To not understand this Disney obsession?

[Peachyroll]

Adults who love regularly holidaying at Disneyland/Disneyworld and love buying all the Disney merch... what is it you love about it?

I totally agree! My friend has no children and every Christmas spends a fortune on disney xmas decorations to add to her collection. Her and dh go to disney in Florida every other year. I dont get it at all. Each to their own but i dont get it.

We took our children to Disney and I was absolutely dreading it …we had a fantastic time and the attention to detail was incredible!
A colleague is going next week with her adult daughter..she is so excited!

I don't understand people who question the hobbies and interests of others. If it is legal and not harming anyone, then mind your own business.

Because they are fans of Disney?
Just like fans of bands or singers or films buy their merchandise and go to their concerts? Some music fans are totally obsessed, some aren't. Everyone loves different things and on different levels.

I’m in Orlando as we speak! Off to Disney tomorrow. I have one Disneyland T-shirt and am here for the kids but I do enjoy a day out at Disney, it makes me happy. It’s a happy place. An expensive happy place. Adults who love it could have worse hobbies trust me

This topic comes up all the time. Do people really not understand that different people enjoy different holidays? It is such a simple concept but seems so complex for some. I would hate to do a 2 week beach holiday or go skiing. But I totally get that those are awesome to others. Yes, I am an adult currently on holiday in Disneyworld and have spent a fortune on merchandise.

Such a weird form of competitive miserabless on Disney threads. Heaven forbid adults enjoy something wholesome.

We go yearly and yes go elsewhere too on occasion, but it's always in addition never instead of

Averages about £12k a year (although this year was more expensive than usual as we made up for missing the last 2)

Jesus, I hate disney but guess what? Some people like it. I won't shrivel up and die 🤣

My son and I went the Christmas after my mom died. We had a lovely time. I wish I could take all my kids now but the cost and wait times are just too much. I can't waste money for a miserable trip.

Why pick on Disney? Of all the things to worry about..!

Just as pathetic as going on an all inclusive to Benidorm! Or on a cruise, or wherever you go on holiday!

I had never felt any inclination to visit Disneyland / world but at age 45 I wanted to go to Universal to see the Harry Potter worlds, DH felt exactly the same so the two of us (no children) did this. A couple of years later at age 47, we (I probably) decided that we would try Disney World for the first time. We had always done far more adventurous holidays and it was nice to be doing something so easy.

Anyway, yes I got hooked on it a little bit. I am not particularly into the Disney movie franchise, but I enjoy the worlds that have been created, enjoy being onsite and enjoy theme park rides. So I have been back a few times since and I have also now been to Disney in Hong Kong and Paris and both US parks. I have a small collection of ears, bags and T-shirts that I use on the holidays but not usually at other times. Looking forward to getting to the Tokyo Disney in the next few years, we have been to Tokyo before but Disney was not on our radar back then.

I’ve just been to Disney for the first time (in my late 30s), with my two children. Husband went when he was a kid. Had a lovely time; and ended up spending far too much on merchandise! If you go (in school holidays) you need to expect that you will have to queue a lot, it will be expensive and (if you go to Florida in August) it will be hot. If you go with these expectations you will have a great time.

I’m not a super Disney fan, but I did enjoy the magic of the parks; it’s fun escapism.

At Disney in Florida now. I enjoy the rides, shows, parades, water parks. There’s lots for just adults Epcot has a huge food and wine festival and live bands.
Not a starwars fan but lots of adults there today dressed up and clearly loving it.
Each to their own.

I’m one of those people who can’t switch off on holiday. I’ll be checking my emails by the pool or stressing about what’s happening at work. If I’m busy then I can switch off. Yes, I need to work on this.
We also go to other places. We are fortunate that Orlando is our third holiday this year. We enjoyed Skiing and a walking holiday in Devon earlier in the year. Two types of holidays others might also hate 🤣

I love going to Disney because it is hyper organized. I feel at peace there. It’s how society should operate everywhere.

In case you were wondering, I have ASD. The disorder and lack of attention to detail most people seem to find acceptable drives me crazy.

Ok, questions for all the Disney lovers….
(I don’t get Disney, not in a sneery way but it’s never really been on my radar and I want to understand).

