Why We Hate Disney Adults (And Not Sports Fans)

Misogyny might have more to do with it than magic.

I’ve spent the last five days in Disney World—somewhat against my will.

I’m here as part of a larger media event, where Disney invited all types of press to learn about new attractions, offerings, food, and beverages from the global giant. I’m reporting on the food and bev part, of course.

Those findings will appear in a traditional outlet, but there’s something else I wanted to talk about here: Disney fandom.

In between sampling fried foods and soft serve and screaming on Space Mountain, I have been reading Disney Adults: Exploring (And Falling In Love With) A Magical Subculture by AJ Wolfe, the woman behind the popular Disney Food Blog. I haven’t been to the parks since I was five, and even then, I only remember fangirling over a pair of white Cinderella gloves with blue fur trim more than any of the characters themselves.

So I read Wolfe’s book because I wanted to understand why thousands (millions?) of adults wait in line for hours for a three-minute ride or turn giddy at the chance to meet another adult wearing a Tiana costume. Disney fans spend time and money—so much money—on something I always thought was for kids. While I was here, I wanted to know why.

But when I reached chapter four of Wolfe’s book—Do We Deserve the Hate?—I realized my initial skepticism might have been unfair.

Photo by Adrián Valverde on Unsplash

In this chapter, Wolfe tries to figure out why so many people hate Disney adults, whom she calls “a relatively innocuous group of hobbyists.”

“Uninhibited joy and optimism are good qualities, right?” she writes. “But for whatever reason, when those qualities are associated with a fan of the Walt Disney company, their value plummets.”

The list of accusations is long: Disney adults are cringe, obsessed with cosplay, childlike, privileged, materialistic, and wasteful. People sneer at Disney fans for dropping hundreds of dollars on park tickets or themed merchandise—but, Wolfe notes, they don’t blink at sports fans doing the same for jerseys, beers, and season tickets.

Neuroscience even suggests that the buzz of seeing your team win and hearing the opening notes of When You Wish Upon a Star light up the same dopamine pathways. Fandom, whether it’s Disney or the Jets, is about ritual, emotion, and belonging. So why is one mocked and the other celebrated?

Wolfe’s answer points to sexism. Sports fandom is dominated by men, while Disney fans skew female—and often queer. “A lot of the Disney adults who are the most reviled are women,” she writes, linking the mockery of Disney fans to misogyny and the infantilization of women. White, heterosexual men are granted flexibility to “play” with adulthood—tailgates, fantasy leagues, Comic-Con—while women who do the same are seen as silly or delusional.

And like other fandoms, being a Disney adult doesn’t necessarily mean it’s your entire identity. The viral extremes—the couple spending their wedding catering budget on a Minnie and Mickey meet-and-greet instead of food for their guests, for example—are not the norm. For most fans, Disney is one hobby among many. What unites them isn’t immaturity; it’s a willingness to feel joy, openly, as adults.

After hitting every park (there are four) over the course of five days, I still don’t get the Disney obsession—but I don’t get sports fandom either. What I do understand now is the impulse: finding joy in a shared world with others. Disney adults just wear their happiness with a tiara—and maybe that’s what really makes the rest of us uncomfortable.

For Tonight’s Dinner Table

1. Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that adult sleep-away camps have seen a surge in new campers in recent years, with most of them traveling to the camp alone to make friends. Last week, I read a story in The New York Times about one of these camps, which is centered around reading. Of course, all of them are catered toward women. There’s a larger story about female friendship here, but I’m not quite sure what it is yet.

2. The VMAs are tonight at 8 p.m., and I’m most looking forward to Sabrina Carpenter’s performance. She’s on the cover of Interview magazine this month, and when asked about her fans’ response to her latest album’s “horny” lyrics and cover art, she said: “I’m glad you like my sexual content.” I’m glad it seems like she’s doing whatever she wants.

3. Ardbeg, a distillery on the Scottish Isle of Islay known for smoky, peaty whisky, is opening a boutique hotel. The goal is to encourage tourism to the Isle and allow visitors to “immerse themselves” in the story of the whisky, which has an unusual, sweet-smoky flavor. Considering a lot of people (ahem, me) will travel for culinary experiences, it makes sense to create a hotel designed for it.

4. Face lifts are the new Ozempic.

5. Taking a beta blocker these days seems nearly as common as popping an Advil, especially for women. And the data backs this up: Prescriptions of propranolol, a popular beta blocker, are up 28 percent from 2020. I took a survey on Kick Health to see how easy it was to get the drugs. I was done in less than 15 minutes and learned that a 2-pack of propranolol (48 tablets) would cost $89. Not bad.