Adam the Woo
American YouTube travel vlogger (1974–2025)

Adam the Woo
Williams at Disneyland in 2016
Born
David Adam Williams

(1974-08-10)August 10, 1974
Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedDecember 22, 2025(2025-12-22) (aged 51)
Celebration, Florida, U.S.
Other namesAdam Williams[1]
Instagram information
Page
  • adamthewooATW
YouTube information
Channels
  • adamthewoo
  • TheDailyWoo
Years active2006–2025
GenreTravel
Subscribers1.2 million
Views416.2 million
Last updated: December 31, 2025

David Adam Williams (August 10, 1974 – December 22, 2025), known by his online name Adam the Woo, was an American vlogger and musician. He was one of the earliest content creators who focused on travel and urban exploration-style content on YouTube. He was known for exploring Disney theme parks, filming locations, and abandoned attractions.

Early life

David Adam Williams was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, to June, a retired school bus driver, and Jim, a Protestant youth minister.[2][3] He grew up going to church every Sunday, and attended Bible classes twice a week. As a result of Jim Williams' ministry work, the family moved often, with Williams having to find ways to entertain himself on his own.[4]

Jim Williams stated that the family would borrow a video camera from members of the church congregation and Adam would record video segments with his sister. The family did not own a television set until 1985, when Williams was 11.[2] In order to watch movies, the family would rent a VCR for the weekend.[2] Williams was homeschooled from the 8th through the 11th grade, when he took his GED test.[4] After moving thirteen times[4] throughout the American Midwest and South, in 1991 the family finally settled down in St. Cloud, Florida.[5]

Williams concocted the pseudonym "Adam the Woo" while sitting at a bus stop outside a local Walmart, using a do-it-yourself stamp kit he had purchased there for stamping his return address. He eventually adopted the nickname for the purposes of hiding his real surname while carrying out his early online activity.[6]

Career

Music

Williams started his eponymous "adamthewoo" YouTube channel in 2006,[4][7] making him an early adopter of the vlogging platform.[8] By 2008, he progressed to producing travel segments while living out of his van,[9] covering roadside attractions while on tour with American punk rock band Guttermouth.[10][11]

Daily YouTube videos

Now referring to himself as "an 80s pop culture nerd with a desire to travel and video what I see",[7][12] Williams started a second YouTube channel called "TheDailyWoo" in July 2012.[2] It attracted higher viewership than his original channel,[13] and Williams began what would become a five‑year streak of recording and uploading daily vlogs.[14][15] His subject matter revolved around abandoned haunts, points of interest, roadside attractions, former movie filming locations, and theme parks (especially Disney Parks and Resorts) across the fifty U.S. states.[7][16] Some of the movie locations he covered were for cult films that flopped at the box office, but which still had fans interested in trivial details of how the films were made.[17] He attempted to attend a baseball game by the Tampa Bay Rays—his favorite team[10]—at every stadium where they played. Williams ended the streak in September 2017, when he shifted to recording videos on an almost daily basis, still focused on his travels to amusement parks in the United States,[12] Europe and other international locations,[9] including the Korean Demilitarized Zone.[18] His method in creating these videos has been described as having a "calm" and conversational approach,[8] typically filmed in a first-person, walk and talk style, always introducing his vlogs with the catchphrase, "Join me, shall you?"[5] He eventually produced 4,000 videos[12] and garnered over a million subscribers on his YouTube channels.[13] By February 2022, Williams had amassed almost 300 million views on his channels.[13]

Controversies

Williams was stopped at the gate of Disney's Hollywood Studios in January 2013, having been banned from Walt Disney World after management became aware of videos he made backstage at the park. The ban was lifted in 2015, and Williams resumed occasional visits to the park, though he subsequently refrained from entering restricted areas.[19] Universal Orlando Resort banned Williams in 2017[20] due to a video he released five years previously, in which he entered the then-abandoned Nickelodeon Studios without permission;[21] the ban remained in effect until his death in 2025.[22]

In 2025, Williams alleged that Netflix used clips from his 2019 video covering the viral Storm Area 51 event[23] in their documentary Trainwreck: Storm Area 51 without his permission. The company did not respond to the allegations directly, but reportedly had the claim under review. The incident prompted discussion regarding the fair use of social-media influencers' content in traditional media company documentaries.[24]

Personal life and death

After living out of his van for three years, Williams moved into an apartment with a roommate in Orange County, California in 2015.[10][25] He relocated to Celebration, Florida in 2021[7] and purchased a home there two years later.[18] Williams frequently traveled with his parents and sister, Faith Murray, who appeared in his vlogs.[2]

After returning to Celebration for the 2025 Christmas season following a European trip that included Disneyland Paris,[18] Williams uploaded his final video featuring holiday decorations in his hometown.[8] He was last seen alive by a friend on December 21, 2025.[3][12] After Williams did not respond to his friend's call the following day, the police were called to do a welfare check, but they found the door locked and secured.[8] Later that day, the friend climbed up to Williams's 3rd-story room from the outside using a ladder and saw that he was lying motionless in his bed.[12] He was found deceased in his residence on December 22, 2025, at the age of 51.[3][4] As of January 1, 2026[update], the cause of death had not been determined,[5] with the Osceola County medical examiner's office stating that an autopsy report was expected in February or March 2026.[26]

