The family were flying to Disney World for the trip of a lifetime and decided to dress for the occasion.
Emma Raikes and her two-year-old niece sported white t-shirts with Minnie Mouse on them, alongside their names.
But when they tried to get into the Aspire Lounge at Manchester Airport, they were turned away.
Emma was travelling with her mother and five other relatives. The family claims they paid around £700 extra for an upgrade so they could use the lounge.
Prices for the lounge start at £21.99 per person.
After the family agreed to cover their t-shirts with jumpers, staff at the lounge eventually allowed them in.
Emma told Manchester Evening News: “We were extremely disappointed at the hassle we faced when trying to enter the lounge we had booked.
“We are on a familymoon to Disney and did not think a Minnie Mouse t-shirt with our name on would be seen as offensive. It was a disappointing start to our holiday.
“My niece was grumpy and crying as she was hungry. It’s not like we were a stag or hen party.”
The Aspire Lounge – run by Swissport – has a strict dress code policy for anyone who enters.
Guidelines read: “We don’t allow clothing such as (but not limited to); vest tops for men, football/rugby team shirts, clothing with offensive slogans, baseball caps, tour shirts, fancy dress, onesies or ostentatious Christmas jumpers…(well ok, Christmas jumpers are fine).”
The company has apologised for the incident with the Minnie Mouse t-shirts in Manchester.
A spokesperson said: “Our lounges do have a dress code in which we allow guests to wear a myriad of smart casual items and disallow other items such as tour shirts, sportswear and fancy dress.
“On this specific occasion, the member of staff who dealt with the family was wrong to have asked them to cover their personalised t-shirts and has misinterpreted the dress code, which is designed to ensure a comfortable atmosphere for all guests within our network of lounges.
“We sincerely apologise to the family for this genuine mistake and would encourage them to contact us directly to resolve this matter.
“The entire team at Manchester Aspire Lounge will be re-educated on the dress code to ensure this does not happen again.”
Earlier this year a group of women were removed from a Jet2 flight because of their “offensive” t-shirts, which they were wearing for a hen do.
