BBB vs. Royal Court Tea

[KG_MKE]

We are sailing on the Fantasy in September with my soon to be 5 year old. We currently have BBB booked on the afternoon of the formal night. After looking into all of the fun activities, I came across the Royal Court Tea party. I only want to pay for either BBB or Royal Court as a birthday gift. Has anyone done both and have a preference? My daughter did the full BBB castle package last fall at WDW before heading to the castle for dinner and loved it! Not sure if we should repeat or try a new experience! TIA

 

[PaoDCL]

You should try the Royal Court, I did it with my 2 DDs and the completely love it. Your daughter would have a special time with each princess. They sing and dance, is a very nice time. Most of the girls bring their own drees
You are going to love the experience

 

[cheermom2four]

We did Royal court with our just turned 5 year old last september and omg she STILL talks about it. It was awesome and she ws able to get some personal time with each of the princesses (not a long time but each princess came to the table and chatted with her and it didnt feel rushed at all). As we walked out, she got her pic taken with all three together and then a really nice photo with photo frame was in our stateroom later that day (part of the cost). She still wears her bracelet and the necklace with all the charms she received from each princess.

Edited to add: It was a once in a lifetime event and we wont be doing it again. Its just one of those things once you've done it once, its really not needed to do it again but worth the price in Gold the first time.

 

[LSUfan4444]

We did both....BBB when my daughter was 5 and RCT when my daughter was 7. I think my daughter was too old for the tea at 7. Let me rephrase, I think my daughter thought she was too old for the tea at 7. My wife had nothing but the best things to say about it and I liked the idea ALOT better. No concerns about making the hairdo or the makeup last, etc., it saved us from other princess gatherings on board and it was more fun for my wife. Rather than just watching our daughter go through a makeover my wife actually got to participate.

 

[geegee14]

I would go for the RCT. DD (3 at the time) did BBB on the Dream and it was a great experience because we had an outstanding fairy godmother-in-training who was really engaging. We got some great pictures with Minnie who was in the atrium after, but then the dress came off right away because she wanted to be in the pool all day. The hair lasted 3 more days, though!

We did Perfectly Princess Tea (the land version of RCT) in June at the Grand Floridian. It was an amazing experience from start to finish. They made these little girls (and some boys) feel so special and I'm glad we decided to splurge on it. It was over two hours long including gifts, singing, learning a song in sign-language, learning how to be a princess with Aurora, dancing with her, one-on-one time, a promenade through the lobby with Aurora (and lunch&cake)...if it's anything like that I would recommend it. It was very magical and for the price it should be! It sounds like the one on the ship may be even better because there are more princesses.

 

[Chrislovesdisney]

We are leaving tomorrow for our cruise, so I can't say yet for certainty (we are doing both bbb and rct), but I would think that rct is a more unique experience. Yes, hair and nails and makeup like a princess is great, but when you're a preschooler, it's really hard to beat personal time with a real princess. Plus, as you mentioned, she's already done a bbb experience.

 

[KG_MKE]

We are leaving tomorrow for our cruise, so I can't say yet for certainty (we are doing both bbb and rct), but I would think that rct is a more unique experience. Yes, hair and nails and makeup like a princess is great, but when you're a preschooler, it's really hard to beat personal time with a real princess. Plus, as you mentioned, she's already done a bbb experience.

Thank you so much! Have a great time!

 

[KG_MKE]

I would go for the RCT. DD (3 at the time) did BBB on the Dream and it was a great experience because we had an outstanding fairy godmother-in-training who was really engaging. We got some great pictures with Minnie who was in the atrium after, but then the dress came off right away because she wanted to be in the pool all day. The hair lasted 3 more days, though!

We did Perfectly Princess Tea (the land version of RCT) in June at the Grand Floridian. It was an amazing experience from start to finish. They made these little girls (and some boys) feel so special and I'm glad we decided to splurge on it. It was over two hours long including gifts, singing, learning a song in sign-language, learning how to be a princess with Aurora, dancing with her, one-on-one time, a promenade through the lobby with Aurora (and lunch&cake)...if it's anything like that I would recommend it. It was very magical and for the price it should be! It sounds like the one on the ship may be even better because there are more princesses.

So great to know - thank you!

 

[KG_MKE]

Sounds like RCT is the way to go - thank you so much for all of the information!! Can't wait to experience it with my daughter!

 

[Trera]

Both are great but if it was one or the other the RCT is amazing and would be my choice

 

[PlutoIsHerFav]

I just did the Tea with my (just turned) 5 yo. We have not done BBB so I cannot compare. The Tea was wonderful. My only issue was that we were on the 5 night double dip so the tea was at 3 pm on the last day. By that time, we had seen all three princesses in attendance multiple times - princess meet & greet, regular character meetings, random bump-ins on the ship, etc. Each of those she had gotten lots of hugs and they were always very engaging. So, my princess-loving daughter wasn't all that impressed to be seeing the princesses again - it had lost some of its luster. Not to say she didn't have a good time and she loved all of the goodies. I enjoyed the show. I just wish it had been earlier in the cruise - it was a lot of money spent! She loved dressing up in her fancy costume though and I don't regret it. It's definitely a "one-and-done" thing and soon she'll be out of the princess stage, so I'm glad I splurged and we had that time together.

 

[ScottFamily2005]

We did Royal Court Tea a EP years ago when DD was nine. Definitely a one time thing, but she still talks about it.

It was truly special and well worth the cost.we have done BBB several times at the parks and the tea is its own thing.

I thing aged 5 to 9 are ideal.

 

[tlprice]

We did both in the same day on the Fantasy. It was a complete princess day. My daughter had a BBB appointment in the morning, then the princess meet and greet and the Frozen meet and greet. Later in the day we had the Royal Court Tea. The princesses at the tea remembered her from the meet and greet earlier in the day. She loved every moment of it and would love to do it again even though she was 9. She is not princess obsessed, but still finds it fun. We did bring our own dress and did the least expensive BBB package.

 

[DayOhDisMom]

We just did the tea, DD is 12 and loved it. She really enjoyed the finger tea food and the jewelry. Most of her disney experiences she have when she was younger she doesn't remember. It was worth the time and cost the experience will be different part on age.