References

  1. ^ Barron, Hannah (March 28, 2022) "YouTuber Tours 'Evil Dead 2' Filming Locations in Anson", Richmond County Daily Journal. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e Comiter, Jordana (December 23, 2025) "Adam the Woo's Family: All About the Late YouTuber's Parents and Sister", People. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Khan, Melina (December 23, 2025) "YouTuber Adam the Woo, Known for Travel Vlog Content, Dies at 51", USA Today. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Hudgins, Ryan (December 23, 2025). "Who Was Adam the Woo? 5 Things to Know About the YouTuber After His Death at Age 51". Us Weekly. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Chalifoux, Jennifer (January 1, 2026) "Homegrown YouTuber 'Adam the Woo', Celebrated for Spotlighting Osceola County, Passes Away", Osceola News-Gazette. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  6. ^ Adam the Woo (August 30, 2012). #60 How'd I Get The Name AdamTheWoo. TheDailyWoo (Video). YouTube. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  7. ^ a b c d Carter, Ashley (December 23, 2025) "YouTuber 'Adam The Woo' Dead at 51", WOFL-TV. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d Stolworthy, Jacob (December 23, 2025) "Adam the Woo Death: Pioneering YouTube Vlogger Found Dead In Florida Home, Aged 51", The Independent. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Dulle, Brian; Palm, Iman (December 23, 2025) "Popular YouTuber 'Adam the Woo' Passes Away at 51", KTLA. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c De La Cruz, Rene Ray (December 23, 2025) "Popular YouTube Traveler, Vlogger 'Adam the Woo' Remembered in High Desert", Daily Press. Retrieved December 25, 2025. (subscription required)
  11. ^ Good, Dave (July 23, 2014) "You Can't Be Guttermouth", San Diego Reader. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d e Brown, Tracy (December 23, 2025) "YouTube Personality Adam the Woo, Known for His Travel and Theme Park Content, Dies at 51", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c Dunnell, Trevor (February 22, 2022) "YouTuber With Almost 300 Million Views Highlights Pepsi History in New Bern Visit", Sun Journal. Archived July 6, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved December 31, 2025. "Between both channels, Williams has 1 million followers, 675,000 coming from TheDailyWoo channel alone."
  14. ^ Singh, Divyadeep (December 23, 2025) "Adam The Woo, YouTuber Who Had Over a Million Subscribers, Found Dead In His Florida Home; How Much Did He Earn From YouTube? All You Need to Know About His Vlogging Journey and Income", The Economic Times. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  15. ^ Kendall, Waltz (December 23, 2025) "A Tribute To Adam the Woo, Disney YouTuber and Community Trailblazer", AllEars.net. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  16. ^ Goldberg, Madison E. (December 23, 2025). "YouTuber Adam the Woo Dies at 51: 'The World Has Lost a Giant'". People. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  17. ^ Staton, John (February 15, 2022) "Wilmington-shot 'Scream,' 'Maximum Overdrive' Memorialized on YouTube's The Daily Woo", Star-News. Retrieved December 29, 2025.
  18. ^ a b c Bridges, C. A. (December 24, 2025) "Who Was 'Adam the Woo'? Florida Theme Park YouTuber Has Died", Naples Daily News. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  19. ^ Porter, Stephen (August 19, 2016) "Three Incidents That Got People Banned From Walt Disney World", wdwinfo.com. Retrieved December 28, 2025.
  20. ^ Adam the Woo (April 6, 2017). Banned From Universal Studios Orlando. TheDailyWoo (Video). YouTube. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  21. ^ Adam the Woo (July 15, 2012). Nickelodeon Studios - Behind Closed Doors 2012 - Inside the Memories!. adamthewoo (Video). YouTube. Retrieved January 9, 2026.
  22. ^ Sen, Sumanti (December 24, 2025). "Who Was Adam the Woo? YouTube Star's Family, Net Worth, Cause of Death, and More as Fans Remember 'Nicest' Person". Hindustan Times. Retrieved December 25, 2025.
  23. ^ Nevett, Joshua (September 13, 2019) "Storm Area 51: The Joke That Became a 'Possible Humanitarian Disaster', BBC News. Archived September 17, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  24. ^ Bouma, Luke (July 30, 2025) "Netflix Faces Backlash Over Alleged Unauthorized Use of YouTube Creator's Footage in Area 51 Documentary", Cord Cutters News. Retrieved January 11, 2026.
  25. ^ Adam the Woo (June 22, 2015). #1086 A Tour Inside My Home / House. The Daily Woo (Video). YouTube. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  26. ^ O'Connor, Brendan (December 29, 2025) "Adam the Woo Death Investigation Ongoing; Medical Examiner Says Report May Take 10–12 Weeks", Orlando Shine. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  • adamthewoo on YouTube
  • TheDailyWoo on YouTube
  • Adam the Woo's Dad – Breaks Silence About the Passing of His Son on YouTube
  • Adam Williams - "Adam the Woo" Obituary
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