Real-life Disney princess: a cosplayer’s guide to living the dream
Caitlin Karcher is not a real-life Disney princess — though anyone who’s ever seen her cosplay one of her nine variations of Princess Anna may disagree.
Even in a simple task such as heading to JoAnn Fabrics for silver embellishments for a work-in-progress project constitutes a head-to-toe costume; a simple graphic tee quoting a line from “Frozen” can barely be seen under a checkered green and blue flannel. She wears worn-out Converse and a pair of simple jean shorts. At first glance, a passerby might not even pick up on the costume. That is, until they catch a glimpse of Karcher’s final and most important touch: a ginger wig that parts into two braids with a single white streak amidst the red, the signature hairdo of Disney’s “Frozen’s” Princess Anna.
“This is ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ casual Princess Anna,” Karcher said, the pride in her outfit clear in the smile on her face.
Karcher, a 24 year-old marketing and promotions representative for Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs, ties her passion for cosplaying into almost every aspect of her adult life. Cosplaying isn’t simply a hobby anymore.
“We’re here for a Terminator piece I’m working on for my boyfriend, but I normally browse the isles for inspiration every time I come,” Karcher explained to me as we weaved in and out of every colorful aisle inside the superstore. She stopped to point out details that she could add onto various costumes, some for cosplay conventions (like the Terminator outfit) and some for the costumes she uses for work.
Through cosplay, Karcher has effectively found a way to turn her hobby into profit. Most recently, she brought Nathan’s one of their most successful business days in years in the form of Southwest Florida’s friendly neighborhood Spiderman.
In effort to bring customers to Nathan’s, Karcher formed a partnership between the restaurant and her second job, a Fort Myers-based party character rental service called Seraphima Cosplay and Characters. Karcher often picks up gigs at birthday parties and similar meet-and-greets through Seraphima, so when she heard of Nathan’s plan to auction off Disney tickets as part of a promotional event, she knew she had to invite Princess Cinderella and her friends along.
As anyone who’s ever been to Disney might predict, there’s nothing more magical to a kid than meeting her favorite character in real life. Karcher’s idea was an instant success, so much so that Nathan’s decided to hold a second meet-and-greet event, this time with Peter Parker. The second event was as much a success as the first, with Karcher recalling Nathan’s being packed to the brim with excited children in Spiderman shirts waiting to meet their hero.
Though her peers may perceive her as a master cosplayer, Karcher hasn’t been on the cosplay scene for as long as one might expect. Her fascination with the art stemmed from her love of dressing up on Halloween; she simply decided that one day a year wasn’t enough time to satisfy her love for creating and portraying characters. After attending her first cosplay convention in 2012 with her father, both dressed as characters from the British TV show “Doctor Who,” Karcher began to teach herself how to sew in 2014. She based her early pieces off of the costume patterns from “Frozen” costumes and, through steady practice and five years of trial-and-error, has grown from simple stitches to a collection of Princess Anna costumes that stray from traditional storylines to crossover characters.
After creating and executing all of Princess Anna’s outfits released by Disney, Karcher decided she couldn’t get enough of the Arendelle-native. Next came Jedi Princess Anna, a crossover between “Frozen” and another popular Disney franchise, “Star Wars.” Soon after came Halloween and the opportunity to cross princess Anna with a character from “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” No matter the event, Karcher knows she needs to show up in the most creative way possible.
While, at the end of the day, the wig comes off and Karcher must step out of character, she still exhibits many qualities of a Disney princess. Perhaps the most on-brand (and heartwarming) similarity between Princess Anna and Karcher is the gift of true love.
“She came into my life at a really tough time,” said Bryan Wolf, Karcher’s boyfriend and fellow cosplayer. “I was battling a bout of depression, but then she came into my life and brought a chaotic amount of joy into my life wherever she went.”
Wolf met Karcher while at a cosplay event in 2017 and decided to befriend her simply because his younger brother, a fellow cosplayer, wouldn’t give him the time of day. To Wolf’s luck, the pair hit it off and soon after made plans to collaborate at a cosplay event. Karcher was in need of a Kristoff to accompany her Anna — and had no trouble convincing Wolf to comply.
“I remember him saying in a group chat he was willing to be a Disney prince, but he didn’t know if he’d fit the character,” Karcher said. “Instantly our friends sent back ‘Kristoff. DUH.’ And that was all it took.”
Since their first event as Anna and Kristoff, the pair have cosplayed countless different couples, four Disney prince/princess duos among the list. Most recently, Wolf and Karcher celebrated their one-year anniversary amongst the dinosaurs as Owen Grady and Claire Dearing from “Jurassic World” in none other than Universal Orlando’s Jurassic World.
“All I asked for was a photoshoot at Margaritaville in cosplay attire,” said Karcher of the couple’s one-year celebration. “There’s a scene in the movie that’s often missed, but I love it.”
So, Wolf took Karcher to CityWalk in Orlando and Grady and Dearing got their dinner at Margaritaville. Perhaps channeling the spontaneous nature of Grady, Wolf suggested he and Karcher buy last-minute passes to Universal to explore the newly-renovated Jurassic World attraction.
There was no cosplay convention or paid event involved. Wolf and Karcher walked through Jurassic Park in full costume because it was the dream anniversary present. They were not there to please a crowd or make a statement; they simply wanted to have fun.
For better or worse, however, the couple’s costumes stuck out and caught the attention of many passersby. The response to the public cosplay was overwhelmingly positive.
“The workers at Jurassic World were thrilled,” Wolf said with a smile mirroring that of Karcher’s when she discusses a favorite cosplay. “I had people calling me Chris Pratt, the actor who plays Owen.”
Karcher said the reaction they felt at Universal is typical to her cosplays. Most people get a certain joy out of seeing their favorite fictional characters come to life. There is, however, a certain stigma that surrounds the cosplay community.
“I tried it once and it was not a good experience,” said FGCU student Emily Cruz. “I went to a convention in South Florida and it was so weird. Everyone was trying to act in character to me and I didn't understand a lot of the costumes. I don’t think it’s for most people.”
Cruz is among many that either don’t understand or don’t support the cosplay community. Karcher’s own roommates have often tried to turn her away from pursuing cosplay as a hobby, attempting to capture her attention through TV shows and other pop culture trends instead. The culture has caused a wave of social media accounts created specifically to showcase the worst of the worst — creating a potentially unsafe atmosphere for cosplayers who post their content online.
Regardless of the trend of negativity, Karcher won’t let the stigma break her. She knows that her hobby has not only brought countless opportunities her way, but is also something that drowns out any negativity with overwhelming positivity.
Even in a setting as simple as a fabric store, Karcher’s very essence exhibits that of a Disney princess and draws eyes. We spend over a full hour browsing JoAnn’s. Karcher often comes up short or is forced to change her plans based on what materials are available to her.
Regardless of the setbacks, I spent the whole afternoon smiling — it was hard not to smile while following around someone like Karcher.
“Every couple of months there’s someone who tries to get me down and I have to remember that I’m not doing this for them,” Karcher said. “We do this because it makes us happy. If it makes us happy and it makes the kids that see the characters they love happy, then that’s what it’s all about.”
