Half of theme-park visitors ages 25-49 come without kids

[Zummi Gummi]

i don't think it's a weird comment as much as a very telling comment about a prevailing attitude towards us families without kids (who are either that way by choice or just simply haven't gotten around to having them yet).

here's a microcosm of my overall thought: i started a thread about pool games in the resorts section of the forum, basically asking if people found the games that are now played between 1-4:00 at resort pools to be useful or too invasive. my feeling is that, hey...i'm here to relax. i'm not at the parks. i'd like a lounge chair, a drink, and some sun. should i really have to go to another designated pool for that because someone is screaming over a microphone to entertain children? keep in mind, i wasn't saying, "i hate your kids. get them out of my face." most kids are cute. they jump into the pool. so they splash me. whatever, i don't care. they're kids. when parented correctly, they can be even more consciencous of others' needs than a lot of adults.

i basically got my rights read to me by a few parents telling me "disney wasn't a place for a quiet vacation" and that one day i'd look back and thank my lucky stars for the fact that disney cast members are willing to entertain my kids.

sorry, no. that's ridiculous.

leaving my personal feelings on attentive parenting out of this, i come to disney world. i know they'll be kids there, large families, tour groups. whatever. i'm not adverse to any of that. but why do certain people think that just because WDW appeals to families with kids means that i should either take my money elsewhere or deal with their way of life taking priority over mine? i don't ask anyone's kids to drink a beer and read a book with me. why should you ask me to be privy to and tolerate their all-encompassing entertainment?

but the problem is that disney has groomed people to think that way over the last decade and a half. i own this vacation planning VHS from '93. all they could talk about in their marketing was how disney was a place for everyone. there was something for every family member of every age. want to make it all about the parks? go for it! want to have a resort vacation and enjoy our immersively-themed resorts? golf courses? bars? do that, too!

now it's: here's how you and your family of four can save.

i'm not looking for a thrill ride roller coaster spanning every inch of the park. i'm not looking for anyone's kids to be locked up in their rooms out of my sight. all i want is the SOUL that i was given back in the '90s. to learn about the seas without getting it from an animated turtle telling me i'm "so righteously awesome." or to peer into the future and see the limitlessness of man's capability. or sit at a pool themed to be in key west and not have to deal with being asked what aladdin's monkey friend's name was.

is that too much to ask?

Brilliantly stated.

 

[luv]

i don't think it's a weird comment as much as a very telling comment about a prevailing attitude towards us families without kids (who are either that way by choice or just simply haven't gotten around to having them yet).

here's a microcosm of my overall thought: i started a thread about pool games in the resorts section of the forum, basically asking if people found the games that are now played between 1-4:00 at resort pools to be useful or too invasive. my feeling is that, hey...i'm here to relax. i'm not at the parks. i'd like a lounge chair, a drink, and some sun. should i really have to go to another designated pool for that because someone is screaming over a microphone to entertain children? keep in mind, i wasn't saying, "i hate your kids. get them out of my face." most kids are cute. they jump into the pool. so they splash me. whatever, i don't care. they're kids. when parented correctly, they can be even more consciencous of others' needs than a lot of adults.

i basically got my rights read to me by a few parents telling me "disney wasn't a place for a quiet vacation" and that one day i'd look back and thank my lucky stars for the fact that disney cast members are willing to entertain my kids.

sorry, no. that's ridiculous.

leaving my personal feelings on attentive parenting out of this, i come to disney world. i know they'll be kids there, large families, tour groups. whatever. i'm not adverse to any of that. but why do certain people think that just because WDW appeals to families with kids means that i should either take my money elsewhere or deal with their way of life taking priority over mine? i don't ask anyone's kids to drink a beer and read a book with me. why should you ask me to be privy to and tolerate their all-encompassing entertainment?

but the problem is that disney has groomed people to think that way over the last decade and a half. i own this vacation planning VHS from '93. all they could talk about in their marketing was how disney was a place for everyone. there was something for every family member of every age. want to make it all about the parks? go for it! want to have a resort vacation and enjoy our immersively-themed resorts? golf courses? bars? do that, too!

now it's: here's how you and your family of four can save.

i'm not looking for a thrill ride roller coaster spanning every inch of the park. i'm not looking for anyone's kids to be locked up in their rooms out of my sight. all i want is the SOUL that i was given back in the '90s. to learn about the seas without getting it from an animated turtle telling me i'm "so righteously awesome." or to peer into the future and see the limitlessness of man's capability. or sit at a pool themed to be in key west and not have to deal with being asked what aladdin's monkey friend's name was.

is that too much to ask?

