BBB experts needed please...

[addiedisney]

Hi,

I'm getting a headache searching the huge BBB thread, so would someone be so kind as to answer some questions for me? I am a few days out from my 180 day window, so I need to get going on my plans...

1) I want to do BBB at the castle, then Cinderella breakfast. Is this a popular option? What time does the BBB at the castle open? What's the best way to do this?

2) My daughter will turn 4 while we are there. She LOVES all things princess and dresses. Does anyone purchase a dress online to get a better price, then bring it with them to save $ and get a smaller package? My only concern is that she might want "a different dress" when we are in there, but she might just have to live with that.

3) What package would you recommend we get if we bring the dress/accessories?

Thanks!!

 

[ollyg]

I always bring my own dresses. I usually purchase off etsy or ebay from sellers who make them--I like them in cotton or satin--the are cooler and not scratchy. PM if you would like the names of who I have dealt with.

We go with the crown package which is the nails, hair, and make-up.

Hope this helps

 

[mom2rtk]

We always bring our own costume too. You don't need the pricier package there. Besides, their dresses are really scratchy.

You can go get the photo shoot at Castle Couture (the shop behind the castle) at no additional charge. They will add them to your photopass acct.

Why does it have to be breakfast? No need to rush and worry about whether you'll make your ADR time. We always do BBB before park opening then play in Fantasyland and hit their earliest lunch time.

Don't miss the Fairy Godmother herself. She hangs out behind the castle from 9:15 to 1:15 daily(off and on).

 

[addiedisney]

Ollyg....

Thanks I sent you a PM...

If anyone else has any ideas for me on where to purchase the dresses I would love a PM...

Thanks!

 

[joy13]

Hi,

I'm getting a headache searching the huge BBB thread, so would someone be so kind as to answer some questions for me? I am a few days out from my 180 day window, so I need to get going on my plans...

1) I want to do BBB at the castle, then Cinderella breakfast. Is this a popular option? What time does the BBB at the castle open? What's the best way to do this?

2) My daughter will turn 4 while we are there. She LOVES all things princess and dresses. Does anyone purchase a dress online to get a better price, then bring it with them to save $ and get a smaller package? My only concern is that she might want "a different dress" when we are in there, but she might just have to live with that.

3) What package would you recommend we get if we bring the dress/accessories?

Thanks!!

I believe that BBB opens at 8:00, so if it's not a EMH morning you can get in and do BBB before the park opens. CRT opens early too - so a lot of people do both. I would get your CRT ADR first, then BBB - but let the CM you are talking to, know you want both. You can't do BBB reservations online yet. BBB takes about 45 - 1hr to be done, depending on how busy it is.

We have always brought a dress from home. We like these dresses because they aren't scratchy: www.mydressuptrunk.com

 

[Wadecool]

Ollyg....

Thanks I sent you a PM...

If anyone else has any ideas for me on where to purchase the dresses I would love a PM...

Thanks!

We bought DD's dress (Cinderella wedding dress) at the Disney store in Louisville. I think it was cheaper than buying it at BBB. A few more tips: we dressed DD in a cotton t shirt and shorts under the dress to keep her from itching so much from the dress fabric. Also, bring an empty large ziplock bag and if <when> she wants to take the dress off in the park, you can stuff it in the ziplock bag and squeeze the air out to carry with you.

We did the BBB appointment at 8:05 am and had our CRT ADR at 10:30. That gave us time to be among the first to ride everything in Fantasyland when the park opened at 9, then go have breakfast in the Castle. That timeline worked out really well for us. Have fun.

 

[JaneyGrrrl]

Hi,

I'm getting a headache searching the huge BBB thread, so would someone be so kind as to answer some questions for me? I am a few days out from my 180 day window, so I need to get going on my plans...

1) I want to do BBB at the castle, then Cinderella breakfast. Is this a popular option? What time does the BBB at the castle open? What's the best way to do this?

2) My daughter will turn 4 while we are there. She LOVES all things princess and dresses. Does anyone purchase a dress online to get a better price, then bring it with them to save $ and get a smaller package? My only concern is that she might want "a different dress" when we are in there, but she might just have to live with that.

3) What package would you recommend we get if we bring the dress/accessories?

Thanks!!

