Meet Long Island's Disney superfans

To celebrate her November bat mitzvah, Madison Friedlander decided to forgo the traditional party. Instead, she and her family took a Disney vacation over the holidays — but not your traditional sojourn to Orlando.

They embarked on an Adventures by Disney land tour to Australia, kicking it off with a day at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and ending with stops at Disney parks in Hong Kong and Tokyo.

“We’re a big Disney family,” said her mom, Lauren Friedlander, 39.

Talk about understatement. The Old Bethpage family has been to Walt Disney World four times in the last 12 months, and Disneyland once. Friedlander and her husband visited the Orlando park at least 30 times before their two daughters came along. They’ve also been on several Disney cruises and to Disneyland Paris three times (once with the kids).

“It’s my happy place,” said Lauren Friedlander. “I feel like as soon as I walk through the gates, I can’t stop smiling.”

Friedlander is among Long Island’s Disney superfans, those who make the 1,200-mile trip to Disney World in Orlando or other Disney parks — sometimes just for a weekend, sometimes without the kids — several times a year. They spend thousands of dollars along the way and find it easy to fly from area airports to Orlando. They cite nostalgia, creating new family memories, being insulated from the troubles of the outside world and exceptional customer service for their repeated returns to what is affectionately referred to as the Disney bubble.

Friedlander’s sister-in-law Michelle Kafka, also of Old Bethpage, married into the Disney cult. “We’re both a little crazy,” said Kafka, 34. She and her husband and two daughters have been to Disney World three times this year, most recently to participate in the park’s Halloween extravaganza, Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

Counting on return visits, adult fans

Disney knows only too well the spending power of these frequent visitors. AJ Wolfe, creator of the popular Disney Food Blog (1.4 million followers on Instagram), explores all this in her new book, “Disney Adults: Exploring (And Falling In Love With) A Magical Subculture.” The attraction, said Wolfe, “is three-quarters nostalgia and one-quarter manipulation.” She said most people she talks to were exposed to Disney as children.

“But Disney is very good at grabbing people from a sensory perspective,” she said, so the company knows how to engage all of the senses — like using certain colors or pumping specific smells into certain areas of the park. Disney clearly recognizes the need to appeal to adults, said Wolfe, pointing out an interesting statistic: “There are more adults without children at Disney World than there are adults with children.” That explains high-end restaurants, after-hour activities and the recently opened adult-only lounge in Epcot, Geo-82. She quotes Walt Disney, who once said, “You’re dead if you only aim for kids.”

The bottom line is that “whatever else is going on in the world, Disney makes us feel good,” said Stephanie Shuster, CEO of WDW Magazine. Travelers who visit Disney properties regularly are looking back on their own memories and building new ones, she said. “Disney has been part of so many milestone moments,” she added.

A subculture online, in real life

There’s no shortage of online advice when it comes to Disney.

Tanay Howard, of Brooklyn, writes frequently about the theme parks on her website, Life with Tanay. Howard, 35, has written about ways to save money at the parks and the best Disney World hotels for large families. “Go slow and go with the flow,” she tells people, noting that it’s possible to get overwhelmed if you try to do too much. “Don’t try to do a thousand things,” she said, explaining that she and her family go at least once a year, sometimes more. And she doesn’t hesitate to go without her kids — she especially loves the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.

For Howard, Disney is all about community, something she has found as one of the administrators of Black Disney Moms, a private Facebook group that has grown to nearly 19,000 members who share their tips on everything from where to find the latest merchandise to the best shoes to wear. The group plans a meetup next year at Disneyland Paris. “It’s important for Black moms to feel that Disney is accessible,” she said, noting the group allows members “to see Disney from a different perspective . . . it’s important for these moms to see other Black families in the theme parks — that is really, really special.”

