Disney Adulting is my Zen

It's easy to fall victim to the old saying "Disney is for Kids." C'mon now, that's just toxic. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life. I'm here to tell you that YES, Disney is for adults and in fact, you can plan a kids-free Disney Adulting trip and still have a FANTASTIC time.
​I did, and here's how that went. . . 

Let me start by saying this was a Girl's Trip! My friend Daina and I decided we wanted a kids-free girls' weekend and thought Disney World was PERFECT for this. I know, you're thinking that going to Disney for a "kid-free weekend" is counter-intuitive because Disney is swarming with kids, right? Not necessarily true. There are quite a few perks and activities you can enjoy when you are sans kids.

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Ride What YOU Want to Ride
​​When you go to a Disney park without kids, there is a feeling of relief. Sure, seeing your kids' eyes light up when they see their favorite character is a magical moment, but you know what else is? The freedom of not having to make the trip beholden to their desires.

It's ok to be selfish when you take some solo time at Disney. Ride the rides YOU want to ride, in the order YOU want to. If you have a Parkhopper or Annual Pass you can hop around in and out of the parks as much as you want to ride whatever you want. There is a certain amount of freedom and excitement when you walk into a Disney park without being tethered to a child.
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Stay as Late as You Want - Especially for After Hours Events
​​Let's be honest, sometimes we call it a night because the kids are tired, but we could just keep partying! Some of the parks now have special evening hours when it is less crowded. For example, if you're staying at a deluxe Disney resort, both Epcot and Magic Kingdom have extra magic hours after the park closes. In these parks there are select nights when the park may close at 9pm but guests staying at deluxe resorts can stay till 11pm! That means an empty park for you to enjoy.

Another great opportunity to enjoy late nights is going to an After Hours party! We have partaken in Mickey's Boo Bash and Villain Night with the kids and didn't always make it to the end, but let me tell you, when I went with ADULT buddies we CLOSED DOWN THE PARK! This last trip, Daina and I did Mickey's Very Merriest After Party and it was awesome. There were tons of magic shot pictures, snow on Main Street USA, parades, fireworks, a dance party in Tomorrowland, a gazebo to meet Santa and even themed food and drinks. I have some amazing photos that you wouldn't believe are real! I'll have to do another blog JUST on that. It was so much fun, I went back to do it with Gabe and the kids, but it wasn't the same as doing it with Daina.

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Shop Till You Drop. . . and then Shop Some More
Another perk of going to Disney without kids is stopping to shop whenever you feel like it. You can shop without being rushed because the kids want to ride rides. It's just relaxing and you can find some really cute seasonal things when you're leisurely checking out the stores instead of running inside for quick look while the kids grab a snack.

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Adulting Disney Food and Drink
Disney isn't just churros and cupcakes. The parks and resorts are home to the full gambit of dining experiences from grab-n-go eating to fine dining. We chose to create our own Monorail Pub Crawl. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. After hitting Hollywood Studios for a couple of hours we took a bus to Wilderness Lodge to start off our drinking adventure.

Our goal was to drink our way back to our resort. For this mission we started in Wilderness Lodge at Geyser Point, took the boat to Magic Kingdom and road the Monorail around, stopping at each resort to sample drinks and appetizers. It was fantastic! We were able to get our drink on at Wilderness Lodge, The Grand Floridian, The Contemporary and The Polynesian Resort. While Wilderness Lodge and The Grand Floridian had one bar each, the Contemporary and Polynesian had at least 2, which made for quite a night and a variety of drinks. 

Another great adulting food and drink activity is going around the World Showcase at Epcot. You don't even have to ride any rides if you don't want to. In my adulting trips, we spend our whole Epcot day in the World Showcase going from one country pavilion to the next, shopping, grabbing something bubbly to drink and usually an appetizer-sized dish from the many festival booths to eat. When you're with kids, their focus tends to be on riding things, so you don't get a chance to really appreciate the detail that goes into each pavilion. You also rarely get to stay for an hour to do a tequila tasting in the Mexico pavilion or drink several kinds of sake in Japan.  Just the simple pleasure of trying the myriad of ales and lagers in Germany while eating a Mickey pretzel is priceless. These are all "boring" adult things that you can enjoy more easily when there are no kids around.
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Disney Springs is it's own Adult Playground
I could go on and on about enjoying the nicer resort amenities like animation classes, crafting, horseback riding and even spa amenities, but those vary by resort. I will end with Disney Springs though. Disney Springs its its own veritable adult playground. There is Michelin 5 Star Dining, bars, live music, shopping and even a movie theatre there. You can have a fancy date night or a fun exciting bar-hopping evening with buddies. Disney caters to the fun-loving energy inside of us, no mater what age!!

Remember, when it's time to book your next Disney adventure, its Mouse O'Clock!