Disneybound
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Forms: form: Disneybounds
form: Disneybounding
form: Disneybounded
form: Disneybounded
form: DisneyBound
Etymology: Coined by Leslie Kalbfleisch (a.k.a. Leslie Kay) in 2011 with her Tumblr blog called DisneyBound, from Disney + -bound. Kay described the context: “It was a travel site. My best friend and I were heading to Disney World, and we had been planning that trip since we were young … I was using this blog as a way to channel my excitement because we were literally Disney-bound. So I started doing these outfits, which is something that I always did when I was a little kid … I could dress up in these clothes without it actually being a costume.”
Senses: examples: text: “I have Disneybounded Merida, Minnie Mouse, Buzz Lightyear. … I have two different Ariel ones,” said [Elyssa] Kivus, 27. “I really like meeting the character when you’re Disneybounding as that character,” she said.
ref: 2015 May 18, Dewayne Bevil, “Disney fans display devotion”, in Sun Sentinel, volume 56, number 23, page 3B:
text: Stephanie Danet Disneybounding as Princess Jasmine from "Aladdin." […] Leslie [Kay] Disneybounding as the bird Becky from "Finding Dory." […] Brittani Enos-Blake Disneybounding as Snow White. She wore a Magic Mirror pin instead of carrying an actual mirror. […] Sara Katz-Scher Disneybounding as Minnie Mouse. […] Keshia [Sih-Tseng] and her husband Kevin Disneybounding as Han Solo and Chewbacca from "Star Wars." […] Sarah [Sterling] and her boyfriend, Leo [Camacho], Disneybounding as Dory and Nemo from "Finding Nemo."
ref: 2017 November 15, Kelsey Borresen, “‘Disneybounding’ Is The Dress-Up Trend Creative Fans Are Obsessed With”, in HuffPost, archived from the original on 03 Oct 2018:
text: Fans can also cosplay as Disney characters (although notably, not at the Disney parks themselves), or even ‘Disneybound’, a practice where fans dress in similar colours or looks to their favourite Disney characters (see also Rebecca Rowe’s chapter in this volume). […] [Rebecca Rowe, “To Act Like a Kid or Not to Act Like a Kid: Disneybounding in the Parks”] Moreover, on multiple occasions that day, people singled me out to talk to me, ignoring the rest of my family who were not Disneybounding. […] The one day that I did not Disneybound, I immediately faded into the background. / This experience deeply fascinated me: why would others treat me differently when they see me Disneybounding? […] On the other hand, guests may be more likely to approach someone who seems to be having a good time, whether or not they are Disneybounding, because childlike wonder and playfulness are part of Disney’s image of the child, suggesting that the guest is performing Disney’s script of childhood. […] BIPoC guests, likewise, can reimagine their chosen characters simply by Disneybounding as them (i.e. a Black Ariel).
ref: 2022, Sabrina Mittermeier, editor, Fan Phenomena: Disney, Intellect, →ISBN, part 2 (The Disney Theme Parks and Their Fans):
text: Most folks who Disneybound do so specifically for trips to Disney World or Disneyland, but the more subtle the references are in an outfit, the more likely they can be inconspicuous out in public.
ref: 2023 March 1, Casey Clark, “Disneybounding lets you dress up as your favorite Disney characters”, in The Daily Journal, volume 149, number 51, page 5B:
topics: lifestyle
glosses: To incorporate The Walt Disney Company–themed elements (of a specific character) in one’s fashion.
Related terms: Disneybounder
Disneybounding