Disney adults: Harmless hobby or serious pathology?

If you grew up in America, chances are your parents have taken you on the trip of your childhood dreams, where you ate junk food, marveled at life-size Disney characters, and dizzily hopped from roller coaster to roller coaster for days on end.

That trip was to a Walt Disney theme park, and chances are your dreams changed as you got older.

But some stay mysteriously captivated and trapped by their Disney dreams. And with the advent of social media platforms like TikTok, we now have a brief glimpse into the existence of these Americans, who are aptly called “Disney adults.”

“I know this may be a weird turnoff for a lot of people, and they don’t understand why I do what I do, but that’s OK,” one self-proclaimed Disney adult said in a post on TikTok. “I’m no stranger to feeling sad for days at a time and barely being able to make it out of bed or feeling so anxious and overstimulated just by going outside that I feel nauseous.”

In the video, the woman wears Minnie Mouse ears and holds a plastic baby as she wanders around the park.

“It’s grown to be a very comforting space for me, and sometimes all I want when I’m having a bad set of days is to go to this safe space that reminds me so much of my childhood,” the woman continued. “Every day is a challenge, and we’re all just trying to get through it as much as we can. This is just how I cope.”

“So I sometimes get really sad when people make fun of me for it. So, with that, happy World Mental Health Day. Here’s a reminder to try and be as kind as much as you are able and that you are so loved,” she added.

BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey is a little shocked.

“I’m not making fun. This is publicly put out in the world,” Stuckey says on “Relatable.” “It’s not like we’re peering into this person’s diary. This person wants to publicize this, and so it’s totally justified for us to comment on it, but I have questions.”

Stuckey is especially concerned as the woman is carrying around a fake baby as if it’s a real one.

“There is something seriously dark going on here,” Stuckey says. “I think that there is a problem with being like a pathological Disney adult. This is a theme park that can be fun for parents for sure, can be fun for adults, but to have this kind of identity wrapped around Disney, a company that makes entertainment and rides for children — there is something going on there.”

“But to pretend to have a child that you’re bringing to the park that is not a real child — there is something very deeply disturbing going on there, and I will not accept this as this is just an outlet for this person to feel happy,” she continues.

“Life isn’t about being happy at whatever cost,” she says.

“Life in part is about cultivating and making the world around you better. Not just serving yourself with unlimited hits of dopamine.”

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