A rather pitiful article appeared yesterday in
USA Today titled
Grown-ups find magic in Disney World offerings.
The article seems a desperate attempt to bring adults back to WDW. Today's WDW is much less adult friendly than it used to be. Consider:
- Pleasure Island closed.
- Disney's once truly adult theme park, Epcot, has been dumbed down into kiddie lands with the conversion of child-centric attractions in both Future World and the World Showcase such as Nemo and Friends, Kidcot centers, and Agent P's Adventure.
- The highly touted (and pricey) additions at New Fantasyland are all targeted for the under-7 crowd. Even the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will have a 38" height restriction, effectively a kiddie coaster.
- The Magic Kingdom's only scary attractions, Alien Encounter and Show White's Scary Adventure, are gone.
- The only thing frightening about Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is the price.
- So much has been turned into revenue-generating "pirates and princesses" experiences, targeted for the under-7 crowd.
- MyMagic+ mean adults wearing plastic bracelets. Really, wearing a plastic MagicBand is supposed to make us feel like adults?
- Strollers have completely taken over all 4 theme parks. Renting out strollers is a huge money-maker for Disney with parents of lot's of "children" well past the stroller age paying big bucks so their precious doesn't actually have to walk.
The only change targeted for adults in recent years is Disney's money grabbing attempt to turn both the
Flower & Garden Festival and the Food & Wine Festival into drunkfests during Disney's slower seasons. Even these are
getting out-of-hand. The World Showcase on Food & Wine Festival weekends is now an embarrassing shell of its former self.
If you are an adult wanting to vacation in Orlando, head over to Universal where they have truly adult hotels and restaurants, an active bar scene, 54" roller coasters, and shows & attractions that are not afraid of frightening children.