Tragic ‘Disney Adults’ are morphing into ‘cool girls’ as lame subculture adds tattoos: ‘Disneyland’s bad girl’

The ‘Disney adult’ is getting a rebrand.

Often ridiculed for their obsessive devotion to all things Disney, the fully-grown fanatics frequently spotted at the House of Mouse are looking a whole lot cooler lately — brandishing tattoos and showing off a much edgier style.

Ashley Wilbraham, 32, is just one among the horde of happy grownups spotted at the theme parks — the Los Angeles-based content creator has branded herself “Disneyland’s bad girl,” and frequently teases her TikTok following with her grunge-inspired fits, often consisting of graphic tees and short-shorts.

“For me personally, deciding what I’m going to wear is half the excitement of a Disney day,” Wilbraham said in a recent interview with The Cut.

Her social posts have racked up over 5 million likes on the platform — where she posts reviews of Disneyland’s latest food items and hauls of Disney-inspired clothing.

Cool girl Stephanie Arant, 35, is another influencer who posts her Disney park outfit-of-the-days. Arant’s looks ruffled princess dresses for trendy pieces like camo-print jorts, oversized tops, and ballet flats.

It’s a far cry from the traditional image of Disney adults — who have taken their share of heat for their nerdy, unabashed love of all things Mickey and Minnie.

In her 2025 book, “Disney Adults: Exploring (And Falling In Love With) A Magical Subculture,” Disney Food Blog founder AJ Wolfe spoke of the great lengths Disney adults go to frequent the pricey parks.

“We max out our credit cards to go,” Wolfe wrote. “We count down the days until we can go again and plan obsessively about what we’re going to do, eat, wear, and experience the next time we’re there. We post on social media about how life ceases in between trips.”

Earlier this year, California Disney adult Toni Kulusich set off an online firestorm when she went viral for “stalking” park employees portraying Peter Pan in Disneyland over a period of years.

The woman, dubbed “Peter Pan Girl” creeped viewers out, sharing videos engaged in extended conversations with the actors, and even giving them gifts. Unrepentant, Kulusich defended her behavior.

“Seeing him makes me happy; dressing up makes me happy; going to Disneyland once a week makes me happy,” said Kulusich in an interview with WIRED.

“If people are going to hate on me, I’m not going to let it stop me. Because I know I’m not doing anything wrong,” she insisted.

After years of bad press, Disney’s cool girls are giving the cringey class of funseekers a funky upgrade.

“When people say ‘Disney-girl cool,’ they are going for the vibes,” Jackson Moehler, an Atlanta-based Disney influencer, told The Cut.“People are trying to change the narrative of the Disney adult that isn’t weird.”

Disney seems to have taken notice of the movement.

Last year, Disney hired streetwear designer Bobby Kim as their first-ever creative director for merchandise.

His recent vintage-themed merchandise collection was an instant hit among fans, selling out in seconds.

 “The Disney cool girl doesn’t seem to be a knock but a sense of pride,” he told The Cut.

“It seems to say, ‘Look at how I’m dressing, how I am piecing this together, I am creating art.’”

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