Hatbox Ghost kicked out of MTOTP 10/28

[Seawolf]

Avbat, those new pictures Goofyer posted just blow me away on how detailed your costume really is. Did you airbrush those blue color streaks on the costume? The color is right on target!

In this picture you can clearly see your eyes, did they honestly think you would cut that mask? If I were to see you guys dressed like that at this event it would have made my night for sure, you only add dramatically to the experience.

[Moonie]

Originally Posted by Goofyer

Lol at the guy not so subtly taking a picture in the back.

Agreed, though. Not jealous. Just being overly concerned because you were getting so much attention.

[Kuzcochik]

All right, one other thing I want to point out too and then I'm going to let this discussion rest
I can see another big problem in that the average tourist might confuse you for officially sanctioned Disney characters. From the pics I've seen you guys look kind of in character and Disney has a right to say something to you if you're dressed as their characters. Yes you're not making a profit or anything but anything you do in those costumes could technically reflect badly on Disney.
Obviously your girlfriend is an amazing evil queen and let's just say she did something rude to a guest or something of the like (not that she did just hypothetical). the guest than goes and complains and the whole sitch makes Disney look bad. It's not an overtly stated rule, yes, but it is at Disney's discretion to decide if you should be there or not. Again, I'm just playing devil's advocate here

[Broadway Guru]

Originally Posted by Victoria

Wow, you and your gf's costumes are AMAZING! Simply stunning! ANYONE can see that, even Disney. I'm really sorry they made you and your family leave, that's extremely sad and tragic that they would take that stance when you had done nothing wrong.

Agreed. This one's definitely Disney's screwup. I'm sure that when they made the costuming rules, they never anticipated that someone could or would create a costume to rival Disney's own. Well, guess what? Many adults have the time and the resources to do just that. So, rather than deal w/ this reality, they stubbornly cling to any excuse they can to try and undermine others' hard work.

In a way, it's kind of funny, almost like they're in denial. ("Wait! You shouldn't be able to follow our rules and still have that nice of a costume!") Reminds me of the scene in "Cinderella" where she made a ballgown out of her stepsisters' cast-offs. They couldn't believe her "nerve" and tore it to shreds.

If Disney really wanted to avoid this problem, it'd be very easy. No Disney character costumes for adults. Ta da!

I think you should go public with what happened... let people know how jealous they can be when it comes to this. That will really get things sparked up and bring more attention to this matter from the higher-ups.

Absolutely. How do you get something posted on the Register blog?

[Broadway Guru]

Originally Posted by Kuzcochik

I can see another big problem in that the average tourist might confuse you for officially sanctioned Disney characters. From the pics I've seen you guys look kind of in character and Disney has a right to say something to you if you're dressed as their characters. Yes you're not making a profit or anything but anything you do in those costumes could technically reflect badly on Disney.

Yes, but supposedly Disney planned for that w/ the existing rules. Fine to dress as a character. Just don't take pics w/ guests and don't pretend to be the character. If they didn't want this to happen, they should've simply said "no adults dressed as characters" instead of handling the situation as they did.

[avbat]

Originally Posted by Seawolf

Avbat, those new pictures Goofyer posted just blow me away on how detailed your costume really is. Did you airbrush those blue color streaks on the costume? The color is right on target!

In this picture you can clearly see your eyes, did they honestly think you would cut that mask? If I were to see you guys dressed like that at this event it would have made my night for sure, you only add dramatically to the experience.

Yea the entire costume was airbrushed by myself to look uniform, and have the same blue/green hue in the light. In the dark the entire suit glows.

The hilarious thing about this picture is that here i am actually speaking with the head of security and this is probably about the exact point in the night were she is telling me that my mask needs to have eye holes. They are obviously visible here, even at an extreme side view. Right after this was taken I took the mask off and poked several of my fingers through each hole and showed them to her. she didn't like that very much.

[avbat]

Originally Posted by Broadway Guru

Agreed. This one's definitely Disney's screwup. I'm sure that when they made the costuming rules, they never anticipated that someone could or would create a costume to rival Disney's own. Well, guess what? Many adults have the time and the resources to do just that. So, rather than deal w/ this reality, they stubbornly cling to any excuse they can to try and undermine others' hard work.

In a way, it's kind of funny, almost like they're in denial. ("Wait! You shouldn't be able to follow our rules and still have that nice of a costume!") Reminds me of the scene in "Cinderella" where she made a ballgown out of her stepsisters' cast-offs. They couldn't believe her "nerve" and tore it to shreds.

If Disney really wanted to avoid this problem, it'd be very easy. No Disney character costumes for adults. Ta da!

Absolutely. How do you get something posted on the Register blog?

I am totally fine with this story being taken public. I will be calling Mark and Brian in the morning as they are disneyland fans, and they have what is probably the most listened to morning talk radio program.

