What to Know
If you thought the scariest thing at Disney World was paying $15 for a bucket of popcorn, think again. One woman says she was stopped dead in her tracks at Epcot and not by an hour-long line, but by a Disney cast member who decided her outfit was just too risqué for The Happiest Place on Earth™.
Meet TikTok fitness creator Nicole Arena (@arenalifts). She and her husband decided to do a spontaneous Disney day at Epcot. You know, carefree, magical, a little sweaty because Florida. They were excited, they were armed with day passes, and they were determined to squeeze every last drop of fun out of their park tickets.
And honestly? They were doing a solid job of it until Disney apparently turned into the world’s most expensive middle school dress code patrol.
Nicole wore black leggings and a white padded sports bra, which she herself described as “similar to a crop top.”
Now, this is hardly scandalous. If anything, it sounds like the official uniform of every woman running errands at Target. But after standing in line for an hour at the Frozen ride (and let’s just give a shout out to respect the patience that takes), a ride attendant suddenly declared her “improperly dressed” and told her she couldn’t get on.
I’m sorry? Improper where? How? She’d already strolled through security, ticketing, and passed a parade of smiling cast members without so much as a raised eyebrow.
Yet, right before it was time to Let It Go, Disney apparently decided it was time to Let Her Know.
Nicole says she was shocked, her husband jumped to her defense, but the cast member wasn’t budging.
Instead, she suggested Nicole leave the line, buy a shirt, and come back. Nothing says “Disney magic” quite like being forced to drop $45 on a plain tank top at a gift shop. And no, it wasn’t even sequined or bedazzled with Mickey ears.
Just forty-five bucks for the most boring shirt in Florida. BOOOOOOOOOO.
When Nicole finally returned (forty-five dollars lighter, mind you), she spoke with a manager. The manager admitted that, yes, she should never have been stopped in the first place. Apparently, if there was an issue, it should’ve been caught at security or at the beginning of the ride line, not after an hour of waiting. Groundbreaking revelation, really.
But did Disney apologize with, say, a free FastPass, a free churro, or literally anything? Nope. They shrugged, basically said “oops,” and sent Nicole on her way. The original employee who made the call disappeared faster than Cinderella at midnight.
Nicole says she felt singled out, embarrassed, brushed off, and out $45.
And she’s not wrong. Disney’s official dress code says clothing that “exposes excessive portions of skin” may be deemed inappropriate. But who exactly decides what counts as “excessive”? If a padded sports bra is crossing the line, then I regret to inform Disney that most athleisure wear is one nursery rhyme away from being banned.
I’ve personally seen dads roaming the park shirtless after Splash Mountain, toddlers wearing nothing but saggy diapers, and teens rocking shorts and crop tops so small they could qualify as bikinis. Yet Nicole’s leggings-and-sports-bra combo was apparently the hill Disney chose to die on.
Here’s the real kicker.
Nicole said if she’d known about the issue earlier, she could’ve just grabbed something from her car. Instead, the timing of it all left her with no choice but to drop serious cash on overpriced park merch. It’s giving setup, if you ask me.
So, Disney, let’s call this what it is. A $45 tax on being a woman for having shoulders and abs. If Mickey wants to play fashion police, he better check Moana and Ariel’s midriff-and-shoulder-bearing tops and hand me a discount code first.
Until then, I’ll be the one running all my errands in leggings and a sports bra while living my very best, scandalous life.
