Who even goes to Disneyland? Like, seriously?

I consider myself a fledgling Disney Adult. I grew up watching almost every Disney movie and frequently frolicking around Disneyland and California Adventure parks in my home state. Throughout my years of journeying the parks, I noticed a trend among visitors. Most people fall into three categories or profiles: the enthusiastic planner, the park princess, or the unwilling tagalong. My expertise on this topic comes from adhering to one of these categories or traveling with someone who does.

The enthusiastic planner, my kin, knows the park like the back of their hand. They create lists of the rides they deem worthy, map out the best places and times to eat, and skillfully navigate the Disneyland app to find rides with the best wait times. If they exclaim, “We need to go to Rise of the Resistance! It’s only an hour wait,” you should follow their advice because it averages around 1.5 to 2 hours. They understand which wait times exceed reason, what a 13-minute line means for The Haunted Mansion, and where to view the fireworks without suffering in sweltering heat for hours to claim a spot.

The park princess tends to come as a package deal with the enthusiastic planner. They often have less park experience or inherited a go-with-the-flow tendency that the enthusiastic planners covet. Park princesses allow the planner to coordinate and control the trip while they delight in people-watching, character-spotting, and the occasional Dole Whip. Park princesses remind the planners to take a deep breath and smell the churros occasionally since experiencing the magic of the Happiest Place on Earth presides over any other task on the trip. I adore the park princesses, as every friend I have ever taken to the parks fits this persona.

The unwilling tagalong walks through the parks as an enigma. They often wear shirts with bold text stating, “Most Expensive Day Ever!” or another amusing yet bitter phrase that weaves its way into their speech pattern throughout the vacation. In my family, my dad played the role of the unwilling tagalong. He primarily came with the rest of our family to carry a backpack and take pictures of my sister, mother, and me. The unwilling tagalong tends to grumble about long wait times and absurd prices but secretly enjoys watching the rest of their party reliving their childhood. They take care of the planner by reminding them of how low the stakes are for the trip while ensuring that the park princess remembers to take advantage of the expensive experience. Unwilling tagalongs may be seen as the wicked stepsisters of a Disney travel group, but they have a heart of gold.

Have you ever been to a Disney Park? If you have, do you fall into one or more of these categories? I am intrigued to hear your Disney travel stories.

(EDIT: I added a picture and the bolded genre type late. I just wanted to make sure it made it into the post at some point so I can remember to keep it consistent moving forward.)