As for pretending to be the characters: that is neither here nor there to me. Of course if you let adults (or anyone) dress up as your characters they are going to do various things to make themselves look and act like they chaacter they are trying to portray. that is a no-brainer.

We were told that we were allowed to have our pics taken, just NOT WITH ANY guests. Which we didn't. Of course if Disney let people off of the street actually pose as their characters in the parks, with guests, there could be a whole slew of problems that could come up. I understand that, but that was not what was gong on.

[WatchYourHeadNStep]

I understand your frustration mate! My first time at DCA Mickey's TorT in 2006 was amazing but we walked a fine line. The moment we got off of the tram my wife and I were immediately approached by Disney security in Downtown Disney. Using my amazing power of sweet talking the two security officers after they gave us the entire rundown of the rules and regulations we were actually escorted by them all the way through the checkpoint and to the front gates of DCA. We were stopped by many people for photos and autographs but we didn't participate in any of those activities. One security guard even became our "official" photographer until we got to the front gates.

The following years were a little bit more lax with the exception when we were running around with Ron Rodriguez who doubled for JD in POTC 2/3. That is when security was really eyeballing us everywhere we went.

You have to remember and you stated it yourself that you and your girlfriend were "mobbed" by guests for photos. That in itself is deemed a distraction from the event by security. This is probably why they used the excuse of "your eyes were not showing" rather than telling you to leave because other guests wanted your photos. It seems that the two Disney security telling you that you did nothing wrong followed by removal from the park was their way of CYA - Covering Their Arses............!!!

Amazing costumes they are but again a little TOO amazing for Disney and Disney security standards. I agree with redoing your mask by having your eyes really show through and using make up to blend your exposed skin into the mask OR use alot of make up and recreate the HBG face on your own face without using the mask. This way security will have no chance of saying your costume is causing an "obstructive view."

Quick edit: I highly don't think that the costume rivalry between your amazing costume and the lack of costume talent at by Disney costumers has anything to do with your removal from the park. I was being photographed by Disney management aka "suits" the year I went as Cannibal Jack! I was even getting compliments from CMs and Disney "suits" saying how much better my Jack was from their Jack and this was in the fury of Captain Jack Sparrow fever!!!!

[WatchYourHeadNStep]

Originally Posted by Broadway Guru

If Disney really wanted to avoid this problem, it'd be very easy. No Disney character costumes for adults. Ta da!

I don't really see Disney making this happen because attendance levels would plummet and Disney definitely needs the crowds in DCA during this time of year!

Amazing how much more relaxed WDW Halloween events are compared to ours out here in California.

[avbat]

Hey I just thought I would post these on here in response to Seawolf inquiring about the detail of the costume. I pigmented the entire costume with glowing pigmentation so that in very dark lighting it would glow in the dark. These are not taken at the park. This was a few days later in a test shot, just for kicks in my garage:

[Seawolf]

Wow you really outdid yourself, you even masked off certain areas of the face to prevent it from glowing.

[CinderellaStory]

Originally Posted by Kuzcochik

All right, one other thing I want to point out too and then I'm going to let this discussion rest
I can see another big problem in that the average tourist might confuse you for officially sanctioned Disney characters. From the pics I've seen you guys look kind of in character and Disney has a right to say something to you if you're dressed as their characters. Yes you're not making a profit or anything but anything you do in those costumes could technically reflect badly on Disney.
Obviously your girlfriend is an amazing evil queen and let's just say she did something rude to a guest or something of the like (not that she did just hypothetical). the guest than goes and complains and the whole sitch makes Disney look bad. It's not an overtly stated rule, yes, but it is at Disney's discretion to decide if you should be there or not. Again, I'm just playing devil's advocate here

It is stated in the Disneyland dress code that costumes portraying Disney characters are acceptable at the Trick-or-Treat parties. The only regulations being that you can not sign autographs or pose for pictures with other guests.

In other words, their costumes were perfectly acceptable as long as they were not purposely doing anything to encourage guests to think that they were Disney cast.

Not only did the OP describe a situation where they definitely DID NOT lead any other guests on, but other posters who saw them that night have backed up that story. Furthermore, the pictures posted by someone completely unrelated to the OP clearly show that they were "minding their own business" as best they could and ignoring people trying to get their attention.

Disney is most definitely in the wrong here.

[rooby]

Fantastic costumes - all of you who showed pictures!

The whole awful truth about this entire fiasco though is that this would have NEVER happened when Walt was around. I'm sure he would have been one of the first in line to take a picture with all of you. Walt Disney built the park for people to go and have fun but now that Disney is a publicly traded company, there are all these extra rules in the way. I hope you and your group were able to enjoy the time you did spend at the park before the incident occurred.

[orbitalpunk]

Outstanding work, but I don't see your eye balls at all. They are covered by the characters eyes. I find no fault rule wise, but what I didn't like was that officers said ok earlier, and then not ok later.

I hope you don't banish a place you've loved all your life over this.

[karebear286]

WOw.... that costume is amazzzing.