Inside the cult of Disney and why Victoria needs a world of its own
They splash life savings on visits to Disneyland, throw Disney-themed weddings and even ask for ashes to be scattered in magical waters — welcome to the “soft cult” of Disney Adults.
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Spending life savings on repeated trips to Disneyland, filling homes with Disney memorabilia, dressing like Disney characters, Disney-themed parties, weddings and even asking for your ashes to be scattered in Disneyland’s magical waters — welcome to the “soft cult” of Disney Adults.
Described as grown-ups who are obsessed with all things Disney and spend huge amounts of money and time on Disney-related merchandise and experiences, Disney Adults are growing in number globally and a hugely lucrative sector of the market for the entertainment giant.
Disney Adults not only spend vast amounts of time watching Disney movies, are part of Disney social media and fan groups and save up to visit as many Disney parks as they can, as often as they can, there are reports of people scattering their departed, Disney-obsessed loved ones’ ashes in water at theme parks, in a bid to fulfil their dying wishes.
A Disney fans’ YouTube channel dedicated to revealing secret tips on what you can do at Disney parks — including everything from getting a haircut, to fishing, swimming with dolphins and dining at Cinderella’s Royal Table — has a massive 1.56M subscribers.
It also reveals ‘in show exits’ and animatronic fails — popular with hardcore fans.
Last year a story about a U.S. Disney-obsessed couple’s wedding went viral after they decided to forsake catering so they could instead pay for brief appearances from Mickey and Minnie Mouse at their reception.
After the wacky wedding decision was posted on Reddit and went viral on social media, experts weighed in to explain the love of Disney for some adults was akin to religion.
There are also millions of other people across the globe who love Disney and embrace its magical, fun spirit, without being obsessive super-fans or what would be classified as part of the “Disney Adults” cult: Think Disney-themed birthday parties and yep, even weddings.
In Melbourne last year, lovebirds Amanda D’Arienzo and Gordon Gerada wed with a ceremony and reception inspired by their love of all things Disney.
The couple married at Overnewton Castle in Keilor on March 19, 2022, with their reception at Wattle Park Chalet.
“The castle was perfect as it related so much to Disney and the reception was a rustic and magical location,” Amanda, who wore a grand princess ball gown and, later, heels that lit up, told the Herald Sun’s wedding reporter recently.
“Our wedding was performance based with our bridal party dancing down the aisle as they entered into our ceremony and our reception to a range of Disney music, as well as performing a choreographed bridal dance later in the evening,” Amanda said.
“We entered the reception on a magic carpet from Aladdin, which we made with several different bits and pieces from Bunnings – which meant lots of Bunnings sausages in the lead up to the wedding. Another unique part of our wedding was our incredible Disney-themed, light up castle cake created by Melbourne Cake Studio.”
The couple’s first dance was I See The Light from the film Tangled.
Gordon’s proposal in August 2020 was also Disney themed.
“It was a Disney themed proposal at home, with a mix of Disney songs being sung by Gordon with personalised lyrics. The remix ended with ‘A Whole New World’ from Aladdin which is when Gordon popped the question,” Amanda said.
“It only made sense to follow the Disney theme proposal by having a Disney themed wedding.”
Where Victoria could base a Disney park
Lord Mayor Sally Capp has added her voice to a push for a Melbourne Disney theme park, as the entertainment juggernaut continues to boom across the globe — attracting millions of visitors and tourism dollars — and its cult following grows.
“As Australia’s capital city of fun, of course we should have a Disney theme park in Melbourne. We’ve even got the perfect spot for it – Fishermans Bend,” Ms Capp said.
“We saw with the Firefly Zipline just how much Melburnians love a thrilling ride. At Fishermans Bend, exhilarating roller-coasters could soar over the Yarra as part of a Disneyland, Magic Kingdom or Animal Kingdom.
