I Visited Disneyland for the First Time as an Adult and It Showed Me That Wonder Has No Age Limit

If you had the opportunity to visit Disneyland as a child, I’m willing to bet you have vivid memories of the day you found out you were going. After all, it’s every kid’s dream vacation! Believe it or not, I never went to Disney when I was younger. I’m not trying to make my parents look bad — we just weren’t much of a traveling family (and my relatively sheltered upbringing ignited a wanderlust that’s taken me to some amazing places, so it all worked out in the end) — but I always did sort of have a thorn in my side about it.

A few years ago, my sister and I decided to vindicate our childhood and take a trip to The Happiest Place on Earth, just the two of us. I felt a bit silly about visiting Disneyland as an adult at first, but any fears of being judged evaporated as soon as we walked through the gates. 

It was a Wednesday morning in July, (we did extensive research on tips for visiting Disneyland in the summer because it's the busiest season, and going on a weekday was recommended across the board) and we were the very first people to arrive at the park. I can’t imagine what the workers in the ticket booth were thinking at the sight of two adult women, no children in sight, practically bubbling over with excitement at six in the morning. We had the biggest grins on our faces and truly felt like we had stepped out of our bodies and turned the clock back 20 years. 

As soon as the gates opened, we sprinted inside (that isn’t an exaggeration) and made a beeline for our first ride of the day: The Matterhorn. Choosing which ride to start with was no easy feat, but our dad, who grew up in LA, told us The Matterhorn was always his favorite. To be honest, we were a bit underwhelmed (although the Abominable Snowman was pretty cool), but maybe that’s because our expectations were set so high. Nevertheless, we didn’t let that ruin our fun, and onward we went. 

All day we raced around the park, probably looking like a couple of goofballs with how wide our grins were. Proudly donning Micky Mouse hats and pins that read “Honorary Citizen of Disneyland,” we managed to get on every single ride in the park that day (clearly our research paid off!).

Space Mountain was by far our favorite — evidenced by the fact that we rode it three times — with Haunted Mansion being a very close second. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was also unbelievably cool, and It’s a Small World was as eerie as it’s made out to be (but we’re still glad we rode it, only if for obligatory purposes). And, of course, the teacups had us laughing like little kids without any cares in the world. We didn’t get to try much of the food because we were vegan at the time, but I still think about the Dole Whip on a regular basis.

Beyond the rides themselves, the park as a whole is just as magical as everyone says. All of the different themed areas are designed so immaculately that it feels like you’re in the most perfect utopia to ever exist. If you ask me the best time of year to visit Disneyland, I'm going to say summer. We went the week of July 4th, and the special fireworks show was amazing! Plus, the weather was perfect, the crowds were minimal since it was a weekday, and we got to hit up some of SoCal's iconic beaches.

I really think my sister and I had more fun than a lot of the kids there — maybe because we’d been waiting decades to go, or perhaps because daring to do something we were “too old” for made it all the more exciting. There is no "best age" to visit Disneyland, and that's something I can now say with absolute certainty. I highly recommend making your unrealized childhood dreams come true no matter how old you are now. In my opinion, life is too short for the “could’ve, would’ve, should’ve” mindset. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to look back on my time on this planet with regret over all the things I missed out on, whether for fear of judgment or some other reason. 

Did you go to Disneyland (or Disneyworld) as a kid? What do you think about visiting Disneyland as an adult? Is there anything you’ve checked off your bucket list in adulthood despite feeling like you were “too old” for it? I’d love to hear from you. 

If you do have little ones in tow, check out our previous article for tips on traveling with kids. And if you have any road trips planned, our road trip packing list is your ultimate guide for a stress-free getaway.