Friends say too old for Disney?!?!?!

[CoffeeJedi]

All my friends know that I'm a Disney fan. When i started recruiting everyone for this trip, I got a few enthusiatic responses (who of course are now coming on the trip), but a lot of "meh" (my friends and my wife generally know my wdw obsession and sort of laugh at it as a quirk). When i posted to my LiveJournal that free dining would be included, everyone assumed Disney was all Mickey-burgers and Donald-fries. So I posted what our dinner itinerary was, including descriptions of all the resturants (Boma, Coral Reef, Marakesh, Sci-Fi, and Ohana) and got a TREMENDOUS response, mostly of "oh! they have THAT kind of food???". Most people have their preconcieved notions, and those are hard to break. They simply aren't aware of Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island, or Epcot's food, wine, and culture options.

I suggest that a "gateway" to enlightenment for these people is to appeal to their most base instincts. Talk about the food and the drink, and the "adult" activities. Eventually they may even want to investigate themselves. Then they're ours. Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!

Seriously though, the guy who inspired this whole trip knew very little of WDW or Disney in general until he saw the "Modern Marvels" special. Now? Well, he just bought the Tommorowland DVD set, is reading Disney fan sites, listening to Ricky's podcast, and is probably lurking this thread right now! (hey TC8!)

 

[Glasgow]

I'm with everyone here - it's your money and your decision! Having said that though, there are a lot of other cool places around the world to see and experience .. you never know, you make really like them. Places like Vienna, Rome, London, Hong Kong, etc. There, I said it! lol

If those other places are not for you though by all means, keep visiting WDW!

 

[iheartdisney91]

No One Is Too Old 4 Disney!

 

[Since1976]

I just came back from Disneyland in CA, and when I told one of the Anaheim locals (a senior citizen) that my family and I were going to Disney, he took a look at my 2-year-old daughter and said, "She's kind of young for Disney, isn't she? You're going for yourself, aren't you? That's okay. I go for myself ALL the time!"

This is just to show that people who know Disney understand that the parks are not just for kids -- you have to have a certain maturity to really appreciate them.

 

[shoppingnut]

I look at the postive side of the nay-sayers, less people in front of me on line!!

 

[spoiledmarie]

Thanks everyone for all your responses and support!
We don't feel so alone anymore!
It really is the best place in the world and I could not ever imagine vacationing somewhere else, I think the whole time I would be thinking "boy I could be at Disney World right now"!:lol:

 

[Loretta]

My husband and myself are both 33 years old and are totally addicted to Walt Disney World, and love everything Disney. Our Friends say that we are "Too Old" for Disney and that we "need to go somewhere else when we go on vacation". When we get back from one trip, we can't wait to book the next one and mind you, we have gone quite a bit over the past 2 years... but when we do book the trips and are so excited about it, we are afraid to tell anyone because we know what the reaction will be. They say that we should be going to an all inclusive resort type vacation, especially since we have no children. They all say that Disney is for kids and aren't we getting bored of it yet. I could never get bored of Disney, and love it there, and we always have such a great time, with or without others travelling with us.. yes Disney is a different experience with children and it is wonderful to see the magic in their eyes.. but as adults don't we deserve the same magic? If it is what we love to do and we don't want to go anywhere else, what is wrong with that?
I was just wondering if there were others out there like us around, people
over 30 that are addicted to Disney World.. and beileve that Disney is for
everyone, especially the kid in all of us!! And if you have ever had a

situation like this and how you dealt with it?

Marie, you and your husband need to turn the other check when your "friends" try to turn you off to Disney. My dh and I just had our 48th anniversary and we still go to WDW every year. It's the ONLY vacation we take and are very happy with it. Nothing and nobody will change that. You're young so live life like there is no tomorrow. That's what we do! :wave:

 

[Mick_claw]

My wife and I are in our 30's with no kids we're in the DVC and we go as much as we can. We hear the same chatter as you. Well not so much her as me, from the guys at work. All I can say is this.

