Studios at 6:00 am….that’s in the morning, to try and beat some of the rush. When the gates opened, I was riding Smuggler’s Run, for the first time, in less than half an hour. The second time I walked on with no wait. After I took in Star Wars, I made my way over to Toy Story Land and everything I could want to do with no waiting. Once I did everything a person could want to do in Hollywood Studios, I made my way to the next park, and then the next. It was the ultimate Disney day, and then I got to do it again the next day, and the day after that.

The King of Magic Kingdom

I ended up spending the most time at Magic Kingdom at Disney World. Of my three-day park-hopping adventure, I probably spent two and half of them at Magic Kingdom. Don’t get me wrong, I love Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom, but there is just something extra…magical about Magic Kingdom. At first, I did what anyone would do, I rode the rides. Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain…you name it, I rode it. Multiple times! Then I found myself face to face with some of the most beloved Disney characters. Heck, I think I met them all that day. It all started because I saw a short line of people waiting to meet Woody and Bo Peep from Toy Story. I am a sucker for a short line, so I hopped in for what I thought would be a cool picture. Now, it’s easy to feel a little out of place when you are the only adult man in line to meet a Disney character who doesn’t happen to have a child with him. But once it was my turn there were no strange glances or judgment. Woody and Bo Peep interacted with me like I was the 8-year-old kid I felt like at the time. After that was Aladdin and Jasmine. Then Merida from Brave, Arielle the Little Mermaid, Pooh Bear, Tigger, Goofy, Donald, and even the king and queen themselves…Mickey and Minnie!!! Now, I have met some of the biggest rock stars in the world and I will tell you that meeting these characters was right up there with that of meeting rock and roll royalty.

On the final day I spent in Magic Kingdom, I had already really done it all. But I still couldn’t wait to get there. One of my favorite traditions is getting on Main Street early in the morning and getting a cup of coffee and a donut. So, that was my first stop on that final morning. But on this day, I was in no rush. I found a bench tucked down a little side street of Main Street and just sat. As I watched the people filter in, I just sat and took it all in. Again, the sights, sounds, and smells of the park took over. I think it was then where it occurred to me….man, I love this place. Now that I try, I realize that I can’t really put it into words. There is just a way that place makes me feel. I am not sad. I am not stressed. I’m happy, but it’s a genuine happy. The kind that just makes you smile, even though you don’t know why you’re smiling. Everything else just kind of goes away. For a day, or in this case three days, I either felt like someone else or the best possible version of myself. Maybe it’s the innocence of Disney. Maybe it’s the stigma of Disney. But really, if I have to put it into words…it’s the magic of Disney.

So, is Disney for adults? Yes, Disney is for everyone. I am a 42-year-old man who now believes in fairies, mermaids, pirates, lost boys and most of all…the power of pixie dust.

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