Questionable Fashion Trends At Walt Disney World Explained
When it comes to fashion at Walt Disney World, there's always something new to see and talk about. From the intricate ensembles crafted by Disney Bounders to the growing trend of donning puffy-sleeved princess dresses, fashion statements are aplenty on Main Street USA. It's a common topic of conversation among visitors and enthusiasts alike.
Nonetheless, not all of these "trends" seem to be embraced by everyone. This became evident on social media when a Walt Disney World guest shared 5 peculiar things that left him scratching his head.
Of course, having done some of these things ourselves, we thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to share some thoughts. So what’s what we’re going to do today. Here are some of the “questionable fashion trends” you might see at Walt Disney World, why they are a “trend” and why you might want to consider doing some of these things yourself during your next Walt Disney World vacation.
Tennis Skirts
When walking around Walt Disney World you will absolutely cross paths with many women and girls wearing tennis skirts. These are somewhat short pleated skirts with attracted athletic/bike shorts underneath.
It might seem odd to wear a tennis skirt somewhere off the court, but as it turns out these skirts are actually a very practical solution to a rather common problem. As it turns out, the hours you’ll spend walking around the parks can take their toll; especially on the inner thighs. Yes, we’re talking about chafing. No matter your size or shape, this is a problem that guests visiting Walt Disney World run into fairly regularly when walking for miles in the hot, humid conditions of Central Florida.
There are a lot of solutions to this problem, including balms and creams that you can use to prevent chafing. However, they needs to be applied repeatedly throughout the day and can clog pores causing even more problems than they aim to prevent. An easy solution that works wonders is having tight fitted, athletic-type shorts under your skirt, dress or even your baggy shorts or pants.
While shorts under a skirt or dress work wonders at preventing the discomfort of chafing, they’re also a great way to stay comfortable in regards to modesty. While everyone has different feelings when it comes to modesty in general, most can agree that your day is a whole lot stressful when you can avoid exposing things you don’t want exposed. Having shorts under a skirt or dress do a really good job at making that happen. Rather than having to worry about a Marilyn Monroe moment in the queue for Spaceship Earth or unintentionally exposing yourself to the next round of passengers on Space Mountain, shorts keep everything that you want to keep covered covered.
TIP: All body shapes and sizes are prone to chafing, even kids. To prevent this problem before it starts, we strongly encourage bringing a pair of shorts to wear under any dress that you plan to wear at the parks. The shorts should be long enough to cover the inner thigh. [Booty shorts aren’t gonna do it. . . sorry!] They should also be tight fitting as loose shorts can also cause chafing.
Cross Body Sling Bags
The cross body sling bag, also known as a Belt Bag or Fanny Pack, has made a comeback in recent years. While the way the bags are worn has changed, the fundamentals are the same; they’re big enough to carry just what you need and not much more. For some people, this makes this type of bag a questionable choice when visiting Walt Disney World; particularly because it doesn’t carry all that much.
Bags like this can be a tough topic to tackle. Mainly, because they are super useful for some and utterly useless for others. That said, if you’re planning on using this type of cross body sling bag during your vacation, you have to be aware of what is require in order to make it a useful tool rather than a nightmare; tactical precision and a good understanding of what you have access to once inside the parks.
In reality, you don’t need to bring all that much with you when visiting the Walt Disney World theme parks. I know, it sounds hard to believe. As a matter of fact, you don’t really need much more than your ticket media, phone and a credit card. That’s not to say you need to purchase everything you need at the parks either. Emergency items, such as bandaids and some basic medications, are available at First Aid locations around Walt Disney World. You can also avoid bringing more bulky items, such as a water bottle, by making use of water fountain and free water available at quick service locations throughout the Walt Disney World Resort.
When you take all of this into consideration, it frees up a whole lot of space; even in the smallest of bags. Rather than packing things that you might need and have access to for free in the parks, you can go the route of bringing snacks, a phone charger, personal fan or any number of other items with room to spare.
This all having been said, just because someone is wearing a belt bag at the parks doesn’t necessarily mean that this is all that they brought with them for the day. While it certainly is the case for a lot of people, especially locals who are only at the parks for a few hours at a stretch or people staying at resorts who go back to their room midday, it’s also very possible that they are making use of the lockers available at the parks or have left their necessities in their car. While both of these options aren’t great for everyone, they are an alternative to carrying an entire backpack around for a long day at the parks.
