April Spielman: Tinker Bell teen reduced to tears after her costume was banned by Disney World
All she wanted was to be Tinker Bell.
15-year-old April Spielman took to the Orlando news outlets after employees at Disney World asked her to change out of her Tinkerbell costume, citing park rules that prohibit adults from dressing up as Disney characters.
A teary-eyed April told WKMG that she spent two hours on her makeup, another hour on her hair, had to spray her whole body with glitter and also spent months working on her boyfriend’s Peter Pan costume (which he most definitely totally loved).
The couple spent most of the day traipsing through Disney World with nothing more than friendly smiles and fairy dust sprinkling down around them, until they tried to enter the Animal Kingdom, where the happiest place on Earth took a dark, dark, turn for April.
Security guards asked Spielman and her boyfriend to change before entering the Animal Kingdom, telling them Disney World has a policy against “adult costumes or clothing that can be viewed as representative of an actual Disney character,” so as not to confuse children hoping to meet real Disney characters, as stated on its website.
Spielman and her boyfriend were even offered free alternative clothing and FastPasses for skipping ride lines (not easy to come by in a theme park, by the way), but it was too late. Spielman’s magical bubble was burst, her dreams were crushed and the world, as she knew it, just didn’t make sense anymore.
“They were talking about little girls, how it ruins their dreams,” April said as she choked back tears. “But it ruined my dream, because I just wanted to be Tinker Bell.”
The news report wrapped up with powerful, thought-provoking before and after images; the first photo, a smiling, sparkly April, happy to be alive and to be Tinker Bell. The second, a self-taken cell phone photo of her, crying, with glittery makeup running down her face.
The plight of American teens should not be taken lightly, people.
