Mother dressed as Princess banned from Disneyland

[Kellygurlz74]

http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/04/20/mother-dressed-as-princess-banned-from-disneyland-paris/

Friend of mine sent this to me. Thought it was interesting & didn't realize that Disney had a global policy. My question is, how many Brides from the Disney Weddings are asked if they are one of the Princesses?

 

[persimmondeb]

I'm fairly sure that the brides aren't allowed to wear their wedding gowns in public areas of the park when they are open. I had a customer who was getting married at Disney (I sell bridal gowns for a living), who needed an ivory cocktail dress to walk through Epcot in for that reason. I believe that it was not a dessert party, but a dinner at Chefs de France she was bound for, so I don't know how they handle those.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I don't get it. She called Disney about it, so she had some idea it might be an issue, they told her she couldn't wear the dress, but since it was April 1st when she called she thought it was an April Fool's joke and instead of calling back April 2nd she went ahead a wore the dress?

I can understand what she is saying, but I also see Disney's side. They can't make security or gate people the fashion police. If you ban fancy dresses, you have to ban them all, you can't leave it up to the employees at the enterance to decide which fancy dress is okay and which isn't.

 

[02AggieGirl]

I'm annoyed that she is complaining! I think it is necessary for Disney to ban "anything that looks like a princess" because small children may not know the difference. There are some dangerous people in this world.

 

[tjevans]

If you ban fancy dresses, you have to ban them all, you can't leave it up to the employees at the enterance to decide which fancy dress is okay and which isn't.

Sure you can leave it to employees to decide. After all, if you ban fancy dresses, who will be deciding what is "fancy" and what is not? Those same employees.

For a place such as the parks, such a dress code is going to have to be so ambiguous as to leave a lot of room for subjectivity. The only other way is to make the dress code so complicated (necklines may not be more than x inches from where the neck meets the shoulders; waist may have not more than z inches of "poof"; no more than y sequins, etc) to make the dress code unenforceable.

If you ask me, the lady was pretty stupid for thinking that a business--because as much as we like to pretend they're not, the parks are businesses--is playing an April Fool's joke on people who call in to ask about official policies.

 

[dallastxcpa]

Brides are allowed to wear there dresses to dessert parties in Epcot. If you enter through one of the gateways you have to pay to have escorts for your party. I believe like one escort per 10 people.

Usually when you have a private function at Epcot you also have to pay for a charter bus which drops you off in the cast area closest to your dessert party. You are then escorted from there to your party.

So no matter how you enter when you have a private party you can wear your dress but you are always escorted and not just given free reign of the park.

 

[maxiesmom]

She wasn't banned, she simply had to change clothes. Why the tacky tabloid headline to your post?

 

[persimmondeb]

The policy does make sense, although I am going to bet that it's more about consistency of image than safety, but this woman obviously thought that she had checked policy, and I'm sure it was embarassing to be pulled out of line that way.

There are venues (Renaissance fairs are what leaps to my mind) where paying guests are encouraged to come in costume, so it's really not that strange a behavior. Also I was recently at Colonial Williamsburg and I saw a young woman with a visitor tag, in reasonably accurate but rather tarty late 18th century dress, except for an underskirt in a shade I'm pretty sure no eighteenth century dyeworks could have produced (historical dress is a hobby of mine).

 

[irishdadx4]

It's my understanding that any weddings that take place in the park are done before the park opens....so therefore the policy doesn't apply because that is a time when the park is closed to the general public. I'm annoyed that this woman is complaining and demanding an apology from Disney. They are in no way wrong here...they have a policy, she was even informed of this policy before she arrived at the park. She choose to ignore it.

Mike

 

[ImTooExcitedToSleep]

She wasn't banned, she simply had to change clothes. Why the tacky tabloid headline to your post?

And it wasn't Disneyland, it was Disneyland Paris.

 

[unfreshdiva1]

I'd have to question the statement that "anyone over the age of 9 can't wear the princess dresses - or fancy dress". I've seen many girls over age of 9 (probably close to 12) all decked out as their favorite princess. However I have to admit I usually think "aren't they a little old to be running around Disney World dressed like that" but as long as they are having fun more power to them!

 

[LuvBug1977]

Disney's Policy from the FAQs page:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/theme-parks/#subCategory7
What is the best way to dress for a day at the parks? Is there any clothing that isn't permissible?


