Walt Disney Once Shared His Thoughts On The Number Of Adults Who Visit The Park

Considering how many franchises and TV stations Disney owns, you’re probably a fan whether you like it or not. Do you watch The Simpsons? Enjoy the latest Marvel movies or video games? How about Pixar and Star Wars? Heck, even The Walking Dead is on Disney+ at the time of writing. So you could be a Disney adult without even knowing, couldn’t you? 

Well, yes and no. Sure, it makes you a Disney fan, but you’re not necessarily the type of person about whom the online debate is raging. The actual definition is a little unclear, but it seems to be people, stereotypically female Millennials, who live and breathe the brand. They probably own a huge collection of Disney merch, and you’ll often see them visiting the parks — even if they don’t have children! Gasp! 

So now the term Disney adult is often thrown around in derogatory fashion, a trend which spread from Reddit after the OP wrote about their wedding, which featured an appearance by Minnie and Mickey Mouse in place of catering. A barrage of negative responses followed, all by people who took offense. What would Walt Disney think? But seriously: what exactly would he make of it all? 

Actually, we already know. As if in answer to the pure rage aimed at Disney adults, Walt has come back — albeit in prerecorded form — with a speech about how he saw his childless fans. Okay, it’s actually a clip someone posted on TikTok, but that’s not nearly as dramatic. Regardless, the answer remains the same, and now we know whether Walt ever intended his parks to be enjoyed by so-called Disney adults.

As with any franchise, Disney has some die-hard fans. Take medical assistant Chanée Hill, for instance, who NPR featured in 2022 for her impressive merch collection. Her house in the San Francisco Bay Area has a whole room dedicated to Disney. There’s everything from wallpaper, which doubles as a social-media backdrop, to jewelry in a dedicated themed accessories station, and hundreds of dollars-worth of other branded magic. 

When interviewed in 2022 the 37-year-old Chanée was not ashamed to admit she was what some on social media labeled a Disney adult. She happily frequents the parks with her pass despite a six-hour drive because, she said, “It just makes you feel magical. You can just let yourself go, immerse yourself in the experiences that Disney gives you.” She’s not the only one who’s speaking up in defense of her mouse-eared passion, either.

Among the storm of people telling them they should spend their money on other things, comparing them to children or calling them “weird” at best, there are plenty of adults unashamedly embracing their inner child. Connecticut attorney James Demetriades, 28, also shares Chanée’s passion for the House of Mouse. He even visited parks alone before meeting his partner. 

James has been to Disney World over 30 times, including three trips in 2021 alone at an estimated $3,000 dollars a pop. But what makes the brand so attractive to adults? For Chanée it’s a reprieve from her hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic health disorder that causes intense pain and periods confined to bed rest. Disney movies bring back memories of a happier time from her childhood. 

As for James, he also feels like the visits restore a lost connection to his childhood. “As an adult, it’s about having that escape, and having those pieces of nostalgia that you can go back to,” he told NPR. The same could be said for the subject of a recent bout of online scrutiny, a young woman called Sarah Rachul, whose TikTok content was widely disparaged.

Sarah uploaded a video of herself at a Disney park for the first time since the pandemic hit three years ago, meeting her favorite character Goofy and giving him a big hug. Goofy was also her late father’s favorite, so it was a special moment for Sarah because it made her feel close to him, too. Initially, many of the resulting comments were not complimentary. 

Sarah got a bunch of comments from one side of the argument expressing how seeing the hug made them feel uncomfortable or exclaiming how weird it was that an adult enjoyed the moment. One comment pointed out how there was an adult in the costume too, indicating this as a source of their discomfort. And another simply wrote, “I can’t do this anymore.” 

It certainly sparked an impassioned debate, and not just on the critical side. It wasn’t long before people supporting Sarah flooded her comments section. Some of them were even Disney workers themselves with an inside take on the subject. “As someone who worked with friends of Goofy,” one cast member wrote, “for us… these moments are what we live for.” 

Another wrote, “Disney character performer here! This is the reason why we go to work every day. This performer loved every bit of this. So happy for you, love.” So perhaps it’s not so unusual for an adult to enjoy the Disney magic after all? This would seem to be the case according to the findings of data collection websites such as Streetlight Data. 

Streetlight Data did a deep-dive into the demographics of visitors to Disney’s Florida amusement park in 2018. “Advertisements display many families having a great deal of fun at Disney World,” it wrote. “This is the image Disney uses to advertise their park as a family destination. However… most people that visit the park do not have kids in their household.” Yep, the majority of visitors are probably “Disney adults.”

