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5 Reasons Why Disneyland is for Adults Too!

5 Reasons Why Disneyland is for Adults Too!

One might ask, is Disneyland for adults? Yes, it is! Who said kids get all the fun at Disneyland? After spending a full day at Disney’s California Adventure Park (DCAP) and Disneyland, we can attest that the parks are not just for the kids and families, but for adults too!

We are not just talking about parents bringing their children, but about Disneyland for adults going with friends, for a bachelorette party, corporate event, a date, a weekend getaway from Los Angeles… you name it! There are so many fun things to do at Disneyland for adults that you are going to want to book your next trip to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Going to Disneyland is easily one of the best things to do in California. Moreover, adults can have a magical at Disneyland and California Adventure Park because the food is delicious, the rides are fun, you can order alcohol, and dress up. More importantly, you feel young again! When you are at Disneyland as an adult, you see and experience things from a whole new perspective.

We believe Disneyland for adults is just as much fun as going with kids or at a young age. Here are five reasons why you are going to want to pack your bags and head to Disneyland as an adult!

Pixar Pier at California Adventure Park is both stunning and fun!

 

Feeling Young Again at Disneyland

There is something special about being an adult at Disneyland and feeling like you are young again. All your worries in the world just go away when you are at the Happiest Place on Earth. When you see characters you grew up watching like Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto come to life there is a little part of you inside screaming for joy (or if you are like me, maybe actually screaming out loud). Moreover, if you have been a Star Wars fan since day one and see Storm Troopers walking by, you will probably geek out. You completely lose yourself in all of your childhood surroundings. Furthermore, as adults in Disneyland, you can appreciate every small detail that truly makes your childhood memories and dreams come to life.

For us, the place inside Disneyland that made us feel young again was in Mickey’s Toontown. We were literally ten years old in our adult bodies. In our opinion, Mickey’s Toontown is the coolest place in all of Disneyland. You not only feel young, but you also feel like you are an animated character from Walt Disney’s storybooks living in his world of toons. This town truly comes to life by its whimsical architectural design and fun interactive attractions like the Dog Pound where you can pretend you are bending the rails to get out of jail. Just don’t try to open the Toontown Power Company door with a sign, unless you really feel like it (please open it!). Toontown also has the main Disney character’s homes where you can sometimes find them or explore on your own.

 

Drinking at Disneyland for Adults

Yes, this is why Disneyland is for adults – you can drink alcoholic beverages! With that said, if you are not a Club 33 member (in Disneyland) then to drink alcohol you need to go across the street to visit California Adventure Park. Inside Disney’s California Adventure Park, adults over the age of 21 years can purchase alcohol in several different restaurants. To find your boozy, Insta-worthy Disney cocktails or craft beer, head to one of these many fabulous dining establishments: Oga’s Cantina at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Carthay Circle Lounge at Beuna Vista Street, Lamplight Lounge at Pixar Pier, Alfresco Tasting Terrace and Karl Strauss Biergarten at Pacific Wharf, and Bayside Brews at Paradise Gardens Park. You can even find beer floats at Clarabelle’s located on Beuna Vista Street.

Remember to drink responsibly and respectfully. Walt Disney explicitly expressed how he never wanted alcohol in his parks because he thought it would draw a rowdy element to the Happiest Place on Earth. So please do not drink so much you throw up on rides.

 

Eating at Disneyland for Adults

Another reason why Disneyland is for adults is because of their food. Since we found more culinary options for adults than we did kids meals, Disneyland truly caters to adults. Of course, you have Mickey and Minnie ears on everything to delight the children, but honestly, they delight adults too. One entree you cannot miss in Disneyland is the bread bowl. The bread bowls can be found at Royal Street Veranda or Pacific Wharf’s Cafe in California Adventure Park. Options of soup inside your sourdough bowl are almost endless at both locations, but a few favorites include clam chowder, steak gumbo and a secret menu item, mac n cheese! The bread bowl is baked fresh from Boudin Bakery’s famous Sourdough Bread located at The Bakery Tour in DCAP. You can even tour the bakery to watch the process of making the famous sourdough bread bowl.

