5 Tough Things about being an Introvert in the Disney Fan Community

Disney is in my blood.  While studying abroad in London, I was feeling homesick for my park, so my friends and I decided to hop on a train and a few buses to get to Nottingham to check out the inspiration for one of our favorite movies, Robin Hood. I think it’s safe to say that my love of Disney crosses all borders.

*I got to learn a bit about archery in Nottingham!*

Even though I am so connected to Disneyland, I have had some struggles of being a Disney fan, particularly because I am an extreme introvert.  Below I have included 5 feelings I have had as a fan that have been hard for me, and the purpose of writing about these difficulties I’ve experienced is to encourage any fellow introverts to know that they are not alone in feeling these things and these feelings don’t make me or any other introverts any less of a Disney fan than anyone else (Don’t worry, the next blog post will be all about the things I love about being an introverted Disney fan).

1. Feeling overwhelmed

Disneyland and Disney World are filled with wonderful experiences that will bring memories to last a lifetime, but those experiences are sought after by a LOT of people.  And, those people can be noisy. Noise is a big trigger for me. If I am overly tired or overly-stimulated, the general ambient noise of people grows and grows until it feels like my entire brain is taken over by sound.  It can almost be painful. The few times that has happened, I have LOST IT. If I could have thrown myself on the ground and cry like a 2 year old, I would have because the sensation can be so overwhelming.

As an introvert, being around people seems to suck the life out of me.  Because of the crowds, a Disney trip will be exhausting for me. Over the years, I have learned that it is important to listen to my body and not push myself further than I can go, even if that means cutting my Disney day short.  That way, I can ensure that every Disney day will be magical.

2. Feeling like I don’t belong -

When I scroll through Instagram profiles of Disney fans, it seems like everyone has a Disney girl squad - a group of friends that will dress up with them and have a blast in the park eating snacks and taking the cutest pictures of each other.  

Thankfully, I have Erik, who also loves Disney and will occasionally wear coordinating outfits with me.  And, I have out of state family that loves to hang out at Disneyland with us when they can, but I still feel a bit left out that I don’t have a group of friends that I can have a girls day at Disneyland with.  

This problem is of my own making.  I am so out of practice of making friends, and the times that I have met up with people from the Disney community, I can’t sleep the night before and am frequently nauseous until it’s over because I’m so nervous!  Plus, I can never be myself in those situations!

This is one of the many reasons why I am starting this blog.  I want to make real Disney friends, and I hope by opening up on this platform will give me the courage to do so in real life.

*Once I made Erik, my parents, and me all match.  My family is my squad, and I adore them.*

3. Feeling afraid to contribute

I adore consuming all different kinds of content that Disney inspires, specifically fan-made content.  As a Disneyland local, I feel like I have a special opportunity to enjoy so many aspects of Disneyland, and I want to share it.  I have started multiple blogs, plotted out a Youtube channel, and even recorded a few episodes of a podcast, but those have all stayed to myself because I was afraid to contribute.  I was afraid that people wouldn’t care, wouldn’t understand, or wouldn’t be kind. I let the fear of people stop me from contributing but not anymore! I am doing it in my own way even if no one cares because I want to try to give back.

4. Feeling awkward around characters

I don’t have many details to share other than I feel incredibly uncomfortable around new people, so times that feeling by 10 and that’s how I feel about interacting with characters.

*I had a friend who convinced me it would be less awkward to ask characters for a fist bump to give me something to talk to them about.  I will let you be the judge about the level of awkwardness this led to.*

5. Feeling misunderstood

Have you ever been treated like a Disney idiot?  Like you don’t know that the minions aren’t at Disneyland?  Sometimes, I feel like people don’t quite understand how deep my love of Disney goes just because I don’t constantly talk about it, and when Disney things come up.  That’s ok with me though because I don’t need to prove to the world how big of a Disney fan I am.

This is just my experience as an introvert and a Disney fan.  I’m not sure that all of these perfectly correlate, but be sure to be on the lookout for the positive version of this post coming on Wednesday!

Happy cruising readers,

Amy