An early Halloween NSV at Disneyland!

[stacechase 251]

Just wanted to share an awesome NSV I experienced last Friday (9/27) at Disneyland.

To start, the basics: At my heaviest I was over 300 lbs. I was 302 lbs as of July 26th of this year, lost about 20 lbs on the pre-op diet, and was sleeved on 8/19. My current weight is 249.

I decided to attend Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland on opening night, September 27th. It's a fun family event where there is special entertainment, fireworks, trick-or-treating for kids, etc. Also, it's the only time of the year that adult guests are permitted to enter the park in costume!

The thought of being in costume made me pretty apprehensive, because I hadn't dressed up for Halloween since 2005. Dressing up for Halloween, for me, always meant the possibility of more fat shaming. I didn't want people to look at me and think that I was the "fat version" of whatever I as trying to be. So I never dressed up. This year, with my new attitude and weight loss, I plunged into the lost art of creating the perfect costume. It had to be Disney (natch)...it had to be relatively easy...it had to be completely fabulous. There was only one obvious answer: Mary Poppins.

On the evening of the party, I put the whole outfit on for the first time, and was really pleased with how it turned out. After meeting up with a friend inside the park, I noticed a Disneyland employee standing (quite literally) right next to us, watching us. Just standing there. No talking. It was very awkward. When I turned to the cast member and asked if I could help her with something, she hit me with the following:

"Um, yeah, I was just wondering, you have a great costume, and I was wondering if you'd like to be in our Halloween parade tonight. I've been on the lookout for some of the best costumes of the night, and yours is really fantastic."

Wait. WHAT?!?!

I was shocked. Of course, I agreed, and was scheduled to be in the parade at 10:30pm that night. The best part, though, was the realization that here I had been scared to dress up for Halloween for the past 7 years. Afraid of how I would look. Ashamed of my body and the thought of being a laughing stock. And once I finally faced that fear, and embraced a costume, not only did I feel great, but I was chosen out of hundreds of people to be one of nine people in a parade cavalcade in my most favorite place on Earth. Now that's pretty cool.

Needless to say, being a part of the parade was an absolute blast. I felt like a celebrity. We got to see the backstage area and watch the dancers prepare and the floats get ready. We were driven along the parade route in an antique fire truck, with a place of honor right before the grand finale float. The cast member in charge of wrangling all of us told us that Disneyland hadn't asked guests to be part of a parade in over 10 years. Even cooler.

Just a reminder that breaking out of your comfort zone can have some pretty amazing results...and I couldn't be happier with the change in my attitude, confidence, and of course, with my sleeve in general.

[stacechase 251]

Just wanted to share an awesome NSV I experienced last Friday (9/27) at Disneyland.

To start, the basics: At my heaviest I was over 300 lbs. I was 302 lbs as of July 26th of this year, lost about 20 lbs on the pre-op diet, and was sleeved on 8/19. My current weight is 249.

I decided to attend Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland on opening night, September 27th. It's a fun family event where there is special entertainment, fireworks, trick-or-treating for kids, etc. Also, it's the only time of the year that adult guests are permitted to enter the park in costume!

The thought of being in costume made me pretty apprehensive, because I hadn't dressed up for Halloween since 2005. Dressing up for Halloween, for me, always meant the possibility of more fat shaming. I didn't want people to look at me and think that I was the "fat version" of whatever I as trying to be. So I never dressed up. This year, with my new attitude and weight loss, I plunged into the lost art of creating the perfect costume. It had to be Disney (natch)...it had to be relatively easy...it had to be completely fabulous. There was only one obvious answer: Mary Poppins.

On the evening of the party, I put the whole outfit on for the first time, and was really pleased with how it turned out. After meeting up with a friend inside the park, I noticed a Disneyland employee standing (quite literally) right next to us, watching us. Just standing there. No talking. It was very awkward. When I turned to the cast member and asked if I could help her with something, she hit me with the following:

"Um, yeah, I was just wondering, you have a great costume, and I was wondering if you'd like to be in our Halloween parade tonight. I've been on the lookout for some of the best costumes of the night, and yours is really fantastic."

Wait. WHAT?!?!

I was shocked. Of course, I agreed, and was scheduled to be in the parade at 10:30pm that night. The best part, though, was the realization that here I had been scared to dress up for Halloween for the past 7 years. Afraid of how I would look. Ashamed of my body and the thought of being a laughing stock. And once I finally faced that fear, and embraced a costume, not only did I feel great, but I was chosen out of hundreds of people to be one of nine people in a parade cavalcade in my most favorite place on Earth. Now that's pretty cool.

Needless to say, being a part of the parade was an absolute blast. I felt like a celebrity. We got to see the backstage area and watch the dancers prepare and the floats get ready. We were driven along the parade route in an antique fire truck, with a place of honor right before the grand finale float. The cast member in charge of wrangling all of us told us that Disneyland hadn't asked guests to be part of a parade in over 10 years. Even cooler.

Just a reminder that breaking out of your comfort zone can have some pretty amazing results...and I couldn't be happier with the change in my attitude, confidence, and of course, with my sleeve in general.

[alene 74]

Omgosh your post almost made me cry. How absolutely wonderful for you!!! I'm so happy that you got to experience something so amazing!!! Yayyyyy!!! :-D

[alene 74]

Omgosh your post almost made me cry. How absolutely wonderful for you!!! I'm so happy that you got to experience something so amazing!!! Yayyyyy!!! :-D

[NMJG 1,266]

How great is that! A wonderful story.

[NMJG 1,266]

How great is that! A wonderful story.

[stacechase 251]

Omgosh your post almost made me cry. How absolutely wonderful for you!!! I'm so happy that you got to experience something so amazing!!! Yayyyyy!!! :-D

Thank you so much! It was incredibly special, that's for sure!

[stacechase 251]

Omgosh your post almost made me cry. How absolutely wonderful for you!!! I'm so happy that you got to experience something so amazing!!! Yayyyyy!!! :-D

Thank you so much! It was incredibly special, that's for sure!

[sleevie.wonder 306]

That is SO cool! I'm an avid Disneyland go-er (annual pass holder) so I am insanely jealous! You look great. Keep up the good work!

[sleevie.wonder 306]

That is SO cool! I'm an avid Disneyland go-er (annual pass holder) so I am insanely jealous! You look great. Keep up the good work!

[Molly3 495]

So wonderful, thanks for sharing!

[Molly3 495]

So wonderful, thanks for sharing!

[M2G 1,836]

What a great story! Thank you for sharing and taking pics for us.

[M2G 1,836]

What a great story! Thank you for sharing and taking pics for us.

[McButterpants 2,846]

What a wonderful story! And you ARE beautiful!!!

Wishing you continued success.