Savings in special passes

The economics of it all can be daunting, said Shuster, noting that the park raises prices yearly, most recently in October. In Orlando, the most expensive ticket to the Magic Kingdom now breaks the $200 barrier, costing $209 for peak dates in 2026. Prices vary, and there are multiple add-ons like the Park Hopper, which allows you to visit more than one park a day. Disney offers multiple annual pass options, but the Incredi-Pass ($1,629 per year) is the only option for guests who live out of state and are not time-share members.

The annual pass allows daily entry (reservations are still required on most days) and comes with perks like park hopping, food and merchandise discounts, invitations to preview new rides and attractions, and, on occasion, special goodies like last summer’s Crush ice cream sundae in honor of the beloved “Finding Nemo” character. Not included: Lightning Lane tickets, VIP tours and other experiences that can help streamline the trip.

Sisters Michelle Falco and Alissa Williams, both of Sayville, hold annual passes and travel to Disney World several times a year with their families. “It’s a great escape from reality,” said Falco, 47. “There’s something for everyone, from toddlers to seniors. You can bring your kids and still have adult fun . . . it’s a place that just makes us happy.”

Williams, 50, said visiting every Disney park is on the family bucket list. The Frontier Airlines flight attendant gets perks that allow inexpensive travel, so she’s been to the Tokyo Disney Resort with her husband and son. “Everything was immaculate in Japan,” Williams said. “You could really see the attention to detail while still getting the sense you were in another country. The language barrier wasn’t an issue. Even if rides like ‘Beauty and the Beast’ were in Japanese, you know the story.”

Sometimes her family will make a quick weekend trip and not even set foot in a park, said Williams. “Flying out of MacArthur [Airport], it’s so easy. We’ll just make a quick trip and enjoy the amenities at the resorts,” she added. They’ve tried many of them, she said, and each offers a different atmosphere.

“At Animal Kingdom Lodge, you feel like you’re on a safari; at the Wilderness Lodge, you feel like you’re in a forest,” said Falco. “Every time we go, we do something new.”

The family also has been on several Disney cruises, and next up is a trip to Disneyland in California. Paris is on the wish list.

Turning passion into side hustle

Danielle Livingston, of Garden City, has been traveling to Disney World since her oldest son was 1 — he’s now 13 and has a younger brother, who’s 10. “There’s nothing like Disney,” said Livingston, 45, who became so familiar with the park that she wound up helping friends and family plan their trips by becoming a consultant with MickeyTravels, a Disney-focused travel agency.

Livingston makes four to six trips a year and holds an annual pass, as well as taking a couple of Disney cruises a year. Looking ahead, she hopes to soon visit the Disney resort Aulani in Hawaii. What really makes her such a fan? “My kids’ faces,” she said. “There’s nothing better than seeing your children at Disney World, no matter the age.”

Stefanie Fier, 40, and an annual pass holder from Little Neck, Queens, grew up going to Disney, and said her dad, in his 70s, is still a huge fan. Fier, a teacher, became so adept at planning Disney vacations — “I love a good spreadsheet’’ — that she took a part-time job as a travel agent to help others plan their vacations.

Fier is especially appreciative of food options that allow her to eat gluten-free, as well as plentiful choices for her two sons. But more important, she said, is the way the cast members (Disney speak for park staff) “go above and beyond” — whether it’s taking a picture or making sure to wish someone a happy birthday. The park also is accepting, said Fier, who acknowledges that one of her sons can get a bit rambunctious at times. “If he has a meltdown, it’s OK,” she said. “Everyone’s having a meltdown.”

Friedlander likes Disney so much, she once went by herself, as her husband headed to a football game in Texas. “I had five days to myself,” she said. “I did Disney my way.” And lest you think she might be getting sick of all this, she and her family have scheduled a trip on the new Disney Destiny cruise ship, and in August, she’ll celebrate her birthday aboard the Disney Treasure.

Mostly, said Kafka, it’s about making memories. “I love going with my family,” she said, talking about the joy of seeing her parents experience the park with their grandchildren or watching the kids hugging their favorite characters. She adds, “I feel like all the troubles of the world are gone.”