An influencer says a Walt Disney World Resort cast member targeted her because of her figure, and she's not backing down. Her video about a Princess Tiana-inspired outfit at Magic Kingdom Park has drawn compliments, criticism, and a heated debate over who gets flagged under the Disney dress code.
The Encounter at Magic Kingdom
Ka'Neisha Collins (@collins_kai), who has more than 350,000 followers on Instagram, wore a green corset modeled on Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog (2009) during her visit. By her count, at least eight Disney Park guests complimented the look. Then, she said, an “old ass lady in her 70s” walked up and asked whether she had a different shirt or outfit to change into.
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“You can't wear this,” the Disney cast member reportedly said.
“How come?” Collins answered. “Everybody else has on corsets… I've seen about five people wearing corsets.”
According to Collins, the explanation she received was about her chest.
“She said, ‘You're too heavy at the top. You need to change,'” she recalled. “I can't help that I was born with DDs.”
Midway through filming, another guest stopped to praise the outfit. Collins then told her audience that she had stayed in it.
“I've been walking around this goddamn park the way the lord made me,” she said. “Disney, y'all try that shit again, trying to discriminate against me because of my cup size… I'm still here. I didn't leave. She pissed me off.”
Nothing suggests the Disney cast member called security, and Collins doesn't appear to have been asked to change a second time during the rest of her day at the Magic Kingdom.
Where the Rules Land
Some provisions in the Walt Disney World Resort dress code are firm. Profanity on clothing is not allowed, and prop weapons are not allowed in the parks. Many others come down to cast member judgment. The policy says:
“Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, must be worn at all times. Clothing that drags on the ground is prohibited in theme parks and water parks. Clothing with multiple layers is subject to search. We reserve the right to deny admission to or remove any person wearing attire that we consider inappropriate or attire that could detract from the experience of other Guests. Visible tattoos that could be considered inappropriate, such as those containing objectionable language or designs, are not permitted.”
Guests 14 and older can't wear costumes, and masks are prohibited for them unless medically required.
A costume typically refers to an outfit so closely associated with a character that someone could mistake the wearer for a cast member. Collins' look was more of a Disney Bound, though at least one cast member found it “inappropriate” for the Magic Kingdom.
How Viewers Reacted
Plenty of commenters backed the Disney cast member.
“Outfit is cute, but not appropriate for the venue,” @thesmolistalien wrote. “Simple 🤷🏾♀️ The worker should have chosen her words better, though.”
“I'm not hating and everyone can do what they want lol but you def could be more cognizant/mindful of having your girls out at a place geared toward kids/families,” @viaasimone agreed.
Others sided with Collins and said enforcement was inconsistent.
“First of all I was JUST at Disney and there was SO MANY woman with their girls OUT,” @not.ur.bb commented. “There's really no reason they should've told you something if they don't tell EVERYBODY something!!”
“It's a lawsuit waiting for u if u do it right,” @1700slim replied.
Collins Doubles Down
In a follow-up video, again in the same outfit, Collins responded to a viewer who accused her of “dressing weird at a kids [park].”
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“I'm dressed as Princess Tiana,” she said. “If you look at Princess Tiana's dress, she also has a strapless dress on, the same way I do. I'm just more top-heavy.”
“I don't feel my outfit is inappropriate,” she continued. “I only feel as though they, as well as you, feel as though it's inappropriate because of how heavy I am…Somebody with A cups could have the exact same thing on; are you going to say, ‘You're dressing weird?'…You only say that because I'm bigger.”
She added that Black women are policed more strictly for what they wear.
“They only do this when it comes to Black women because our busts and our butts are bigger,” she concluded. “We could have the exact same thing Miley, Haley, Chelsea have on; no one's going to bat an eye or say anything. When we put it on…now it's weird, now it's crazy. If y'all find this weird, it's because the problem is you. Nothing I have on is weird. The only problem you don't like is how big I am.”
At Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, Collins wore a similar corset as part of a Moana-inspired Disney Bound. In the comments on that post, she said no one asked her to change.
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