Kids in costumes

[moniqueand2]

This is my first trip and through reading this board I'm seeing posts on kids wearing princess gowns, etc. Especially for character dining.

Is this the norm? I brought it up to my kids and now my daughter is considering bringing one of her gowns and she's 10! Or she's thinking of bringing a homemade wizard costume that looks like Mickey from Fantasia. Or some kind of wizard cape.

Do kids walk around in costume in DL?

 

[Mr Snappy]

Do what makes you happy!

I would say as a general rule that 90% of the costumes are little girls (under 4) dressed as a Disney Princess....and of those, probably 90% got the costumes there at the park.

The problem with bigger kids and costumes may be that they interfere with the attractions (hats get blown off, no place to stowe your wand, etc )

 

[Carolynleanne]

When I went as a young girl I dreamed of having a princess costume to wear, but we couldn't afford it.

I have only a 10 month old son right now, but if I'm ever blessed with a girl she will absolutely be in a princess dress! And as soon as my Noah is old enough he's gonna be a pirate!

So I say go for it. It'll make adorable pictures!

 

[KateDrake]

Your daughter should totally dress up for your character meal, it makes for such cute pictures! I am not certain, but I think Disney has some sort of an age limit for dressing up. I believe it is 12 (Halloween parties excluded) because adults in costume could be mistaken as Disney employees.
The dresses in the parks are super expensive, I always bring the one I bought from my Disney store at home. I'd also recommend bringing a change of clothes in a backpack or something you can store in a locker. It's fun to dress up for the meal and maybe in Fantasyland, but those dresses aren't exactly comfortable, especially if it is hot!
Have a great time!

 

[3monkeys4me]

My son hasn't expressed any interest in dressing up but my older daughter did on our June 2010 trip. My almost 3 year old will be bringing a few costumes with on our August trip. I doubt she will wear the costume the whole day but she will wear it over her clothes here and there.

 

[revwog1974]

The fun of dressing up is that the whole time the child is in costume cast members refer to her/him by character name. My daughter loved being called "princess Jasmine" all day. She says it was the best part of the trip. But I would say that most kids don't do it so if your child doesn't want to, she won't feel left out.

I'm fairly certain the policy is only kids 9 and under can wear costumes and I know they're strict about the age, so check to be sure.

 

[pixiewings71]

My girls never dressed up but that was because they didn't want to. Now I plan to have to have DD wear a tiara on her actual birthday when we are there in July, but that's because it's her 16th and if she says no I won't force her. There is a max age for kids to dress up, I honestly thought it was 9 but it may be 12, you should be able to find that information on their website. I can say I have seen a young lady dressed as Belle be turned away because she looked too much like Belle and it would cause confusion. The only exception to that rule is for the Halloween party. Since your DD is 10 you'd probably be OK but you may want to check on that policy just in case.

 

[starshine514]

I thought it was 9 as well, but when I went looking for it online this morning, all I could find was that adults aren't allowed to dress up. I'm not sure if they mean Disney Adults (10 and up) or the rest of the world's idea of adults.

I would say that if your daughter is adult-height, developed, etc. then she should not dress up. I know it varies greatly, my cousin has two daughters (ages 10 and 12) the 10-yr-old could pass for 8 and the 12-yr-old could pass for 16. I would say her 10-yr-old could dress up, no problem, but there's no way the 12-yr-old could.

 

[larina]

My younger kids wore costumes our last trip (Christmas 2012). I brought my son's Buzz costume from Halloween. My daughter got a Tink makeover at BBB, and wore her dress most of that day. She brought a t-shirt for under, as we knew it would be itchy (and it was). We also brought another princess dress from home, as well as two fancy dresses (she was about to outgrow) since it was the holidays. She wore the Tink dress the whole day she got it (it was Christmas Eve and she even wore it to dinner at Napa Rose and got tons of compliments there) and another half day on the 26th. She was more comfortable in her own pretty dresses. Since her hair was done, she still looked like a princess, only easy to move around in. One of the dresses ripped, and we left it behind.

We're a big ears family, so we all do those and carry a bag to put them in when we need to.

 

[larina]

I thought it was 9 as well, but when I went looking for it online this morning, all I could find was that adults aren't allowed to dress up. I'm not sure if they mean Disney Adults (10 and up) or the rest of the world's idea of adults.