TIP: While it may be very appealing to pack nothing more than a small bag for your day at the Walt Disney World theme parks, we don’t recommend this for everyone. Families with young children, on a tight schedule or those who are not familiar with the parks themselves may find that going this route is incredibly stressful and can be very time consuming. While we do think that there are ways to cut down what you’re bringing to the parks, we think that it is best to have what you think you and your family will need to carry you through the entire day rather.
Crocs With Socks
Crocs are a popular choice in footwear among some visiting Walt Disney World. You’ll see people of all ages wearing them in almost every setting. However, the choice to wear them with socks has some people scratching their head. After all, isn’t the idea of wearing Crocs that you don’t need socks?
Unfortunately, for our Croc fans out there, this isn’t necessarily the case. While wearing Crocs in daily life might be comfortable enough, they aren’t well suited for long days in the theme parks. Particularly because they can cause some really nasty blisters. This has a lot of people going the route of adding a pair of socks to prevent problems during their vacation.
While we know that diehards love their Crocs and insist that they are the perfect shoe for every scenario, it’s important to realize that they simply aren’t. Aside from the discomfort of blisters, Crocs aren’t well suited for long distance walking. According to podiatrists, the lack of arch and heel support can not only strain muscles and ligaments in the feet, they can make it more difficult to maintain stability as you walk raising the risk of injury.
TIP: The shoes you wear to Walt Disney World can make or break your trip. We always recommend a good walking or tennis shoe that fits appropriately and has been broken in prior to your trip. Socks or not, we think it’s best to keep the crocs at home.
Backless Tops
Backless tops [and/or other styles of tops in which it’s obvious that wearing a standard bra isn’t going to cut it] have always been fashionable. However, it seems like we’re seeing them a bit more recently; even at the theme parks.
There’s no denying that this type of top seems like quite the impractical and/or uncomfortable choice for a day at Walt DisneyWorld. . . . and for some people it absolutely will be. That said, the truth of the matter is that there are so many options nowadays for alternative undergarments that can make going this route more accessible and comfortable for more people. From built in support to stick on/tape options, if you’re wanting to try something off the shoulder or backless, you no longer need to settle for uncomfortable undergarments of the past.
TIP: Don’t forget, when packing for your Walt Disney World vacation, that Disney does have a dress code and reserves the right to ask any guest to leave if they do not feel as though their clothing is appropriate or safe. In the past, Disney has provided guests with a free shirt to cover up, but this is not something that happens all that much anymore thanks to guests abusing the system. If you’re unsure as to whether or not the shirt you plan on wearing will be appropriate, we recommend avoiding it altogether or packing a shirt to wear on top of it if the situation arises where you are approached by a Cast Member. That said, backless or strapless garments on their own aren’t necessarily deemed as inappropriate or unsafe. We recommend avoiding anything that ties together, such as a string bikini ties together, and anything that might quality as clubwear.
Dark Colored Undergarments Under Light Colored Clothes
Of all the “trends” that we’ve discussed today, this is one that seems to really ruffle some features and make some people uncomfortable. Nevertheless, we want to address it and hopefully clarify some things for anyone who might be wondering.
When navigating the crowds at Walt Disney World, it’s not unheard-of to notice someone waring light colored clothes through which you can see dark contrasting undergarments. For some, this seems like an odd choice. After all, why would you want to wear undergarments that you can so easily see through the clothes you are wearing? Believe it or not, there’s usually a good reason for that.
For most people, a choice in undergarment usually is based on the color of your clothes or the color of your skin with the ultimate goal being that it will blend in with one or the other. However, this doesn’t always work all that well when it comes to light colored clothes. Especially in conditions like at Walt Disney World, where our clothes are prone to getting wet from sweat or attractions, it can be nice to have a dark colored barrier to hide anything that we want to keep from being exposed.
Much like wearing shorts under a dress or skirt, this can give the wearer the confidence that while others might see the outline of their undergarments, they aren’t seeing much more than that. It’s a tradeoff, but one that can have guests feeling a lot less stressed while at the parks.
TIP: If you’re a fan of wearing white or light colored clothes, but want to keep your undergarments as well hidden as possible, consider deep red/burgundy rather than black. This isn’t necessarily going to be the easiest color to find, but it is the least conspicuous under light colored clothes and a great alternative to black.
At the end of the day, these “fashion trends” might not be for everyone, but they do serve a purpose for some. Hopefully, we were able to answer some questions about some of these friends that you might seen in the wild when visiting Walt Disney World and give you some ideas of how to manage your own wardrobe when packing for your next trip.
As always, we’d love to hear what it is you have to say about all of this in the comments below! Tell us, have you ever noticed any of these things when wandering through the theme parks or do you do any of these things yourself?