The man was at least 6 feet 3 inches tall, burly in his tank top, sleeved in tattoos. His expression was slightly grim as he pushed a stroller through the crowd. But atop his head sat Mickey Mouse ears. From his dour expression, you’d guess he was only enduring a day at Disneyland for his kid, who was really too little to properly enjoy the park, but those ears told a different story.
I don’t think I ever realized how many adults truly love Disneyland until I started working in Orange County. These are people from all walks of life and age groups. Many are successful, intelligent and discerning professionals. There are even a few right here in our newsroom. (Hint: see “Old Dad, New Tricks” in the upcoming issue of OC Family magazine for proof.) And they’re crazy about Disneyland. I’m guessing this isn’t news to most readers, but it was news to me.
I once loved Disneyland. My parents took me to the theme park circa 1973 or 1974. I think I was 7, my sister 5. We went on New Year’s Day to avoid the crowds, and my primary memory was the absolute thrill of seeing Snow White in the flesh. I went another time in grade school, then not again until I was a senior in high school and my class took the bus to stay overnight in the park. It wasn’t as fun as it sounds, but I can’t really remember why.
When my husband and I moved to California, we took the kids to Disney once when they were 6 and 8. After spending a small fortune to get in and waiting in several long lines, the appeal was already beginning to fade. Then my son claimed that I had betrayed him because I assured him Pirates of the Caribbean wasn’t scary (I think they added that big drop at the end after 1973). After that, he definitely did not want to go inside the Haunted Mansion even though everyone in our family and the other family with us did. Needless to say, there were some stern words and tears, and we all felt bad about it later.
So the Disney magic is pretty much gone for me, but I tried again recently with my daughter, and that’s when I noticed all the adults, many without kids, having a grand time. What, exactly, was I missing?
I interviewed a couple of people to try to figure it out.
Nick Guenzler, an art director in his late 20s, tried to explain the allure in an email: “Well, I’d hate to sound like some kind of new-age hippie, but as an adult, I’m finding that I enjoy all the positive vibes oozing out of that place. For the most part, if you’re at Disneyland, it’s because you’ve chosen to be there. You want to be there. You’re there to share a good time, with your friends, family and loved ones. So everyone there, generally speaking, is pretty happy.”
Guenzler, who grew up in Orange County, said Disneyland was romanticized for him by his parents, who told him happy tales about their own visits to the park as kids. And his grandfather worked there in the 1950s. “I always felt a strange connection” to Disneyland, Guenzler wrote.
His wife shares his passion for the park, and he proposed to her there, during a ride at the Haunted Mansion. “I pulled out the ring and popped the question right as we entered the graveyard. She couldn’t see the ring very well, being that it was super dark, but she said yes. Till death do us part, I suppose.”
Josh Stern, 25, once worked at Disneyland and loves going there as often as he can. The happy vibe of Disneyland is the primary draw for Stern, just as it is for Guenzler, rather than any particular rides/foods/shows, etc.
Stern said in an email: “There are four of us who are big Disney nuts and go weekly, sometimes multiple times a week, depending on our schedules and if there are any happenings at the parks. We don’t necessarily care about the attractions or shows – while they can be very entertaining and enjoyable – we like the atmosphere. Sitting on Main Street with an ice cream cone is my ideal situation to be in at the parks.”
Stern also grew up going to the park and said working there didn’t diminish the magic at all.
I’ve talked to other people about this (off the record), and while one friend, who is not a Disneyphile Disneyfile, surmised that perhaps adults who love the park had childhoods lacking in delight, I did not find this to be the case. Based on my extremely small, unscientific survey, I’ve deduced that grownups who love Disneyland just like to have good clean fun and to be around happy people spending a few happy hours together.
As adults, the purely joyful moments in life can sometimes be few and far between. We all seek them out where we can, and the people who find some of their happiest moments at Disneyland are lucky to have a tangible embodiment of joy right in our backyard.
