Should adults be allowed to wear costumes in the parks? This has been a question I have been wrestling with for a very long time.
Let me explain. My first trip to Disney World was as a teenager I was already an “adult” and thus forbidden from dressing up in the parks. Sixteen-year-old DragynAlly was very sad about this. I thought “I’m still a kid. Why can’t I dress up as Cinderella or Belle?” But it was Disney policy and I let it go.
Even as an adult there are times that I wish I could dress up as Cinderella as a walk toward the castle in Magic Kingdom. I just want to be a part of the magic and feel like a kid just for a little while.
But there is something I now realize. For every adult that is just a kid at heart and wants to be a part of the magic there may be another adult who would use costumes as a way to trick and hurt kids. So my final answer to this question is an emphatic “No”. Children shouldn’t have to distinguish between who the real characters are and who the strangers are.
In fact ADULTS shouldn’t have to distinguish these differences either. Who among us wouldn’t walk away with Mickey or Prince Charming if they asked us? Better yet what person do you know would turn down Jack Sparrow if he said “take a walk with me”? Exactly! With only paid Disney employees in costume you know who is safe.
I actually think this is part of the reason Disney has the policy. The policy doesn’t necessarily say that adults can’t dress in costume but emphatically states that adults cannot dress like park characters. In other words, I could not dress like Ariel.
The other part is so Disney can tell its employees from the masses that walk in and out of the parks on a daily basis. That would be a big security problem if a fake Goofy got into a controlled area or somewhere else behind the scenes. Also how would Disney know who to pay?! (Bad joke.)
Now I know what you’re thinking “But what about Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party? Adults are in costume for that and no kids have been hurt.” Touché. But these are special parties held only a few times during the year where a limited number of guests are in the parks. Imagine a day at Disney when the crowd is at full capacity. Now imagine all of those guests in costume…
DragynAlly is a film student, writer, and traveler. You can catch her here, on Twitter @DragynAlly or on her own blog The Dragyn’s Lair.
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