Distinction between "theme park enthusiast" and "Disney Adult"

[Ice Gator]

honestly i feel like it’s just a title given to clearly mentally unstable/troubled people who blow up on social media for their weird obsessions over meeting characters and visiting the parks. there are unhinged individuals from pretty much every fan base i’ve been a part of- from music to sports to movies to tv shows.

only thing i have to say on the topic is that it’s not healthy to make anything like that your entire identity…especially when it comes to from the world’s largest entertainment corporation.

also…i’m on the younger side and just trying to survive out here with a decent job- how the heck do these “influencers” and disney adults spend hundreds on food/merch in every daily video they make? i can’t imagine what some of their financial situations must look like- i would definitely get tired of being at Disney every day of the week.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don’t really think the distinction matters.

In general, the discussion isn’t as self-reflective as it should be. It’s possible to not be a “Disney adult” but still be a really obnoxious, annoying, pompous, or obsessed park enthusiast. And I think that’s really what everyone’s afraid of in this conversation.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

honestly i feel like it’s just a title given to clearly mentally unstable/troubled people who blow up on social media for their weird obsessions over meeting characters and visiting the parks. there are unhinged individuals from pretty much every fan base i’ve been a part of- from music to sports to movies to tv shows.

only thing i have to say on the topic is that it’s not healthy to make anything like that your entire identity…especially when it comes to from the world’s largest entertainment corporation.

also…i’m on the younger side and just trying to survive out here with a decent job- how the heck do these “influencers” and disney adults spend hundreds on food/merch in every daily video they make? i can’t imagine what some of their financial situations must look like- i would definitely get tired of being at Disney every day of the week.

Great insight

…you totally made a great connection there

DAs give me the 50 year old with face paint at every college football game vibe

…afraid

 

[Agent H]

honestly i feel like it’s just a title given to clearly mentally unstable/troubled people who blow up on social media for their weird obsessions over meeting characters and visiting the parks. there are unhinged individuals from pretty much every fan base i’ve been a part of- from music to sports to movies to tv shows.

only thing i have to say on the topic is that it’s not healthy to make anything like that your entire identity…especially when it comes to from the world’s largest entertainment corporation.

also…i’m on the younger side and just trying to survive out here with a decent job- how the heck do these “influencers” and disney adults spend hundreds on food/merch in every daily video they make? i can’t imagine what some of their financial situations must look like- i would definitely get tired of being at Disney every day of the week.

I imagine it has something to do with ads and subscriber numbers. Which is perfectly fine. If you can make a living doing something you Love like that then you should do it. No matter what anyone else says.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Great insight

…you totally made a great connection there

DAs give me the 50 year old with face paint at every college football game vibe

…afraid

I had actually written a post earlier and used sports fans as another example of a fandom that can reach unhealthy levels, I couldn’t convey it properly so I never posted it but as a Vegas resident we regularly see the crazy Raiders fans on the news, I imagine the disturbed reaction I have to them is similar to how most people view the overly obsessed Disney fans also, nothing wrong with being a diehard fan but when you are wearing what looks like a KISS costume from the 1970s and bragging about how you haven’t missed a game in 20 years you no longer look like a normal fan, you look like a crazy person.

The people on the news talking about how they waited 6 hours in line for a popcorn bucket may as well throw on a KISS costume also because to the normal person they look just as crazy.

 

[Chi84]

I had actually written a post earlier and used sports fans as another example of a fandom that can reach unhealthy levels, I couldn’t convey it properly so I never posted it but as a Vegas resident we regularly see the crazy Raiders fans on the news, I imagine the disturbed reaction I have to them is similar to how most people view the overly obsessed Disney fans also, nothing wrong with being a diehard fan but when you are wearing what looks like a KISS costume from the 1970s and bragging about how you haven’t missed a game in 20 years you no longer look like a normal fan, you look like a crazy person.

