A 15-year-old girl in Florida is making headlines because she says she was not allowed to wear her Tinker Bell costume inside of a Disney theme park, citing company policy against teens and adults dressed as characters.
The girl says she spent hours doing her hair, makeup and costume so that she and her boyfriend, dressed as Peter Pan, could celebrate his birthday at Disney.
The pair had no problem getting into Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but were stopped when trying to enter Disney’s Animal Kingdom, because her outfit too closely resembled those worn by the various Tinker Bells who wander the parks posing for photos with visitors.
“They said I looked too good,” the teen tells CBS’ Orlando affiliate.
Park staff provided her with clothes she could change into if she wanted to enter, but she tells CBS, “I didn’t want to take off the costume.”
A Disney rep explains:
The guests were asked to change because costumes that could be viewed as representative of an actual Disney character are not appropriate attire for our theme parks. The costumes were disruptive to our operation and possibly confusing to our other guests, as children were asking to take photos with them. To make up for any inconvenience, we provided them with replacement clothing and assisted them with the rest of their visit in our parks.
“They were talking how the little girls, it ruins their dreams,” said the 15-year-old. “But it ruined my dreams because I just want to be Tinker Bell.”
Disney’s reasoning goes far beyond merely ruining the dreams of children and teens. If someone enters the park in a convincing character costume, it seems believable — even likely — that other visitors might assume this person is a Disney employee. If that in-costumer person then begins to act in a manner that reflects badly on the park and the company, you’re going to have a hard time explaining to families (or their lawyers) how the Goofy that flipped off your camera was really just a guest in a really good costume.
So before you spend hours and hours putting together your elaborate outfits, please check the park’s website to make sure you won’t be blocked from entering at the gate.
Disney makes ‘Tinker Bell’ change clothes [ClickOrlando.com]
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just like when yahoo ran this article- EVERY comment is in support of disney. i wonder how she ever got the media’s attention.
I lost count of the number of times, when I was a machinist, I was in the local hardware store to pick up stuff. People would come up to me for assistance, and I had to politely tell them that I didn’t work there, and couldn’t provide them with assistance.
The kicker: My work uniform did NOT even closely resemble that hardware store’s standard uniform. They had brown shirts and pants, I was wearing blue shirts and pants.
Indeed. I had the same thing happen at Sears once, because I had forgotten to take off my badge from work. It looked nothing like what the Sears employees were wearing.
This reminds me of the Improv Everywhere video where they all dressed in blue shirts and khakis and went to Best Buy. Best Buy didn’t like it either. They, however, did not offer a free change of clothes.
I think Disney went out of their way to be accommodating to a guest who was not following their clearly stated dress code.
I was in Target once and was puzzled that people kept asking me questions about where to find particular merchandise, etc. Then I realized I was wearing a red polo shirt and khakis.
She’s a drama queen. I can’t believe she didn’t consider that it might be against the rules. My nine-year-old wanted to dress up for Halloween at Six Flags and thought to ask me to get online to check the rules. And guess what? When I told her it wasn’t allowed, she didn’t throw a shit fit either. This chick does need to grow up. Not because she wants to wear a costume but b/c it was her “dream” and she acted like a two-year-old when told the rules. The little twit needs to learn about private property rules and that her sense of entitlement isn’t going to get her anywhere in life. She also need to to have bigger dreams in life than hitting Disney world in a Tink costume.
yep, that’s the same standard as when i worked there. teeny kids: costumes ok. puberty and beyond: no costumes
So, if I dress up like a yellow price tag and casually enter Best Buy, should I expect they’ll be happy about it?
Some of them might be at first, but the moment I talk to a customer, they’ll realize why that’s a bad idea.
Flash mob wears blue shirts at Best Buy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgUIbPfhSuo
This is a consumer not knowing the rules, not Disney crushing the dreams of a 15 year old. Well they did, but that’s a side effect of not knowing the rules. Disney is in their right to not allow entry to anyone for any reason, and this reason is a good one.
There are events where adults and teens can wear costumes, but summertime isn’t that it. There are also conventions and other events where cosplay is possible. But to call the news because they refused entry for not following the rules is just fanning the flames of this girls “me, me, me” attitude.
I can see how this can be an even bigger deal than “You may be mistaken as an employee and you may make us look bad”. A guest dressed like that could easily get the trust of and abduct a kid that wandered a little from the rest of the family without a lot of trouble. I’d think it would be more of a guest safety issue than anything.
I’m guessing you also agree with B&N for kicking out the 73 year old guy who was talking on his cellphone?
Why the F**K is she whining to anyone about it? Their reasons are logical and clear. They’re also entitled to refuse entry to anyone to their own park. They gave her an option that would allow her entry and she refused it. She’s to blame for not getting in. End of story.
Came here for the pro-corporate, anti-consumerist attacks.
Leaving abundantly satisfied.
Ugh. It’s the girl’s fault. Disney was in the right.
There are too many creepy lawsuits about Disney characters groping guests, we don’t need OTHER guests dressing up as characters too.