The Streetlight Data analysis continued, “In fact, the research only shows 36.7 percent of the guests reside in a household with children under age 18. This is a surprising finding.” Admittedly, the figures don’t include international visitors and there may be some exceptions, such as childless couples with younger visiting family members. But even taking this into account, the figures are still eye-opening. 

Or perhaps not. After all, Disney parks know their visitors aren’t all children, and they cater for guests of all ages. There are a variety of adult-aimed attractions on the grounds and they even host business conferences throughout the week. Let’s not forget that Pleasure Island, the remnants of which are now called Disney Springs, had a lingerie shop named after the sultry Jessica Rabbit. 

So how would Mickey’s father feel about all this? When Walt Disney envisioned his great masterworks, did he think the parks would attract so many adults, or was his magic aimed at children alone? Well, it’s true that the original spark of creation was inspired by his children, as Walt explained in an interview distributed on a CD-ROM called The Walt Disney World Explorer, released in 1996. 

Walt used to take his two daughters out on Saturdays to spend some time with them, but struggled to find activities to do together. He explained, “I took them to the merry-go-round, and I took them to different places. As I sat there while they did… all these different things, sat on a bench eating peanuts, I felt there should be something built… where the parents and the children could have fun together.”

And while amusement parks weren’t a new concept at the time, they were considerably different. Most of them were dirty and dangerous, which was something Walt intended to turn on its head. Then, once he started thinking about it, the idea of his own family-friendly amusement park experience became all he thought about. At least, that’s how one of his colleagues described it.

Ward Kimball, an animator for Disney, spoke on the subject in 1986 with Michael Barrier. “Once [Walt] got this bug about the park, it was an obsession,” he said. “That's all he thought about. I was in on the very beginning of that, because he started with his interest in the railroad… I think the nurse and his doctor said he needed a hobby.”

Walt took inspiration from one of the few well-maintained amusement parks at the time — Electric Park — combined with his desire to recapture his own childhood alongside enjoying those of his daughters, and turned it all into his very first park. Walt explained he wanted to ensure the attraction “has that thing — the imagination and the feeling of happy excitement — I knew when I was a kid.”

It sounds like Walt was a child at heart, so perhaps that’s a clue how he would feel about modern Disney adults. And that’s where the newly-unearthed footage comes in. You see, Disney adults are not a new phenomenon. There have always been adults who are passionate about Walt’s world, and he has encountered them before, as @donaldclarence revealed on TikTok. 

In the footage, which shows an interview from 1963, the host asks Walt what the ratio of adults to children is at his parks. “It’s four adults to one child,” Walt replies. “We’re counting the teenagers as adults. But of course in the winter time you can go out there during the week, and you won’t see any children. You’ll see all the oldsters out there, riding all these rides and having fun, and everything.” 

What’s more, Walt did this intentionally. He deliberately made his Disney brand appealing to adults as well as children. He famously said, “You’re dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway.” This is partially because the adults are the ones with the money! It’s good business sense to appeal to the people who can fund your dreams.

So as far as Walt’s concerned, the magic of Disney transcends age. Judging from the comments left on the TikTok video, a huge number of other people believe that, too. “Our trip was ten adults and two kids,” one person wrote. “As a parent, I dream of going to Disneyland without my children,” another joked. “We lug them around in the meantime.”

One comment in particular stood out. The user wrote, “Some of us oldsters didn’t have a good childhood, and we are making up for it by enjoying the parks now.” So why does it make some people feel so uncomfortable to see adults embracing their inner child? Sabrina Mittermeier, who’s a lecturer of American cultural history, believes she has the answer. 

Mittermeier told website WOW NEWS Today in 2022, “A lot of people see it as very naive. It’s a lot of escapism, and if that works for you, then it works very well. And if it doesn’t, it has the opposite effect.” Another reason is possibly rooted in the expense of the indulgence, because wealthy social-media influencers are among the visitors who can afford to go regularly. 

In 2022 Kambrea Pratt of website Pirates & Princesses recalled an experience where she waited in line to enjoy a popular photo spot only to have it monopolized by someone who refused to leave, all so they could get more time taking pictures for their Instagram account! Whatever your feelings towards them though, Disney adults have always been around. They’re here to stay, and judging by Walt's closing statement on the matter, he wouldn’t have it any other way...

Walt explained it best in his own words in 1955. He said, “To all that come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America… with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” Now, you may have thought you knew all there was to know about Disney and his legacy. But long before Donald and Mickey took center stage, there was much more to the man than just cartoons and a vast business empire — and it all started with Walt's burning desire to do his bit for his country. That's right: Walt Disney had an eye-opening role in WWI that has more or less been kept under wraps.

