‘It’s like a religion’: Viral video of sobbing woman reignites debate over ‘Disney adults’

A viral TikTok video of a crying woman has once again sparked the debate over the phenomenon of “Disney adults”.

@Jordan.Jacee’s video shows the moment she walks into the Disneyworld theme park in Orlando, Florida, and breaks down “ugly crying” at the very sight of Cinderella’s Castle in the distance.

The video was posted in November, but was picked up by a social account this week, leading to 3.4 million views and nearly 17,000 comments – many of them scathing about so-called “Disney adults”.

In the clip, Jordan wears Mickey Mouse ears and cries as a song called ‘What Dreams are Made Of’ plays. She appears to be in her twenties.

“[Cue] the ugly crying. First time seeing Cinderella’s Castle in Magic Kindgdom,” she wrote in the caption.

“A wild Disney adult,” commented a user named Cole, tagging a friend. “I thought this was a video of a wife seeing their military spouse for the first time in a year,” joked another user.

“Someone stop the Disney adults,” commented a user named Di; while another was shocked by the reaction “at her grown age...”.

“This is literally the definition of a Disney adult,” wrote another.

A recent Rolling Stone article referred to Disney adults as “the most hated people on the internet”.

Meanwhile in June 2022, a bride attracted astonished comments after revealing on Reddit that she and her husband paid for appearances by Mickey and Minnie Mouse at their wedding, instead of food for their guests.

“Disney adults need to be stopped,” wrote one Twitter user sharing the story.

Meanwhile, last year radio station NPR proclaimed that “for some adults who love Disney, it’s like a religion.”

“There’s adults who watch Disney and then there’s Disney Adults,” tweeted journalist Oliver Jia this week.

“Is there any academic scholarship about the phenomenon of Disney Adults? Please tell me some sociologist out there is getting tenure for their work on this,” wrote journalist Helen Rosner, amid the furore.

“I feel like it’s pretty straightforwardly a We All Have In Our Hearts A Void Filled By Religion thing but maybe it’s more complex than that.”

However, some commenters jumped to the Disneyworld fan’s defence.

“You’re forgetting not everyone was lucky and privileged to go to Disneyland frequently as a kid. let’s let people live their dream no matter the age,” wrote Damian Fuiava.

“Disney adults scare me. Oh wait, no they don’t because they literally don’t harm anybody just like this pleasant woman,” wrote another user.

“Some of you all have so little joy in your life and it shows,” wrote a third.