Alternitive Princess "doings"

[DisneyMomma81]

You can do BBB and not buy an outfit. We just did the hair and nails.

This is true ~ DD has been to the BBB 3 times now and we always go "coach" 1st visit *DLR* she just wore here lovely Easter dress, you can see her experience *here* *they even let her change in the a dressing room.
2nd visit was at WDW in the castle and she went as Tink *this was the day of our MNSSHP you can see her in my siggy picture with the Hitchiking Ghosts. That is the same Tink dress/costume sold in the parks but I got it for about 1/2 the price ~ I don't know how "she" does it ~ but this ebay seller has the same dresses/costumes sold in the Disney parks for 1/2 the price. DD has several dresses from her. She's great to work with ~ if she doesn't have listed what you want/need, contact her via ebay message - she'll list it if she can, you just have to hope you get it ~ BIN ~ before someone else does.
Her most recent visit was over the 4th of July weekend this month ~ she was brand new Tink *I bought this same dress *it was sold at the Disney Store probably around the time the 1st Tink movie came out. All the FGIT loved her ~ but she did change into her Cinderella dress for our lunch with the princesses at Ariel's Grotto. The coach package is under $50
At WDW we had brunch at The Princess Storybook Breakfast at Akershus in Epcot (Norway) ~ we really enjoyed it.

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

What about picking up some princess goodies before you go and having her favorite princess leave her a daily goodie bag. I know lots of people on here do this (and it also cuts down on souvineer costs)

 

[thebeesknees]

Never done CRT, but we did Akershus for breakfast this last trip and loved it! Even my 7 year old son liked it, which surprised me. I will say, though, that DD had no idea that eating with the princesses was even possible until we did it this trip. The other trip when she was 3, I let her wear one of her princess dresses to the park (with an extra outfit packed in case she got uncomfortable or too hot). We just did the meet and greets with the princesses in the parks for free and she was thrilled with that. Lots of CM's called her "princess" all day and she loved the attention from them and the characters. Oh, and the Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid shows at DHS kept her enthralled - we had to watch each one twice!

 

[chickflick]

We are going in October, with a 3 yr. old who loves the Princesses...the Castle experience sounds wonderful..as does the BBB, but are there other alternitive experiences? We're on a tight budget, but want her to experience what she can...TIA - Barb

One thing that my daugther suggested is when she wore her princess dress, from home, she felt like a princess We found that no matter what, if my DD was in her dress--all the cast members treated her like a princess--no matter where she got her hair done
And remember comfy shoes and a clear plastic poncho--walmart just in case.
Also, the story book time with Belle is a wonderful memory for my daughter--the one during the day were Belle signs autographs--That was a special memory for my DD-Cost--FREE!!!

Before we left for our first trip, I also garage saled and thrift store princess t- shirts and then every morning she got one from us--Cost 8 t-shirts-- .25 to $2.00 -- less than $10.00.
Don't forget princess Pez dispensers and extra Pez from home--these are a fun item for the bus trips into the parks and an afternoon sweet pick me up
Cost $1.50--for Pez and $2.00 for extra Pez

Oh, And Norway can be princess dream, but just meeting them in meet and greets are fun too! Don't forget to get your Autograph books and big pens before the parks--Dollar Store and Walmart always have "journal" items in princess theme--much cheaper than in the parks.
Good luck saving money!

 

[Bell30012]

My daughter loves wearing princess dresses in all the parks. She loves it when a cast member nods to her and says, "Good morning, your highness." We buy princess dresses on eBay. You can find the same dresses that the Disney Store sells but at a fraction of the price.

We did the BBB one year with the package that includes hair, makeup and fingernails. My daughter thought she was the stuff. Can you tell I love to post pictures of my little spoiled princess?

 

[figment301]

At our local Michaels I found the "glow" toys 4 to a pack. different wands (small like a drink stirrer) which would be great for night time parades. Also I brought disney themed "gummies" my girls used to love them and they do carry princess packs. We brought extras and my girls made friends while sitting and waiting for shows/parades etc... so they could share their disney magic.

 

[dixonsontour]

We went with DD 3 last December.

We did BBB (hair and nails package) and CRT and Akershus. Much preferred Akershus.

But my daughter's favourite thing was to just wear her dress up we brought with us out and about. Most of it I had got off ebay.

We tended to have a break then go back out in the evening. DD would dress up then so she wasn't in the outfits all day and too hot.

She got so much attention which she loved from other quests and cm's at the hotel and in the parks. A couple of times the bus driver played something as she got on saying there is a princess on board - she loved that.

At CRT/akershus most girls are dressed up. Whereas at some regular meals DD was the only one dressed up and the waiter saying good evening princess to her was a real thrill for her.

 

[PottersMom]

Skip the castle. Yes, I said it. The Princess Storybook Breakfast at Akershus in Epcot (Norway) is a far better character experience for a fraction of the money. Sure the castle is a must do once in a lifetime for a princess but Akershus is affordable. You also get your photo taken with Belle included. Akershus always has five princesses or "leading ladies" present. They are not rushed and will really spend a few minutes each with your princess. This is the only character meal that we repeat year after year. The food is great but the character interaction can't be beat.

I couldn't agree more! We had a spectacular experience here on our last trip in March. We had 6 princesses from the ages of 4 months to 10 years and 2 moms (me and my sister). There was a very unfortunate mix up with our reservation. My sister accidentally booked our reservation on the new online booking for FEBRUARY 21 or something, instead of MARCH. Plus we were about 10 minutes late. It was before park open and we had to trek 6 princesses in full on hair, (makeup for the older girls) shoes etc. park the strollers- you know. I ran up to the podium exclaining "Sorry we're late!" Not realizing we were literally a month late.
They were able to get us in anyway with very little wait. We saw all the best princesses and got free pics with Belle in a very nice folio keepsake. Not sure what the photo allowance is, but each family received 5 prints- 1 large and 4 small.
Our server was a very tall, very handsome young man from Norway. My niece (age 4), once able to speak after being spellbound by him, quietly exclaimed "Our waiter is a REAL prince!"
We met Ariel, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Aurora, and maybe one other- I can't remember. Also saw Jasmine and Mulan in the park that day. It was a great day. (other than waking before dawn to get everyone ready and running top speed through the park before open with 6 kids under 10- but hey, that's Disney!)