Mickey Mouse walked out of the character dressing room wearing a barong Tagalog, following Minnie Mouse who was twirling in a pink terno. My plan to skip the meet and greet during the preview of the Disney Store at SM Mall of Asia went out the window as soon as I saw the duo. It’s not every day that you see these childhood icons dressed in Philippine national costumes.

Our family once paid for an expensive dinner for three at the Enchanted Garden at Hong Kong Disneyland. This was right after the reopening of borders after the COVID lockdowns. The character dinner wasn’t as dynamic as we remembered it because only Mickey and Minnie were present that night. Typically, there would be at least four characters. The cast members tried to make us feel better by telling us that Minnie and Mickey were wearing special outfits that day: Minnie was in a formal gown while Mickey was in a black tie. They were in their Valentine costumes.