By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-18 19:32:14 | Updated at 2026-08-20 03:00:36
1 day ago
The viral Disney adult who was accused of 'stalking' the Peter Pan character in the theme park has defended their 'special friendship.'
Earlier this month, a woman named Christina 'Toni' Kulusich came under fierce fire after she posted a video of herself interacting with Peter Pan at Disneyland.
It showed her giving him a custom-made gift, talking to him for over two minutes and then following him through the park.
The video sparked a heated debate about adult Disney fans meeting characters; it also led to immense backlash for Kulusich, as many claimed that the actor looked 'uncomfortable' in it after they analyzed his facial expressions and body language.
Now, Kulusich has addressed the scrutiny during an interview with Wired, and she admitted that the hate she has received online has 'taken a toll on her mental health.'
She also insisted the video was 'taken out of context,' and vowed that she would never put the actor 'in a situation that would harm him or his role or his career or his character integrity.'
'People really just took a five-second video of me with Peter Pan out of context and ran with it,' she said.
'[But] I do think people know that Peter Pan and I have a special friendship.'
Christina 'Toni' Kulusich attends Disneyland regularly, and often documents her endeavors at the theme park on her social media accounts. The die-hard fan spends much of her time at the theme park meeting characters, particularly, Peter Pan
She also admitted that the scrutiny has forced her to stop and ask herself: 'Why do I go meet him? Why do I go out of my way to try and find him? Why do I want to go and meet Disney characters and have these interactions with them?'
'Seeing him makes me happy, dressing up makes me happy, going to Disneyland once a week makes me happy,' she concluded.
'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.
'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.'
Disney adults, older individuals who frequently visit the theme parks, usually without kids, dress up like their favorite characters and avidly collect merchandise, have become quite the phenomenon lately – but not without scrutiny.
Kulusich also addressed the backlash during an interview with USA Today afterwards, stating: 'People can take something really small and turn it into something big without even knowing what it's truly about.'
She revealed that her love of Peter Pan started after she had a special interaction with the character in the park in 2015.
'He just made a really magical experience for me the first time,' she said.
One of her posts recently went viral after she shared a video of an interaction she had with the Peter Pan character at Disneyland. While some defended the exchange, many claimed that he looked 'uncomfortable' in it
Many users analyzed the actor's body language and facial expressions in the video. Commentators noted as seen here, he appeared to have a serious look on his face at some points during his and Toni's lengthy chat
She said she's proud of being a 'Disney adult' and is not ashamed of 'letting out [her] inner child.' She also insisted she never acts inappropriately with the characters.
'I always ask them, "Can I hug you?" ... I allow them to lead the interactions. So I'll wait for him to be like, "Let's go take a walk." I'm not gonna initiate the walk,' she vowed.
She also revealed that despite rumors, she was not banned from the park.
The Daily Mail reached out to Kulusich for comment.
Kulusich, a crochet artist from Harbor City, California, attends Disneyland regularly, and often documents her endeavors at the theme park on her social media accounts.
The die-hard fan spends much of her time at the theme park meeting characters, particularly, Peter Pan.
Kulusich is not shy about it and often posts videos about her love of Peter Pan. In fact, she has shared multiple videos of herself meeting the character in the last few months.
In January 2025, she shared a series of snaps of herself with the character in the park over the years, including one of her and Peter from a decade prior in 2015.
'10 years ago I met my lost boy for the first time at Disneyland, little did I know how much he would change my life for the better,' she wrote in the caption.
'Thank you Peter for every magical moment you’ve created for me and all those to come. You will forever be my favorite Disney character. Here’s to never growing up.'
One recent video showed her approaching the character at Disneyland and presenting him with a crocheted duck keychain, which had a Peter Pan hat on.
The two talked about the custom-made keychain for over two minutes before he started to walk away. But things didn't end there as she followed after him.
The video then included a montage of clips that showed Toni and Peter walking through the park together.
It got over 20 million views, and her behavior left many people across the web disturbed.
A man who spent years portraying Peter Pan at Disneyland spoke out about the viral video afterwards.
Now, she has defended her 'special friendship' with Peter Pan and insisted the video was 'taken out of context'
Dylan Gadeke explained in a video shared to TikTok that he worked at Disneyland from 2014 to 2021, and while he was not the Peter Pan from Kulusich's viral video, he said he 'had many interactions' with Kulusich.
He admitted that her behavior made him 'feel a little awkward and uncomfortable,' but he came to her defense amidst the immense 'harassment' she has faced online.
'Toni’s behavior did make me feel a little awkward and uncomfortable, but at no point did it cross any boundaries of what a character interaction should look like at Disneyland,' he said.
'She was very enthusiastic about meeting the character, maybe a little more so than most, but it never crossed the boundary of trying to get to know the performer, and so we need to end the discourse, and the harassment, and the online toxicity that is being aimed at her.'
Gadeke insisted Kulusich had 'done nothing wrong,' adding: 'She's acting within all the guidelines of what a guest should do at Disneyland.
'It’s a little extra, a little more than most, but she’s within her rights to do so. And the best thing that you can do with personalities that are a little extra is cut off their supply to attention. So stop the likes, stop the comments and stop the sharing or the reposts.'
Viewers of Kulusich's video were divided.
'Girl this is an adult. Let him work... with KIDS,' one user slammed.
'The way he kept inching back, body language is so loud,' another added.
'Girl leave him ALONE my god he’s not actually Peter Pan,' someone else penned.
'Why are you holding him hostage?' read a fourth comment, while a fifth said: 'Literally following him around the whole park Jesus this is insane.'
Someone on X even went as far as accusing Kulusich of 'basically stalking and low-key harassing' the actor.
Others defended Kulusich, however, as one pointed out: 'Disney isn't just for kids.'
'She paid to go there, not everything has to be about kids,' another agreed.
'I hope you know there are adults that didn't get a chance to visit Disney when they were kids,' someone else chimed in.
'Now that they have grown up and have decent jobs they visit Disney and try to heal their inner child and that's totally fine.
'They deserve their moment and if they were in line first the parents just have to wait.'
