D23 Mousequerade: Creative costumes take center stage at Disney’s ultimate fan event

ANAHEIM, California – Some of Disney’s most dedicated cosplayers took part in D23 Mousequerade: The Ultimate Disney Costume Contest.

D23 LIVE UPDATES: Latest news from Disney’s annual fan event

There were three categories: Fantastic Worlds, Epic Adventures and Character Cast. Fans in attendance were treated to amazing and creative artwork, some of which took many days, weeks and months to create.

“I worked on it for over a year, 23,000 crystals by hand, that alone took a few months, so it was definitely a labor of love,” said Maryna Matlock, who won Epic Adventures with her crystal Anastasia costume.

The celebrity judges included Disney legend Colleen Atwood, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ashley Eckstein and Caitlin McHugh Stamos.

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“I was under a lot of stress to make sure everything was perfect so they would like it, and I’m glad they liked it,” said Lia Mchel, the winner of Fantastic Worlds.

“That’s the best thing about costumes, you see them on people and see them having fun with them,” explained Cassie Wanda, who won the “Cast of Characters” category along with her friends.

Audience Award winner Jessica Martin said it was about sharing her creativity and love of all things Disney.

“I like doing it for myself, but I actually prefer doing it to make other people smile,” Martin said.

Disney is the parent company of this ABC channel.