It kind of is. I think it sucks and would avoid it if I could...but single people and couples can't ask Disney to stop entertaining children.

If you want a quiet, restful vacation, Disney is simply not the place to visit. It's a bit like visit Vegas and complaining about the gambling or going to Mardis Gras and complaining about the drunks.

I do think Disney should make an effort to have some hotel with a No Kids pool, like Uni does...but they don't. That isn't Disney. If you want to chill at a pool without kids, go to Uni.

 

[baymenxpac]

It kind of is. I think it sucks and would avoid it if I could...but single people and couples can't ask Disney to stop entertaining children.

If you want a quiet, restful vacation, Disney is simply not the place to visit. It's a bit like visit Vegas and complaining about the gambling or going to Mardis Gras and complaining about the drunks.

I do think Disney should make an effort to have some hotel with a No Kids pool, like Uni does...but they don't. That isn't Disney. If you want to chill at a pool without kids, go to Uni.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA way to miss essentially every point of my post. impressive.

 

[MickeysStalker]

Then don't forget about all the motorized wheel chairs floating around that people really don't need (just because you're overweight doesn't mean you should be able to ride around in a motorized chariot to IASW so you can go sink the boat!) These people crowd the park and think that you're in THEIR WAY for some reason. It's unbelievable.

Just think if the pecentage of people visiting had more kids with them than what the percentage is now, the parks would be un-navigatable!! Sorry for the morning rant, I just came from DL this past week and I couldn't believe how many rude people with kids and in motorized jazzies were in the parks. It's just awful. If anything, Disney needs to limit stroller capacity in the parks. And if you're not really handicapped (I'm looking at you, morbidly obese people!), get up and walk!!! It'll do you some good and Disney will have to stop modifying their rides to accomodate the extra weight!

Preach!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

It kind of is. I think it sucks and would avoid it if I could...but single people and couples can't ask Disney to stop entertaining children.

If you want a quiet, restful vacation, Disney is simply not the place to visit. It's a bit like visit Vegas and complaining about the gambling or going to Mardis Gras and complaining about the drunks.

I do think Disney should make an effort to have some hotel with a No Kids pool, like Uni does...but they don't. That isn't Disney. If you want to chill at a pool without kids, go to Uni.

Is it too much to ask parents to better manage their over indulged spoiled brats? Or have I missed the memo where Disney have extended restaurants to be classed as unsupervised play areas. Admittedly some of the folks would normally class McDs as fine dining but ignorance is no excuse for endangering your off spring regardless of how far down the evolutionary ladder they may be.

 

[xdan0920]

It kind of is. I think it sucks and would avoid it if I could...but single people and couples can't ask Disney to stop entertaining children.

If you want a quiet, restful vacation, Disney is simply not the place to visit. It's a bit like visit Vegas and complaining about the gambling or going to Mardis Gras and complaining about the drunks.

I do think Disney should make an effort to have some hotel with a No Kids pool, like Uni does...but they don't. That isn't Disney. If you want to chill at a pool without kids, go to Uni.

I reccomemd going on YouTube and searching for some older WDW advertising.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

If you want to chill at a pool without kids, go to Uni.

Yes because children never go to Uni, never ever. Those Jurassic Park kid suites at RP? Strictly for the Dino nerds over 30.

 

[puntagordabob]

It kind of is. I think it sucks and would avoid it if I could...but single people and couples can't ask Disney to stop entertaining children.

If you want a quiet, restful vacation, Disney is simply not the place to visit. It's a bit like visit Vegas and complaining about the gambling or going to Mardis Gras and complaining about the drunks.

