This is what I was thinking when the other poster said that we all need to understand the Disney is for kids. That was never the point. It was always supposed to be an all-ages experience.
Yes, an all ages experience – but still kid-centric, don't you think? Especially certain attractions/areas?
My interpretation – which can always be wrong – of what Walt had in mind was a theme park geared towards children but where the parents wouldn't have a mind-numbing experience. There would be something in it for them as well. I think that's different than saying it was "meant" for adults. I don't think if you were building a separate theme park for adults you would put the current Winnie the Pooh ride. I think Epcot more precisely throws the adults a bone, especially in world showcase.
That said, original ideas and intentions morph. You can create things with certain intentions, and people will do what they will. I say all of this as an adult with no children who enjoys Disney with my spouse – and yes we will even go on the Winnie the Pooh ride LOL. I think there is something about Disney World that gives you permission in a sense to be a kid, to a degree.
And I'm not trying to have an argument, but there are a couple of things that push my buttons:
One is when people say things with absolute certainty as if they make the rules. I try to qualify whatever I say with the fact that it's my opinion and I can be wrong. When people think they know for certain the opinion of a dead man they never met based on a quote or two, I take issue with that. When they try to force their opinion as if it is a fact, that gets on my nerves.
The other is it seems that some folks are very self-conscious about this and feel the need to defend themselves in the context of this discussion. If certain people think going on "kiddie rides" puts them one step away from arrest, and apparently deep down are concerned there's something wrong with it or with themselves, then with all due respect they could probably use a session or two with a counselor. If that is the impetus pushing them to vehemently declare that Disney World is not kiddie rides but for everyone in an attempt to justify their own good time without feeling weird about it, then talking that out with a professional might be helpful.
I am an adult, and I love my trips to Disney World. I love the immersion, I love the food, and I enjoy the rides and have been on most but probably not all. Our adult trips probably look different than the average family trip. We avoid the character meals for the most part, the parades, often the fireworks at Magic Kingdom in favor of illuminations at Epcot with a cocktail or going on pirates, jungle Cruise, and haunted mansion quickly while everyone else is standing on main street.
But sometimes we have lunch at Tusker House. Sometimes we go to the Chase Visa character meet and greet. Sometimes we take a picture with Beast after dinner. And sometimes we ride Winnie the Pooh. I don't care whether or not it's considered a kiddie ride – I'm having a silly, fun kid moment and enjoying it without apology. I don't need to say it isn't a kiddie ride to make it OK to do.
And usually the context of people on these boards calling rides in general either kiddie rides or geared towards children is a reaction because some of the adults here go too far in these stringent analyses of various contradictions or lapses of continuity in an attraction, as if they were meant to be scrutinized at the adult level or at the level of something in the museum of natural history. It's fun, it's not to be taken so seriously – even if you love it. Jack Sparrow didn't ruin Pirates. Nemo didn't ruin the seas. You ruin it for yourselves when you see it through your own adult eyes instead of looking through your own child eyes.
JMO.
