Adults without kids - why do you visit characters?

[TillyDe]

Two years ago me and my now 33 year old daughter went to WDW. She stood in many lines for pics and autographs. Why you ask?
Her boyfriend has a now 8 year old daughter. She was getting the pics and autographs to make a book for his daughter. Silver Mist even did a short video on Liz's cell phone for Mackenzie.
This did take more time than I expected. But it was all for a child.

 

[AmberHeartsDisney]

Its all part of the experience!

 

[Belle1962]

Because I still believe in the magic.

 

[ttintagel]

He then went on to tell me that I am no man because a real man wouldn't bring his wife to WDW on our anniversary.

We need a t-shirt that says, "Real Men Hug Mickey Mouse."

 

[Butterbunkins]

We need a t-shirt that says, "Real Men Hug Mickey Mouse."

 

[Victoria3]

I live here and have been on the rides hundreds of times and they don't really change much. Meeting characters is a different experience each time.

There are lots of things that I don't like but other people love. Whatever makes you happy.

 

[princess_ariel_85]

I'm 27 and I love meeting characters - I'd love to hear a real genuine reason as to why I shouldn't?

When me and DH were walking through Epcot last year we were happily chatting away when out the corner of my eye I spotted Mary Poppins! I dragged poor DH to the back of the queue. We waited 10 minutes to get a photo of me and Mary. She was so much fun to meet and she even dragged DH into the pic.

So far I've met Mickey, Minnie, Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Baloo, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, Meeko, the 7 Dwarves, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear, Mike, Sully, Mater, Lightening McQueen, Timon & Jack Sparrow.

Will I stop meeting characters? No. I enjoy meeting them. It can be fun and lets face it, where in the UK can I meet the real Mickey??

 

[everythingALICE]

Because I'm a little kid in a 30 something year old body! My logical brain may know it's someone in a costume, but in my heart, I believe in the Disney magic that it truly is said character. You can tell me otherwise until you're blue in the face, but I won't believe you!!!

I agree with a lot that has been said on this topic, including the above. I work a full time job, intern, and take graduate school courses. When I go to Disney, it's a temporary break from the hectic, busy, stressful schedule I have at home. Also, I don't have kids - and I don't think I'm any less deserving to have my picture taken with a character if I've paid for my park ticket and waited in line than a ten year old, or a someone who IS traveling with kids.

Disney is different because because it really is magical. I know this sounds dorky coming from an adult, but to me, it's true. If I was just interested in going on some roller coasters and calling it a day, I would go to Six Flags or some other amusement park. At Disney, I want to immerse myself in the theming, the magic...characters included.

Do I know that it's probably some college kid sweating inside that costume? Yes. Do I care? No. Because thinking about that is gross, and much less exciting than getting a hug from the one and only Mickey Mouse!

 

[Chicago Mo]

I'm genuinely curious why adults without kids visit characters. Obviously by that point in your life, you know that it's not *really* Mickey or a princess standing in front of you and you don't actually have Cinderella's signature in your book, so what's the draw to the characters?
:

WHOOOOAAAA??? Not real?!?!
Just kidding... Totally love meeting the characters. makes me feel like a kid again.. But i also have my kids in line with me. I get my time with lets say Capt Jack. Husband gets a picture of Jasmin, Kids get everyone... Everyone is happy..

 

[DarthDad]

I save my character meet and greats for SWW. Everything else I leave to the kiddos.

 

[mkymouse40]

Why? Because they are my "movie stars", my "rock idols", etc. I'm in my mid 50's and I love it!! It makes me feel good and if you're a disney freak like many of us, you should understand how we feel when we are at Disney World. You can forget everything else in the world while you are here, and meeting the characters is part of that magic. I hope you really don't lose that feeling when your children grow up. If you just look in the faces of we adults as we giggle and laugh when we meet the characters, it should make perfect sense!! Try it, you might enjoy it!!

 

[LisaCat]

Because some of us couldn't visit when we were children.....and if I want a photo with Mickey at 31 then why not? Disney is for kids of all ages

^^^ This. I visited Disneyland for the first time in my senior year of high school. The next time I went I was 26 and engaged. My first character photo didn't happen until I was almost 40, and I think it's fun! I don't collect autographs and I don't spend a lot of time talking to the characters, I just get my photo and move on, but I thoroughly enjoy every minute of it.

 

[LisaCat]

I guess my feelings about the "worth" of meeting the characters is skewing my perspective over why an adult would want to "waste" time standing in line meeting them. I wasn't asking because I didn't think it was an adult's right to do so; I was asking because I guess I don't see the value in that vs going on a ride or other attraction. I guess I put the characters below rides and shows if I were to rank them in order of importance. I do it because my kids like it, but I do draw the line somewhere. We only have so much time in the parks each day with ADRs and younger kids who can't stay out late. If we get to the park early in the day, we can stand in line for an hour or more to meet Rapunzel or we can use that time to go on 4 or more rides. To me, the choice is obvious. My kids decided not to see Rapunzel since that would have been the only thing we could have done on our last morning there. We told them we could stand in the Rapunzel line (it was only about 12 kids/families deep at that point, but it was 40 minutes from the time she was even coming out) or we could go on some final rides before we went shopping and left. They both decided to ride some rides and forgo Rapunzel. (Honestly, I think it's ridiculous that Disney has ONE place in all of Disney that people can meet her; thus creating this long wait issue on their own, but that's a whole different post.)

In my mind, I think that I paid so much to get down to Disney, stay there, and get park tickets, that if I stand in line to have my picture taken with, say, 10 characters, and that took an aggregate of 5 hours, those 5 hours could have been spent on other things. Obviously, many do not share my feelings and that is ok.

