I recently found myself at a backyard party in Los Angeles, the kind where everyone is very cool and freely spends $30 on an Erewhon smoothie. Somehow my best friend of 20-plus years and I ended up in a conversation about Disney adults with a group of people we barely knew. "Oh, I have an annual pass to Disneyland," I offered, happily, with no hint of shame.
Some of the strangers looked surprised. Others clearly wanted to laugh. My friend, reading the room, jumped in to save me.
"Well, you're not like a Disney adult," he said. You're more goth Disney." He smiled, hoping the word "goth" would buy me back a little cool. "No, I'm just a Disney adult," I said.
"I'm an adult who loves going to Disney. It's not that complicated." To a lot of people, it is complicated. I have some version of that conversation all the time, and recently I had it with a colleague.
Shane Croucher wrote the Newsweek op-ed titled "Disney Adults, Take Off the Mickey Ears, Go Home and Grow Up,” and to nobody’s surprise, social media got angry. "If you're an adult with children, and you can afford to, go to Disney World. Dive in and enjoy it," he wrote.
"But if you're a grown adult to whom none of the above applies? And you're at Disney World? Take a long, hard look at yourself.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
