It’s amazing what you can find in the Hollywood Reporter these days.
April Spielman wanted to make her first trip to Disney World in Orlando a special event, and one that she and her boyfriend would not forget.
As can be seen in this YouTube clip, Spielman spent MONTHS crafting a homemade Tinkerbell costume, and HOURS putting on makeup and painting lime green nail polish and binding her hair all up in a bun. And then she got her boyfriend to dress in a Peter Pan costume.
With that in mind… off they went to Disney World.
Apparently Ms. Spielman spent a lot of time on that costume, with plenty of attention to detail.
And as far as officials at the theme park were concerned… there was TOO MUCH detail. And she and her boyfriend were asked to change out of their outfits and into more casual clothing – T-shirts, jeans, sandals, etc.
And as you can see from this YouTube clip, as filmed by Orlando television station WKMG … she wasn’t very happy about the decision.
Now I’m not saying that the average park patron would have a problem differentiating between Mickey Mouse and Deadmau5… but that’s not the point.
This is supposed to be the Magic Kingdom. Or as my friend and Disney aficionado Donna will tell me, “Nothing bad ever happens at Disney World. Nothing bad is ever ALLOWED to happen at Disney World.”
Listen. I appreciate a good Disney movie as much as the next person – in fact, if you interrupt me while I’m watching Fantasia, I will throw my popcorn at you – but I definitely see Disney’s point in all this. They pay for their employees to dress up as Disney characters. They don’t need someone else running around and pretending to be a Disney character – with a possible ulterior motive that might not involve singing “It’s a Small World After All.”
And to Disney’s credit, they offered Spielman and her boyfriend replacement clothing, so that they could still experience the theme park. But Spielman’s feelings were hurt, and now we have a viral video about Tinkerbell getting booted from Lake Buena Vista.
As for Spielman, I hope she saved the costume, I think it would make a fantastic Halloween outfit. In fact, you should contact Disney World and book your tickets for their “Not So Scary Halloween Party,” where park patrons are encouraged to show up in costume.
And as for her boyfriend… If you ever agree to do this again, at LEAST ask if you can dress up as the pirate Captain Hook next time. Much cooler costume. And you get to have a hook for a hand.
Chuck The Writer 
And she’s insane.
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have to say that i side with Disney on this. We were at the park a few years ago, and ran into Snow White and prince Charming– not the official characters, as their inappropriate behavior made clear.
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Get.
A.
Life.
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Wow. If she starts writing a blog I’m gonna have to move on, Chuck.
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Yeah, I’m with Disney on this one too. Don’t scare the kids. Besides Disney wants to make sure no one would mistake crazy teenagers for actual Disney characters. Too much liability.
Grow up Spielman, no one’s clapping for your Tinkerbell.
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I don’t understand how or why Disney keeps its reputation as “family” entertainment when their television and musical offerings are primarily based on sexualizing pre-teen girls and setting tramp-wear as appropriate fashion. Even their cartoon women in modern times are pretty questionable role models. I wouldn’t give Disney dime one.
At the same time, of course they don’t want and can’t have people convincingly dressed as their characters in their theme park, potentially confusing the customers.
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(Wearing my librarian hat): I’m sure it wasn’t just “confusion” they were worried about – if she copied their Tinkerbell to make her costume, it’s copyright violation. Disney is notorious for being quick to sue and harass in favor of copyright protection (they, plus Sonny Bono, are the ones behind the extension of the copyright limits). They’ve even gone after schools who have used their images in murals and on posters.
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Really? She’s a 15 year old GIRL. she just wants to have fun also. Heck, they sell those costumes in their stores, for Petes sake! I would favor a homemade costume over their foreign manufactured crap any day!
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This girl is an immature moron, crying over nothing instead of enjoying what Disney has to offer. She is so immature she ought not to be out in public without adult supervision. Anyone else in the park seeing them in those costumes would assume that they are official Disney employees, yet Disney would have no control over how they behaved towards other guests or children!
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Bratty and stupid thing to do.
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Hey folks, last I checked the constitution grants “Freedom of Expression” and wearing a costume to a theme park is just that!
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Check the Constitution again, Deb C. The theme park is private property and anyone entering the park is subject to the ownership’s rules, the same as anyone entering your home. It is not a public park – it is a private business open to members of the public who follow the rules and regulations required of guests. She and her boyfriend were guests. In addition, the right in the Constitution is Free Speech. Nobody stopped the girl from bawling and making a spectacle of herself for the TV cameras and bad-mouthing Disney, so she got her free speech. She freely exercised her right to open her mouth and reveal just how dumb and childish she is.
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Disney also gave them free clothes to change into and Fast Passes for all rides for the whole family so they could enjoy the rest of the day…they didn’t just kick them out.
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Even though she put a lot of time into her costume and it looked great…I still have to side with Disney on this one. They can’t have young kids running around getting close with non Disney character employees. Imagine a pedophile walking around Disney world dressed up like Aladdin, etc…
That could get real ugly real quick…
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I think the pedophile thing is part of it, I also think it has something to do with the “magic” of Disney. To a little kid, there should be only ONE Tinkerbell. Imagine a childs confusion if they saw this girl walking around the same area that the “real” Tinkerbell was. They wouldn’t know who was “real” and who wasn’t.
I bet you’d get kicked out of a mall if you walked around at Christmastime dressed as Santa, too.
Anyone who dresses up like that and goes out in public (aside from Halloween, of course) is a bit insane in the membrane, anyways. That goes for her AND her boyfriend.
WHERE are these kids’ parents?
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I think this girl needs to find a good mental health professional and the guy needs to find a new girlfriend.
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