Adults without kids - why do you visit characters?

[jesswindsor]

Our last trip we got our pic's taken with every character we saw and stood in line for all that we could, we are two adults, 28 and 25 at the time. When I was a child I went to Disney every year until I was 14.....I had to wait till I was 28 to hug Mickey Mouse!!! The next time I go I will character hunt again.

 

[stimmons]

Long time lurker but this topic strikes a cord with me so I thought I’d come out of hiding to give my 2 cents for what it’s worth. I go to Disney every year with my mom, maybe twice a year, and we wait in line for characters every trip. In some ways we like it as much or more than the rides. It’s time to be silly, girly and forget our cares for a week or so. We have a common joke that whatever is wrong with our day it can be cured by the safety that is found under Eeyore’s ear. My mom is over 60 and I’m over 30. We enjoy the pictures and the interaction. The ability to live in a world where princesses and talking donkeys are real. You’re never too old for Disney Magic and we’ll be doing it again this October.

Out of hiding!!!!

 

[LilyWDW]

Because they want to.

Because Disney is a place where even an adult can be a kid again.

Because it is magical.

My question is, why shouldn't they?

Adults are only kids grown up anyway...

 

[fly girl]

Yikes! There are some creepo's out there!


But to the OP, it is great to have a picture taken at any age to have as a keepsake of your WDW trip! And BTW, I was way more excited to meet Phineus and Ferb over my DD. (the proof is in the photos!)


Although I don't get the whole autograph thing, I do respect others desires to get one. I just wish for those not getting one, we could get an extra picture taken. It seems that the no autograph people are really pushed through the line quickly. I get it, but I feel we get less interaction.

 

[vicki_c]

Despite what I said above about getting pix with the characters even when the kids aren't with us - if you want to see some really creepy adults waiting for characters - in full costume and all kinds of other weird paraphernalia, go to Star Wars Weekends!

 

[notfrostyjosh]

Pictures for the Internet.

And yes, I'm always first.

 

[Sammie]

Because they are just so dang cute.

 

[Hockeytchr]

We will be doing the character meet and greets on our next trip. Why? beacuse it's something that my DH and I have never done before and we are going with my BFF who hasn't been to Disney since she was 4! We want to have fun and experience Disney through the eyes of my friend!

We aren't creepy, we aren't stalkers, we aren't anything but a group of three adults who want to have fun!

We won't push little kids out of the way, we won't complain if we don't get to see/meet a certain character, and we won't take a million pictures.

If you don't like it then get over it!!!!! (My rant is over now)

 

[Mama Who]

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?

Taking too long is rude, however old the members of your party are. That said, it is nobody's business who is using the resources that are included in their admission. You could argue that people without kids don't need to ride Dumbo either.

I do it because it's fun. Because I enjoy the pictures afterward. Because the photo of my husband posing with Stitch on our honeymoon makes me smile every single time I look at it.

Characters are fiction. So are movies. I know The Avengers aren't real but I enjoyed watching their story. I know Tiana isn't real, but I will enjoy meeting her and posing for a photo. Disney is largely about pretend and embracing all aspects of it is *fun*, even for adults. It reminds me that maybe I don't need to take my life and myself *quite* so seriously.

 

[tsme]

because it's fun!

 

[aripantaloon]

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.

 

[TinkNH]

because even though I am all grown up on the outside, I am still a kid and when I am there it is not someone in a costume...it IS Mickey! Some of my best memories of Disney as an adult are the interactions with characters and my husband and I, like June from little Einsteins trying to get him to dance, and Stich being playful with me. I dont pose for a million pictures but even without the kids i still wait in line to see certain characters!

 

[vicki_c]

I would never stand in line for long for characters - we don't when we're alone, we don't when we are with our kids. About 4-5 groups in front of us is all we would ever do - about a 10 minute wait. Usually we only do it when we're next!

The only exception was that we waited 45 minutes before MNSSHP started for a photo with the 7 Dwarves.

So maybe if your experience was different, you would feel differently. We don't miss out on doing anything else because we are doing character photos.

(I will add that we haven't seen Rapunzel and maybe will never see Rapunzel!)

 

[disnut8]

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.

