I don’t want to say that us Disney theme park fans are an irritable bunch, but many of us do have our share of topics that will push our buttons. Here are six statements you definitely shouldn’t dare to make in the presence of longtime attendees of Disneyland, Walt Disney World, et al.
1. Tell them that the parks are the best they’ve ever been
As much as you and even they might enjoy the parks in their current forms, there is very little chance that today’s Disneyland and Walt Disney World are the very favorites of those who have been going to them for decades. The parks that they experienced as kids are especially likely to be highlights in their eyes because of the rose-tinted glasses of childhood wonder, but there are years and years and years for them to choose from when deciding their personal favorites.
If you insist that the parks are, at this moment, better than they’ve ever been, you’ll likely face a sharp rebuttal from the longtime fans who have strong memories of Disney parks from years past that are near-impossible to top. For that reason, if you want to keep a group of old-timers calm, cool and collected, try very hard not to claim that the Disney parks have never been better.
2. Complain that there’s not enough to do
Any first-timer that whines that there’s not enough to do at the Disney parks will likely spark a debate with any longtime Disney fan within hearing distance. The people who have been going to Disney parks for a long time know that there’s always something new to experience, even on your fortieth trip, let alone on your first few. Main Street, U.S.A. alone is filled with commotion and activities that would take hours upon hours upon hours to fully explore. Anyone frustrated with not enough attractions better take a second look at their surroundings, or the old-timers will be forced to set them straight.
3. Disrupt an attraction
There are plenty of people attending the Disney theme parks old enough to remember a time when cell phones didn’t even exist. For that reason, if you distract one of those guests by making a phone call while riding The Haunted Mansion, you better watch out. Pulling out your phone to text when people are trying to enjoy an attraction without the distraction of things from the outside world is classless enough. But if you’re making a lot of noise, you’re bound to spark some hate, especially amongst those who remember a time when they didn’t have to worry about that kind of interruption.
4. Claim that newer characters and concepts should dominate the parks
PIXAR is great, yes. Almost everybody loves Toy Story, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and many of the other properties under the PIXAR brand. But to say that just because their properties are popular now they should take over the Disney parks is ludicrous, especially to the longtime fans. A castle featuring Merida from Brave would be cool, sure, but if you keep insisting that she deserves to replace the classic Disney princesses like Cinderella, Snow White or Sleeping Beauty then you’re in for a big debate amongst the people old enough to remember when those films were in their prime.
5. Say that non-Disney properties belong in the parks
It wasn’t until 1987 that Star Tours, the first attraction at a Disney park not based on a Disney property, debuted. And even that retroactively became an official Disney attraction when the Walt Disney Company purchased Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012. There are plenty of people still going to Disney World, Disneyland, etc. who remember a time before 1987, when there was essentially nothing at the parks that wasn’t Disney-based. So if any people try to argue that characters and settings from Avatar deserve to be at Disney theme parks like the Animal Kingdom as much as the Mickey Mouse family with Camp Minnie-Mickey, they’re probably in for a rough time.
6. Declare that Universal Studios is better
A hardcore Disney theme parks fan is almost definitely going to end up at odds with a similarly intense Universal Studios fan. The rivalry between the two theme park empires is an epic one, and with Universal’s improvement in the form of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the competition has become even more fierce. Any hardcore Disney fan will feel or inflict pain when someone has the audacity to insist that the Universal Studios theme park experience trumps that of the one put on by the Walt Disney Company. There’s some stiff competition, but that might be the number one of these ways to irritate longtime Disney fans.
