Guests Complain After Meeting the New Ariel

Once the controversial live-action reimagining of the 1989 movie The Little Mermaid arrived in theaters on May 26 (this past Friday), Walt Disney World Resort wasted no time in ushering in a new era when it came to the Disney Parks’ representation of Ariel the Disney princess.

Now, the ‘new Ariel’ has already met her first few rounds of Disney Park Guests — and unfortunately, the feedback is not great!

Ariel Goes “Au Naturel”

In a very recent conversation on Reddit, Disney Guests shared their thoughts after meeting the new and improved version of Ariel the little mermaid.

The Disney Park character performers who have been cast in the role of Ariel in Disney World, Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris — at least, the Halle Bailey version of Ariel — seem to be sporting Bailey’s signature natural locs instead of the bright red hair that the 1989 animated Disney princess showed off under the sea.

A Bold Fashion Choice

Since these character performers and Disney employees are also playing the ‘land’ version of Ariel, they are not wearing mermaid tails and the women have been outfitted in beachy blue dresses that are perfect for trips to the coast or romance-filled summer date nights.

This outfit obviously suits the land version of Ariel very well, coinciding with the blue dress worn by the Disney princess during the “Kiss the Girl” sequence in both Disney versions of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale.

Update: Ariel from #TheLittleMermaid will appear during the interactive happening at Walt Disney Studios Park until June 23, 2023. pic.twitter.com/b9hSBTx8yU

— DLP Report (@DLPReport) May 26, 2023

However, it seems to be lacking any form of pizzazz — at least in the eyes of many Disney World and Hollywood Studios Guests, who met Ariel within the Walt Disney Presents and One Man’s Dream area.

Is This Just Disneybounding?

“She looks adorable but her dress feels weirdly casual,” one Disney Guest complained. “It looks like something a parks influencer would wear, not a princess. I get wanting to give her a more modest outfit than a bikini top and mermaid tail but this is … not my favorite.”

“Yeah it looks like disneybounding,” another Disney World visitor chimed in.

“Right? This is just a pretty girl at Disney. Wearing more sensible shoes than most. It doesn’t have the big flouncy gown feel like the other princesses, and no accessories like a crown to really send it home,” yet another Disney Guest and Little Mermaid fan agreed.

The complaints did not seem to be directed at the character performers or to involve the quality of their performances, thankfully.

Considering how much hatred has been directed towards Halle Bailey after she was cast in the role of Ariel, perhaps complaints about the character’s outfit in the Meet and Greets are the ‘best’ that Disney can hope for!