Adults without kids - why do you visit characters?

[cm8]

If I see Winnie the Pooh I am knocking my kids over to get to him!

Moms gone wild

1. Because I paid for it.
2. Most importantly because I want to.
3. It's no one's business why. We all have memories that are important to us.

It's fun.
At this point, I'm also old enough to realize that walk up Expedition Everest isn't actually in Nepal, but I still enjoy the queue and theming.

and because I can.

 

[JasmineVine]

Aside from the fact that I LOVE doing it, and I'm a self-proclaimed giant kid myself, it all comes down to my great-grandfather.

My Great Grandpa was an awesome man who was a giant kid his whole life. At 92, he wanted to go back one last time and visit with the characters, the thrill rides were never his thing but he also loved the animatronics. He never got the chance.

So, in his honor, I've vowed to keep going to Disney and to keep visiting with the characters until I die.

This year, I'm going with my roommate who is turning 26, and she's never been to Disney. She's probably just as excited to meet Ariel as some children are, if perhaps not moreso. Ariel's her favorite and she's beyond thrilled to meet her and the other characters.

I guess it just comes down to doing things you love. I love the rides, but I also expect to stand in a line just as long to meet Rapunzel because I adore her. And when I get to the front of those lines, I'm not going to just snap a pic and walk away. I want to interact with those characters just as much as some of the kids do. If some family with kids can spend 20 minutes with a character, why can't I?

 

[>Ash<]

.... whats the point of going to the world and not meeting mickey and gang?

disney is about make believe and magic, believing in the magic, if i can still meet a face character at 22 and still get excited then i know im not completely dead inside... i still have that inner child that wants to believe...

regardless of what some people think... for some of us.. the characters make the trip, it makes disney more magical to me.

disney isnt just about the rides... its about the experience.

 

[WINTER]

as an adult, I would pose with characters because they make good pics. However, autograph books? NO WAY!

 

[glaserjm]

My husband and I both work 50+ hours per week and he is simultaneously attending school. We go to WDW because it is a completely immersive experience when we can ignore everything else and just go back to our most basic and carefree selves without worrying about our image.

So yes, I will get my picture taken with the characters, dance randomly, skip down Main St. and wear Minnie ears. WDW isn't actually designed for any one age group, it's for everyone with an imagination and desire to believe in something fantastic.

 

[StanH]

This quote from Walt Disney does a nice job of summarizing..

"Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children's approach to life. They're people who don't give a hang what the Joneses do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought - sometimes it isn't much, either."

 

[katt789]

I absolutely love it and honestly think that it makes the whole trip. I have and would stand in line for an hour to meet a character, and I've done it in groups and when I travelled solo. Most of the time, it was completely acceptable, and at points, yes I do start to feel bad as there are kids waiting behind me, but hey, I took the time out of my day to wait in line and I want to meet some princesses too.

I personally prefer hanging out with the face characters (princesses, fairies, etc, than ones like mickey) as you can get an actual conversation out of them, and it generally is longer, but all is great. I've had some amazing talks with characters, about all sorts of things, and some meet and greets are incredible and it's like you're making a million new friends! I have had times when I/the group walks up to a princess/fairy, and you can kind of tell that they're "okay, you're my age, you know I'm just a girl in a dress" and don't put as much effort into it, but sometimes that is a hard thing to do (being a character server myself)

Now that I've rambled far too much, overall, it adds to the magic of the whole experience, and I always come away from meet & greets with positive feelings.

 

[TandEsMommy]

I also never went as a child, and made my first trip with my 4yo DD when I was six months pregnant with my second child.

We opted to meet characters during Wishes our first night, and DD and I walked in to the Princess room with no wait. We were the only ones in there, and I was actually shaking I was so excited. I forgot we had already met Cindy at 1900 PF and actually blushed. DD got all their autographs...and so did I. I cried when I met Belle, and whispered like I was in a library the whole time we were with the princesses. My DD was excited, but not like I was. The characters ate it up and spent a ton of time with us, even when other people came in. The whole trip was the realization of a childhood dream for me, and I am even more excited for this time around. I will continue to enjoy my time with the characters long after I quit dragging my kids to the World with me

 

[Maryess]

I also never went to Disney as a child but in all honesty that has absolutely nothing to do with my enjoyment of character photos.

I think of it more as the characters ARE Disney as much as Cinderella's Castle or the Hollywood Studios Hat. Everyone takes pictures in front of those iconic structures. The characters are just another version to me. We take photos on rides, at hotels, of shows, so why wouldn't we want photos with some of the "faces" of Disney. Silly to think that because we are adults we don't want mementos of a great vacation.

Next month I am going on my first mother-daughter trip without the family since my "baby" turned 21 last month. I am trying to talk her into a scavenger hunt photo quest that we can put in our album and call it the Men of Disney. Needless to say we will skip the Princesses but Aladdin and Capt. Jack...beware.

 

[Chellymouse]

Just because we don't have kids doesn't mean we aren't kids ourselves. Walt built his parks based on the fact that there is something for everyone and everyone is allowed to have their inner child out in full force when visiting! I love the characters and my DH does too. We have an autograph book but only take it out with characters we don't already have. We actually have a photo timeline (13 years worth) of our pics with characters. We don't see that we take too long, no longer than anyone else anyway so why not? Part of the Disney experience! Having said that, there are plenty of people who don't see characters, which is fine too!

