You’ve seen them: the grown women in sequin ears full-body-sobbing at the sight of Goofy; the couple who honeymooned in Anaheim and return for their “castles and cocktails” anniversary every year. They own themed Loungefly backpacks, refer to the Haunted Mansion as their “spiritual home”, and line up for limited-edition popcorn buckets. They have preferred princesses. They watch “ride perspective” YouTube videos published by influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers. They mouth the words to the pre-shows.
You think you know them, because you’ve heard about the worst ones. The ones who shoulder-barge toddlers out of the way to get to Mickey Mouse. The ones who weep theatrically outside Cinderella Castle. The ones who yell into ring lights and selfie sticks about the latest cupcake at Gaston’s Tavern and the ones who whisper, “Rope-drop to fireworks,” like it’s a sacred mantra. In mainstream discourse, they’re derided as infantilized and obsessive, an offputting cult of adults in arrested development.
