When you’re going through the list of rules at the Disney Theme Parks, there is one that was announced within recent memory that still grinds our gears…kinda. The General Park Rules (found here) outline the various elements that keep the parks running and not breaking into complete chaos, including the screening of guests at checkpoints and the common courtesy that saves us from offensive behavior and other unsafe activities. In that document, states that guests aged 14 and older may not wear costumes.
As a guest, I understand this to be an unfortunate reality, as we’ve all seen folks that would dress up as a character (usually a face character, such as a princess) and walk around the parks portraying an official Disney character. Walt Disney World is not Times Square or your kids birthday party, so this makes sense.
That being said, there are a few ways to get around the rule, without being unreasonable and still respecting the reason why it exists in the first place. It’s important to know where the line is, and we are not at ALL saying that you should break the rules…but there are ways to have fun in your own way during your Disney Vacation!
NUMBER ONE – DISNEYBOUNDING
DisneyBounding is where you wear an outfit that is “inspired” by your favourite Disney Character.
This is an example, which is super awesome…where you utilize clothing from your closet to have fun while you’re in the parks. It can be as simple as a yellow shirt, blue shorts and a red over-shirt…and poof…you’re Gaston!
Absolutely love the work that Leslie Kay @ DisneyBound has done, so you can check her out at DisneyBound.co .
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NUMBER TWO – EARS
Let’s be serious here. I’m a sucker for wearing Mickey Ears in the parks, just as any 30+ year old guy…but the goal behind the ears is to create a memory that brings you and your family back the that special time.
It may be when you actually bought the ears, and the story that went into the adventure. For us, it was Jill’s dream to get Belle ears…and the number of stores that we went to in the Magic Kingdom before finding them was part of the fun. In fact, we didn’t end up finding them in the Emporium, in Bonjour! Village Gifts or even The Chapeau! It was in the Fantasy Faire shop in Fantasyland that we discovered the ears that currently reside on the wall with our other memories of our trips to WDW!
DisneyStore.com has a huge assortment of official ears, and definitely worth checking out before you go on vacation (or after, if you really want something that wasn’t in stock).
You can also check out the options over at ETSY, which will give you that unique feel!
NUMBER THREE – DISNEY THEMED CLOTHING
There’s nothing wrong with having fun with a good ol’ fashioned Disney Shopping Spree either online or in the parks. It’s awesome how many brands are starting to really push Disney licensed products, such as Hot Topic, Target, and Kohls!
There are also a ton of options, including 6DollarShirts.com and TeePublic.com, where you can get park-inspired fun shirts!
We’ve got a ton of shirt articles including Universal Designs, Shirts you’d should add to your collection and so many more!
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NUMBER FOUR – JUST BE YOURSELF
If there’s something in the rule book that says that you can’t dress up like a character, ok.
There is NOTHING that says that you can’t go as yourself. This means that you should dress to be weather-appropriate and comfortable…because it’s your vacation and if you want to wear a giant shirt that has Stitch or Donald on it…
It’s absolutely ok:)
Is there anything that we missed? Let us know in the comments!