Ariel's Grotto or Princess Fantasy Faire?

[mommyto3princesses]

We have gone to Ariel's Grotto every time we are at DLR. I was wondering if the Fantasy Faire would allow for us to see enough princesses so that we could have lunch elsewhere. I would have chosen to have it for b-fast but I want to do EE to get in line for Nemo. We will be there 1.5 days.

We love character meals but was wondering if we should pass on those this trip since we will see a ton of characters on our cruise in May.

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

Ariel's Grotto!!! Sure its $$... but we saw 5 princesses, they each came to your table, took a TON of pics... were so sweet with my little "Belle", and we had no line! Saw the PFF lines... EEEK!!!! The food was good enough (not almost $30 good--but it was for the experience! The desserts were yummy though.)

--Lisa

 

[abby]

I agree Ariel's grotto. We like the food, and I like to sit and be waited on while my dd 7 gets to see the Princesses. We waited over an hour to see the princess at PFF. This time it's Ariel's for lunch then we will pop into PFF and see the show but not wait in line for the princesses. I figure we have to eat anyway, so might as well get some princesses out of the deal.

 

[lilpixie]

We did Ariel's at our last trip and my 3 girls loved it (they were 6, 3, and 6 months at the time). The princesses were very cute and signed cool autographs and tooks pictures. The only downside was they were *very* rushed when we went -- not a lot of character interaction. That could have been just because it was a busy time. The food was really just OK, nothing spectacular. But I think the $$ was worth it so they could meet the princesses. It was really fun.
We just got back from DL today. This time around we did the Minnie and Friends breakfast and absolutely loved it. The character interaction there was amazing! We did the Princess Fantasy Faire since we weren't doing a princess character meal. My SIL waited in line while we took the kids to the princess show and craft (she asked the CM if this was OK and they said yes, it wasn't a problem to hold a spot in line). My SIL probably waited a good 35-40 minutes and then we all joined them in line. At that point, we waited around 15 minutes to meet the princesses. One good thing about the PFF, the interaction was amazing. Princess Minnie played ring around the rosie with my girls. They played little clapping games. Oh my -- it was the sweetest thing! They also saw Cinderella and Mulan -- and Pocahontas was leaving as Mulan came in. I really liked it, but I know a lot of people don't like the wait. They have really pretty backdrops for photo ops at PFF, and the photopass photographers take *tons* of cute pics. We have a darling one of my 2 year old "honking" Minnie's nose, hugging her, holding her hands, etc.
It just depends on what you're looking for. Both are fun!!

 

[RuthieT]

we are actually doing both. It will be my DD that is 3.5 first time and she LOVES the princesses. She probably wont be doing the hairdo and stuff but still want to see what that is all about. We are having lunch at Ariel's and looking forward to that as well.

 

[mommyto3princesses]

Thanks for the input. May keep our ressie at AG and have dh stand in line at PFF. Thanks for the line holder tip!

 

[Missus Toad]

Grotto for sure. The Faire line is insane (I did it for the first time Friday a.m.) and I'd never do it again, especially when you can relax, eat and have more princesses come and spend a lot more focused time with your kids at the Grotto.

The hairdo thing was adorable though-- they did some amazing and gorgeous styles-- much better than the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique in WDW.

 

[Albort]

PFF in my opinion is too overrated. FYI, on colder days, the princess are more limited since they expose quite a bit of skin... i heard of this during Jan cold spell...

PFF = way too many people, 2 hours to see princess? its like a freakin ride... :\

 

[lilpixie]

Just a note -- I have never heard of a 2 hr. wait for PFF as a poster suggested. It is usually about 1 hr. It is a long wait, but I have waited for an hour to get on Dumbo before (and that is for a 3 minute ride!). At least if you wait in line for PFF, you will have a lot of character interaction. If your little girl *loves* princesses, it will be worth it. If you don't like waiting, then Ariel's is a great option and is a lot of fun!
Have fun!!

 

[DesertBell]

We waited an hour and a half to see the princesses at the Fantasy Faire in March. It was the only time, in the week that we were at Disney, that we were able to meet Cinderella. (And it was worth it, to see the look on my daughter's face!) We did Ariel's before that, and not all the princesses were there, and the ones that were only spent about thirty seconds each with my dd. We won't be going to Ariel's on our next trip because of that. After all, it isn't like we went for the food.

