I just returned from visiting the Disneyland Resort with my husband and we had a magical time! We visited the park for 2 days, and since it was his first time, we decided to explore Disneyland both days and not get the park hopper. It was strange for me to not visit California Adventure this trip. I have visited the park every time I have traveled to the resort since its opening in 2001.
Another “first” this trip for me was participating in the DisneyBound trend that has been going on for a few years. At Disneyland, you’re not allowed to go in costume if you’re over a certain age. Fans get around this by dressing as the characters in a more subtle way. This is known as Disney Bounding. This trend was started on tumblr by Leslie Kay. According to this interview of Leslie, she started a small “travel site” to share her excitement, as she posted her outfits her fan base grew to a mass following fairly quickly.
I chose to portray Ariel, and, pretty unexpectedly, I got a LOT of attention from fellow park visitors. Here is a photo of me with Ariel and I will explain how you can make your own outfit just like mine!
Outfit pieces: Shell sweatshirt, mermaid leggings, and dinglehopper (fork) necklace.
Shell Sweatshirt: This top was made using a plain light purple sweatshirt from Walmart, iron on transfer paper, scissors, ruler, clothing iron and a printer. Cost: About $15 max.
This is the shell pattern I (sort of) made on photoshop. You are more than welcome to download it and use it for your own project!
I printed the shell pattern on the iron on transfer paper with my printer at home. I stretched the size of the shell to be as large as possible and fit 2 shells onto 2 pages. I cut each purple part of the shell out individually because if it is left as a whole, a sort of clear layer is visible between the color portions. Between cutting the first and second shells, I set up the ironing board and heated the iron with no steam. After cutting, I lay the sweatshirt flat on the ironing board and place the shells on the sweatshirt. My awesome husband stood there and measured out the spacing between the pieces for me, I ironed them on, carefully cut off the collar, and we were done!
Mermaid Leggings: I purchased the leggings from Lotus Leggings in the dark green color. The cost is low at $16.99 (on sale) plus $4.95 shipping. The leggings were a great color and had a beautiful shine. There are a few downsides to that great price. The first is shipping takes a long time, since the origin point is in China, it takes about 3-4 weeks to arrive. The second was that the leggings were a little itchy. It is tolerable for a few hours, I did 12 hours and it was difficult, but not much longer than that.
Dinglehopper Necklace: I purchased a fork pendant off of eBay for $1 and used a long chain I already had. I chose to go the less expensive route and spend less on the pendant that I would only wear once or twice and wait longer for shipping (about 3-4 weeks). There are many options available for your own dinglehopper necklace!
I spent about $38 on this outfit and will hopefully get to use it again next time I visit Disneyland or for Halloween!
breakfast at tiffanie's 