Should Adults without Children Go to Disney?
Should adults without children go to Walt Disney World?
This question comes up frequently in my daily life, as my wife and I don’t have kids.
What we DO have are literally thousands of vacation photos at Disney theme parks.
This behavior confuses some folks because the perception is that Disney’s for kids. It’s simply not true, though. Here are nine reasons why adults without children will love vacationing at Walt Disney World.
Amazing Foods
Adult vacations come down to three factors: fun, food, and shopping.
Disney will shock in two of these three areas. Sure, you expect the fun, but the food and shopping will catch you off-guard. I’ll discuss the latter in a bit.
As for the food, well, you probably have the wrong idea here. When people think theme park food, hot dogs and fries come to mind.
You’re not eating healthy, and you’re not eating stuff that you’d ordinarily pick at home. At a theme park, you rarely have other options.
Walt Disney World plays by a different set of rules. Disney wants you to spend all your money on its campus.
So, Disney has hired some of the best chefs in the world to build the menus and recipes at its restaurants.
We’re talking celebrity chefs, Top Chefs, and even an Iron Chef! Some of them like Art Smith came up through Disney employee programs and have since returned home.
The diverse nature of the chefs ensures that you’ll find culinary options for everyone from paleo-carnivores to vegans to folks with food allergies.
Every Disney park operates several high-quality restaurants. At Magic Kingdom alone, you’ll find more than 10!
Plus, Disney Springs and EPCOT’s World Showcase are foodie destinations due to their vast number of delicious eateries!
The Disney Bubble
When you go on vacation, you want to leave the real world behind.
The problem with being an adult is that you have adult problems, most of which can really drag you down.
Escapism means everything on a vacation. And Disney excels in this area.
When you’re at Walt Disney World, you may forget what day it is. I’m not even joking. This has happened to me!
You get so involved in having the best possible time at the parks that the real world just kinda…fades away.
When you’re at Disney, the only thing that exists is Disney! It’s so indescribably liberating! You’re carefree and euphoric the whole time.
Drinking at the World Showcase
Earlier, I said shopping, eating, and having fun. However, there’s an x-factor here. You may want to drink as well. And Disney is more than happy to oblige!
Disney Springs and some Disney parks feature restaurants that serve alcohol and, recently, even some bars.
However, one place has offered this option for decades now. When Disney built the World Showcase, it highlighted the international cuisines available.
Obviously, you cannot build a pavilion for Canada or England without selling beer, right?
Similarly, the restaurants at Italy and France pavilions would seem incomplete without wine.
Basically, you can drink your way around the World Showcase without having to worry about designated drivers or paying for a rideshare.
Disney transportation will take you to your destination once you’ve finished drinking.
You’re an adult! Stay as long as you want, and drink like a fish! Disney’s got your back!
Immaculate Hotels
I say again that Disney wants to keep all your money when you vacation there.
For this reason, Disney builds cathedrals disguised as hotels. They’re among the most luxurious facilities on the planet.
Frankly, Disney could charge a LOT more for them. I mean, amenities like a monorail going through your hotel would justify the cost.
Still, Disney has worked hard over the years to keep its hotel prices affordable, even as it has upgraded them as much as possible.
Recently, Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort added the new Disney Skyliner, a gondola transportation system it shares with three other Disney resorts.
Some of the most impressive Disney hotels feature amenities like mini-water parks, zoo habitats (complete with animals!), bungalows, a-frame cabins, and much more!
Immersive Disney Storytelling
Here’s one of the points I stress to friends who ask about Disney.
Those stories that you loved so much as a child haven’t changed over the years. You have, though.
Disney officials understand this fact and have crafted the entertainment to make it more adult. Sure, kids love the stories on one level.
Now that you’re older, you’ll appreciate them even more because of these new touches.
Aladdin just seems different when you watch part of it at Mickey’s PhilharMagic. And the songs at Country Bear Jamboree are sooo much dirtier than you remember!
That’s just scratching the surface, though. The best places to appreciate Disney storytelling reside at the newest themed lands.
Pandora – The World of Avatar brings an alien world to life. Also, the place grows even more impressive at night, when the bioluminescence is on display.
Then, there’s the triumph that is Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. It’s an entire themed land predicated on the Star Wars universe.
At Black Spire Outpost, you’ll enter an uneasy alliance where the residents of Batuu merely want to survive.
However, they’re caught between The First Order on one side and The Resistance on the other. You can live action roleplay as much or as little as you want. Disney leaves the option up to you, the adult.
Of course, that’s not even the pinnacle of immersive theming. Disney recently opened Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser.
When you pony up for this (admittedly expensive) option, you’ll spend three days and two nights living out a real Star Wars adventure!
We live in an experiential society now. In this regard, NOTHING beats Galactic Starcruiser
Shopping at Disney Springs
One of the best aspects of a vacation is some retail therapy. You work hard, and you deserve to spend your money in the ways that make you happiest.
At Disney Springs, you’ll discover a plethora of stores, some of which may surprise you.
Did you know that Disney Springs includes a Harley Davidson store?!
Similarly, you’ll find a giant LEGO Store, Alex and Ani, Coach, Kate Spade New York, lululemon, Ron Jon Surf Shop, Volcom, and countless others.
Plus, Disney operates some stores here that you won’t find anywhere else.
When you want Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, or Disney merchandise, Disney Springs is the best place on the planet!
Thrill Rides Aplenty
Disney gets a bum rap when it comes to rides. For whatever reason, people focus on the iconic attractions like It’s a Small World and Haunted Mansion.
For this reason, many potential guests aren’t aware of Disney’s high volume of thrill rides.
If you put Test Track or Exhibition Everest in any other theme park on the planet, each one would be the best attraction there.
Off my head, here’s a list of thrill rides you can experience at Walt Disney World:
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- DINOSAUR
- Kali River Rapids
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Mission: SPACE
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Space Mountain
- Splash Mountain
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Test Track
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
That’s an average of (more than) three thrill rides per park! Don’t get it twisted. Fans of adrenaline rushes will LOVE Disney!
Unforgettable Trips
Some people would argue that every trip is memorable. As a travel writer, that’s honestly not been my experience.
Sometimes, I’ll need someone to remind me that I’ve visited a place and possibly even reviewed.
Frankly, many travel destinations have a sameness to them. Even the restaurants and shops come from indistinguishable chains. If you’ve eaten at one Joe’s Crab Shack or Bubba Gump’s, you’ve eaten at all of them.
At Disney, the situation is vastly different. You’ll gain so many unforgettable memories that they may blur together over time.
As an example, I’ll often think of moments that have happened to me while walking down Main Street, U.S.A.
I couldn’t tell you for certain which Disney trip they came from, but I remember making a child laugh or taking a picture for a stranger.
Also, my writing here is overflowing with examples of past Disney visits that maintain a spot at the front of my memory.
For whatever reason, my favorite of them is when cast members allowed guests to test-ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train the day we were leaving.
That window only opened for ten minutes, yet it allowed us to be among the first to experience Magic Kingdom’s alpha attraction.
When you visit Disney as an adult, you’ll make unforgettable memories of your own.