I do think Disney should make an effort to have some hotel with a No Kids pool, like Uni does...but they don't. That isn't Disney. If you want to chill at a pool without kids, go to Uni.

...and this thinking is what has taken EPCOT's Futureworld from being a wonderous place to learn about new technology, science, etc....to what it is today.... dumbed down to the lowest common level.

Disney should cater to all, not to just one demographic..... thats what historically has made Disney so awesome...

...if you visit Disneyland resort youll see that for the most part they still take this as their vision to drive them forward.... their Downtown Disney is hopping after dark, can you say the same about ours? Their Disneyland park has dances and other cool stuff for adults even with live bands, not so here at the Magic Kingdom. The list goes on.....

I am not a Club lover...dont even drink....but even I realized the loss of Pleasure Island was a step in the wrong direction.... of course WHERE they put it was not smart since it was In the darn center of DTD (put it at the remote end past the West end would make more sense)

I am old enough to remember the Walt Disney World of the 70s and 80s...it was not a dumbed down place that catered only to kids...it catered to everyone and it did so on a level of Excellence still not equalled today.....

Give me the Epcot CENTER back...where even an old fart like me can learn something....give me restaraunts that Push the envelope of menu selection rather than the stuff we get today thanks to the dining plan and its evil accomplace "Free Dining".....

If you raise the bar across the resort...it benefits everyone...from Grandpa all the way down to the newborn..... Most of us tend to keep coming back so its a LIFETIME we share there...not just the first 10 years

 

[Florida_is_hot]

Why did they close Pleasure Island ?

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Because it wasnt an island and they had eliminated all the sources of pleasure.

 

[Florida_is_hot]

Because it wasnt an island and they had eliminated all the sources of pleasure.

Really though, we know Walt Disney World likes making money.
Does empty buildings (are there still buildings?) make Disney money.

 

[wm49rs]

Really though, we know Walt Disney World likes making money.
Does empty buildings (are there still buildings?) make Disney money.

If they're not having to pay performers and other overhead at the clubs on a nightly basis, yes. Combine that with a couple of drink stands and some ad hoc entertainment, and you get a better bottom line.

 

[muteki]

I have never understood the tendency these days for "fun for all ages" to mean "geared towards kids". You can't say something is fun for all ages if you ignore everyone over 12.

 

[Florida_is_hot]

i believe Pleasure Island is a cop out.

Read the history.
Pleasure Island originally change admission.

Attendance dropped.

Disney removed the admission and Pleasure Island was
filled with loitering teens.

Could they not of just went back to the drawing board,
find a way to make it work?

There are clubs that make money, if Pleasure Island had
better management they could of made money.

Now there is Downtown Disney Market Place
The ruins of Pleasure Island
The West Side

 

[MissAlmyra]

Some excellent points being made here. I was watching the vacation planning DVD from 2012 and the constant references to "your little ones" was a bit off putting to me. I felt like my demographic was being completely ignored! I'm traveling next month with another 20-something and we were both surprised at how the video was selling the parks. Funny enough the "adult" section talked mostly about spa visits and golf! We're big kids at heart, and it would be nice to see some marketing that doesn't solely focus on families. Some of the older commercial were excellent, talking about felling like a "kid again", etc...

 

[SirLink]

i believe Pleasure Island is a cop out.

Read the history.
Pleasure Island originally change admission.

Attendance dropped.

Disney removed the admission and Pleasure Island was
filled with loitering teens.

Could they not of just went back to the drawing board,
find a way to make it work?

There are clubs that make money, if Pleasure Island had
better management they could of made money.

Now there is Downtown Disney Market Place
The ruins of Pleasure Island
The West Side

You forgot one vital step before 'Attendance dropped' - they forgot/no one cared enough to upgrade the clubs, so less people went so they did what they normally do look for 3rd parties. They complained about it gated and so killed PI.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Very interesting. Now I don't feel as weird.

Going to Disney on a regular basis is one of the (many) reasons I don't have kids