Disneyland Resort California - Disneyland Costumes Getting Supersized

Thursday, February 16 2006 at 13:14

It's not such a small world after all. As Disneyland celebrates its 50th birthday, the park is grappling with a harsh reality of middle age: Mickey Mouse's entourage has put on a few pounds.

To accommodate the ballooning bodies of American workers, the Magic Kingdom is redesigning some of its costumes for ride operators, shop clerks, waitresses, and other employees.

A couple decades ago, the park's wardrobe department stocked a narrow range of sizes. Today, the uniforms for women extend from size 2 to 30. And men's trousers have stretched to 58-inch waists.

The supersizing of costumes is the latest wrinkle in the park's quest to balance Walt Disney's storybook vision of perfection against real-world practicalities.

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