Being Too Old for Disney

Your feet are sore, you are sweating quite a bit, and you have only been on two rides all day. It’s already 5 o’clock. Unfortunately, the park closes at 8 p.m., so you need to make at least one more ride before then. That’s if your younger brother doesn’t want to go visit the Disney characters scattered around the park.

As somebody who has been to Disney World many times in my life, I have noticed a change in my enthusiasm with each and every visit. From the time when I was little, to the previous summer, it seems like the place where “Dreams come true” has become a nightmare.

Disney World has been one of America’s “dreams” since July 17, 1955. Disney claims that their park is appropriate for all ages, but that opinion varies depending on the person you are asking.

When I visited Disney this past summer with my brothers and cousin, I realized that it was more of a babysitting job rather than a “dream come true.” My brothers, who are 10 and 13, had one of the most memorable experiences of their life, while I sat back and watched them enjoy every second of it.

I have been to Disney four times in my life and to be honest, I forgot most of the experiences from when I was really young (around 2 and 6). I believe to visit Disney, you must be in a certain age group because being too young or too old really puts a burden on your vacation.

If you are too young, you will usually go with family, and spending time with family on vacation is always a good time. The problem is 10 years later (in my case), you end up forgetting all of the memories you created. There is a problem with being too old as well. I believe around 15 years old is when you begin understanding that riding the bigger, more thrill-heavy rides is way more of a priority than enjoying the “experience of a lifetime.”

Another problem I believe Disney fails to recognize, relating to anyone over the age of 15, is that Disney is over 75 percent kid-oriented. When walking around Disney’s Magic Kingdom, you can expect to see princesses, the occasional prince, a castle, the occasional ride, and places to spend excessive amounts of money.

For older visitors, there are almost no “themes” to compensate for the people who, in my case, are sick of seeing a princess at every corner. To improve this, they could do many things, such as increase attractions that would better fit parents and older children. Some of these things could be like more roller coasters. Other things that could be added to parks I believe is a day-care, where parents who want to ride the bigger rides, but their kids are restricting them.

The rides at Disney are somewhat mediocre. At one park, out of the four, you should expect to see two or three big rides. These rides are always packed with lines extending over two hours at the prime riding times. These lines, being so long, cause people to go to the smaller, yet classical rides. These rides include the Tomorrowland Speedway, which is an average ride, mostly meant for the experience, not the thrill. The line for this ride is normally about 45 minutes, but on a day I went, it exceeded one hour and 45 minutes. It’s a Small World, being one of the most classic rides at Disney, is always jam-packed with people. No matter what time of day, the line will be out of the entrance.

Disney has recently improved its FastPass system in the past few years. Now, you can buy your FastPass with your park tickets and sign up for three rides up to three months in advance. This is handy for those who don’t procrastinate, but for those who choose to wait until the week before they go, almost every single ride is booked for every single time. After you use all three of your FastPasses for the day, you can sign up for more, but by that time, there are no choices except for rides that were made for kids around 2 to 6 years old…

Disney is improving in some areas. But for those who visited when they were young, the experience will never be as good as the first time. When you are at a young age, Disney was the popular talk, and where everyone wanted to go. But now, at an older age, Disney has become washed out and “a place where dreams come true” is a dream turned to a nightmare.