The people on the news talking about how they waited 6 hours in line for a popcorn bucket may as well throw on a KISS costume also because to the normal person they look just as crazy.

Six hours is too much unless you’re waiting for Backstreet Boys tickets.

 

[Baloo124]

I also like to go to Universal, Seaworld, Gatorland. Wild Florida, Kennedy Space Center and others..

So I guess that makes me a theme park enthusiast.

Those aren't all theme parks. Some include space centers and nature parks. This makes you a well-rounded fan of various destinations in Florida. This makes you a Florida Man.

I don't think there's anything negative associated with that title.
I'll have to Google it sometime...

 

[Touchdown]

No one understands us theme park enthusiasts, on one hand you have the subject matter of this thread who are so focused on the IP they buy popcorn buckets and refuse to go to any park not owned by Disney. On the other end of the spectrum you have the stereotype coaster enthusiast who only cares about roller coasters and only coasters, who don’t understand why you prefer to go to Disneyland when Magic Mountain is clearly superior (and if they went to DL it was to get the “credits” on the coasters once.)

We are a small part of a very niche group society as a whole has a hard part understanding in the first place. We tend to be more reserved and less easily defined then the two ends of the spectrum and thus are assumed to be one or the other. Heck, there is a good chance we were one of those ends in our younger days. I’ve stopped trying to explain this to acquaintances, my close friends and family get it, anyone that is shocked my next trip is to a non Disney park gets a quick “I like going to other theme parks too” or worse that my next trip isn’t to a theme park, “I don’t just do theme park trips.” Not sure why people get all butt hurt over this. If people show me pictures of popcorn bucket lines and ask me what I think of them, I just tell the truth, “I don’t understand those people, I’m not one of them, I walk by them and go ride a ride.”

I have a few home decor stuff that hints at my passions, but the only thing I really buy a lot of is apperal, because I’m a nerd who wants to wear that stuff in the parks. Other than throwing on a themed polo at work the weekend before my next trip I don’t wear that apperal outside the parks. We all have our quirks.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Pondering this topic more - Disney adults don’t bother me at all (also I guess I am one, depending on your definition of the word,) but what does bother me is the reaction to them. How did young, TikTok-ing Disney fans become the Hufflepuff, or perhaps the Ralph Wiggums, of the fandom world? In a world where we are moving towards it being socially unacceptable to bully people for differences, why is openly mocking DAs for basically just being naive and nerdy still totally fair game?

I feel I should note, this seems like a mostly online thing to me. In real life, the passionate Disney fans I know are teachers, nurses, moms and dads. It’s one more fun aspect of their life to talk about and something that a lot of people have in common. The idea of getting grief over it would be ridiculous, in the same way getting grief over being a soccer mom or gardening just doesn’t really come up.

Seeing the cute young TikToker set be bullied over this makes me sad though. I’m hard pressed to think of an analogy. Maybe horse girls? Horse girls get a fair bit of grief sometimes. I’m not really sure what the issue is though, other than maybe Disney (and horse) fandom involves a level of emotionality and vulnerability that is frowned on in other fandoms.

 

[Chi84]

Pondering this topic more - Disney adults don’t bother me at all (also I guess I am one, depending on your definition of the word,) but what does bother me is the reaction to them. How did young, TikTok-ing Disney fans become the Hufflepuff, or perhaps the Ralph Wiggums, of the fandom world? In a world where we are moving towards it being socially unacceptable to bully people for differences, why is openly mocking DAs for basically just being naive and nerdy still totally fair game?

I feel I should note, this seems like a mostly online thing to me. In real life, the passionate Disney fans I know are teachers, nurses, moms and dads. It’s one more fun aspect of their life to talk about and something that a lot of people have in common. The idea of getting grief over it would be ridiculous, in the same way getting grief over being a soccer mom or gardening just doesn’t really come up.

