If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a grown adult crying while meeting a Disney character, you’re not alone. According to James Wong, a former Disney employee, Disney adults are the worst. And he has plenty of reasons why.
In Fodor’s Travel, Wong shares what it was like to work at Disney. As part of his job, he received a “Silver Pass” that gave him and his guests unlimited access to the parks and discounts at Disney shops and restaurants. It sounds ideal to many people, but for Wong, the experience quickly lost its magic.
“Rather than think ‘lucky me,’ I spent hours of idle queue time thinking how I’d rather just be paid more,” he writes.
Instead of enjoying the perks, Wong became increasingly uncomfortable with one group of guests in particular: Disney adults. He defines them as childless, overly excited millennials who build their identity, and often spend thousands, on Disney holidays, merchandise, and experiences.
So, why are Disney adults the worst?
They avoid adult responsibilities
For Wong, the problem isn’t just enthusiasm, it’s emotional dependence. “There’s a serious psychological issue when a grown adult is reduced to tears over the sight of someone in an animal costume,” he writes, referencing viral videos of adults sobbing at character meet-and-greets.
He gives a personal example of a relative. He calls her “Rapunzel,” who spends up to $3,000 a year visiting Disney parks. But she had never travelled abroad until a 2024 family trip to Europe. The experience was difficult. “She struggled with foods beyond the ultra-processed, animal-shaped favourites served around Disney parks and, at one point, had a full-on tantrum because of a mild headache,” Wong recalls. “In a crying fit akin to that of a five-year-old, she screamed, ‘I need AMERICAN medicine. I want to go home!!’”
“Being homesick is one thing,” he adds, “but a 47-year-old woman on a one-week Christmas vacation in the company of close relatives should not have reacted so extreme.”
They’re trapped in a cycle of consumerism
You will never convince me adults who buy stuffed animals and toys or “Disney adults” are normal.
Learn a Trade. Get two jobs. Anything. Leave this for the kids.
pic.twitter.com/MLYLPKMyJ7— Mary Tiles Texas (@MaryTilesTexas) June 21, 2025
Wong also criticises how much money is funnelled into Disney by these adults. He calls it a cycle of brand loyalty that leaves little room for real-life experiences.
“Every dime of their hard-earned cash is poured directly into one of the world’s largest corporations,” he points out. “This addiction is often normalised.”
Even when they do travel, he says, it’s often with limited interest in local culture. “These theme park tourists may tack on a few extra days to ‘explore’ but have no desire to learn about or respect a new culture.”
He shares that a tourism contact in Japan described some of these visitors as the “least respectful.” Especially those who travel to Tokyo only for Disneyland and prefer to spend their money at global chains like Starbucks instead of local businesses.
It’s environmentally wasteful
There’s also an environmental cost. Wong says he gave away his Disney merchandise after leaving the company, but suspects most adults do not. “I doubt much of the annual $62 billion worth of retail products sold gets such a second lease of life. Unfortunately, it winds up in a landfill.”
He finds it troubling that this behaviour is widely accepted. “Somehow, it’s all publicly acceptable, too,” he writes. “Meanwhile, if you saw a single 40-year-old man dressed head to toe in Peppa Pig, joining (unrelated) children at a Build-a-Bear workshop every weekend, there’d be questions and concerns galore.”
Disney loyalty limits real travel
Wong believes the obsession keeps people from seeing what the world truly has to offer. “She’s never been able to afford travel outside America,” he says of his relative, adding that the cost of a Disney trip could instead fund much richer travel experiences.
“Six thousand dollars could buy you a safari in Kenya, a gourmet tour of Italy, or weeks along the Vietnamese coast.”
Oh boy the Disney Adults are at it again… $59.99 for this experience on top of the cost of parking and entrance fee for the same shit over and over again pic.twitter.com/XsXCEFSuQy
— Mittens (@JUSTcatmeme) May 18, 2025
Wong doesn’t dismiss Disney altogether. He remembers enjoying the parks as a child and believes there’s room for a one-time visit. But in adulthood, he says it’s time to let go.
“I hope Disney adults like Rapunzel can accept growing up as a part of life,” he writes. “If not, there’s a danger that all we’ll have left are plastic mega-cities with humans dressed up as animals, which would be a real crying shame.”
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