If all I wanted to do was ride on machines, I could do that at 6 Flags or Great America or the County and State Fair. Disneyland/WDW is an immersive experience. It's more than rides. They spend a boatload of money making it an experience, not an amusement park. The characters are, in my opinion, a big part of that. And I lied, sometimes, I do get an autograph from Stitch....

 

[ladeeesquire]

Honestly, growing up and going to DL, I always thought seeing the characters was kind of lame. I didn't think there was anything wrong with other people doing it, just not my thing. And getting their autographs, why???

Enter my dd. We went to WDW the first time when she was 2.5 and she loved, loved, loved the characters!! So much so that I started loving them too! We have DL passes and go often so we started doing the autograph book thing which she also loves and then I started enjoying that too!

So yeah, I guess it is kind of lame but its FUN! I don't begrudge the adults not one little bit and am so glad that everyone doesn't feel the same way or the lines would be even longer!!!

Oh, and BTW, I never tried to convince my dd that the characters were real. At age 4 she knows they aren't real but she still likes them.

 

[fla4fun]

Personally, I don't want a bunch of photos with me in them - I'm just not that photogenic! However, there have been a few times I've done the character thing. For example, when my mom was fighting cancer and couldn't go to the parks anymore, there was a visit where I saw Mary Poppins and penguin out on Main Street. My mom loved that movie, especially the penguins, so I did a photo with them to give to her. I was solo so I had to have someone else take the photo as well. But it was worth it when mom saw it.

I don't have any problem with anyone taking time to visit with characters. I feel the handler with the character should step in if any one family (kids or not) is taking more than their fair share of time, especially if the line is long. I understand the posters who think the attractions are more important - I feel that way when I go to MVMCP or MNSSHP. I would rather see the special shows and trick or treat than line up for character photos. But there's nothing wrong with people who make that a higher priority.

 

[karly05]

I had another thought about this, and I hope I can explain it clearly... I'm sure a lot of us on the Dis have favorite characters - but how many of us who are adults have other people we know in real life to whom we can talk about our fondness for Disney movies, cartoons & characters? I'm an adult who actually watches Handy Manny for crying out loud! But, at WDW, it's actually okay to like the characters. And who better to share that with than the characters, themselves? Because you know that they - and their "friends" - get it.

I love the "Roseanne" episode where they go to WDW, and Darlene (Sara Gilbert) is a total sourpuss about everything until she meets Winnie the Pooh. That is a perfect example of the magic of meeting your favorites.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Because I can.. And one could ask the same question when people bring babies up to see a character or a kid who is petrified.

Just wait your turn patiently and don't be so concerned about the motivations of others. You'll have a happier trip.

 

[Tinkerbellie16]

I find any full costumed character (Disney or not) scary. While I have a love for Disney, and can handle interacting with them and even enjoy it for a split second, it is not something I seek out. As for the face characters, I thoroughly enjoy interacting with them but again, I don't seek them out. I only go to character meals with the kids and we just refuse to stand in lines so we just don't. As for other adults - whatever floats your boat without hurting others, go for it!

 

[caroli]

Nice to see I'm not the only one!
I loooove taking pictures with the characters and have no children. So what?

 

[Royal Consort]

I was debating whether to do character meals a while ago. I'm a grown man, with no kids in a professional health role. Character meals are the LAST thing you'd probably imagine me and my partner doing. I asked a question on this board several months ago as to whether it is appropriate for adults to do character meals without children in Disney. The overwhelming response was... YES. Why was I even concerned or bothered? This got me thinking; was I REALLY worried about the judgement of strangers being at a character meal with no kids? No, I don't know any of the guests at Disney and I don't particularly pay much heed to whether they think it's right for me to attend character meals or not. Is it because I think it's immature? Possibly, but then the whole point of going to a Disney park is to pretend and immerse yourself in a world of fantasy that is over the top and cannot exist. It's all an illusion. And I realised that's the crux of it: illusion.

I believe there is a direct link between how willing you are to accept and participate in this make-believe illusion and the level of enjoyment you experience. You hear of guests who go to Disney and hate it and often times it's because they don't allow themselves, or are not interested, in partaking in the illusion. To them it's about rides, lines, the cost of food, etc, but never about participating in an experience (though of course there are valid criticisms of Disney). I think it's about your own perception. The more you resist this make believe world (granted it's also a very commercial one), the less enjoyment you're likely to have. If you focus on how it's a massive commercial entity which tries to grab your cash and boasts huge profits etc... well, you're not really going to have an enjoyable holiday (even if those criticisms are justified).

So why do adults meet characters and do character meals without children? I think the essence of all the responses in this thread is that we want to actively participate in the illusion that Disney Parks offers. Disney offers 50% of the experience to us and we choose whether we're going to actively take it on. We, the guests, have to come to it with the other 50% to fully maximise this immersive, fictional place. And in that, you find two different guest types:

a) the passive guest who visits, treats the park like an amusement park full of rides, lets things happen to them without actively seeking out experiences, and goes home.

and

b) the active guest who ensures they play a role in the Disney experience by making it distinctly personal (talking to CMs, interacting with wait staff, and communicating with the characters).

There are variations between these two and both, of course, are acceptable touring styles but for me the latter provides the most memorable enjoyable experience. Disney is an amusement park but it can also be an experience if you want it to be. Disney is one of the few places where you are allowed and encouraged to be childish. You can wear a silly hat, you can sing silly songs, you can fly around on a fiberglass elephant while laughing your head off, and it's all perfectly reasonable. We don't often get a chance to revert back to this state in our day-to-day lives and therefore, this can be quite liberating; just being a big kid. Hugging a big mouse is a wonderful symbol of this.

I've now recently booked all my ADR's which consist of quite a few character meals and we can't wait!