1. This is a very popular option and most likely the best way to go. Early in the morning (first several appointments) are the most likely to be seated at their actual appointment time. It starts backing up slowly but surely as the day progresses. Both the BBB and Cinderella's Royal Table open at 8am every morning. Which is an hour before the park opens on non-EMH mornings. There is a special turnstile to allow guests with reservations in before the park opens. The best option would be to try and make a reservation as early as possible for BBB and CRT 1 1/2-2 hours after the BBB reservation. That is ideal.

2.SOOOOOOO many princesses bring their own dresses. They will either arrive at the boutique already dressed or bring it and use one of the "royal dressing rooms." When someone chooses the castle package, the dress and shoes are presented to the princess by saying the magic words and revealing the dress behind the curtain. This can ALSO be done with you bringing your own dress. The dress can be a COMPLETE surprise to the princess. Bring the dress, shoes and whatever accessories you want and ask the fairy godmother in training at the check in to please set it up in the dressing room and reveal it to your princess. Make sure they know it's a surprise. That way you get the same magic as if you bought it there.

3. The two current package offerings are the "Coach" package or the "Crown" package. The Coach package is hair (with accessories), makeup and a sash. The Crown package is hair (with accessories), makeup, sash and nail polish. Your princess will have her nails painted (light sparkle polish) and be given 2 bottles of nail polish to take home. It's only a $5 difference between the 2 packages and it's a good deal considering the nail polish sells for $3.95 per bottle.

Hope this helped!

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

One of our favorite things to do is get a reservation at the bbb for around 8:15 then have breakfast at cinderellas royal table immediately following! When we get out we still are able to do fantasyland with little wait!

I buy our authentic Disney park dresses on eBay usually. They are new and usually a little cheaper. My girls rarely complain about how they feel but if they do, we just slip a tshirt underneath.

We always do the middle package with the nails. My girls love having the polish once we get home

 

[GirlOutlaw]

We did the BBB with our DD in 2010 and she LOVED it! I purchased a dress from the disney store.com and to avoid the itchy fabric I found on ebay a full slip with a large petti skirt of soft chiffon to put under the costume. Not only did it stop the itching but made the dress puff out just like a princess! Hope you have a blast at BBB!!

 

[ejrj]

One of our favorite things to do is get a reservation at the bbb for around 8:15 then have breakfast at cinderellas royal table immediately following! When we get out we still are able to do fantasyland with little wait!

I buy our authentic Disney park dresses on eBay usually. They are new and usually a little cheaper. My girls rarely complain about how they feel but if they do, we just slip a tshirt underneath.

We always do the middle package with the nails. My girls love having the polish once we get home

To do this (your favorite way), if you have your BBB res for 8:15, what time do you make your CRT breakfast reservation for?

 

[mom2elle]

We will be there at the end of the month, and are doing BBB and CRT on my daughters 4th bday. I was back and forth, (and back and forth) about the dress and just decided that we would get one there. We have an 8am BBB appt and then 1:00 lunch. I hope it works out well.

Good luck finding your dress!

 

[bibbidibobbidibecky]

To do this (your favorite way), if you have your BBB res for 8:15, what time do you make your CRT breakfast reservation for?

Usually 9:30. Last time we did this my son had a makeover at the pirates league at 9 (earliest they open) so we did a 9:45 breakfast...it was perfect! We usually have a few minutes to kill so either go do pics by cinderella's fountain or ride a quick Dumbo or Snow White if we have time. But I'd rather time to kill than be rushing.

 

[TimPaulaDisney08]

I like to get an 8am BBB reservation and the earliest lunch reservation at CRT. I don't like to pay that much or use to 2 TS credits for breakfast. The lunch menu is awesome (Major Domo pie yum!). Plus we got done just before 9am & were in the back of the castle with the Fairy Godmother for rope drope. Walked to Dumbo with no wait! Plus pics in front of the castle with no one else! All worth the 8am reservation for us!

 

[Curoly06]

Hi,

I'm getting a headache searching the huge BBB thread, so would someone be so kind as to answer some questions for me? I am a few days out from my 180 day window, so I need to get going on my plans...

1) I want to do BBB at the castle, then Cinderella breakfast. Is this a popular option? What time does the BBB at the castle open? What's the best way to do this?

