What is Disney Cosplay?

Disney Cosplay

The word Cosplay is a combination of the words costume and play. It a form of art in which participants are known as cosplayers, dressed up as a character from a film, book, or video game to imitate that character. Similarly, Disney Cosplay is nothing but replicating the famous Disney characters using the outfits and accessories.

Disney cosplay is now so popular across the world. Be it End of Year (EOY) cosplay festival in Singapore, or during the Halloween celebration, or during the Cosplay Mania in the Philippines. Disney Cosplay has now become a global rage and is expanding its wings every year!

But then there was an entry of a similar yet different fashion trend in 2011 known as DisneyBounding. There is no question about how popular Disney is. This single statistic is enough to understand Disney's popularity - In 2018, Disney generated over 20 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from its theme parks alone!

The DisneyBounding is nothing but an icing on the cake. It helps to expand Disney's popularity further. Let us first understand what DisneyBounding is?

What is DisneyBounding?

The DisneyBounding fashion trend was coined by a girl named Leslie Kay in 2011. She came up with the term as she was getting ready for a trip to Walt Disney World. In her blog DisneyBound, Leslie shared her emotion about an upcoming trip to Disney World; her first visit since she was a kid.

The idea's to imitate a Disney character while wearing everyday clothes, through color blocking and accessories. The DisneyBounders' looks are simply inspired by the Disney characters. In contrast, the Disney cosplaying is an extremely detailed look where the aim is to resemble precisely similar to the real figure.

In simple terms, DisneyBounding is a way for Disney fans to show their love for Disney characters. Instead of wearing full-fledged costumes as in Disney cosplay, DisneyBounding stress on dress up in stylish, regular outfits inspired by a particular Disney character.

What is the DisneyBound Challenge?

  • The Disney Bound Challenge is a month-long challenge that is held in the month of March, where the DisneyBound community dresses up as a DisneyBounders for every day of that month. To participate in the challenge, you just have to wear regular clothes while dressing like a Disney character.
  • The motto of this event is very simple- Meet other Disney enthusiasts like yourself and have fun.
  • The lesser-known fact is that Leslie Kay- the creator of DisneyBound, has started this fashion trend as a response to the Disney park rule that restricts the entry of guests over the age of 14 from wearing costumes.

However, DisneyBounding has now become a channel for adult Disney enthusiasts to express themselves at the theme parks without violating any park rules, which prohibits the guests above the age of 14 from wearing costumes.

That rule is in place as not to interfere with the official characters who work there. There are, however, exceptions for special events such as Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.

By now, you must have understood the difference between the Disney cosplay and the DisneyBounding. Let's learn some tips for the perfect DisneyBounding.

1) Choose Your Favorite Character

First and foremost, choose your favorite character. If you are a Disney fan, you will definitely have a favorite character you may have wanted to recreate for years. Choose a character that well represents your personality.


2) Check Your Closet First

The best place to start when creating your own DisneyBound outfit is your own closet. You don't need to rush to the mall for costume shopping. Remember, this is not a Disney cosplay. In DisneyBounding, you have to use the regular outfits that you already have. You are not supposed to buy special Disney outfits for the event. This will lose the whole plot of the DisneyBounding.

3) Choose a Stylish Fashion Era

If choosing a perfect Disney character out of hundreds of characters is tough for you, you can start with the era that you love the most and want to replicate in DisneyBounding. There were some fantastic Disney characters in the 80's and 90's. For better clarity and ideas, you can surf the Internet or social media as well. Social media is indeed a great place to turn to for some ideas.

4) Accessories Complete The Look

There is no doubt that accessories play a significant role in enhancing the overall look. Even a little bit of touch of the right accessories can give an edge to your Disney look. A stylish bag, a wig, a pair of shoes, or anything similar can help you get a perfect look. Moreover, these accessories are cheap, unlike Disney costumes.

5) DisneyBounding With Your Partner And Friends

If you don't like going solo, try DisneyBounding with your partner or friends. In fact, there are numbers of Disney characters that look awesome when you replicate them together- in pairs. Such as Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip, Meg and Hercules, Aladdin and Jasmin, Mulan and Shang, etc.

You can even pair up with your friends too. There are a couple of friends in Disney too. For example, Timon and Pumba, Robin Hood and Little John, Tod and Copper, Aladdin and Genie, etc.

3 Easy and Creative DisneyBounding Ideas

A. Rapunzel DisneyBound

For this look, you don't need anything much other than a purple dress. Rapunzel Disneybound is affordable and attractive. To add a more realistic look, you can wear the long Rapunzel wig. Don't add too many accessories. Remember, this is a DisneyBounding, not a Disney cosplay.

All you need for Rapunzel DisneyBounding is:
  • Purple Dress
  • Flower Crown
  • A long/ short Disney cosplay wigs

B. Belle DisneyBound

Without a doubt, belle is one of the most beloved characters of all time. For this reason, belle bounding is always in trend. DisneyBounding as belle is quite simple and affordable. All you need is a basic yellow dress, womens Disney wigs and a thick book! To dress up as a belle, you require below accessories:
  • A yellow dress
  • A book
  • A typical belle wig
  • You can also play with the wig colors. Brown, white, red, any color wigs will suit this look.


C. Cinderella DisneyBound

Cinderella is an all-time favorite DisneyBounding. There are many Cinderella looks that can be practiced for DisneyBounding. Such as, hipster Cinderella, retro Cinderella, classic Cinderella, etc. For a typical Cinderella DisneyBound, all you need is:
  • Blue casual dress
  • White hand gloves
  • Black choker
  • Sparkling shoes
  • Blue headband
  • 1-2 Womens Disney wigs
Conclusion: DisneyBounding and Disney cosplay are largely the same. The primary difference between these both activities is, in Disney cosplay, you try to replicate the character precisely in the same way by wearing all the accessories and the outfit. While in DisneyBounding, you use the available regular outfits and accessories to recreate the character, which does not look odd but looks more like a daily attire.