The parks are a casual, family-oriented environment. We suggest you dress comfortably, wear good walking shoes and check the local weather report before you leave for the parks.

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
•Objectionable tattoos
A Guest is allowed into the parks if her or his hair (or make-up, if applicable) has been made to resemble a Disney Princess or character (for example, after a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique makeover) provided the Guest is not also wearing a costume or clothed to look like the character.
My question is, Have you ever been to Star Wars Weekends? We went last year and there were plenty of adults dressed like characters. There was even one lady that guests were posing with and CM came over and made people stop taking pictures with her because she was not an official character with an Disney escort.

I would not have mistaken the lady in question as a princess if you look at her picture, but her intention was to dress like a princess. So, I have to agree with Disney for making her change her outfit.

 

[JB2K]

http://news.travel.aol.com/2010/04/20/mother-dressed-as-princess-banned-from-disneyland-paris/

Friend of mine sent this to me. Thought it was interesting & didn't realize that Disney had a global policy. My question is, how many Brides from the Disney Weddings are asked if they are one of the Princesses?

The question is, how many brides from the Disney Weddings are romping-around in the theme parks in a wedding gown?

My take on it is that Disney characters are part of the corporate brand, and in order to protect that brand, they can't allow grownups to play "dress-up" in the parks.

Plus, as someone said, all it takes is for someone with more dubious notions to dress-up and possibly cause harm to a youngster...

 

[anotherdisneygal]

Disney's Policy from the FAQs page:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/theme-parks/#subCategory7
What is the best way to dress for a day at the parks? Is there any clothing that isn't permissible?


The parks are a casual, family-oriented environment. We suggest you dress comfortably, wear good walking shoes and check the local weather report before you leave for the parks.

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
•Objectionable tattoos
A Guest is allowed into the parks if her or his hair (or make-up, if applicable) has been made to resemble a Disney Princess or character (for example, after a Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique makeover) provided the Guest is not also wearing a costume or clothed to look like the character.
My question is, Have you ever been to Star Wars Weekends? We went last year and there were plenty of adults dressed like characters. There was even one lady that guests were posing with and CM came over and made people stop taking pictures with her because she was not an official character with an Disney escort.

I would not have mistaken the lady in question as a princess if you look at her picture, but her intention was to dress like a princess. So, I have to agree with Disney for making her change her outfit.

I think the Star Wars weekend falls into the "unless you are dressing up for a particular event" exception.

As for adults wearing costumes in general, I was talking with my friend a few years ago when we were looking at the costumes for girls and I said that I'm so small that I could probably fit into one. A CM overheard me and told me that as an adult I wouldn't be allowed in the park wearing it (not that I wanted to buy it or wear it). So I think it's a pretty clear rule on Disney's part that CMs know about, enforce and are clear about.

 

[JB2K]

My question is, Have you ever been to Star Wars Weekends? We went last year and there were plenty of adults dressed like characters. There was even one lady that guests were posing with and CM came over and made people stop taking pictures with her because she was not an official character with an Disney escort.

Perhaps, it is because anything "Star Wars" does not belong to the Walt Disney Company (it is part of George Lucas' Lucasfilm empire), and Disney Parks is not going to police non-Disney brands/functions.

 

[Disney Dad Canada]

I think the Star Wars weekend falls into the "unless you are dressing up for a particular event" exception.

Also, Star Wars is not a Disney owned set of characters (yet anyways). I must say, however, that I've seen a few people in slave Leia outfits that wish they looked in the mirror before leaving the house.

 

[Cherinva]

I agree with Disney's policy and don't think they owe her anything, especially an appology. I think she was just trying to get away with something.

 

[catycatcat4]

I agree with Disney's policy and don't think they owe her anything, especially an appology. I think she was just trying to get away with something.

I agree.
The lady needs to get over it. I think she should be banned for makng a big deal out of it.
If i was a CM i would have stoped her and tell her to change too.
She looks like crap in that dress can you imagine being stuck in the park with a grown woman dressed like that.

 

[bookworm0312]

She wasn't banned, she simply had to change clothes. Why the tacky tabloid headline to your post?

I'll answer for the OP. That's the wording for the link on AOL.com.

 

[vegetablegirl]

I tend to get annoyed when people blame Disney for things that happen when because they don't know the rules. In this case, it should be pretty obvious why they can't allow any adults to wear costumes.