I love my roommate. She’s great, we get along really well, and outside of being roommates, we’ve also become good friends. However, there is one quirk of hers that has slowly been driving me insane. The Disney vlogs.
My roommate is a Disney adult. Like, hardcore. She has a wall of Mickey ears in her childhood bedroom and owns an alarming number of Disney-themed accessories. She’s the type of person who can casually name drop the best snack carts in each park, and has single handedly helped plan our mutual friend’s future trip to Disney World. Honestly, I’ve never understood the hype. That is, until the Disney vlogs started.
No malice to anyone who watches Disney vlogs, but oh my god. They are wild. I had no idea there was a whole genre of youtube videos dedicated to grown adults documenting there trips to Disney and that there were a whole series of them and it’s not just “Here’s a montage of my vacation,” these are full-on productions. Recently, my roommate has been on a kick watching a particular sub-genre of these vlogs which are Disney Park hide-and-seek games.
I had no intention of falling victim to watching these Disney vlogs, but when you’re sitting in the same room as someone who watches them every night, it’s hard not to get sucked in. One minute, I was studying and the next, I was invested in whether some vlogger named Katie could find her partner before time ran out.
These videos are a weird mix of scavenger hunt, childhood nostalgia, and straight-up absurdity. There is a specific series titled “Hide and Seek at Disney,” created by a channel called “All Ears,” she’s been keeping up with. I’ve been occasionally watching along with her and OMG are these people hard core. They dive into gift shops, crouch behind shrubbery, and even enlist cast members to throw their pursuers off the trail. At some point, you stop wondering why grown adults are playing hide and seek and start wondering how they’re so good at it.
I’ve realized that Disney vlogs are basically a love letter to escapism. The parks embody childhood magic, offering a sense of nostalgia and wonder that’s hard to resist. Watching these videos with my roommate has helped me understand why so many people are drawn to them. In the chaos of college life, where deadlines loom and responsibilities pile up, they’re a reminder of the comfort and joy of simpler times. Sometimes, it’s nice to escape to a world where the biggest worry is whether you’ll be found hiding behind a churro cart.
Am I a Disney adult now? Absolutely not. But do I understand the appeal a little more? Maybe. And if you catch me one day crouched behind a Dole Whip stand trying not to get tagged, mind your business. I blame my roommate.
featured image taken by my roommate