 

[goofy4tink]

I used to go every single Dec by myself. I would meet up with friends there. No kids involved at all. And you know what??? We all had favorite characters that we just had to say 'hello' to..and yes, get a photo. Now, I don't bring an autograph book with me. And about the only time I ever have a character sign something for me is when I need it to bring home to a youngster. For instance...in Oct, I was at Akershus having breakfast. I asked Ariel to sign a napkin for my dd, Snow White to sign one for dd's friend, and Belle to sign one for another friend. The three girls are going to WDW next month for graduation....so thought it would be fun to have something from each one of their favorite princesses. But, I ran out of napkins..and Belle was doing the photo op out front. But, a handler overheard me, and went off to get some paper...he came back with a bunch of paper and asked me who Belle should address her note to!!! Seriously???? Ariel just stood there and said how wonderful the WDW people are!! The girls were thrilled to say the least.

And yes, I'm sure that it took a bit of time away from other tables, but I think the princesses made up for it.

We move quickly through lines with characters....no standing around chatting or fooling with the characters..unless there are no other guests waiting. Then? All bets are off. We have some wonderful photos of the characters being goofy with us. But, we didn't hold anyone up getting them.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Cause characters are cool.

Different strokes, OP. You wouldn't catch me watching Jersey Shore for any money, and yet some people seem to enjoy it.

 

[tstidm1]

I took a picture with Sorcerer Mickey last year at Disney Hollywood Studios. I didn't take a lot of pictures when I was a kid, so I take a picture where I'm just being silly or hanging around with a character. It helps remind me that random is part of a vacation.

 

[Hollywoodhaha]

Because I want to and I can.

 

[clairemolly]

DH and I went down for a week last October for our 10th. We stood in line to see lots of characters. We like to...there is no age limit. For the record, it was my 3rd trip in 11 months, not even close to my first time there. I am 33 years old.

In January, we went on a couples weekend with our best friends who are also huge Disney fans. We got a picture of the 4 of us with Mickey and Minnie, and my friend and I saw Suzy and Perla and posed with them too (I sew and had never met them). We also saw Pirate Goofy because neither of us had "met" him before, and when she didn't get her picture taken with King Louie and Baloo when I did, Baloo came and grabbed her to get in a picture anyway. It was fun, and I'd never ask anyone to not have fun at WDW just becaue they are in line in front of my kids.

 

[yankeepenny]

Why?

because a grown up is really a kid past age 18.


and, it is part of MY VERY OWN Bucket List.

 

[MrsLS]

We don't really bother anymore but we use to take pics with some of the characters if the line wasn't too long. I like having the pics with them. We never did the face characters but have taken pics with them at 1900-Alice & the mad hatter.

 

[mgoblue21]

I've done it because I had extra time while on a week long trip on my own.

The evil princesses (or whatever that group is called) were not busy that early MK opening morning and I figured why not. They asked if I was single and then tried to pawn me off on Anastasia (I think it was her). I got a picture with all 3 and it was a great memory.

I'd be more annoyed at the people in like yelling "There are kids waiting"...why ruin someone else's magic Disney moment? You want someone yelling at you and your kids if they take too long with Mickey?

I don't know that I'd ever wait a long time for a character. Longest I waited was like 10 minutes. I got some cool pictures (my grandpa asked if Alice (from Wonderland) was my girlfriend when he saw my trip pictures lol)

*Oh, I'm 31 now and was 27 at the time of that trip*

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Because I still think it is fun getting my picture taken with my adult children and the characters.. nothing wrong with that.. there is a little bit of childhood left in all of us and when at Disney, it comes out

Is my $$$ any different than those with young children that I would not be allowed to have a different pose with the characters? Those with adult children must wait on line while those with young child who are screaming bloody murder because they do not want their picture taken, yet mommy and daddy pursue it anyway. They keep making silly faces and silly sounds so that their child smiles.. we must wait for that??? So what is the big deal of waiting if I want a picture with me and my adult children, then one without me in it, just my adult children alone??? Sort of the same thing isn't it.. we all must wait our turn

We all have the expectation to have our pictures taken, it isn't just for small children. Some day when those with small children no longer have "small", but adult children, they will view things a little differently, until then, they may not be able to see what the other side sees...

I never had the opportunity to go to Disney Land as a child.. and Disney World was not built yet.. so if I want to be a child now, I can.. if want to have pictures of me with my children with the characters as babies, toddlers, children, teens, and now adults..(and hopefully someday adding grandchildren to those pictures) that makes a life time of wonderful memories for us to cherish.. So if a parent of a small child is going to begrudge me of that, there is something wrong in their thinking.. and that is sad on their part... like I said, they cannot see it through our eyes maybe until they have grown children of their own...

 

[A Mickeyfan]

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?

I'm asking because on our trip last week, we were in line to see Tiana and there was a couple who were most likely in their mid-20's a couple of families in front of us. They both had autograph books and the guy took an unusually long time talking to Tiana and doing different poses with her. So much so that that one mom in front of us started getting testy and said in a loud voice "Come on. There are KIDS waiting to see her. You had your time."

Now I do get that Disney is not just for kids, but I don't understand why an adult would stand in line to meet a character. Character meals are a little different since you get food there, but all you get in a character line is to meet the character. Can you tell that I really can't wait until my girls don't want to stand in character lines any more?

my girls are 19 & 23.. they still love to get their pictures taken with their favorite characters.. my son is 25.. and he would have no quams about doing it either.. don't wish memories away...