Welcome back to Disney Stuff.
Let’s get a little personal. First thing each morning after the iPad alarm goes off, I pop on the TV. For no particular reason, usually it’s been the CBS This Morning. Recently I woke up to one of those fluff pieces that are so popular on morning TV shows. It seems the Daily Mail in the UK conducted a survey of so-called “cut off points.” They asked 1,000 random Brits about age appropriate fashion and behavior.
For instance, according to the survey, no woman over the age of 48 should wear a bikini. (Tell that to my 49-year-old wife and her marathon-runner's body!) No man over the age of 34 should have a goatee. (Sorry Brad Pitt!) No one at all over the age of 29 should have a body piercing. (Actually, piercing’s not my thing. So, I could take this one or leave it really.) After reading this piece, I thought that a lot of these ages sounded pretty random. Then they got personal. Apparently no one over the age of 33 should be wearing Crocs. Sorry, I’m an unabashed Croc wearer, summer and winter. I think they’re the most comfortable things I’ve ever worn on my feet! Then I found out that riding a skateboard over the age of 26 is also verboten. Nobody told me to stop 20 years ago when I was 26. I think that tooling around town on my “old-guy long board” with my kids behind me on their shorter, slower, but hipper Penny boards keeps me young. Turns out Tony Hawk and I are both 46 and it certainly seems like one of us made a bazillion dollars on a skateboard.
That brings me to today’s topic. Apparently, again, according to this survey, 32 is the cut off age for wearing a baseball cap!! Now they’ve crossed the line. I can’t wear a baseball cap anymore? So this morning when I threw the ball cap on to drive the kids to camp, I was committing a fashion faux pas? Last week at Six Flags I was age-inappropriate when I donned a cap in the blazing sun? I don’t think so. There’s nothing wrong with a ball cap on a sunny day or when trying to cover up a bad case of bed head. (Hey, I’m lucky to still have that problem at 46 and as long as I do…I’m going with the cap when needed.) It’s a good thing that I find this list to be a bunch of hooey because, as you will soon see, I’ve amassed a nice collection of Disney baseball caps. So, let’s get back to the purpose of this column and take a look at some of my Disney Baseball Caps.
You can’t go wrong with your basic Mickey ball cap. I’m pretty sure this one came from The Disney Store but the tags are ripped off, so I really have no idea.
Your basic black Mickey Mouse cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
Do you prefer your Mickeys subtle? Then here’s one that I got at Walt Disney World. This one’s a classic and is always available on Main Street.
A subtler Mickey Mouse cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
A closer look at the subtle Mickey icon. Photo by Chris Barry.
Speaking of Walt Disney World, this is one of my favorites highlighting number 71, WDW’s opening year.
The Walt Disney World '71 cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
A closer look at Mickey from the '71 cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
I especially like this Magic Kingdom cap featuring the monorail and the spires from Cinderella Castle.
The Magic Kingdom cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
The Magic Kingdom logo is embroidered on the brim. Photo by Chris Barry.
The various Magic Kingdom lands are all featured under the brim. Photo by Chris Barry.
A few years back my son Casey got this cap in Tomorrowland after he just couldn’t take the sun beating down on his head anymore. It’s still his go-to park hat.
The Four Parks One World cap features logos from all four WDW theme parks. Photo by Chris Barry.
The rear details of the Four Parks One World cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
My other son, Alex, is pretty fond of wearing this Kermit cap in the parks. Admittedly, he won’t wear it anywhere else. I guess the same rules apply for a set of Mickey ears, those big Goofy hats or that Sorcerer Mickey hat that I have that lights up; Parks only please!
The Kermit the Frog head cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
Here’s an official D23 ball cap. It came pre-distressed.
An official D23 cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
Even the wife sometimes wears her Tinker Bell hat from The Disney Store. Of course, she’s forever 29, right? So she’s ok.
My wife's Tinker Bell cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
To compliment my, “Wow, you climbed Everest?” jacket, I bought this “Wow, you climbed Everest?” hat at Animal Kingdom a few years ago. The cap doesn’t say Disney’s Animal Kingdom like the jacket does, so maybe I can really pass as a true explorer when I don this cap.
The Expedition Everest Summit Team cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
A closer look at one of the patches on the Expedition Everest cap. Photo by Chris Barry.
I guess if I'm too old to wear a baseball cap, then I probably shouldn't be wearing that Mickey and Goofy Pirates of the Caribbean shirt or the Mickey Mouse watch either.
My daughter Samantha and I and my Everest cap in Epcot's Canada pavilion. Photo by Diane Dobler.
And here’s old reliable. I found this Pirates of the Caribbean ball cap at The Disney Store back when Pirates was everywhere and omnipresent in the Disney universe. Since then, it’s become my all-time favorite.
My favorite, worn-in, faded, Pirates of the Caribbean cap. Photo by Chris Barry
I’ve worn this Pirates hat just about everywhere. I roll it up into the pocket of my ski jacket. When my helmet comes off, the Pirates hat comes on. After a great day in the surf…this hat is covering my salt-water soaked head. It’s with me at concerts. It’s with me in the Disney parks to keep that Orlando sun out of my eyes. It’s with me when my sons and I go skateboarding around the corner on that great newly blacktopped road. I guess I’m just breaking all the age appropriate rules aren’t I? This Disney Pirates of the Caribbean hat has become a part of me despite what the 1,000 people in Great Britain may say.
So, follow this link and read the article. It’s worth a read and a laugh. And then, wear your Disney ball cap with pride even if you’re 46 like me! While you’re at it…kiss in the street over the age of 24. Wear high heels over 34. Dance at a nightclub if you’re older than 37. Be young. Be happy. Be who you are.
But…the Mickey ears and giant Goofy hat…still probably just for the parks. Ok?
These are my Disney ball caps. Do you have any favorites that you proudly wear? Click on the link below; let me hear your thoughts and I’ll see you next time with more of that great Disney Stuff.