1. when I see photos of peoples holidays at Disney, it seems to be mainly the big castle and photos with people dressed as characters. What actually IS at the Disney parks? Why is watching people in a Mickey Mouse costume exciting past the age of 4? (That sounds so snippy - it’s not meant to. I really don’t understand? I used to love Care Bears but past the age of 4/5 I can’t think I’d have been excited about someone in a costume - still want Care Bears irl rather tragically ;-) )
2. what are the rides like?
3. how many different theme parks are there?!
4. what do people do all day there?
5. which Disney films are people nostalgic for? When I think of classic Disney I think of…. Bambi? The lion king? Are they even Disney? All I am 100% sure of if mickey, Minnie and the big dog!

I actually looked at booking for Paris but the booking made little sense because I couldn’t grasp the whole concept. My children have never asked to go and I think they’re vaguely aware of Disneyland/world but that’s all. They love legoland but generally I’m not a fan of theme parks (but happily go when my children enjoy it).

so yeah. I wonder if we’re missing some genuinely magical experience but I really don’t get it.

Its not the same as me not getting cruises or football - I do know why people like those things and I have lots of reason why I don’t. But I really am struggling with what Disney world/land actually IS and why it’s so good (vague notions of “nostalgia” don’t work for me - Disney didn’t feature highly in my childhood. I do remember the adverts where children were very excited to be told they were going to Disney and even as a child thought “what IS Disney world?!”).

thank you all!! Educate me!!!

Oh, and ps I don’t think I’ll ever go to the American Disney world/land so French reviews/explanations would be brilliant.

It looks like a wonderful family holiday but I have never been because of the cost. Someone above mentions £12K. We are not badly off but there is no way I'd ever persuade my husband to spend that on a holiday.

Even a short trip to Euro Disney surprised me so if anyone has any cost-saving tips let me know.

I think YABU purely because why would you sneer about someone else's harmless interests? The football comparison is a good one. We all like different holidays and hobbies.

I'm not a "Disney adult" and actually the only one I do know irl (through work) pisses me off no end for unrelated reasons. But I do respect that they like what they like and embrace it fully without worrying about the judgment of others (like this thread).

We've done disney 3x (over 10 years) as a family, and would do it again. It's one of a range of holidays we've enjoyed. I wouldn't go without kids I don't think, but i have bloody loved it every time - seeing the magic in my children's faces, and the way you can utterly let go of the outside world and its stresses and relax as a parent, I've genuinely not found that elsewhere for such a prolonged period, including on other great holidays (possibly the only one which came closest was a kinderhotel because the kids' needs were totally catered for, but I wasn't insulated from the sometimes-miserable outside world the way you are at disney).

I love the fireworks, the parades, the rides and the restaurants, the beautiful attention to detail in the theming of the park. It's clean and happy, and it's incredibly easy for me as a parent. I love seeing my children interacting with the characters. Loads of that is tied up for me in vicariously loving my children's enjoyment (the childfree holidays i fantasise about are usually more hiking holidays or city breaks), but I can definitely appreciate why adults without children could enjoy all of this for themselves.

We do disney quite a bit. We love theme parks and hate sitting still. Our ideal holiday is 10 hours a day pacing the parks for two weeks, going on rides, eating in amazing restaurants. Sitting on a beach would have me bored in seconds and our DC are too young to do a lot of other type of activity holidays. We will probably start doing outward bound type things when they're older but for now, theme parks are a fabulous getaway.

Exactly. If it makes people happy, what's so wrong with that.

I went to Disneyland Paris this year with my 3 year old and 10 month old. I don't think that the parks are really that child friendly. Lots of rides they can't go on. Lots of fast food restaurants that all seem to sell the same things, unless you manage to book a table service restaurant months in advance. Barely anywhere to sit down - saw kids napping in their prams while their parents sat on the floor. Queues that even for the small rides are just impossible for a toddler to manage, and I imagine quite hard for older kids.

The cast were lovely and I was so impressed that so many took an interest and tried to engage with the kids. But it didn't make up for the practicalities.

So yeah, it's set up for teens and adults basically. If it was actually child friendly I don't think you'd see so many adults there.

Don't mind Disney parks but not into the merch.

Went on a Disney cruise a couple of years ago and oh my. It was off the scale bonkers (European cruise, mainly US guests). People covered their cabin doors with metallic Disney memorabilia. If you added a holder thing, you'd give and receive gifts to other cabins for their door.

Don't get me started on the "Smith family from Denver 2019 Disney cruise" family T-shirts. It was quite the eye opener. Yes, we're slightly jaded and cynical Brits so maybe not in the Disney joy niche....

You don't sound like a very good friend