The Wanderlust Librarian | Costumes at Disneyland

Confession time: I am a horrible costume builder. 

In fact, when Halloween time rolls around... I cringe because I can never think of a good costume to pull off! This anxiety was made worse when a few friends wanted to dress up when we went to Disneyland. 

Dress up? With costumes?  *gulp*

Turns out, Disneyland has an official position on wearing a costume: "(one cannot wear) adult costumes or clothing that can be viewed as representative of an actual Disney character". In plain people talk: an adult can't wear something that looks like a legitimate Disney character. The only time an adult can wear a full fledged costume in Disneyland is when there's a special Halloween party that you buy a special ticket for. 

How does one dress like a Disney character but not?  Disneybounding. 

The term was new to me until this year. Disneybounding is taking the color palate and essence of a Disney character and using those items to make a "costume". This means, that ANYone can wear it into a Disney park and represent their favorite character and still stay well within the rules. 

This was something I could definitely get behind! My travel companions and I decided to dress up as a cohesive group. We chose the classic movies, Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland. Each of us chose a different character within those movies. 

Clothes are a huge part of Disneybounding. Accessories really push it all over the top. My friend, Taylor, brought bows and hats for us to use and they really made the difference between "It looks good." and "We look AWESOME!". She found things on the cheap. The cost was $1.00 ea for the big bows and $1.00 for a pair of the little bows. She got the shirts at a shirt outlet in Stockton for $3.00 and the pants for $10.00 at K Mart. 

The cartoon Mr. Smee

The Bloggess as Smee (and a hat... I NEVER wear hats)

TinkerScout with green jeans! 

Tinkerbell

                                                                               

 Happy Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
and Pluto!! 

Grumpy Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

                                                                               

A lot of cast members (people who work at Disneyland) really loved it. It solidified us as a group and it made people smile. At the end of the day... it was just fun. Everyone was comfortable, happy.. and full of Disney spirit! My friends and I are already planning our next Disneybounding adventure. 

What would be yours?

Go out there and find your costumed adventure. 

Happy Halloween!