People who get it, no explaination is necessary and people who don't, no explaination will ever do.

Who cares what they think, it's your money and there're the ones missing out.
Besides, let them stay away, the parks are to crowded as it is.

 

[DisneyMarg]

If your Doctor wrote out a prescription for you, one that would bring you and your family closer together, make you smile every day for a week straight, and could make all your worrys and problems seem to disappear, when that prescription ran out...wouldn't you ask for refills? :animwink:

I LOVE that!! Great answer!

My last trip to Disney was with my two sisters and their husbands (and mine). There were 3 couples - 6 of us - and we are the youngest (by far) at 50. It was wonderful and made perfect sense to me as we all love Disney. I still am surprised when people ask, "you didn't take any children?" because I'm thinking, "why would we take children?".

(No need to post about all the joys of taking children to Disney. We've been there and it was wonderful, magical, memorable and all those other things. But there is a very special charm to Disney with all adults!)

 

[4friends4ever]

We are 50 and 53 with no children and absolutely love all things Disney. You don't have to be young and have children to be a child again. The magic is always there.

I know what you mean. We have friends that roll their eyes and give you THAT look. Who cares, they don't get it and never will.

We went with friends last year that don't get it. It was a very last minute decision. Won't do that again.

Go and have a wonderful time. You'll see lots of older couples just having a blast.

 

[BG Rugger]

What amazes me is that when people give you "that look" when you tell them you love going to WDW and you ask them where they like to go, I always get "the beach" as an answer. So what do you do there? "We relax in the sand"....and WDW is supposed to get boring??

 

[garyhoov]

My husband and myself are both 33 years old and are totally addicted to Walt Disney World, and love everything Disney. Our Friends say that we are "Too Old" for Disney and that we "need to go somewhere else when we go on vacation". When we get back from one trip, we can't wait to book the next one and mind you, we have gone quite a bit over the past 2 years... but when we do book the trips and are so excited about it, we are afraid to tell anyone because we know what the reaction will be. They say that we should be going to an all inclusive resort type vacation, especially since we have no children. They all say that Disney is for kids and aren't we getting bored of it yet. I could never get bored of Disney, and love it there, and we always have such a great time, with or without others travelling with us.. yes Disney is a different experience with children and it is wonderful to see the magic in their eyes.. but as adults don't we deserve the same magic? If it is what we love to do and we don't want to go anywhere else, what is wrong with that?
I was just wondering if there were others out there like us around, people over 30 that are addicted to Disney World.. and beileve that Disney is for everyone, especially the kid in all of us!! And if you have ever had a situation like this and how you dealt with it?

At what age will your friends be too old to stick their noses in your business.:lookaroun

 

[Since1976]

One also has to realize that many adults associate Disney with cheap carnival rides. Some people know about Dumbo and not much else, and assume that rides like that are all Disney is about. What they don't know is that even the most "childish" rides at Disney are produced and themed with a level of detail that even adults can get excited about. This is why rides like Peter Pan's Flight attract adult riders again and again.

Sadly, some adults who actually dare to go to the parks will bypass these perceived-kiddie attractions. They do Space Mountain, and then go home and complain that there wasn't much to do at WDW. They have no idea what they are missing.

By the by, I know someone who mocked my Disney park fandom endlessly. I found out that his vacations mostly consist of him going to the same beach several times during the summer, visiting the bars there, sleeping, and playing golf. True, what's fun for me isn't necessarily fun for him, but jeez, drinking and playing golf is something he can easily do back home. Boooooooooring!

 

[Since1976]

Another thought: I think that thanks to the likes of freaks like Michael Jackson, some people associate the idea of childless adults going to Disney with unhealthy self-delusion and denial, and perhaps even find the idea a bit perverse.

I admit, there are times I have watched with mouth agape as full grown men and women bounced around the parks with Mickey ears on, Disney pins jangling noisy around their necks. But then, I realize that that is what Disney World does to people. It makes it easy for you to let go of your tensions -- to be a kid again. We spend 51 weeks a year with our eyebrows furrowed at work. Why *not* let loose and be stupid for one week (or two) out of the year?