Seeing the cute young TikToker set be bullied over this makes me sad though. I’m hard pressed to think of an analogy. Maybe horse girls? Horse girls get a fair bit of grief sometimes. I’m not really sure what the issue is though, other than maybe Disney (and horse) fandom involves a level of emotionality and vulnerability that is frowned on in other fandoms.

I’m afraid that both bullying and mocking vulnerable people are becoming more acceptable these days.

 

[Andrew C]

Pondering this topic more - Disney adults don’t bother me at all (also I guess I am one, depending on your definition of the word,) but what does bother me is the reaction to them. How did young, TikTok-ing Disney fans become the Hufflepuff, or perhaps the Ralph Wiggums, of the fandom world? In a world where we are moving towards it being socially unacceptable to bully people for differences, why is openly mocking DAs for basically just being naive and nerdy still totally fair game?

I feel I should note, this seems like a mostly online thing to me. In real life, the passionate Disney fans I know are teachers, nurses, moms and dads. It’s one more fun aspect of their life to talk about and something that a lot of people have in common. The idea of getting grief over it would be ridiculous, in the same way getting grief over being a soccer mom or gardening just doesn’t really come up.

Seeing the cute young TikToker set be bullied over this makes me sad though. I’m hard pressed to think of an analogy. Maybe horse girls? Horse girls get a fair bit of grief sometimes. I’m not really sure what the issue is though, other than maybe Disney (and horse) fandom involves a level of emotionality and vulnerability that is frowned on in other fandoms.

Who is being bullied exactly??

 

[DisneyHead123]

Who is being bullied exactly??

Disney Adults, in online discourse.

Imagine making videos about how awful and cringe X group of people are in other instances. Insert whatever group you want. It would generally not be considered a cool thing to do.

Don’t get me wrong, there are always niches where nasty behavior is considered ok online - but generally that behavior is seen as negative outside of those specific niches. Disney Adults, on the other hand, seem to be fair game in all corners of the internet.

 

[Andrew C]

Have you seen the literacy rate in this country? You don’t think the TikTok society we have now created correlates to that? Youth and young adults don’t thirst for knowledge. They thirst for the next TikTok video, micro trend or popcorn bucket. And I’m sorry to say Disney adults are a part of that so I would say they deserve to be called out. And I’m frankly over pretending there is no problem. But I guess let’s hold hands and cover our eyes.

Even Disney and the Disney company desired to be different and push their medium. Look to the future and doing things they haven’t been done. Now all they do is give us bean heads with a few slaps of nostalgia to us an instant moment of gratification.

 

[Chi84]

Have you seen the literacy rate in this country? You don’t think the TikTok society we have now created correlates to that? Youth and young adults don’t thirst for knowledge. They thirst for the next TikTok video, micro trend or popcorn bucket. And I’m sorry to say Disney adults are a part of that so I would say they deserve to be called out. And I’m frankly over pretending there is no problem. But I guess let’s hold hands and cover our eyes.

Even Disney and the Disney company desired to be different and push their medium. Look to the future and doing things they haven’t been done. Now all they do is give us bean heads with a few slaps of nostalgia to us an instant moment of gratification.

The problems go much deeper. The problem is that the real adults have ceased to be adults.

 

[DisneyHead123]

Have you seen the literacy rate in this country? You don’t think the TikTok society we have now created correlates to that? Youth and young adults don’t thirst for knowledge. They thirst for the next TikTok video, micro trend or popcorn bucket. And I’m sorry to say Disney adults are a part of that so I would say they deserve to be called out. And I’m frankly over pretending there is no problem. But I guess let’s hold hands and cover our eyes.

Does the internet agree it’s ok to universally hate beauty influencers because they should be studying and donating their money to charity instead of going to Sephora? No, because they are considered “cooler”. This isn’t about moral concerns, it’s about social status.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Pondering this topic more - Disney adults don’t bother me at all (also I guess I am one, depending on your definition of the word,) but what does bother me is the reaction to them. How did young, TikTok-ing Disney fans become the Hufflepuff, or perhaps the Ralph Wiggums, of the fandom world? In a world where we are moving towards it being socially unacceptable to bully people for differences, why is openly mocking DAs for basically just being naive and nerdy still totally fair game?

