Ever wonder if Disney World is worth visiting as an adult?
Well I’m here to tell you that everyone needs to visit Disney as adults.
Don’t wait until you have kids, or until they’re “old enough”. Even if you’ve already visited Disney World as a kid, you should absolutely re-visit Disney as adults!
There’s no shame in adulting in Disney, and I would actually argue that it’s the best time to visit!
But if you need further convincing, continue reading below!
Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!
Disney Is For Everyone, Even Adults!
Disney World is for everyone.
There’s no age limit at the parks, and you definitely won’t be the only one adulting in Disney, with or without kids!
Thousands of people visit Disney every day, from all different age groups. So if you’re worried about standing out as an adult in Disney World… don’t!
Disney World As Adults Isn’t Just For The Biggest Disney Fans Either
Even if you aren’t the world’s biggest Disney fan, you should still visit.
For starters, their content is much more than the classic Disney animated movies now (2D animated princesses!). Disney pretty much owns the world, so your favourite franchise has probably been absorbed into the Mouse’s empire without you even realizing, like Marvel or Star Wars.
On top of that, Disney World is so much more than just their intellectual property and more than just a theme park. Going to Disney is such an experience that everyone should have!
Disney World Is Just As Magical As An Adult – If Not More!
Just because you’re an adult, doesn’t mean there’s any less magical at Disney to enjoy.
I’ve visited twice before as a kid, and seeing the castle for the first time with my adult eyes still put a giant smile on my face. I was blown away by everything the park had to offer!
The world outside the actual parks is also pretty incredible, and I was better able to appreciate it as an adult. Disney World is an entire city in itself, its own government in fact, which means they own water lines, fire stations, and even public transit system!
Visiting the Disney parks as an adult also brings you back to your childhood, making you feel like a kid again!
Even if you aren’t a fan of the classic Disney films anymore, they will always hold a special place in your heart. And don’t lie, we all still have our favourite Disney characters that are still fun to “meet”, no matter our age!
Not to mention that a trip to Disney World is almost stress free as an adult. You don’t have to worry about petty theft and pick pockets in the park… but more on that in a bit!
It’s Doesn’t Pay To Wait To Visit Disney With Kids
If you’re waiting to bring your kids to Disney hoping that they’ll be cheaper…
News flash! Only kids under 10 are cheaper, and not by much!
In 2024, tickets for kids aged 3-9 were only a whopping 5$ cheaper across all parks. And it didn’t matter if you bought single day tickets or a park hopper pass.
Once they’re older than 10, they pay the full price, the same as any grown adult!
Don’t believe me? See Disney World tickets.
So you might as well go to Disney as adults, without kids, and splurge!
WDW For Adults Is A Safe, Easy Destination
If you’re looking for a relatively safe vacation destination, Disney World is the perfect choice.
From security checks at every entrance, to high ticket prices, you really don’t have to worry about guns or petty theft.
Planning a vacation to Disney World is also simple. The only things you’ll need to book are flights, one hotel, and your tickets to the parks.
Your day to day agenda will consists of visiting the various parks throughout Disney World. You don’t need to book extra transportation to activities or guided tours!
Benefits Of Disney World For Adults Without Kids!
I’ve visited Disney World three times now: when I was 6, 12, and most recently when I was 29 (it seems like I have to visit once during every decade of my life now… challenge accepted!).
But hands down, my favourite experience was visiting Disney as an adult. There might be some recency bias here, it can still be my favourite!
There are a few perks to visiting Disney as adults versus as kids, or even with kids, and it mostly comes down to getting the most out of the insanely high ticket prices.
Disney As Adults: You Can Try To Take Advantage Of Low Season…
Although there isn’t really a low season at Disney World, as an adult without any kids, you aren’t attached to any schedule.
So you can still try and avoid extremely high season at Disney World, during the Winter, Spring, and Summer Breaks.
We visited at the beginning of February (after winter break and before Spring break) thinking the parks would be less busy, but they were still packed!
Apparently, there was a cheerleading convention going on in Orlando at the time, so the Magic Kingdom was filled with cheer teams and their families. It seems Orlando tries to keep Disney World booked with events throughout the year as well!
You might think September or October might fall into the low season category, but that’s when Disney puts on their Halloween events (which begin in mid-August!)
When we were booking, we did notice that hotels became a bit cheaper at the beginning of June. Perhaps there might be a low-season for a single week every year! Maybe it was a fluke, or maybe you can also get lucky with fewer crowds during that week…
Adulting In Disney: You Can Focus On The Best Rides
When you’re travelling to Disney as adults, you can focus on the most worthwhile rides at Disney World. I’m talking about the real roller coasters here, ones that have a height limit some kids can’t meet.
Tickets to Disney parks are so expensive that you don’t really want to waste your time waiting in line for simple rides, like Dumbo’s Flight, which brings me to my next point…
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You Don’t Have Anyone Slowing You Down In Disney As Adults
There’s no denying that you’ve paid a lot to get into Disney World, so why would you want to waste that time slowly walking through the park?