“Melbourne also offers visitors the best tourism experience available in Victoria, from world class hotels, unbeatable retail offerings and some of the best food and drink in Australia.
“I know a Disney theme park in our municipality would be a huge hit with residents — myself included — visitors, students and traders.”
There have been past attempts by Avalon Airport in Victoria, the Gold Coast in Queensland, Sydney in New South Wales and, most recently, Adelaide in South Australia, to lure Disney to Australian shores.
David Fox, the man behind Avalon Airport’s business opportunities and son of trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, has revealed an entertainment precinct has been earmarked for the airport’s vast tract of land, near Geelong, and says a future Disney park had not been ruled out.
“There’s an entertainment precinct that we’ve defined. I wouldn’t say (for a) Disneyland at this moment in time, but anything is possible,” Mr Fox has previously said.
Billionaire Lindsay Fox reportedly held meetings with Disney some years ago.
Victorian Disney fans have long pushed for a Disney theme park in Australia.
A change.org petition for a Disney in Australia has been circulating since 2020, gaining thousands of signatures.
There has also been a separate petition to bring it to Melbourne, with the Victorian man who initiated it saying: “Why not Australia? Why not Melbourne? … Docklands would be the perfect spot to build a Disneyland. It is not far from the CBD, it’s right next to Marvel Stadium … building a Disneyland would not only bring something new to Docklands and Melbourne, it would make it exciting, a place to be and become a major tourist attraction. There is so much benefit from building a Disneyland in Melbourne. It would drive our economy up, would open up jobs and opportunities for bigger and better things, and it would make Melbourne great again. Australia needs a Disneyland and we need Melbourne to become the happiest place on earth.”
The Herald Sun reached out to the City of Melbourne to ask if it agreed, and received a quick and highly enthusiastic “of course!” from Lord Mayor Sally Capp, with the addition of the Fishermans Bend location.
Fishermans Bend consists of five precincts spread across two municipalities — the City of Melbourne and the City of Port Phillip.
And the Melbourne mayor’s Disney dream was not shared by City of Port Phillip councillor Marcus Pearl, who said while he was a strong advocate of “innovative ideas”, the City of Melbourne lacked real commitment to Fishermans Bend.
“Fishermans Bend is at a critical juncture where key issues of public transport, open space, housing and long-term planning require our undivided attention and focused effort. While a theme park idea might add limited entertainment value, it distracts us from our focus on the urgent and critical issues that are fundamental to a thriving, liveable Fishermans Bend precinct,” Cr Pearl said.
“I implore the City of Melbourne to turn its attention and resources to addressing the lack of action from the State Government on Fishermans Bend rather than thought bubble ideas.”
Disney itself has also been less than enthusiastic about coming to Australia, reportedly believing it is too isolated from the rest of the world and has too small a population to support a Disneyland or even smaller Disney theme park or resort.
Tourism experts also say the unpredictable and often cold and wet weather in Victoria would deter Disney from developing a theme park in the southern state.
But the cult that is Disney is alive and strong in Victoria, with fans insisting a themed park would thrive.
And given Victoria has a dearth of large, quality theme parks — while sunny Queensland already boasts many — and Victoria has a much bigger population than its northern neighbour, a Disneyland in Melbourne makes sense, they say.
Disney amusement and theme parks around the globe draw about 50,000 visitors per day, with the company Walt Disney founded in 1923 now employing about 223,000 people.
According to Disney’s earnings report for the first quarter of 2023, total revenues exceeded $23.51 billion, an eight per cent increase on last year, and net income was $1.28 billion, up from $1.15 billion in 2022.
Disney currently has 12 theme parks located on six resort “campuses”, across four countries.
Six are Disneyland-style “castle parks,” while the others are parks with different themes.
It also runs a themed cruise line.
It also runs a themed cruise line.
The most visited Disney theme park globally in 2022 was Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, with about 17.13 million guests visiting the park last year.
Second most visited was Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California, with about 16.81m visitors last year.
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