Full disclosure - I grew up about 45 minutes from Walt Disney World which opened when I was 7 years old. Later in life our family had season passes to Silver Dollar City for many years as our ds was growing up. We even owned a condo in Branson. I am not anti-theme park at all. But, a theme park is not a destination I choose to go to as an adult with no grandchildren as of yet.
However, I know adults (with no young children or grandchildren) who love to go to theme parks. I must confess that I don’t get it.
Is going to a theme park something you choose to do as an adult? If so, what do you like about it? What would draw you to a theme park?
They were fun when I was younger. Now that my daughter is in college and lost interest, they’re just not fun anymore. Last time I was on a rollercoaster was 10 years ago and it threw out my back.
I used to love theme parks well into adulthood. I used to say my push to lose weight was if I couldn’t fit into a roller coaster seat. Well now it’s been 15 years since I’ve ridden one and I have no desire to do so ever again. I can’t explain to myself the shift or lack of desire.
I also know people who love Disney. It’s what they do.
I think it’s like anything people do for fun. I know people who go to the same island year after year. People who love Hawaii or St Thomas and go multiple times, even per year.
It’s about what is your happy place and do you like to go to a place over and over again.
People do cruises, or Europe or whatever it is that makes you feel good. Some like to go where it’s comfortable and familiar. Some like to go to different places on vacation.
My family of 4 (17&20 yo daughters) loves Disneyland. Only the CA one It’s been a yearly tradition to drive down from NorCal. Now that the kids are older and one in college, it’s harder to nail down the timing, but my H and I will continue to enjoy it as long as our kids are up for it. We honestly have the best time there, it’s hard to explain! But I doubt we’ll go just the two of us once our kids are both out of college and working. I have had to bow out of the Guardians of the Galaxy ride because it makes me nauseous for like 72 hours but I love everything else, especially the real throwback Fantasyland rides like Peter Pan and Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. Also love Indiana Jones.
It’s not my thing. When my girls were little, we went to WDW several times and I thoroughly enjoyed it because it it was magical for them. But as soon as they were interested in a different kind of travel experience, we closed the door on that one. I could only ever see going back if it was with grandchildren one day.
This is so funny, because just yesterday I put on my “to do plan in April-June” to go with H to Busch Gardens during the week. I just need to find a day that he’s not working and the weather is good. H just doesn’t know it yet that we’re going…
I LOVE amusement parks. Disney not as much, because IMO that’s a Theme Park. I prefer Universal. Why? I LOVE rollercoasters. Love them. I feel so free zooming down the hills, the curves, the loops, etc. I can go on them over and over and over. That’s why I love going during the week early in the year. The park is often empty. Once, we got there and got to park in the front row. The park was so empty that after a couple of hours, you pretty much knew everyone there. It was sort of creepy. But you could just go on again and again, usually in the front/last car with zero wait. My one regret, we were on the Griffon once and we were the ONLY people on the entire ride. The picture was really cool! Just my family on the front row with all our hands up and smiling. I wish I had bought it, but I never buy that stuff.
But, this would be the first time we’ve gone without kids. H used to like rollercoasters, but now he gets nauseous. We’ve done Dramamine, and that helps some, but now not enough. And while we talk about going, he wants to the kids to go. They can’t just take off work for something like this like I can, and I don’t want to go on the weekends when it’s crowded. I’m spoiled. I don’t want to wait.
But I’m determined I want to go at least once more before I’m too old and rickety for the coasters. Hopefully H won’t balk. I have no problem riding things by myself while he waits. By the time we have grandkids old enough to go, I likely will be too rickety for something other than the baby coasters.
We took one “8 day all you can do Disney” trip with our kids (including staying on property) and I said that was it. (We did do another long weekend, I admit).
I have not been to Disney without kids since I was in my early 20s. I have heard it’s actually very fun to go as adults, and I would consider going if someone asked me to. But it certainly wouldn’t be my first pick.
My friends and I went to WDW in college and had a blast. We took the kids when they were in elementary school and they were like “ meh”.
When we lived in Virginia the kids and I loved Busch Gardens because of the rides ( H doesn’t do rides).
Now we have a GD and a second grandchild due this summer. SIL’s parents 1. Live in Florida and 2. Like WDW. So we are “ off the hook”.
OTOH -H’s sisters and their ( grown) children love Disney. My kids prefer going to Europe or different places in the US/ Canada.
Let’s see… DH and I go to Cedar Point for the fries and Disneyland for the Haunted Mansion/beignets and the not-quite rollercoaster rides like Indiana Jones. A kid would just drag us down.
Funny, my husband and I were just discussing that we have a little parent guilt about never taking the kids to Disney. Especially since our parents both took us. They have both been to Disneyland for a day with friends but never on a trip with us.
S25 was a crazy hyper little boy. He was also a crazy hyper not so little boy. The idea of standing in lines with him all day gave me hives and I knew that we would all spend the trip angry. I also don’t like crowds or Florida heat. We took them to Club Med instead. Highly recommend for hyper kids.
I do have a 70yr old aunt who goes to Disney with her friends every year! And has since college.
I went to WDW with my best friend in 2019 for the 45th anniversary of our friendship. We just love the (non- thrill) rides. The shows, the food. We used a travel concierge and we stayed on the concierge level of one ofthe nice hotels. So we got the passes to walk onto most rides. We did nice sit down restaurants for both lunch and dinner. We loved it. Loved it. But we are pretty “ boring” people. We don’t like drinking, going out to clubsetc….Not just now at our age But ever.
I do wonder if this is somewhat a function of proximity and the ability to get a discount on season passes as an in-state resident.
My college roommate lives in SoCal, and she and her husband get season passes. They like to ride the rides, but also like the dining??
I am not a ride person at all, so I do prefer a theme park over a true amusement park. Silver Dollar City is a great regional park. Their shows and seasonal decor make it a great park for all ages/all stages.
Disney just seems like a lot of work to me. All those websites and blogs about strategies and maximizing your time. And so much nickel and diming now with add ons.
Oh absolutely! We’re about 30 min from Disneyland. We have Magic Keys (Disneyland’s version of annual passes). There is no way we would fly to visit once a week.
When we go for walks, we either go to the beach or go to Disneyland.
Went to the Disney parks once with the kids and twice to Universal (to see both Harry Potter sides) with them. They preferred universal. Enjoyed it at the time but would not be interested as an adult without kids.
Went to Disneyland once (kids ages 5-12) and Disney World once (kids ages 10-17). I think that’s enough. I grew up going to Six Flags in DFW and still enjoy roller coasters, but it just isn’t worth the hassle of dealing with the heat, crowds, and exorbitant cost.
Lol. Last time we went to WDW I threw caution to the wind and didn’t make any plans other than being there at opening. Trying to actually figure out “a plan” was tiring. Really wanted to see MGM which is the only park we hadn’t been to. Such a fun day! Got to see everything and didn’t worry about apps or fast passes etc. Only thing I looked at was wait times for rides and scheduled times for shows.
It’s been a yearly tradition to drive down from NorCal. Now that the kids are older and one in college, it’s harder to nail down the timing, but my H and I will continue to enjoy it as long as our kids are up for it. We honestly have the best time there, it’s hard to explain! But I doubt we’ll go just the two of us once our kids are both out of college and working. I have had to bow out of the Guardians of the Galaxy ride because it makes me nauseous for like 72 hours but I love everything else, especially the real throwback Fantasyland rides like Peter Pan and Mr Toad’s Wild Ride. Also love Indiana Jones.