A former Disneyland character actor is speaking out to defend a fan who went viral after her social media posts sparked backlash from viewers.
Dylan Gadeke has found himself at the center of a dramatic online saga. While he no longer works at Disneyland, he portrayed Peter Pan in the California theme park from 2014 – 2021, a fairly long tenure for a face actor.
During those years, he (or rather, the character he played) acquired an extremely dedicated fan who goes by the screen name ‘babytoni99.’ Toni, as she’s being called by viewers on social media, is a regular attendee at the Disney parks, who posts photos and videos chronicling her visits multiple times a month.
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Toni is a typical ‘Disney adult,’ which isn’t objectionable in itself; instead, viewers are taking issue with her behavior toward Peter Pan’s character actors, who she says she’s been visiting once a week for the last ten years.
Out of her extensive log of Disney-themed content, two videos have racked up the most backlash. One of those is a five-minute-long video on TikTok, in which she gifts one Peter Pan actor a crocheted keychain and follows him around the park. It’s garnered over 43 million views on the plaform, and it’s not hard to see why: Their interactions are painfully awkward. Commenters noted that the actor appeared to be extremely disinterested, as though he was trying to shake her off and failing.
“I know he went on a cigarette break after this,” one joked.
“Disney adults are very weird,” another wrote. “Let the kids enjoy the characters and step aside, geez.”
@babytoni99 Another adventure with the green bean💚🫶🏻✨ #peterpan #disneyland ♬ original sound – Toni
Another video, posted to Instagram on July 18, 2026, features a mashup of various clips showing Toni’s many interactions with Peter Pan actors over the last ten years. It’s worth noting that Toni doesn’t appear to be fixated on any particular performer, but seems to simply be a big fan of the character, himself.
“All the Peter Pans probably have a group chat to vent about their experiences with her,” one viewer remarked.
“She’s definitely in the daily briefing for the Peter Pans,” another wrote.
Toni’s posts have gone so viral that they’ve caught the attention of one of the Peter Pan actors featured in one of her videos, Dylan Gadeke, who took to TikTok on August 17 to tell his side of the story.
Surprisingly, Gadeke didn’t have anything negative to say about Toni. Instead, he defended her from the hordes of negative commenters that had suddenly sprung up online, urging viewers to let her be.
“Yes, I had many interactions with Toni,” he began. “As you can see in the video, Toni’s behavior did make me feel a little awkward and uncomfortable, but at no point did it cross any boundaries of what character interactions should look like at Disneyland.
“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. We need to end the discourse and the harassment and the online toxicity that is being aimed at her. She’s doing nothing wrong. She’s acting within all the guidelines of what a guest should do at Disneyland.
“It’s a little extra and a little more than most, but she’s within her rights to do so. The best thing you can do with personalities that are a little extra is cut off their supply to attention. So stop the likes, stop the comments, stop the sharing or the reposts.”
@dylangadeke All children grow up, and now it’s your turn✨ #peterpan #disney #disneyland ♬ Original Sound – TikTok Advertiser
Viewers didn’t seem to be convinced by his call to action, as he went on to share a story about “another stalker” who followed him around the park — a word that commenters were quick to pick up on.
“You said ‘story about another stalker.’ Is that admitting that Toni is a stalker? You said she didn’t cross boundaries, does that mean she isn’t a stalker? I’m confused,” one wrote.
“‘Another stalker…’ so you agree, Toni is a stalker,” another said.
Toni herself continues to post her regular influx of Disney-themed content despite the backlash. She has only made one short video responding to the discourse, which she uploaded to TikTok on August 5.
In the video, she danced to Beyonce’s song Partition, along with the caption, “When people ask how I got a five-minute video with a lost boy at Disney.”
“Just saying; if he didn’t wanna be around me, he would literally run away,” she wrote.
Virginia (she/her) is IGN’s News Editor. With ten years of experience reporting on games and entertainment, she’s got a storied background in the fighting game community, influencer news, and viral online trends. Find her on Twitter at @TheeMissGlaze.