It is odd what people find weird and what they find acceptable. I remember going off on some coworkers several years ago because they always invited me to have drinks after work and I usually turned them down so I could do training runs for an upcoming runDisney event, they were giving me so much crap about being weird for running and Disney I finally got mad and asked them why they thought it was weird I went running after work, and went to Disney for fun, but they thought sitting at a bar every night was perfectly normal.

They said drinking at a bar is normal for an adult, going to Disney isn’t. As if being an alcoholic is preferable to running and acting like a big kid at Disney. From that time on I decided maybe I was just wired differently and was ok with that. Whenever they mentioned Disney or running I’d just turn it back and replace Disney or running with drinking, for example… “you going to see Mickey again this weekend?” I’d say “yep, you planning on getting drunk again this weekend?”, that would usually result in a “you’re so weird” but would also shut them up pretty quick.

 

[Andrew C]

This isn’t about moral concerns, it’s about social status.

Speak for yourself. Societal concerns.

 

[Chi84]

It is odd what people find weird and what they find acceptable. I remember going off on some coworkers several years ago because they always invited me to have drinks after work and I usually turned them down so I could do training runs for an upcoming runDisney event, they were giving me so much crap about being weird for running and Disney I finally got mad and asked them why they thought it was weird I went running after work, and went to Disney for fun, but they thought sitting at a bar every night was perfectly normal.

They said drinking at a bar is normal for an adult, going to Disney isn’t. As if being an alcoholic is preferable to running and acting like a big kid at Disney. From that time on I decided maybe I was just wired differently and was ok with that. Whenever they mentioned Disney or running I’d just turn it back and replace Disney or running with drinking, for example… “you going to see Mickey again this weekend?” I’d say “yep, you planning on getting drunk again this weekend?”, that would usually result in a “you’re so weird” but would also shut them up pretty quick.

I must be pretty oblivious to that sort of thing. I would just say “yep. Going to Disney again because we love it!”

Never bothered me as a new employee, supervisor, assistant director or department director.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Disney Adults, in online discourse.

Imagine making videos about how awful and cringe X group of people are in other instances. Insert whatever group you want. It would generally not be considered a cool thing to do.

Don’t get me wrong, there are always niches where nasty behavior is considered ok online - but generally that behavior is seen as negative outside of those specific niches. Disney Adults, on the other hand, seem to be fair game in all corners of the internet.

That niche is more out in the public…in the hands of everyone…than I could have ever dreamt in my lifetime…

That’s the issue.

Should people be harassed for what they like? No…but there’s no guardrails in the current environment.

And if you think I’m blaming something(s) specifically…you’re probably right. I’ll leave it at that.

 

[DisneyHead123]

It is odd what people find weird and what they find acceptable. I remember going off on some coworkers several years ago because they always invited me to have drinks after work and I usually turned them down so I could do training runs for an upcoming runDisney event, they were giving me so much crap about being weird for running and Disney I finally got mad and asked them why they thought it was weird I went running after work, and went to Disney for fun, but they thought sitting at a bar every night was perfectly normal.

They said drinking at a bar is normal for an adult, going to Disney isn’t. As if being an alcoholic is preferable to running and acting like a big kid at Disney. From that time on I decided maybe I was just wired differently and was ok with that. Whenever they mentioned Disney or running I’d just turn it back and replace Disney or running with drinking, for example… “you going to see Mickey again this weekend?” I’d say “yep, you planning on getting drunk again this weekend?”, that would usually result in a “you’re so weird” but would also shut them up pretty quick.

That’s the kind of thing I’d think I should say in my head but not actually have courage to say, ha ha.