 

[samkj]

We waited 90 minutes or so at the PFF. It was, so NOT worth the wait. The kids werte grumpy and I was just furious about how slow things were. Oh and as a note when dealing with a line that move as slow as this, it is extremely frustrating to see its almost your turn, only to find out the person in front of you is actually a placeholder for a much larger group. How do I explain to my kids that did their best to wait patiently in line why the other kids get to jump in at the last minute?

 

[lilpixie]

When we were there, almost *every* single person in line was holding a spot for their group. The CM was actually telling people that one person could take the kids to see the show and make a crown while one person held the place in line. I would never have had a place holder if it was viewed as rude or unacceptable -- so that is why my SIL specifically asked the CM if this was okay (as was told definately yes). After the show, a hoard of kids joined the line -- no one seemed upset at all because everyone was doing this So, if you go -- just know that many people might be saving a spot in line because many of the CM's suggest this option. I know a previous poster was upset about "place holders", but it is a great way to keep kids entertained, and the CM's seem to think it is a good idea too

 

[samkj]

To revisit my negative view of place holders... The line for PFF is like every other line at DLR. Do you use a placeholder for Dumbo or Peter Pan? No, because it isn't right. Yes the CM's may say its ok, but those who actually do wait in line find it incredibly frustrating to go from being behind 2-3 people to finding themselves behind a 3 groups of people.

 

[lilpixie]

Amy ~
I didn't mean to offend anyone by talking about the placeholders. I see your point about waiting in line and it frustrating you. I was just explaining that in our case, almost every single parent was holding a place in line -- that was why no one was getting upset. I think it is frustrating for the CM's, too, because people get so annoyed at the long wait and are constantly asking "how much longer" and the kids get restless -- I honestly think that is why they were telling us to take them to the show. But I can understand it being frustrating and I definately think they could get a better system going at the PFF!

 

[samkj]

Lilpixie, don't worry I wasn't offended. I think the PFF is a HORRIBLE set up and will never, ever wait there again. When we were there it was me and my two girls, DH took our son to Jedi training. We got in line 30-40 minutes before the gates opened, then in the free for all to get in the main line, we were cut off (I was pushing my 8 year old's wheelchair) mutiple times and ended up even farther back in line then we were before the gate opened. Then once we were in line we stood in the EXACT same spot for an hour, because the groups in front of us all used place holders. We literally did not move for over an hour, by which point we were waiting for over an hour and a half. Finally the line did move, but it took us another 30 minutes for a total wait of over two hours, 90 minutes inside the gate. If I had any idea of how long of a wait we were in for, and could see exactly how many people were in front of we never would've done it.

Sorry, I obviously still have issues, even though this happened in February. Disney usually has decent crowd control plans, the PFF is the epitome of poor planning in my opinion.

 

[DangerMouse]

There's a reason why the acronym for Princess Fantasy Faire Theatre is "PFFT"

(where's that blowing raspberrry smilie anyway?)

 

[Missus Toad]

What's really tough is when you're up at the front of the line waiting your turn and see all the princesses available, and then they change the lineup before your eyes. Holy cow, you should have heard the screaming behind us when Snow White was switched out for Mulan! My daughter was the last to get Snow, and then as she went to meet Pocahontas, Jasmine came on to take her place, so my daughter lucked out in getting 2 princesses at that station. They took a cute picture with her, Pocahontas and Jasmine pretending to row Pocahontas' canoe. She did somehow manage to miss both Princess Minnie and Cinderella at the last station (it actually changed twice in the short time we were there). Luckily, she's pretty flexible and was still happy to see Belle. She actually really wanted to go back and see Mulan but you have to keep moving forward. Too bad, because it seemed like she was the only kid there who would have been beyond thrilled to spend a moment with Mulan (she was Mulan for her school's Halloween ball). I guess the moral of that story is to prepare your kids for the possibilities and don't get their hearts set on meeting a certain princess, even if you see them when you enter. Yeah, it's not a ride, but PFFT can be an emotional roller coaster!

 

[ShawnaF]

We love Ariel's Grotto and wouldn't miss it. Morgan didn't even want to go into PFF on this past trip when it wasn't busy and I saw Mulan inside! Let's look at it this way - how much longer do we have for them to be little and get really excited about characters and princesses and want to be one, even believing they can be? Go for it and get the experiences and reactions and pictures for a lifetime. You'll have more on your cruise, but keep these as well.