'Plus Size Park Hoppers' share Disney joy online − and they won't let cruel comments stop them

Stephanie Lanciani, 34, knows what it's like to feel like everyone's watching you.

The 34-year-old proposal and contract specialist from Massachusetts says, at one point or another, she and her four friends − Ashley, Sarah, Deanna and Katie − have all had to endure the "walk of shame" at a theme park. It's the ubiquitous term for the infamous walk away from an attraction for plus-size patrons, after being told you're too big to ride.

"It feels so bad," Lanciani says. "You feel shameful, and you shouldn't feel shameful. You know what I mean? It's not something of shame. But they call it the 'walk of shame,' when you have to walk off of a ride. ... You go through that, and you don't want it to happen again."

Now, she and her friends are on a mission to spare other travelers from that feeling by testing rides themselves and sharing their experiences online. The group of five − known on social media as the "Plus Size Park Hoppers" − have built a robust following: over 387,000 followers on TikTok and 151,000 on Instagram.

They've received a lot of gratitude from people for their size-inclusive theme park tips. They've also had to put up with a lot of cruelty. As their videos have grown more popular, trolls have flocked to their comments section.

To say the mean comments have never gotten to them, Lanciani says, would be a lie.

"I think it all affected us a lot in the beginning. I remember at one point, I was just crying. I was like, 'I can't believe they think these bad things about us.' It is really difficult," she says. "But now it's so different, because we have seen the impact that we have made on the community. ... It's just amazing to see how we have helped."

'We're going to be happy regardless'

The five women have known each other for a while. Ashley and Sarah are sisters. Lanciani met Ashley in middle school. Katie played softball with Ashley in high school. And Sarah became friends with Deanna in college.

In 2016, the group started taking trips together to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. In 2023, they decided to splurge on annual passes.

They got the idea to start Plus Size Park Hoppers after avoiding one attraction in particular − Avatar Flight of Passage in Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park − because they didn't know if they'd be able to ride it or not.

The mission of Plus Size Park Hoppers, Lanciani says, is two-fold. First, they want to provide helpful information for plus size travelers. Second, they want to show the world that plus size people can live joyful lives.

"Plus size people are just like everyone else," Lanciani says. "They want to go out and experience things and experience joy and have fun, and they should. Everyone should. Everyone should go out and do exactly what they want to do and have a great time and be joyful while they do it."

Getting attention online, she says, took some getting used to. Getting barraged with insults did too.

"I think in the beginning it was very difficult for us to see the comments," Lanciani says. "Being perceived is very scary, actually. And seeing negative comments about yourself is hurtful."

In general, body comments, even well-intentioned ones, cause more harm than good, mental health experts previously told USA TODAY. You don't know what anyone is going through − and commenting on their size risks reinforcing the belief that their appearance is the most important thing about them, Dr. Elizabeth Wassenaar, regional medical director at the Eating Recovery Center, previously told USA TODAY.

It's also important to remember that anyone can struggle with body image, no matter their size. Because of this, Alexis Conason, a clinical psychologist and author of "The Diet-Free Revolution," previously told USA TODAY it's best to avoid commenting on anyone's weight, no matter if they're thin, plus-size or somewhere in between.

And remember: Someone's cruel comments are a reflection of them. Not you.

"Something we realized early on was the happier that we looked in our videos, the meaner the comments were, the angrier other people were," Lanciani says. "And so we kind of just took it upon ourselves to be as happy as possible, to really just show them we don't care. We truly don't. We don't care what they have to say. So we're going to be happy regardless."