As the U.S. was drawn into the catastrophe of World War I, a kid by the name of Walt Disney wanted to help. At only 16, Disney was too young to join his brothers in the armed forces. Instead, he had to get creative in order to do his bit. But, ever the innovator, he figured something out — and the experience ended up changing his life.

You see, Disney was alive during an especially consequential period of human history. It just so happens that he was part of a generation that experienced not one world war, but two. And as a patriotic fellow, he wanted to help out in both those conflicts in whatever ways he could.

Given that Disney was just a teenager when the U.S. entered WWI, he hadn’t yet become the famous animator we all recognize. He was still years away from making his name and earning the power and status he would wield in support of the Allies in WWII. His ability to help his country was more subtle and limited than it was in the ’40s. Even so, he went above and beyond to do his part.

While WWII was raging, however, Disney got to work the best way he knew how. He and his company famously pumped out propaganda-filled cartoons in aid of the Allied forces. You may have seen a few of those movies. Perhaps the ones that feature Donald Duck?

Disney’s contribution to the U.S. war effort was arguably more important that time around. It was, after all, far more far-reaching in its scope. People were affected by his war movies, and they may even have made an impact on how wider events unfolded.

Disney had barely any time to think twice. Mere hours after Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Army took over some of his studio space in California for its operations. But that certainly wasn’t the extent of his involvement. Even the animator’s own characters were pulled into the fray.

And using those characters, the entrepreneur began to put out what can only be described as propaganda. He wasn’t alone. Major movie world figures such as Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Capra were brought on board to make films supporting the Allies. Among them, though, Disney was up there with the most influential.

With no time to lose, Disney and his studio launched a 1942 film that drummed up backing for the American war effort. It even won an Oscar. But arguably his most important propaganda films from the period starred Donald Duck. The Spirit of ’43, for instance, saw the loveable character conveying the importance of paying taxes to the American public.

In fact, Donald became somewhat of a figurehead during this period. The New York Times noted how the beloved duck was being employed as an“ambassador-at-large, a salesman of the American Way” both in the U.S. and around the rest of the world.

Donald wasn’t the only Disney character used to push the American way, though, and Walt Disney Productions did more than just make movies. There was also the book The Victory March, which was designed to appeal directly to kids — helped by Mickey, Minnie, and all their animated buddies on the cover.

Besides everything else, Disney’s company also made themed insignia for servicepeople to wear. A whole section was set up to produce these — almost 1,300 of them by the war’s end. The insignia was designed on demand and was provided completely gratis to those who asked.

The majority of the insignia was designed for whole units of military personnel. From time to time, though, folk would get in contact with Disney to make requests of their own. It doesn’t get more personalized than that! Then, once these orders landed at Disney HQ, they’d be added to the pile. It typically took around a month or so for an insignia request to make it to the top — although, in busier periods, it could be weeks longer than that.

Many of these orders were pretty open-ended, with the people sending them happy to let the Disney artists do their thing. Others, however, were really specific. On occasion, a unit would even include a doodle of the idea they wanted to be immortalized.

As for the Disney artists working on this project? They had their own distinct method for producing the insignia. Generally speaking, a rough draft would be sketched out, followed by a more honed version in color. Then, eventually, the finished product would be created. This meticulously created artwork could then be replicated to appear on any clothing or machinery a unit wanted.

And one Disney character appeared on more insignia designs than any other. No prizes for guessing that it was, of course, Donald Duck — the “salesman of the American Way” himself. According to Smithsonian magazine, he showed up in more than 140 of these patriotic drawings. Pluto was the second most-seen character, although he appeared on a relatively measly 35 or so designs. Goofy, too, showed up on around 25 insignia — one more than Pinocchio’s Jiminy Cricket.

You may think this all a little frivolous, but it could actually have had a small impact on the war effort. The Americans fighting would have grown up with Disney characters, and if nothing else the insignia would have given them a small taste of home. That could have had a powerful effect on their morale.

But Disney’s decision to produce the insignia and the movies may not have just come out of love of his country. A cynic could say that, given the financial issues facing Walt Disney Productions at the time, it was all a canny business move from the entrepreneur. These wartime ventures boosted his company and its image, after all.

On the other hand, Disney created several of the propaganda films for free. One of them was even funded out of his own pocket. And, of course, the insignia was produced without charge. So, were Disney’s intentions purely patriotic or with one eye on the bottom line? It’s up to you to decide…

Both arguments are probably true in some ways. But what Disney did decades before that, during World War I, is quite another story. And, back then, his motives seem to have been a lot purer. Put quite simply, the teenager wanted to help.

