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She just won’t leave Neverland.
A viral Disneyland content creator obsessed with Peter Pan said she isn’t done chasing the character’s magic — despite an internet uproar over her “creepy” behavior.
“Seeing him makes me happy; dressing up makes me happy; going to Disneyland once a week makes me happy,” Toni Kulusich, 27, told WIRED, of the time she spends interacting with park performers portraying Peter Pan.
“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.”
Kulusich said she is not as strange as the internet has painted her. Her husband is a Marine who is “really supportive” of her content. She also works as the manager of a big-box retail store.
“It’s not like I’m going to the store or to my job and thinking about Peter Pan,” she told WIRED. “It’s just that when I’m inside Disney, I’m able to release my inner child and the kid who doesn’t want to grow up. And that’s what [Peter Pan] stands for.”
One of the performers Kulusich is allegedly obsessed with spoke out recently, saying that while the superfan’s behavior made him “a little awkward and uncomfortable,” it never crossed any boundaries.
“We need to end the discourse and harassment in the online toxicity that’s being aimed at her, she’s doing nothing wrong,” he said.
Kulusich has been seen chasing the character around the park, giving him gifts, and hanging around several different Peter Pan performers for years.
She said that online critics shared her workplace address publicly, forcing her manager to change her hours for security reasons.
“It’s definitely taken a toll on my mental health,” she said. “Imagine waking up to thousands of comments saying you’re a crazy stalker lady every single day.”
Kulusich told WIRED that she’s “only” met up with a Peter Pan performer seven times during her last 30 trips to Disney parks. But the characters do know her by name, she said,
She’s avoided Disney parks the last few weeks, but has recently returned. On her last visit, she saw Peter Pan again.
“He told me never to stop visiting Neverland,” she said.
Kulusich did admit that she has a connection with the character in green tights.
“I do think people know that Peter Pan and I have a special friendship,” she said.
English (US)