Disneyland Paris apologized after a 3-year-old was told he could not take part in a “Princess for a Day” experience just because he is a boy.
Noah, who is a super fan of Princess Elsa in the film “Frozen” was “buzzing with excitement” when he learned about the makeover opportunity at the Disneyland Hotel, the boy’s mother, Hayley McLean-Glass, wrote in an open letter on her blog. The hotel is located near the entrance of the park in the suburbs of Paris, France.
McLean-Glass, who is from Devon, England, wrote that she decided to book the experience for Noah as early Christmas gift.
“I knew that there would be NOTHING he’d love more than to get to wear a pretty dress, put make up on like Mummy does and have his photo taken being one of his beloved Disney Princesses,” she wrote.
Disneyland Paris’ description of the service on its website reads: “Grant every little girl’s wish with a real Princess’s make-up and hair-styling session; a fairytale transformation they’ll treasure forever.”
The mother said she was devastated when she received an email reply back saying “at this time it is not possible to book princess for a day for a boy,” NBC News’ British partner, ITV News reported.
“I was so angry, I literally couldn’t stop shaking for half an hour afterwards — I was just so shocked,” she told ITV. “I mean, I’m his mother and if I’m OK with him doing it, who are Disney to tell me that he can’t do that?”
Disneyland Paris said they “sincerely apologized” to Noah and his mother in a statement to ITV News and that it was an “isolated incident.”
“An isolated incident, the cast member’s response is not reflective of any policy or belief held here at Disneyland Paris,” read the statement — Disneyland calls all of their employees “cast members.”
It continued, “We are going to ensure this does not happen again.”
“Of course, both boys and girls are welcome to enjoy The Princess For a Day experience in addition to all our other special activities,” the statement added.
McLean-Glass said she felt her son had been discriminated against because of his gender.
“The way I look at it, if a little girl went to Disneyland and wanted to do a pirate experience or a ‘Spider-Man’ experience, there would be no way that they would stop a girl from doing that because there would be an uproar,” she said. “So why is it different for a boy?”