2) My daughter will turn 4 while we are there. She LOVES all things princess and dresses. Does anyone purchase a dress online to get a better price, then bring it with them to save $ and get a smaller package? My only concern is that she might want "a different dress" when we are in there, but she might just have to live with that.

3) What package would you recommend we get if we bring the dress/accessories?

Thanks!!

Thank you for asking those questions!! I'm taking my 3 year old niece to Disney next year and we were wondering the same things.

 

[danielephant]

i think we are doing this for DD for her 4th birthday as well...she will be 4 two days after we leave

 

[MrRomance]

Hi,

I'm getting a headache searching the huge BBB thread, so would someone be so kind as to answer some questions for me? I am a few days out from my 180 day window, so I need to get going on my plans...

1) I want to do BBB at the castle, then Cinderella breakfast. Is this a popular option? What time does the BBB at the castle open? What's the best way to do this?

2) My daughter will turn 4 while we are there. She LOVES all things princess and dresses. Does anyone purchase a dress online to get a better price, then bring it with them to save $ and get a smaller package? My only concern is that she might want "a different dress" when we are in there, but she might just have to live with that.

3) What package would you recommend we get if we bring the dress/accessories?

Thanks!!

Not sure I qualify as a BBB expert but here is my 2 cents...

We took our daughters to BBB in 2008. We didn't do the breakfast, we opted to do character lunch instead because the timing was a lot easier to manage. We had the largest package that included the dresses and photoshoot. It wasn't cheap but it wasn't going to break us either. The photos were fantastic!

I don't know if it works the same if you bring your own costume, but one of the most exciting things for our girls was when they laid out their dresses behind the curtain and had them say the "magic words" to reveal all their stuff laid out.

Yes you can buy the costumes for less, but having bought a lot of costumes over the years, I have yet to see one that has the quality of those at BBB. I'm a strong believer that while I like to save money, something like the BBB is all about the extravagance and the experience. It's not something you do every day, it's not even something you will do every trip, so why not go the whole 9 yards.

Our reservation was at 9am and we were one of the first in.

For us breakfast wasn't going to work. We would either have had to go before the BBB which really defeats the purpose because the characters defintely pay special attention to kids who have been to the BBB or risk missing a breakfast reservation. There is no way of knowing how long it is going to take in there especially if you have a kid that doesn't like sitting still and having their hair slicked back!

We went to an early lunch at 1900 Park Fare for lunch, took the boat from the MK to the GF. After lunch we went back to MK, watched the parade and had their photoshoot.

So to answer your questions... I would take the lunch option rather than breakfast. You can take your own costume but in my opinion it changes the experience.

 

[ejrj]

I like to get an 8am BBB reservation and the earliest lunch reservation at CRT. I don't like to pay that much or use to 2 TS credits for breakfast. The lunch menu is awesome (Major Domo pie yum!). Plus we got done just before 9am & were in the back of the castle with the Fairy Godmother for rope drope. Walked to Dumbo with no wait! Plus pics in front of the castle with no one else! All worth the 8am reservation for us!

So lunch is just on TS credit then? Hmmmm. I like your plan in that case. You still get the early am experience of the MK and do CRT just with a little time in between. Good call!

 

[Daisy-J&D]

Lunch is 2 TS credits as well. I think people are
only commenting that it's better value for lunch than breakfast foods.

We bought DD's dress at the Disney Store after debating about whether we should wait to buy it at the parks. She was Snow White and we were SO glad we bought the dress before we got there because it was a lot nicer than the park version (more sparkles and details). It was also $15-$20 cheaper.

 

[Daisy-J&D]

We also thought the accessories were nicer at the Disney store. I was kind of surprised but then again you are a captive audience at WDW so they can get away if selling dresses/accessories that are lesser quality for more money.
JUST MY OPINION, of course.

 

[ejrj]

Lunch is 2 TS credits as well. I think people are
only commenting that it's better value for lunch than breakfast foods.

We bought DD's dress at the Disney Store after debating about whether we should wait to buy it at the parks. She was Snow White and we were SO glad we bought the dress before we got there because it was a lot nicer than the park version (more sparkles and details). It was also $15-$20 cheaper.

Gotcha. Thanks for the pre morning coffee clarification.