Adults without kids - why do you visit characters?

[Missytara]

Ever stop to think that MAYBE some people who aren't blessed with children, are not able to have them??? And, yes adopting is not as easy as people may think (I have a friend who is trying but it's a difficult process). What has this world come to, when two adults get fussed at at WDW just because they want to meet characters??? Just because some couples do not have children, it doesn't give anyone a right to judge them, OR expect them to have less privileges. It's attitudes such as this that makes me almost not even want to have kids...it's just wrong.

I never married, and briefly considered adopting a special needs child in my late 30's, but felt it was selfish to ask my family to help share the burden as a single parent.

I am happily single and childless and get to Disney once or twice a year.

I have had some of the greatest character interactions going solo. Many experiences come to mind; too many to even list.

Forgive those of us who are big kids at heart....we love our Disney experiences.

 

[ARAITHEL]

because it makes me feel like a kid again...besides who doesn't want to see Captain Jack...?

 

[dtstampz]

I love having pictures taken with characters because it makes me feel like a kid again.
I do try to be quick when it's my turn: A quick hello, maybe a hug, and a couple of pics.
But I often find that it's the character that initiates more interaction, and while I want
to hurry for the sake of the other guests waiting, I don't want to be rude either!

 

[PJesse25]

Why do I, as a solo adult, visit the characters?

Because I want to, I can and it's fun.

 

[EvilinaDM101]

2 adults (both in our 30's) checking in!

No kids here and yup! We wait in line to have pictures with characters.

Why?

Because we LOVE them!

During the Leap year celebration, we took pics AND for my keepsake of the day, I had an autograph book.

My DH and I will be visiting Tokyo Disney, Hong Kong Disney and DL in Dec. We plan on taking pics of the characters there too! Can't WAIT!!

 

[TowMater92]

The character's friend (CM) will move people along when a certain length of time has been reached, so no one really spends 'too much time' posing, etc.

Adults without children pose with characters because they are people too - people who just don't happen to have children, for what ever reason, and they want to enjoy their lives just like anyone else.

Just because someone has kids doesn't mean they have more rights/benefits/needs, over someone without kids, does it?

We hear complaints about adults not giving up seats on buses, not letting other people's kids get in front of them at parades (even if the adults had staked out a spot an hour beforehand), and now people complain about how long some adult takes with a character?

When parents think that their kids are entitled to something just because they are kids it makes the kids grow up thinking they are entitled to everything, IMO.

That was perfect

 

[SanFranciscan]

I love having pictures taken with characters because it makes me feel like a kid again.
I do try to be quick when it's my turn: A quick hello, maybe a hug, and a couple of pics.
But I often find that it's the character that initiates more interaction, and while I want
to hurry for the sake of the other guests waiting, I don't want to be rude either!

I love your kind nature, but I also felt a little sad reading your post because life can be very painful for kind people.

If it helps at all, I enjoy watching other people's interactions with the characters. It is a big part of my entertainment while I am in a theme park.

 

[SanFranciscan]

Off topic, but I think alot of jobs feel that way. I work at a psychiatric hospital so obviously we are open 24/7 365 days a year. We use a skeleton crew for the holdidays but we have to have a certain number of people, so someone has to work them. A few years ago alot of people were complaining because our nurse managager always gave the same people off the week of Thanksgiving and the week of Christmas every single year. It didn't matter when the rest of us turned our requests for time off in, the same people still got the holidays every year. Anyway the same thing happened for Thanksgiving that year and everyone was in an uproar. His reaction: when the December schedule came out, no one got the whole week off. Great! Right? Nope, what he did was if you had a kid at home you got not only Christmas Eve, but Christmas day also. Those of us who either didn't have kids or our kids were grown all had to work both days. He was so excited. He actually thought it was such a fantastic idea and didn't understand why those of us who didn't get the holiday for like the fifth year in a row was pissed. When everyone complained, he said that Christmas was for kids and he thought we'd be happy to help those parents with young kids out. Uh, duh! Like we don't want to spend at least one day of the holidays with our families too. By the same token, if two people ask for anytime off during the summer, he gives the person with a kid priority, saying that's the only time they can get time off because of school. Yeah, if you have a kid at home you can wait until a month out and request the Christmas holidays or two weeks during the summer or spring break off and get it just because you have a kid, even if someone that doesn't have kids at home requested the same days off a year ahead of time.

