With a very successful line in fancy dress costumes based on their fabulous film and cartoon characters, one would think that the Disney corporation would wholeheartedly welcome guests who were dressed as their favourite Disney star. However, as one 15 year old visitor to Disney World Florida discovered recently, the Corporation has strict rules on the wearing of adult fancy dress costumes in the park.
When April Spielman headed to Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando with her boyfriend for a fun day out dressed as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan, the two were devastated to be refused entry at the park gates unless the teenager covered up her dressing up outfit. The reason given was that April’s fabulous costume was so convincing that the Disney staff were worried that she might be mistaken for an official Tinkerbell character employed by the theme park to sign autographs and pose for photos with children.
Park regulations clearly state that entry may be refused to visitors wearing “Adult costumes or clothing that can be viewed as representative of an actual Disney character” as they fear it could prove confusing for children. A spokesperson for Disney World confirmed that they young couple’s outfits had been in violation of the theme park’s policy but stated that they had taken steps to make amends to the unofficial Tinkerbell and her Peter Pan. Miss Spielman and her boyfriend were provided with a free change of clothing to cover up their costumes, and the entire party were compensated for the inconvenience with lots of FastPass tickets to enable them to skip queues on the busy rides.
Although these strict rules are firmly enforced by Disney World when it comes to adult fancy dress at the park, little customers to the happiest place on earth will be delighted to know that they are very welcome to visit the park clad in their favourite children’s fancy dress costumes.
So, if like April Spielman, the little lady in your life is a big fan of the teeny Tinkerbell then we’ve got a great selection of costumes in our Children’s Princess Fancy Dress range which will be sure to delight. Our delightful Disney Light Up Tinkerbell Fancy Dress Costume is available in a choice of sizes for ages 3-4 and 5-6 for a very reasonable £18.75. Or the budding fairy might like our Tinkerbell-inspired Fairy Fancy Dress Costume in a choice of three sizes (4-6, 6-8 and 9-12) for an amazingly low £13.30. We do believe in fairies, we do we do!
By Jennie Humes
Author