My DD (9) was a Princess fanatic from age 2 until recently. I have lost count of how many dresses we have had from either the parks or
Disney store over the years. In our experience, there was a time when the Parks dresses were definitely almost always a step up from the Disney Store version. You paid for it too as they were typically about $45 at the Disney Store and $65 for the parks. In recent years we have noticed that sometimes the parks dress is still better than the Disney store's dress, and sometimes the Disney Store's dress is better. It just depends on the specific dress. I totally agree with the splurge/magic of letting her pick the dress at BBB. DD loved to "surprise" us with her pick. I would tell her Fairy Godmother in Training that she could have any one she chose, and she and the FGIT would whisper about which one. There were times she told me what she was going to be before the trip and then completely changed when she got there-- like the time she fell in love with the Minnie Halloween dress when she saw it at BBB. They put the dress in the dressing room and then do a little reveal for the girls. When DD got older and could get herself into the dress on her own, she wouldn't even let me in the dressing room until she came out in the dress to surprise me. Fun times! Looks like your DD will be 3? That was DD's first time and she was totally in love with the whole experience (this is the kid who usually screamed when anyone brushed her hair too- but not that day)! Enjoy every minute of it! It goes by way too fast!