You are a little off topic, but I would like to respond because the issue is the same here. It is a question of whether you are responsible for the choices that other people make when they choose to have children or when they decide to take their children to destinations the children may be unable to handle such as crowded theme parks with a lot of noise, strange characters in strange costumes, etc. and then play the martyrs with claims that this trip is for their children instead of for themselves while their miserable children just want to get out of that scary environment. Those thinking "I shouldn't have to wait my turn for anything because I got a kid" are often less mature than their children anyway.

As for the work scheduling issue, naturally anyone working in the hospital or resort business has to expect holiday work to be part of the deal. The reason that I felt such immediate sympathy fo you is that I am reminded of a friend that I met while working as a hospital volunteer and was willing to go in on holidays. A young woman who was a nurse-anesthetist in her 20's and single with no children was responsible for the care of her grandparents who had raised her following the death of her mother. She was constantly being told that she had to accommodate a parent who wanted to go to a child's soccer game or ballet recital or whatever because she did not have children. One Christmas she wanted to be off work for what she believed was going to be her grandmother's last Christmas. She was told that Christmas was for people with families as if grandparents were not family and worked so that people with children could be off. Her grandmother died on New Year's.

 

[Sparkly]

As for the work scheduling issue, naturally anyone working in the hospital or resort business has to expect holiday work to be part of the deal. The reason that I felt such immediate sympathy fo you is that I am reminded of a friend that I met while working as a hospital volunteer and was willing to go in on holidays. A young woman who was a nurse-anesthetist in her 20's and single with no children was responsible for the care of her grandparents who had raised her following the death of her mother. She was constantly being told that she had to accommodate a parent who wanted to go to a child's soccer game or ballet recital or whatever because she did not have children. One Christmas she wanted to be off work for what she believed was going to be her grandmother's last Christmas. She was told that Christmas was for people with families as if grandparents were not family and worked so that people with children could be off. Her grandmother died on New Year's.

That is incredibly disgusting. That just makes me so mad- I would have immediately complained.

See, this is why the London riots of last August started. A generation of kids brought up to get anything they wanted and do whatever they wanted which resulted in a group of entitled teens and young adults who thought they could get away with anything. /rant over

 

[MouseloverJD]

Why do I, as a solo adult, visit the characters?

Because I want to, I can and it's fun.

ITA. It's part of the WDW experience. Never thought I would enjoy meeting characters as much as I do, but it makes it easier to believe in the fantasy and wonder of Disney. I never experienced character M&Gs as a child and it would be a shame if I or any other adult was told it was wrong to try and experience now.

 

[SRUAlmn]

As for the work scheduling issue, naturally anyone working in the hospital or resort business has to expect holiday work to be part of the deal. The reason that I felt such immediate sympathy fo you is that I am reminded of a friend that I met while working as a hospital volunteer and was willing to go in on holidays. A young woman who was a nurse-anesthetist in her 20's and single with no children was responsible for the care of her grandparents who had raised her following the death of her mother. She was constantly being told that she had to accommodate a parent who wanted to go to a child's soccer game or ballet recital or whatever because she did not have children. One Christmas she wanted to be off work for what she believed was going to be her grandmother's last Christmas. She was told that Christmas was for people with families as if grandparents were not family and worked so that people with children could be off. Her grandmother died on New Year's.

That is so terribly sad I face similar things at my job (although not this extreme ) I am actually in my early 30's and married, but I have no children. I am constantly covering for other people so they can leave for a few hours to go to their kid's ______. There have been times when my husband or dog have been very ill, and I've been told I need to be at work. Somehow, going to your kid's dance performance outweighs taking car of an injured dog or a very ill husband. It really gets old.

ETA: Sorry to post about something a little OT, but I did post earlier about my character meeting experiences and I didn't want to post the same thing again.

 

[shalom]

If it helps at all, I enjoy watching other people's interactions with the characters. It is a big part of my entertainment while I am in a theme park.

Ditto. If the characters initiate, go for it! And I've seen stuff adults in line initiated that was fun, too, when the characters responded. I'm all for that kind of thing.

I admit I'm not much for the "first mom, then dad, then all the kids, then each kid" kind of thing, and I discourage my kids from getting autographs, but to each their own, I suppose.

 

[JenniBugInPink]

I was 49 on my first trip to WDW. I'm now 59, hubs is 62. I had a nightmare of a childhood with repeated beatings & a father who EVEN now @ 90 has yet to care about me in the least even though I am his only living relative and am responsible for his care. I love the characters, and I have earned the right to wait in line & then spend time with the character if I want to! Characters & their handlers are responsible for managing their time & I will continue to spend my time with them. I have more than earned that right.