Of course, we have to mention all of “Our Sweet Adventures” we tasted throughout Disneyland and California Adventure Park. As a former pastry chef, I was highly impressed with Disney’s culinary creations. Everything we tasted was absolutely delicious – even a simple ice cream bar was better than I ever expected. A few favorites were the classic Dole Whip at Tiki Juice Bar, Raspberry Rose Mickey Macaron at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, Apple Pie Caramel Apple at Candy Palace or Trolley Treats (DCAP), and Hand-Dipped Ice Cream Bars at Clarabelle’s (DCAP).

Lastly, the prices were not overly outrageous. We found the prices for food to be fairly reasonable, especially for the quality and portions we were receiving.

 

Best Disneyland Rides for Adults

Yes, a lot of rides at Disneyland are very family-friendly, but there are also some epic rides at Disneyland for adults too! As a Star Wars fan, I always wanted to know what it felt like to go into hyperspace and now I do! Even though it was a 3D simulation ride, we had a blast (no pun intended) at Disneyland’s Space Tours. Our absolute favorite Disneyland ride for adults is Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT! at DCAP. This ride combines the series’ characters with fun music and turns it into an epic dark-drop tower. A great part of this ride is that it will never get old because it has six different scenarios, each with its own song. The second best Disneyland ride for adults (in our opinion) is the Incredicoaster, also at DCAP. It is a classic steel rollercoaster with thrilling turns and laserbeams chasing the worlds favorite Incredible super-baby, Jack Jack. Of course, we cannot leave out the most classic Disneyland ride for adults of all time, Space Mountain.

With that said, here are a few more of the best Disneyland rides for adults, including ones at Californian Adventure Park: Indiana Jones Adventure, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Haunted Mansion, Radiator Springs Racers (DCAP) and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Since these rides are also popular, we recommend gauging the wait times using the mobile app and grabbing FastPass – two of the best Disney hacks to utilize your time wisely.  

Lastly, you CANNOT MISS the World of Color at California Adventure Park. We have seen the famous Bellagio water fountain show and the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc in Barcelona, but nothing has impressed us more than Disney’s World of Color. Disney turns a water show into a cinematic masterpiece. They combine water with color, music, and theatre. So do yourself a favour, when you first walk into DCAP, get your FastPass for World of Color for some of the best seats in the park. The show starts at 8:15 pm after the park closes.

 

Adults Dressing Up at Disneyland

Adults love to dress up in Disney cosplay just as much as children. However, Disney theme parks have a very clear rule – adults are not allowed to dress up in full costumes or masks to represent Disney characters. This rule is primarily for safety reasons so children do not mistake a Disney employee dressed in character for someone else. So how do adults dress up in Disneyland? By Disneybounding.

Disneybounding means adults dress up in everyday outfits with a stylish and creative touch to represent a particular character. It is the most ingenious idea to engage adults – hence why Disneyland is for adults more and more every day. Adult Disney fans are going crazy for Disneybounding because of the endless creative ideas in which to dress up. Let’s use my favorite Disney character Goofy for example. To dress up as Goofy one could wear blue jeans, an orange v-neck with a black vest and a green baseball hat. So as you can see, it is easy to be inspired by your favorite Disney character and still dress up. I have heard that adults will visit Disneyland just to dress up as their latest Disneybound creation. Moreover, you can also count Halloween at Disneyland to be one of the best times for adults to dress up and enjoy!

Check out two of my fabulous childhood friends participating in Disneybouding. Can you guess which characters they are dressed up as? Follow them at @augustafay and @arabene93 for more inspiration!

 

Have I convinced you that Disneyland is for adults too? I hope so because it is truly the Happiest Place on Earth!

 

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Leslie Price

Saturday 9th of March 2019

I love this. I'm a childfree traveler and I wish there were more guides like this written for traditionally "family" places- childfree adults like them, too! Thanks so much.

oursweetadventures

Monday 11th of March 2019

Aww I am delighted to hear you enjoyed my post. We are children travelers too at the moment, but always young at heart.

Josy A

Saturday 9th of March 2019

This post makes me so happy. I went to Disneyland Paris as a child, and I am tempted to go again now we live in North America BUT I was honestly considering waiting until we have children. You make it sound awesome to just go now!

...Now I juts need to persuade my husband ;)

oursweetadventures

Monday 11th of March 2019

Aww your comment makes me happy :) You should definitely go to Disneyland in California. You will have a great time! Just share my post to your hubby ?