I think the adults who do character greetings without kids feel that Disney World is more that just the rides. It's the feeling. Some get it, some don't. My husband and I (no kids anymore) don't do the characters but I do have a great photo of my husband with Eeyore because he's like Eeyore in so many ways. And I would love to have a photo of my husband with Grumpy since that's his favorite character (can you tell my husband's normal tone during the day?). And our grandson even calls my husband Grandpa Grumpy. And I gush over Piglet and Marie (now come on, she freaking cute!).

For me, I think it's seeing a character and remember how I felt when I saw their movie. It takes me back to when I was young (or young at heart now or when my son was young).

This might start another "debate" but I would love to go up and hug the daylights out of Duffy because, well, he looks so huggable.

 

[aripantaloon]

I would never stand in line for long for characters - we don't when we're alone, we don't when we are with our kids. About 4-5 groups in front of us is all we would ever do - about a 10 minute wait. Usually we only do it when we're next!

The only exception was that we waited 45 minutes before MNSSHP started for a photo with the 7 Dwarves.

So maybe if your experience was different, you would feel differently. We don't miss out on doing anything else because we are doing character photos.
(I will add that we haven't seen Rapunzel and maybe will never see Rapunzel!)

We actually don't miss out on much by standing in line to meet characters since we get most of the big ones and many princesses out of the way via character meals. We have to eat anyway and I'd rather have a sit down meal vs. too many counter service meals, even if they do take a bit more time. Might as well combine the sit down meal with characters and kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

We stood for the fairies, but only because we happened to be first in line after leaving breakfast at Crystal Palace pretty much right before 9 am. We waited there about 10 minutes before the fairies came out. We also stood a few minutes for Tiana and probably 20 minutes for Buzz and Woody. Other than that, if we met a character outside of a meal, there were only 1 or 2 kids in front of us, so we really didn't wait. I didn't have any bad experiences, per se, but the whole Buzz/Woody line was chaos. They wanted to meet them because that day they were wearing Toy story appliqued shirts and skirts with lots of characters on them.

 

[si-am]

I do not have kids and I do not wait for pictures with characters. I understand that some people find it amusing, and to each his/her own. For me, though, I would feel pretty silly.

 

[ttintagel]

Make-believe is fun at any age. I know I'm not really sailing down the Mekong; should I stay off the Jungle Cruise, too? I know those are fake birds singing the Tiki Room song. I knew it when I was a kid, too. I also know that there aren't real tiny people in my TV.

 

[revroy]

Ok here we go, I'll try to keep it breif. I am a 44 year old Minister (Children's Pastor to be exact). I work with Many kids on a daily basis, this keeps me thinking young.

I have always been fascinated with Walt Disney. He is some what of a hero, he is a great model of a dreamer/visionary/creativity. I have collected Mickey stuff since I was young. I have family who are cast members at the parks. All this may give me a different focus on WDW. It is my favorite place on the planet. I go every chance I get. I have only gotten pics with the characters a few times. I try to go during off season times thus lower crowd levels. I would never take time away from a child who is in line waiting to see their favorite character.

That all being said. My wife and I are heading back this October and my goal for the trip is to have my picture taken with each and every "different" Mickeys as I can. I can't quite get my picture with my true hero Walt but a pic with the costume character Mickey is a close substitute. Besides Walt himself said "Your dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway."

 

[Thumper_Man]

You can put me in the "Because I Never Got To Go As A Kid" group. My D'Mom never could afford to take me when I was a kid. My mom was a single mother until she met my step-father. Then D'Sis came along. Even then she couldn't afford to take us. My first trip to DL was when I turned 20. Same with D'Sis. Her first trip to WDW was with DW and I 6 years ago, when she was 22. So we're making up for all the years we never got to go as kids.

DW and I don't have kids yet. We love meeting the characters just as much as the kids do. Everyone has said it, meeting a character makes you feel like a kid again. Meeting Thumper was one of the most memorable parts of my trip. Of course I had to get a picture with him. And DW with Miss Bunny. We normally don't wait in line; but when we do, we figured we spent our time in line just like everyone else did. Why not get a picture or 2.

 

[mieshie75]

We do it cause it is part of the magic, part of what makes Disney. I love it when we can pose and Goofy is teasing my hubby. I am gonna make it a point to do at least 5 in each park, every time i go. Do i miss rides? no dont think so I do everything i can and want to do. It is just the magic, they make me smile. Isnt that what disney is supposed to do.