Though the war was nearing its end in mid-1918, it still loomed large in the American consciousness. Certainly, Disney was thinking a lot about it. But at the time, he was still just a kid. His ambition to make movies had not yet been realized, even though he’d invested in a proper camera with a buddy.

The young dreamer’s brothers had joined the military to fight, too. Ray and Roy Disney were members of the Army and the Navy respectively. And Walt was left captivated by Roy’s uniform — not surprising, given his penchant for costumes.

Walt also enjoyed Roy’s letters home. They were, according to the animator himself, filled with “blowing bugles and... patriotism.” And despite being only 16 at the time, he had known what he had to do. “I just had to get in there,” he later reflected.

Disney tried to join the Navy first, but you had to be at least 17 to do so. That didn’t put him off for good. Along with his buddy Russell Maas, he applied for enlistment in Canada’s armed forces. But this ploy failed because Maas had pretty bad eyesight.

Yet again, though, the two teenagers jumped right back up on the horse. They started scheming — and this time, their plan would prove a winner. Joining the Red Cross Ambulance Corps was their new goal, but this wasn’t simple either. They had to have parental permission before they could get going.

But before the boys could even ask, their parents learned their secret. Disney’s dad Elias wasn’t happy, and he was firmly against granting his son permission to sign up. According to The Walt Disney Family Museum, Elias remarked to his youngest boy, “I might be signing your death warrant!”

Disney’s mom Flora, on the other hand, was far more sympathetic to her son’s wishes. She apparently told her husband, “Three of my sons have left this family in the middle of the night. Walter’s determined to go, Elias, even if he has to sneak out like his brothers. I’d rather sign this paper and know where he is.”

Elias still wasn’t convinced, however, and furiously said, “Forge my name if you want, but I won’t sign.” Amazingly, that’s exactly what Flora decided to do. But there was still one small issue: Walt was too young to go. No matter, as he was able to perform a little forgery himself, altering the date on his birth certificate to 1900 rather than 1901. He was putting his artistic talent to use — albeit in a rather shady manner.

Disney’s effort paid off, and in September 1918 he successfully became part of the Red Cross Ambulance Corps. But things didn’t exactly start off well. During his training in Chicago — where he was learning to operate and fix up ambulances — he ended up catching a nasty dose of the flu, which forced him back home. By the time he was better again, his pal Maas had been sent over to France.

Disney was then sent to another base for training — this time in Connecticut. And, incredibly, there he met a teenager who would also go on to become the head of a vast business empire. His name was Ray Kroc, and he would later find success as the head of McDonald’s.

During this period, World War I came to an end. At first, it seemed the young man’s aspiration to represent his country wouldn’t come to pass. But the Red Cross still required men to drive their ambulances, which meant Disney still had a shot. And sure enough, he was among a group of 50 people picked to head to France. He got there on December 4, 1918 — a mere day before he turned 17.

Delighted as he may have been by his dream of service finally coming true, Disney was in for a rude awakening. The conditions in France were grim. Food and shelter were both lacking, and Disney apparently had to ward off the cold by covering himself in newspapers!

Disney wasn’t well-traveled at this point in his life, so it all must have been a bit of a shock. Still, he experienced a lot in France, seeing various parts of the country and getting into adventures of one sort or another. It was a formative time for the boy who would grow up to be one of the world’s best-known businessmen. As for his duties with the Red Cross? Disney did what was required. With the war now over, he wasn’t pressed into intense service. The dangers, certainly, were less severe by this point in time. Nonetheless, Disney drove a lot.

And whenever Disney wasn’t behind the wheel or exploring France, he was drawing. In snatches of time between jobs, he came up with new characters and ideas — even sending a few of his works off for potential publication. Then, before too long, it was time to apply for a discharge to go home.

The return journey wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. Disney was aboard the SS Canada, which ran into trouble with low fuel supplies and a bad storm. That made the crossing pretty dicey, but in the end the ship emerged unscathed. She landed in New York, and Disney was soon back in Chicago.

Disney had come back from Europe as a new person. He’d developed a lot abroad, and he was now set on realizing his dream of becoming a cartoonist. His dad wasn’t exactly happy about this decision, but Disney was set on it. As we all know now, he made the right decision.

And while Disney hadn’t spent a huge amount of time in France, the experience still changed his life. The man himself later reminisced about the trip, saying, “The things I did during those ten months I was overseas added up to a lifetime of experience... I know being on my own at an early age... made me more self-reliant.”