The other day, while I was on a Christmas trip with a girl I’m seeing, she said, “Let’s go to Disney sometime.” I wasn’t particularly interested, so I said, “Isn’t Disneyland somewhere you go with friends or something?” She replied, “I want to go with you,” and I didn’t feel bad about that, so I promised we would go once things settled down.
Still, I can’t help wondering whether she would really enjoy going to Disneyland with a guy nearly 30 years older than her. She had previously said, “Why do middle-aged men always invite girls to Disneyland? Most young women like Disney, but it’s somewhere you go with your boyfriend or friends—not with a much older man, right?” I also feel that papa-katsu is supposed to be about enjoying dates and experiences that you can’t have with friends because of the difference in status, so her invitation has left me wondering what her intentions are.
I assume it’s because she can receive an allowance and do something she enjoys, but I’m just an ordinary office worker—not a business owner like some of the respondents here. My allowance isn’t particularly large, and it doesn’t increase even when we travel or stay overnight, so there shouldn’t be much benefit for her in taking a Disney trip with me.
For those of you who have wanted to go to Disneyland with a man nearly 30 years older, or have actually gone and taken someone there, how did you feel about it? What was your experience like?
(Personally, once things settle down, I’m planning to take her to Disney World in Florida instead, though（笑）)
I’m Fullerene, a male member!
I think you should go for it!
> “It’s not really somewhere you go with an older guy, is it?”
That was probably just something she said at the beginning, wasn’t it?
If she hadn’t said that, it would’ve been harder for her to bring up her love of Disney.
By laying down that kind of boundary in advance, she can reduce the risk of being invited by someone she isn’t interested in.
I actually went to the one in Florida years ago, and I remember feeling a little underwhelmed, thinking, “It’s not that different from Tokyo…”
I should’ve gone to Epcot instead.
It may not be relevant to her, but I hope you enjoy Florida too!
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It’s Seattle.
Book early and try to secure the MiraCosta or the nicest hotel you can.
I went to MiraCosta with someone 17 years older than me, and we had a really good time. Even with a 30-year age gap, you’ll make a better impression if you don’t act all aloof and just enjoy yourselves. Put in the effort to do plenty of research beforehand, and since you have the chance, make an effort to have fun.
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I’m Marika.
Maybe she was already a Disney fan to begin with. Once you factor in souvenirs and everything else, it can get pretty expensive, so if you want a more luxurious Tokyo Disney Resort experience, going with a papa might be one option.
Disney really brings out someone’s true personality, so there are all kinds of potential deal-breakers: people who get irritated waiting in line, complain about having to queue even for food, or look visibly unhappy about being taken all over the place.
If you don’t think you could spend one or two days there laughing and having fun together, it might be less risky to simply give her the money to go with a friend and not go yourself.
As you may have guessed from the wording, I’m not really a Disney fan, so sorry for the negative take.
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I’m Maezawa from the CEO’s Office, and I’ll answer this one too.
Thanks for your question.
After the trip, I think she realized that you’re a nice person and that she had a great time with you, so she probably thought, “Disney would be fun too.”
I think you’d have a great time at Disney, so you should definitely go.
The question is, which park should you visit?
DisneySea is advertised as being for adults, but I think it’s better to visit Disneyland rather than DisneySea for your first time. However, since Soaring: Fantastic Flight was added to DisneySea, more people may want to go there now.
My impression is that anyone can enjoy Disneyland, while DisneySea takes a little more know-how. In the end, I suppose it will come down to which one your companion wants to visit.
If you go to Disneyland, you’ll probably want to make a reservation in advance at Blue Bayou Restaurant, where you can watch the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction.
And of course, you’ll probably need a hotel too.
If you go to DisneySea, I think it would be nice to stay at Hotel MiraCosta.
Maybe visit Disneyland on the first day, stay at MiraCosta, and then go to DisneySea the next day?
> If you have nerves of steel and don’t care if people laugh hysterically and say, “What’s that? Is this papa-katsu (compensated dating in Japan)? Gross!”
That might happen in an ordinary place, but Disney is a world of its own, so it won’t happen there. (Laughs)
That said, you’ll need nerves of steel for something else: putting on Mickey ears together with your girlfriend. You know, the whole “Are we really wearing these at our age?” kind of thing.
You’ll need nerves of steel for that sort of situation.
Though I don’t think she’ll demand that much of you.
You’re right—the standards for making the decision were different.
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I’m Kazu, a male member.
If she says she wants to go, she probably genuinely wants to go to Disneyland with you. Why not stay at the MiraCosta while you’re there?
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I’m Paper Airplane, a male member whose honeymoon was at Walt Disney World.
Don’t overthink it—just go and have fun.
Girls can have fun no matter who they go with. Guys should go with someone they enjoy being around. Some girls would be happy to go to Disney or USJ even without an allowance.
P.S. If you get an annual pass on the day you go, she’ll be happy too. At USJ, as long as she has her ID, you can get facial-recognition passes under the same last name and registered to the same address. It feels a little nice, like you’re a married couple or family—even if it’s just pretend.
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