I would say that if your daughter is adult-height, developed, etc. then she should not dress up. I know it varies greatly, my cousin has two daughters (ages 10 and 12) the 10-yr-old could pass for 8 and the 12-yr-old could pass for 16. I would say her 10-yr-old could dress up, no problem, but there's no way the 12-yr-old could.

I disagree. A 12 year old should totally be able to dress up if they want to. Actually, anybody should be able to, but certainly anyone under 16. I never realized there was an age limit. We saw a whole family dressed up in May when we were there. There were at least 6 adults and nobody said anything to them. The women were various princesses and the men were pirates. The kids varied. It was very cool.

 

[starshine514]

I found the 9-yr-old rule on the WDW site, but not on the DL site:
http://disneyworldforum.disney.go.com/questions.aspx?page=1&where=panel&qid=151109&pid=94&cid=152

 

[DisneyMomma81]

My DD often dresses up for Disney park visits - I've purchased both the Disney Store Merida costumes for her *she'll have a very Brave birthday - 7/3! I've purchased the Disney Parks Alice dress *she's so cute in it - had it in a smaller size* and the new Parks Minnie dress - see this thread

And we love these sets.

Our upcoming visit isn't long enough Perhaps she'll swap outfits mid day, and we aren't taking breaks *short hours, haven't visited during short days for a while; I may have to be the costume mule.

 

[Maddysdaddy]

Just keep in mind that when it's hot and humid, I think most people would agree that t-shirts and shorts/capris are much more comfortable than a polyester princess gown...

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Just keep in mind that when it's hot and humid, I think most people would agree that t-shirts and shorts/capris are much more comfortable than a polyester princess gown...

That's the beauty of S CA very little humidity and quite pleasant temperatures pretty much year round; DD and I needed a light jacket 4th of July weekend 2009 in the mornings and evenings *which is ideal IMO.

 

[pixiewings71]

I disagree. A 12 year old should totally be able to dress up if they want to. Actually, anybody should be able to, but certainly anyone under 16. I never realized there was an age limit. We saw a whole family dressed up in May when we were there. There were at least 6 adults and nobody said anything to them. The women were various princesses and the men were pirates. The kids varied. It was very cool.

They either got lax security and CM's or they didn't look like the characters that much. I don't think adults should be able to dress up, but that's my opinion.

 

[Jennifer2983]

I could have sworn I found the age limit on the website before but now I can't find it.....weird maybe it was up when the Halloween stuff was up?


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[Jennifer2983]

okay under general questions FAQ on DL official website it does not say there is a age limit on costumes, just no masks, and no adult costumes that look can be viewed as a representative of a actual Disney character, so pretty sure your good

 

[Isatricia]

My kids 6 & 8 wore costumes, but not the traditional "gowns" that are often hot and uncomfortable. Instead I made comfortable cotton costumes for them to wear. We got so many compliments on them.

Girls in costumes are really the minority at DL. The majority of kids are not dressed up, so going without a costume is the norm.

Here are some pics of my girls costumes:

 

[DisneyMomma81]

My kids 6 & 8 wore costumes, but not the traditional "gowns" that are often hot and uncomfortable. Instead I made comfortable cotton costumes for them to wear. We got so many compliments on them.

Girls in costumes are really the minority at DL. The majority of kids are not dressed up, so going without a costume is the norm.

Here are some pics of my girls costumes:

Great job mom! Love Mary Poppins! I "made" my DD a M P costume last year, bought a white lacey dress off ebay and added a red "cumberbund" and some red bows, I'll have to add photos.

 

[KateDrake]

Hmm, now I am wondering where I got the 12 year age limit from, I could swear I saw it somewhere. Maybe it's just because my cousin was able to dress as Snow White at WDW last year, and she's 10...
Anyway, I know there is some sort of age restriction, but I think a lot of it depends on how old your child looks.
On another note, I did see way more kids dressed up at WDW on my last trip than I do at Disneyland. Which has never made sense to me, because the weather in WDW is AWFUL!!!! And those dresses would be so uncomfortable in the humidity! But there do seem to be more dressed up at character meals than in the park in general, so if your daughter wants to wear her dress and then change later, I think that's a great option!