From the Disney website:
“What to Wear
Proper dress is required at all Disney Theme Parks. Shirt and shoes must be worn at all times. At the Disney Water Parks, swim attire with rivets, buckles or exposed metal is not permitted on the attractions. Wetsuits are not permitted on body slides.”
Where does it say “no costumes”?
also from the page you decided to not research fully:
Q:What is the best way to dress for a day at the parks? Is there any clothing that isn’t permissible?
A: Adult costumes or clothing that can be viewed as representative of an actual Disney character
Link:
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/theme-parks/
Thanks. I already cleared that up.
FWIW, to specifically address their rules, a 15 year-old is not generally considered an adult.
According to the other FAQ from the non-Disney site, a 10 year-old is an adult.
That’s f’d up.
no, you cleared it up after 2 other people corrected your stupid ass. They’re considered adults because that’s the rate they pay to get in, not based on age. But, I’m sure you’ll look that up later and then thank people for information you had “already posted”
Here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/tips_for_touring/dress-code.htm
If you dig further into the site, apparently there is a FAQ that enumerates attire that is deemed inappropriate. It includes costumes, masks, torn clothing, revealing clothing, “obscene” clothing, and “objectionable” tattoos.
So, they’re well within their right to refuse admission.
It doesn’t make it any less of a douche move though.
This:
Ensuring that the parks are family friendly is an important part of the Disney experience. In that spirit, we ask you to use your discretion and common sense. Attire that is not appropriate for the theme parks (and which may result in refusal of admittance) includes but is not limited to:
Adult costumes or clothing that can be viewed as representative of an actual Disney character
Masks (unless you are dressing up for a particular event)
Clothing with objectionable material, including obscene language or graphics
Excessively torn clothing
Clothing which, by nature, exposes excessive portions of the skin that may be viewed as inappropriate for a family environment
Tattoos that could be considered objectionable, such as with obscene language or graphics
I am with Disney on this one, it is within their right to not allow this, and they made more than reasonable accomodations for this girl. They are more than within their right to protect their characters. Part of it is probably that costumes with long pieces and parts of costumes could get caught in rides and on things, so that is why they don’t let you on the rides, also parts of costumes could fly off while on the ride and injure those standing nearby and then they would have a lawsuit on their hands.
Sorry, chicky, you have to follow the rules. I’m with Disney on this one. And throwing a bawling fit because you didn’t get your way only makes you look like a baby. Go home and grow up a little.
…So if I show up at Disney in a costume, I get a free t-shirt and a stack of fast-passes? Win!
Yeah…15 is too old for that. Please come to my house and TP it.
I’m with Disney. It’s not just their image in a vague way, it’s also that there’s an expectation of close personal contact between kids and the “characters.” I’d prefer that Goofy have had a CORI before he hugs our daughter.
Disney was entirely reasonable.
Breaking news: 15 year old thinks she’s 6.
I am 100% for Disney on this. This would be akin to walking around Best Buy wearing a fake Best Buy staff uniform.
I wonder what the value of a complimentary set of Disney clothes is worth? Probably at least fifty bucks. No word on the boyfriend’s outfit? Grown-up Peter Pan costume must’ve passed muster…
Blame the lawyers for this.
I first saw this as a newsclip and laughed my arse off. There are close ups of her pathetic pout and smeared makeup whinging about her “ruined dreams” and how long it took to get ready.
If she were 7, I’d buy it, but she’s 15, ffs.
It’s a shame she couldn’t wear the costume but I have to side with Disney on this one. They have a lot invested in their image and what if some kind of pedophile got in and hurt a kid. We’re all grown ups here and we KNOW this stuff happens. They did offer her a change of clothes which I think is above and beyond for customer service. I would guess they also offered the change to the boyfriend. Personally I would wonder about his choice of costume more than hers.
“The costumes were disruptive to our operation and possibly confusing to our other guests, as children were asking to take photos with them.”
This entire sentence makes me chuckle. I guess no one clued them into the fact these characters are not REAL!!! Explain to me how anyone would be confused as to which of the 100 tinker bells is the actually one. I’m so happy people do not think before they speak…they make me chuckle.
I was about to comment, then got to the end of the article where Chris summed up with exactly the same thought I had.
Now I have a new comment; why was this article even posted? Its discouraged to “blame the consumer/op” but the 15 year old girl was clearly in the wrong and somewhere in her teenage brain she couldn’t figure out why. Apparently misrepresentation is a hard concept for a high school sophomore to grasp.
15 Year Old Girl Doesn’t Understand Common Sense, Wines About It. Story tonight on News at 10!
Disney’s policy makes absolute sense here. I don’t know if anybody ever remembered the time Disney was sued recently because some guest complained that Tigger molested her child in a photo. Now the CM was later acquitted and Disney was cleared of any wrong doing but can you just image what happens if a guest dressed as a character does something like that? Now Disney did more than they had to by offering a change of clothes to the guest.