This debate has recently become a huge topic of discussion when a mother posted a rant online about childless adults attending Disney theme parks on Facebook, the rant was shared on Twitter by user JenKatWrites, the attached Facebook post stated that: ‘[Disney World] is a FAMILY amusement park!!!!! Yet these IMMATURE millennials THROW AWAY THEIR MONEY ON USELESS CRAP!!!!! They have NO idea the JOY and HAPPINESS it is to MOTHERS WHO [BUY] THEIR BABIES TREATS AND TOYS!!!! THEY WILL NEVER EXPERIENCE THE EXHAUSTION THAT IT IS TO CHASE A 3 YEAR OLD AROUND AND GETTING STARES ASSUMING I’M A BAD MOTHER!!!!’ The post then went on to use a series of derogatory terms directed at a young woman who was standing in a long line for food and had, in this mothers opinion, forced her to break her child's heart by refusing to join the line due to its length (which we can clearly see was sheer laziness on the mother's part rather than the cruelty of a young woman for feeding herself on a holiday that she has paid for).
The tweet quickly went viral with over 72,000 likes, and many users began to weigh in on the situation, some taking the opposite extreme, claiming children are irritating and it is them who should be banned, and others taking the more moderate approach, arguing that Walt Disney himself marketed not just Disney Parks, but the Disney franchise as a whole to people of all ages, after all, why would Disney advertise honeymoon suites if it only existed for children, why, a few years into opening, were the parks advertised as a date spot for, who would have guessed it? Millennials.
Johnny Olesinski at the New York Post wrote an article in response to the now viral post entitled ‘Sorry, childless millennials going to Disney World is weird’, claiming that millennials were emotionally attached to Disney in an unhealthy way, tying themselves to disney making them unable to grow, leading to self-infantilization and a lifelong immaturity. He ended the post saying that millennials should go somewhere other than a Disney theme park.
When reading the posts that critique the youngsters who chose to visit Disneyland, it is difficult not to laugh, the fact that fully-grown adults are dedicating their time to screaming into the void about the deep distress that they are subject to upon seeing young people enjoy themselves and relieve the increasing pressures they experience by visiting a place that pays homage to the movies they watched as children, and still do today, is not just laughable, but is pitiful.
Why should we only regard Disneyland as a place only for children and their parents, when the franchise is not? Movies, though of course enjoyed by children, also take on deeper symbolic meanings when rewatched as an adult, but, and most importantly: who cares?!
It has become increasingly evident over recent years that the adults of this generation seem to believe that every act has to have some sort of deeper and more significant meaning, in reality, this simply means that they disapprove of the idea of simple pleasures, of enjoying things simply because they enjoy them. A possible explanation for this, as pointed out by many in response to the Facebook post is none other than jealousy.
Perhaps mothers dragging their three-year-olds around a theme park that costs hundreds to attend for a day, with their child simply not giving a care in the world, either crying or screaming, leads them to envy the childless millennials who have attended Disneyland due to their love of the franchise, and can therefore enjoy it. Perhaps these complaining parents simply see their children as an excuse for them to attend the park that they so desperately wish to visit.
Johnny Olesinski’s post also has its roots in jealousy and reads as though he is simply jealous that in his youth, he wished that he could travel but could not afford it, and is now greatly angered that millennials who have a control per their finances can afford to go where they want, which is not where he would have went, hence preventing him from living vicariously through todays youth and causing him to feel great resentment.
And so, through the incredibly enlightening words of Facebook mum and Olesinski, we gain, absolutely nothing. If millennials have managed their money (which is greatly difficult in today's day and age thanks to the actions of the previous generations) effectively enough to afford a holiday, who is an adult staring at their laptop and viciously typing away their anger to stop the from enjoying whatever it is they wish? Society is becoming increasingly hard to live in for many, after almost 100 years, Disney has remained an area of joy in the lives of billions, and so there is absolutely no reason for millennials to be told that they are bad people for visiting a Disney park. And on that note, I’m off to plan my next Disney holiday.
