Officials at Disneyland Paris were forced to issue an apology after they denied a three-year-old boy the opportunity to be a ‘Princess For A Day’.
Noah McLean-Glass, who is a ‘superfan’ of the Disney film Frozen, was looking forward to dressing up like main character Elsa.
However the youngster was told he couldn’t participate in the experience as he was not a girl.
In response to this, his mother Haley wrote an open letter to Disney asking them what ‘terrible awful fate may befall’ Noah if he were to wear a dress.
Haley said that her little boy was ‘buzzing with excitement’ when he first heard about the ‘Be A Princess’ experience, but an email response from Disneyland Paris told her the offer was ‘not possible to book…for a boy’ at the time.
In her blog post Hayley wrote:
We have spent a small fortune in Disney items for [Noah], he wears his beloved Elsa dress all day every day … he even refuses to take it off at bedtime.
He knows every single word to Let It Go and all of the other Frozen songs, he’d be able to stand on your stage in the Frozen show and give your Elsa a run for her money I’m sure!
If there’s such a thing as a Frozen superfan, Noah is it!
Haley went on to say her son was being denied the same experience as young girls who visit the theme park ‘simply because he’s a boy’.
Hayley’s post continued:
If a little girl wants to be a superhero, she can be.
If she wants to be a Jedi, she can be.
She can be whatever she wants.
Disneyland Paris soon issued an apology to the family and claimed it did not have a policy in place excluding boys from the ‘Be A Princess For A Day’ experience.
According to The Guardian a spokesperson said:
This experience is available to all children, ages three-to-12 and we’ve reached out to the family to apologise to them for being provided with inaccurate information.
Prior to the controversy, on Disneyland Paris’ website, the ‘Be A Princess For A Day’ description said it was as an event which will ‘grant every little girl’s wish’ to be a real Disney princess.
However since the controversy, the description has been changed and now reads:
Every child’s wish can come true with a total Princess makeover and hair-styling session; a fairytale transformation they’ll treasure forever.
A spokesman for Disneyland Paris told ITV News Noah’s situation was ‘an isolated incident’ which does not reflect the ‘policy or belief’ of the company as ‘Diversity is near and dear’ to them.
The company also stressed they are taking the necessary steps to ‘ensure this does not happen again’.
