The criticism aimed at adult fans of Disney theme parks isn’t just because people think Disney is just for kids, or that it’s too expensive. These criticisms rely mostly on what I call the “authenticity objection”: the belief that there is something fundamentally despicable about theme park visits because they take place in an entirely “fake” environment. The artificial mountains and rivers, the rides that offer nothing more than a distraction, the people dressed as fictional characters, etc.
While some sometimes express this point of view in a joking tone, others believe that this artificial environment borders on cultural abomination. An American online forum explicitly cites the artificiality of Disney parks as a reason not to go, emphasizing that “the smiling staff, the ambient music, the perfect landscaping” can give an impression “disturbing and excessively controlled”.
American journalist EJ Dickson, herself a Disney fan, admits that visitors to Disney parks “gladly spend thousands of dollars (or euros, in Paris, editor’s note) for an authentic emotional experience that they know, at least on some level, is not authentic at all”. And a review representative of this critical trend on Trip Advisor describes the Walt Disney World Resort park (located in Orlando) as“false, commercial and stifling experience”. If you’re a fan of degrowth and don’t like the heat, this criticism of the park is completely justified: yes, Disney is clearly out to make money and it’s hot in Florida.
But as a philosopher who recently published a book, The Magic Kingdom and the Meaning of Life: A Philosopher Visits Disney World (“The Magic Kingdom and the Meaning of Life: A Philosopher Visits Disney World,” September 2025, not translated into French), I find it a little more difficult to understand the reviews calling the theme parks fake.
Disney is not ashamed of what it is
Marketing professors George Newman and Rosanna Smith point out that philosophers have typically approached the question of authenticity by asking whether “things are what they say they are”. Let’s apply this test to Disney parks: do they present themselves as anything other than Disney-themed amusement parks?
There are legitimate reasons to complain about the authenticity of certain experiences. If you buy a ticket to an exhibition dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh, you might legitimately complain if you discover that only reproductions are on display. The fact that you couldn’t tell the difference when looking at the paintings wouldn’t matter: you wouldn’t have had the authentic experience of seeing Van Gogh’s original works. On the other hand, Disney attractions do not pretend to be anything other than what they are.
While the initial form of the authenticity objection is easy to deconstruct, another concern lurks in this criticism: the idea that Disney fans are themselves fake, due to their taste for this artificial world.
When guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios board the “Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway” attraction, they know they’re not actually on a runaway train driven incompetently by a talking dog named Goofy. If Disney had marketed the attraction as something else—say, a high-speed train ride for kids—there might be reason to complain about its fictitiousness.
This is clearly not what those waiting in line for this experience are expecting. Riding the “Runaway Railway” may not be your favorite way to pass the time, but there’s nothing fake about what the attraction claims to be.
Who are you to judge?
While the initial form of the authenticity objection is relatively easy to deconstruct, another concern lurks within this criticism: the idea that Disney fans are somehow fake themselves, due to their taste for this artificial world.
The precise nature of this criticism is a little difficult to characterize. But it involves the belief that people who spend a lot of time in artificial environments tend to delude themselves in a way that prevents them from understanding and getting in touch with their true selves. Terms like “existential authenticity” or “authentic self” seem to capture what is at stake.
Media specialist Idil Galip highlighted the fact that parks are “designed and tested with target groups; there is a lot of work to sell this kind of experience”. It is about causing “a break with ordinary society or real life”. This supposed connection between the fake world of Disney and the corruption of one’s authentic self is clearly evidenced in the descriptions of so-called “Disney adults.”
EJ Dickson details this point of view in an article published in June 2022 in Rolling Stone magazine: “To be a Disney fan as an adult is to declare yourself nothing less than an uncritical idiot, comfortably nestled in your privilege, frozen in a state of permanent adolescence, refusing to acknowledge the sad reality: dreams don’t really come true.”
“People were saying Disney fans are a plague upon society — that they will be the end of Western civilization.” https://t.co/iiLe2oRv9w
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) June 21, 2022
But I take issue with the idea that a love of Disney World makes people fake or inauthentic. As journalist and blogger AJ Wolfe states in her book Disney Adultspublished in August 2025, even the most fervent Disney fans escape any simplistic categorization. None of them, she explains, seem to be running away from their true selves or even trying in the slightest to live in a fantasy world.
For example, AJ Wolfe profiles Lady Chappelle, a British tattoo artist who settled in San Diego (California), where she exclusively creates Disney-themed tattoos. There’s also Brandon, a Hollywood drag queen who designed his “Carousel of Progress”-themed kitchen, in honor of the attraction now at Disney’s Magic Kingdom in Orlando, Florida.
These people are representative of almost all “Disney adults”: they are passionate about Disney, but they are also passionate about tattooing, drag, and a myriad of other activities. For “Disney adults,” writes AJ Wolfe, affection for Disney especially adds “a touch of color and vibrancy – perhaps meaning, motivation or inspiration if you’re lucky – to the complex and ever-evolving masterpiece that is (their) life”.
And if this complexity applies to the most ardent Disney fans, it is even more problematic to present casual visitors in such a negative light.
The virtues of the “Enchanted Kingdom”
If theme parks aren’t your cup of tea, that’s okay. You can live a wonderful life without ever setting foot in Epcot or Animal Kingdom. But as I point out in the book The Enchanted Kingdom and the meaning of lifeDisney World has a number of qualities that its detractors often tend to overlook.
I think it’s as good a place as any for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to come together and create treasured memories. When I ride the “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure” ride with my wife and our intellectually disabled daughter, there’s something for everyone: just the right amount of thrills and history for adults, without it being too intense for my daughter. This is a combination that is difficult to find elsewhere.
Additionally, as we are transported away from our daily routine, parks can also provide surprising opportunities for reflection. For example, I thought a lot about cultural expectations related to happiness during my time at Disney. Should I try to maximize my enjoyment during this short stay? Or just take each day as it comes? I have learned to take the latter approach.
I also learned to appreciate the value of anticipatory pleasure, that positive feeling you get from looking forward to something before it happens. This came to me while thinking about all the time people spend waiting in lines at amusement parks.
Yes, there are many people who simply want to use the Disney world – theme parks, films or others – to escape the daily grind. But does the search for such escape pose a greater threat to authenticity than escapism by playing video games, watching sports, reading erotic novels, or using drugs and alcohol?
Is it possible to get lost in fantasy? Of course, just as it is possible to get lost in your career, your relationships or your hobbies. But in an age of carefully orchestrated social media accounts, influencer marketing, and political doublespeak, Disney’s artificial worlds might just offer more authenticity than we think.
