5 Reasons Why Disneyland is for Adults Too!

One might ask, is Disneyland for adults? Yes, it is! Who said kids get all the fun at Disneyland? After spending a full day at Disney’s California Adventure Park (DCAP) and Disneyland, we can attest that the best age for Disneyland is ANY age!

Disneyland is perfect for a bachelorette party, a corporate event, a date, a weekend getaway from Los Angeles—you name it! There are so many fun things to do at Disneyland for adults that by the end of this post, you will be ready to book your next trip to the Happiest Place on Earth.

Going to Disneyland is easily one of the best things to do in California. Moreover, adults can have a magical time at Disneyland and California Adventure Park because the food is delicious, the rides are fun, you can order alcohol, and you can dress up. More importantly, you feel young again!

Feeling Young Again at Disneyland

There is something special about being an adult at Disneyland and feeling like you are young again. All your worries in the world just go away when you are at the Happiest Place on Earth. When you see characters you grew up watching like Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto come to life there is a little part of you inside screaming for joy (or if you are like me, maybe actually screaming out loud).

Moreover, if you have been a Star Wars fan since day one and see Storm Troopers walking by, you will probably geek out. You completely lose yourself in all of your childhood surroundings.

Furthermore, as adults in Disneyland, you can appreciate every small detail that truly makes your childhood memories and dreams come to life.

For us, the place inside Disneyland that made us feel young again was in Mickey’s Toontown. We were literally ten years old in our adult bodies.

Mickey’s Toontown is the coolest place in all of Disneyland. You not only feel young, but you also feel like you are an animated character from Walt Disney’s storybooks living in his world of toons.

This town truly comes to life by its whimsical architectural design and fun interactive attractions like the Dog Pound where you can pretend you are bending the rails to get out of jail. Just don’t try to open the Toontown Power Company door with a sign, unless you really feel like it (please open it!).

Toontown also has the main Disney character’s homes where you can sometimes find them or explore on your own.

Drinking at Disneyland for Adults

Alcohol at disneyland? Yes please! This is definetely one reason why Disneyland is for adults—you can drink alcoholic beverages, you just can’t walk around the park with your alcoholic drink.

Walt Disney explicitly expressed how he never wanted alcohol in his parks because he thought it would draw a rowdy element to the Happiest Place on Earth. However, Disneyland began serving alcohol in 2019 and with much success, alcohol is served in several restaurants. Remember to drink responsibly and respectfully.

You can grab signature cocktails at Carnation Café, River Belle Terrace, Café Orleans, Blue Bayou, and Oga’s Cantina.

At Disney’s California Adventure Park, you can find alcoholic beverages almost anywhere! A few Instagram-worthy Disney cocktails are at Carthay Circle Lounge, Lamplight Lounge, Alfresco Tasting Terrace, Karl Strauss Biergarten, and Bayside Brews. You can even find beer floats at Clarabelle’s located on Beuna Vista Street.

Eating at Disneyland for Adults

Another reason why Disneyland is for adults is because of their food. Since we found more culinary options for adults than we did kids meals, Disneyland truly caters to adults. Of course, you have Mickey and Minnie ears on everything to delight the children, but honestly, they delight adults too.

One entree you cannot miss in Disneyland is the bread bowl. The bread bowls can be found at Royal Street Veranda or Pacific Wharf’s Cafe in California Adventure Park. Options of soup inside your sourdough bowl are almost endless at both locations, but a few favorites include clam chowder, steak gumbo and a secret menu item, mac n cheese!

The bread bowl is baked fresh from Boudin Bakery’s famous Sourdough Bread located at The Bakery Tour in DCAP. You can even tour the bakery to watch the process of making the famous sourdough bread bowl.

Of course, we have to mention all of “Our Sweet Adventures” we tasted throughout Disneyland and California Adventure Park. As a former pastry chef, I was highly impressed with Disney’s culinary creations. Everything we tasted was absolutely delicious—even a simple ice cream bar was better than I ever expected.

There are so many delicious desserts in Disneyland. A few favorites were the classic Dole Whip at Tiki Juice Bar, Raspberry Rose Mickey Macaron at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe, Apple Pie Caramel Apple at Candy Palace or Trolley Treats (DCAP), and Hand-Dipped Ice Cream Bars at Clarabelle’s (DCAP).

Best Disneyland Rides for Adults

Yes, a lot of rides at Disneyland are very family-friendly, but there are also some epic rides at Disneyland for adults too! As a Star Wars fan, I always wanted to know what it felt like to go into hyperspace and now I do! Even though it was a 3D simulation ride, we had a blast (no pun intended) at Disneyland’s Space Tours.

My favorite Disneyland ride for adults is Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT! at DCAP. This ride combines the series’ characters with fun music and turns it into an epic dark-drop tower. A great part of this ride is that it will never get old because it has six different scenarios, each with its own song.

Another amazing Disneyland ride for adults is the Incredicoaster, also at DCAP. It is a classic steel rollercoaster with thrilling turns and laserbeams chasing the worlds favorite Incredible super-baby, Jack Jack.

Of course, we cannot leave out the most classic Disneyland ride for adults of all time, Space Mountain. Here are a few more of the best Disneyland rides for adults, including ones at Californian Adventure Park: Indiana Jones Adventure, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Haunted Mansion, Radiator Springs Racers (DCAP) and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Since these rides are also popular, we recommend gauging the wait times using the mobile app and grabbing FastPass – two of the best Disney hacks to utilize your time wisely.  

Lastly, you CANNOT MISS the World of Color at California Adventure Park. We have seen the famous Bellagio water fountain show and the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc in Barcelona, but nothing has impressed us more than Disney’s World of Color.

Disney turns a water show into a cinematic masterpiece. They combine water with color, music, and theatre. So do yourself a favour, when you first walk into DCAP, get your FastPass for World of Color for some of the best seats in the park. The show starts at 8:15 pm after the park closes.

Adults Dressing Up at Disneyland

Adults love to dress up in Disney cosplay just as much as children. However, Disney theme parks have a very clear rule: adults are not allowed to dress up in full costumes or masks to represent Disney characters.

This rule is primarily for safety reasons so children do not mistake a Disney employee dressed in character for someone else. So how do adults dress up in Disneyland? By Disneybounding.

Disneybounding means adults dress up in everyday outfits with a stylish and creative touch to represent a particular character. It is the most ingenious idea to engage adults. Hence why Disneyland is for adults more and more every day.

Adult Disney fans are going crazy for Disneybounding because of the endless creative ideas in which to dress up. Let’s use my favorite Disney character Goofy for example. To dress up as Goofy one could wear blue jeans, an orange v-neck with a black vest and a green baseball hat.

So as you can see, it is easy to be inspired by your favorite Disney character and still dress up. I have heard that adults will visit Disneyland just to dress up as their latest Disneybound creation. Moreover, you can also count Halloween at Disneyland to be one of the best times for adults to dress up and enjoy!

Check out two of my fabulous childhood friends participating in Disneybouding. Can you guess which characters they are dressed up as?

Have I convinced you that Disneyland is for adults too? I hope so because it is truly the Happiest Place on Earth!