Ah, Halloween. That one day of the year when you're allowed to dress up and go around begging for candy. For many, especially children, the issue of finding a costume for that special day is easy. There are always at least a dozen ghosts, zombies, and witches; a handful of beautiful princess and daring heroes; and about a thousand or so replicas of whatever movie or cultural phenomena happens to be most prevalent at the time. This year that meant pirates, pirates and more pirates. But what if you didn't want to be a pirate? What if you were "too old" to be a ghost or a princess? What then?
I wish I could take credit for coming up with the idea to dress up as a Disneyland tourist for Halloween all on my own, but in reality I stole it from one of the many Disney forums I frequent. I had been desperately searching for a costume I could make from clothes and items I already owned (since being a poor college student I couldn't really afford to go out and actually buy a costume.) I had Tinkerbelle wings so I could be a fairy, but I had no green leotard and no sparkly leggings. I had an orange shirt, so I could be a pumpkin, but I had nothing else orange to wear with it. So, needless to say, when I came across the idea to dress up as a Disneyland tourist, I was quite excited.
Looking around my apartment I immediately thought of a dozen or so objects to create the look I was going for. On top of the TV were my golden Mickey ears. On the corner of my calendar hung my Disneyland pin lanyard. Above my bed sat a stuffed Mickey. In my bookshelf were two guidebooks to Disneyland. In my closet were dozens of souvenir bags, many filled with park maps and ride pictures. And, of course, the piece de resistance, thrown over my computer chair was my Disneyland sweatshirt which I proudly wear to the parks every time I visit. In a mere five minutes I had made an entire Halloween costume without leaving my apartment or spending a penny.
And yet, as I tried to explain my costume to the skeptical flappers and cross-dressers around me, it was hard to convince them that I was dressed differently from any other day of my life. Even those who didn't know me as "the Disneyland expert" wondered why I hadn't dressed up for Halloween. As soon as I pulled my pin lanyard and guidebooks out of my Disneyland souvenir bag however, they changed their tune. Then I wasn't just dressed as myself, I was dressed as a complete and utter nerd. And I hadn't even brought my Disneyland DVD or my thousands of pictures from the park!
It's funny to be called a nerd for dressing up as a Disneyland tourist when there is someone actually dressed up as a nerd sitting right next to you. Since when, I had to wonder, had it become nerdy to love something so magical, so whimsical and childlike, as Disneyland? When had it become dorky to spend money on a vacation where you could meet your favorite animated characters in real life and take a log ride through a Briar Patch?
According to my friends, it had always been nerdy.
Then I made the mistake of telling them that I was going to Disney World in January.
"Wow, Kelly. Again?" they asked, with a head tilt full of pity.
"Again?!" I asked. "I've never even been to Disney World!"
"Disneyland, Disney World, same difference," they replied.
Whoa there, I thought. It was one thing to make fun of my Halloween costume and label me a nerd, but to not even be able to distinguish between Disneyland in California and Disney World in Florida?! At that point I had two choices: I could either go into a long tirade about the differences between Disneyland and Disney World, and the many idiosyncrasies of the Disney company in general, or I could keep my mouth shut and realize that some people just don't have the passion that I do for all things Disney. I chose to do the latter.
At the end of the day, with my tourist outfit still intact, I watched as my roommate opened the door for trick-or-treaters. "That one was dressed as a pirate!" she said the first time she answered the door. "That one was dressed as Lightning McQueen from Cars," she said another time. And so I was once again forced to wonder…why is it ok for children to dress up as their favorite Disney characters, while adults are publicly mocked for doing so? Is it because children are innocent and allowed to believe in magic, whereas adults should know better? If that's the reason then I say we all shed our adult preconceptions of reality and take on the childlike innocence that we once had. Disney nerds stand tall and proud! After all, isn't that why we all fell in love with Disneyland and all things Disney in the first place?
