The attractions industry and its fans are growing up, but the old “kid at heart” adage is creating tourism business opportunities seeped with nostalgia.
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Grown-ups are embracing events once geared toward younger audiences. Central Florida attractions are playing host to adults-only coloring sessions, 21-and-up poolside foam parties, after-bedtime theme park outings and more.
Psychological and financial factors are propping up the trend, experts say.
“Adults are suddenly allowed to indulge in things that we maybe have been stigmatized as being immature,” said AJ Wolfe, author of the 2025 book “Disney Adults” and owner of Cambrick Yard Media, which operates fan sites including Disney Food Blog and AllEars.
“People are now allowed to collect dolls and play with Legos and go to Disney World in ways that they haven’t been able to before,” Wolfe said. “You’ve got the rise of the ‘kidult.’”
The trend plays into the maturing of the attractions industry, said Dennis Speigel, CEO of International Theme Park Services.
“Overall, the attractions industry is looking for ways to maximize their assets through additional spending and entertainment to cover the broad demographics from children all the way through the baby boomers,” he said.
“There’s a big industry shift towards the adult demographic. And how do you extract money out of the adult demographic? It’s not by selling them cotton candy. It’s alcohol and social and food, that type of stuff,” Speigel said.
This summer, Island H2O Water Park in Kissimmee created adults-only poolside parties that doubled as a concert experience. The July evening will feature rapper French Montana, and then August will have an appearance by rapper Fat Joe plus a foam party.
Crayola Experience, a crayon-themed attraction inside Orlando’s Florida Mall, added adults-only programming this year. Crayola After Dark evenings include a crafting experience, 20 hands-on attractions, character meet-and-greets, a DJ and themes such as ‘80s and ‘90s in a kids-free environment. Food and alcohol are available for purchase.
“We are seeing kind of a broad audience come through, from date night to mom’s night out,” said Jaclyn Vasquez, national marketing and sales manager. “We’re seeing solo guests come through. It’s not intimidating, that super-welcoming environment.”
The events, available to ages 18 and older, help people connect, she said.
“Get creative, get crafty and let your imagination go,” Vasquez said.
Night and day
After-hours special events can be creative money-makers, said Jakob Wahl, CEO of Orlando-based International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
“You have a different experience where it’s at night … You work with fire, you work with lights,” Wahl said.
“It is interesting for an operator because the guest has a totally different experience,” he said. “But you also can charge, you know, two different entrances on one day.”
Night experiences can be wildly different from daytime experiences, Wahl said.
“There’s a park in Japan that is a Hello Kitty theme park, and in the evening, it becomes a zombie apocalypse land,” he said.
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Orlando Science Center led this adulting trend with an event called Cocktails and Cosmos more than 20 years ago. It morphed into an event named Science Night Live for ages 18 and older.
Although there is special programming for SNL, including guest speakers and live shows, the main attraction is the everyday exhibit floor of the Loch Haven Park museum, said JoAnn Newman, president and CEO of the science center.
“We want you to have the opportunity to play and to interact and to find the joy in that,” she said. “One thing we’re trying to do is give adults the permission to play.”
The science center recently lowered the event’s minimum age from 21 to 18, and attendance went up by about 200 people, Newman said. That demographic may have been inspired by childhood memories of the museum, a staple for Central Florida kids who experienced the KidsTown orange grove and Stan the T. rex in DinoDigs back in the day.
“There is a lot of nostalgia, and they’re young enough that it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, I remember that,’” Newman said.
Changing atmosphere
Economic and demographic shifts are affecting theme-park offerings, Wolfe said.
“Lots of people are coming to Disney World, experiencing Disney World without children, more so than ever before,” she said. “So, that’s something that they are 1,000% playing into.”
Last year, GEO 82, an adults-only lounge. opened inside Spaceship Earth, the iconic attraction at Epcot. Among its options are fireworks viewing sessions in air-conditioned comfort. Disney also added a lobby bar inside the Grand Floridian Resort and an all-ages, pirate-themed tavern called The Beak and Barrel inside Magic Kingdom theme park.
“They’re building lounges instead of restaurants, and we’re seeing these adults-only lounges that have prime real estate in the middle of Epcot,” Wolfe said.
The company is also pushing after-hours theme park events that, while not listed as adults-only, run into the wee hours of the morning. Late-night options have been offered this year at Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Typhoon Lagoon water park.
“I think those events are, you know, de facto keeping out families whose kids can’t do the 1 a.m. sort of thing,” Wolfe said.
The trend had her remembering the ‘90s and the online discussions about whether Disney World would ever have a no-kids-allowed day.
“We used to dream about that, like, that would be so cool,” Wolfe said. “Now I feel like we’re closer than ever to something like that actually happening, because then we realize that they can make enough money for that.”
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