 

[sbkline]

My husband and myself are both 33 years old and are totally addicted to Walt Disney World, and love everything Disney. Our Friends say that we are "Too Old" for Disney and that we "need to go somewhere else when we go on vacation". When we get back from one trip, we can't wait to book the next one and mind you, we have gone quite a bit over the past 2 years... but when we do book the trips and are so excited about it, we are afraid to tell anyone because we know what the reaction will be. They say that we should be going to an all inclusive resort type vacation, especially since we have no children. They all say that Disney is for kids and aren't we getting bored of it yet. I could never get bored of Disney, and love it there, and we always have such a great time, with or without others travelling with us.. yes Disney is a different experience with children and it is wonderful to see the magic in their eyes.. but as adults don't we deserve the same magic? If it is what we love to do and we don't want to go anywhere else, what is wrong with that?
I was just wondering if there were others out there like us around, people over 30 that are addicted to Disney World.. and beileve that Disney is for everyone, especially the kid in all of us!! And if you have ever had a situation like this and how you dealt with it?

I know exactly what you mean. I turn 31 this year and my wife is 27 and I am totally addicted to Disney as well. I would be happy going every year. I have an aunt and uncle who will ask "why don't you go somewhere else for a change?". Funny thing is, they have no room to talk, as they have a favorite destination of their own that they visit every year, or at least almost every year. Granted, they are retired and have the opportunity to go other places in a year as well, but I say if you have found a vacation destination that you like and are happy going there every year and no where else, then more power to ya. :sohappy:

 

[Mr. WDB]

While I may not go as often as a lot of posters here might (I tend to go about every 4 years), I can honestly and unequivocably say that all of my most enjoyable, best vacations have been at WDW. No place else has been able to make me feel like I've gone to a whole other place. No place else makes me feel like I'm a kid again. I'm 37 years old and I still get all silly and excited whenever I talk about going to Disney World. I made a fan out of my wife, too. We were originally going to go on a cruise this year, but she felt it might be better for all of us if we went back to WDW instead. Like I was going to argue!:lol: So in a couple of weeks (7/8 - 7/15) we'll be off to Port Orleans Riverside to enjoy our all inclusive Disney vacation and I already am feeling that "magical" feeling that you get only when you're bound for Disney. Those who've never been can never understand that until they, too, go (and some of them still won't "get it"). Me, my wife and our 2 daughters (6 & 9) are all believers and we will continue to go to Disney when we're, well.. as old as my parents, who are both 78 and still enjoy WDW! So I say "Pooh-Pooh" (pun intended) to the naysayers!:sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Jono1]

:sohappy: i am 40 years old and as far as i am concerned there is no other place to holiday than WDW, i refuse to grow up and the main reason i work is to save to pay for our next Disney family holiday, even though the magic hasn't managed to stop my kids fighting while we are there !:lol:

 

[DisneySam]

At what age will your friends be too old to stick their noses in your business.:lookaroun

Well put. Well put.

Whenever I get the "aren't you too old?" or "why are you going to Disney?"
I follow it up with, "Why do you care, you aren't going." LOL

 

[SpenceMan01]

This kind of thread always reminds me of one of my favorite Walt quotes:

"You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway."
-Walt Disney

It's sooo true too. My goal is to get my in-laws down there for at least 1 vacation trip. They're 'big vacation' was to the regional amusement park a few hours away. I've been a Disney fanatic my entire life and I had the pleasure of taking my fiancee on her first trip down to WDW. I really want to get her family down so that they can fall in love with what I've had all my life.

 

[tink81]

My coworkers always razz me about liking Disney so much. My one co-worker has kids and is dreading the day he has to go to WDW, he says he feels like he HAS to go. I tell him I feel sorry for him and for anyone else who feels like they HAVE to do things for other people, especially something as fun as a trip to Walt Disney World!