As adults, you can more easily optimize your time, and run back and forth through the parks as often as you can! I can’t tell you how many times I ran at full speed through the park trying to get the best wait times for every ride!
I was shocked by how many rides we were able to do in one day at Magic Kingdom. Let’s just say we were exhausted by the end, but I’d rather get all my money’s worth at the parks if I can!
Adults In Disney World Take Advantage Of Other Families Travelling With Kids…
I won’t deny that there are certain aspects of Disney World parks that cater to families with kids. So as someone adulting in Disney kid free, you want to use that to your advantage!
Go To Popular Rides During The Parade & Fireworks
You want to take advantage of family focused events at each Disney World Park.
For example, in Magic Kingdom there are shows and parades throughout the day, and fireworks at night.
While families congregate to get a good seat for their kids to see the parade or fireworks, you can enjoy lower wait times for popular rides!
For example, during the parade we were able to meet Mickey in under 15 minutes, which was normally a 50 minute wait time! And right before the fireworks we jumped on It’s A Small World without any wait at all (and we still made it back with time to spare before the fireworks show – I do still recommend seeing them at least once as an adult!).
As I said, you don’t have to miss the show at all, you just show up later as you can still stand in the back. Especially for the fireworks, which are pretty much visible from anywhere in front of the castle. And they’re up in the sky, so you don’t need a seat at all!
This opens up a few slots throughout the day with lower wait times. You can check each park schedule for parades, events, & fireworks.
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Adults In Disney World Can Stay Later In The Parks For Lower Wait Times
Lucky for you, you no longer have a bedtime as an adult either (hopefully)!
So you can stick around so much later at the parks, especially Magic Kingdom, which has the longest opening hours.
P.S. If you have a park hopper pass, take full advantage of this by heading to Magic Kingdom after the other parks close! Some parks also have days with Extra Magic Hours, where they open earlier or close later than usual. These hours are open to those staying at select Disney hotels
Which Park To Visit In Disney As Adults?
If you’re adulting in Disney for the first time, you have to go to Magic Kingdom. It’s the most expensive Disney World Park, but it’s also the most iconic (it has the Disney castle afterall!).
Magic Kingdom also has all the classic Disney characters and rides, and as I said, the longest opening hours of any park.
So even though it’s the most expensive park, you can take full advantage of the opening hours and get the most out of the ticket price. Be the first one in the park when it opens, and the last one out!
And let’s be real, if you’ve only been to Epcot, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios, but not Magic Kingdom, have you really been to Disney World at all!?
Epcot For Adults
Epcot is also a very adult friendly park, in fact, it was my least favourite as a kid… so that should tell you something!
Epcot is the Disney World Park that takes you around the world. You can travel to England, Mexico and all the way to Japan without ever leaving the park!
Epcot is more about shopping and trying different cuisines from around the world. But keep in mind, it has the least rides of any park.
Related
Hollywood Studios – WDW For Adults
Disney’s Hollywood Studios (previously MGM Studios) has become the land of Intellectual Property (I.P.). It’s where you’ll find Star Wars, Toy Story Land, but also the iconic Tower of Terror.
Disney’s Hollywood Studio also focuses on the magic of movie making, with live performances, like my favourite show: Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!
Animal Kingdom Disney World For Adults
And finally Animal Kingdom is where you can meet your favourite Disney animal characters. See them perform in a show, or see them as real life animals (not just animatronics!)!
They also have a few thrill rides at Animal Kingdom, including the newest addition: Avatar Flight of Passage.
Magic Kingdom For Adults: The Best Rides
As I said, you should asbolutely splurge on Magic Kingdom, especially if it’s your first time at Disney.
Sure Magic Kingdom has an entire section dedicated to kids (Fantasyland), but they also have some of the most iconic roller coasters at Disney World. These are the fastest rides in Disney and have the tallest height restrictions in the park.
So if you’re visiting Magic Kingdom as an adult, you have to ride Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Road! They’re thrilling! But some classics that you’ll enjoy are also The Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean (yes, the inspiration for the film!), and The Haunted Mansion.
You can see a list of rides and entertainment at each park.
Hacks For Adults In Disney World
Whichever park you choose to visit as adults in Disney World, you want to optimize your time… i.e. don’t wait too long for any ride.
Download the Disney World app and check the current wait times (keep in mind it does take a few minutes to update!). So a good trick is to check the average wait times throughout the day (at the bottom of each ride’s page).
You might notice that most ride times start off low, sky rocket midday, and teeter off in the evenings. So you’ll want to plan which rides you do and when accordingly.
A good example is Magic Kingdom, plan to ride either Space Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain Road as the first and last rollercoasters of the day. This is when they will have the lowest wait times.
On top of that, the parks don’t kick people out at closing time. The closing time is merely when they close access to get in line for rides. So in Magic Kingdom, the park itself closes at 10:00 P.M., which means you can get in line for your last ride up until 9:59 P.M…. but maybe don’t cut it too close!
Also be aware that shuttles back to hotels might not be running after hours, but you can always take an Uber!
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Last update on 2024-12-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API