Cinderella's Royal Castle - Princess Dress

[First timer]

2 questions-

Can anyone tell me about the whole dress like your favorite Princess when having lunch or breakfast at Cinderella's Castle? I saw some pictures on various websites with little girls dressed like one of the princesses. Being the neurotic person that I am (I love to plan!!) I bought my DD (5 yrs old), a pretty Cinderella gown. Is this correct? Do little girls dress like a princess?

Also, if indeed it is, we have PS arrangements for breakfast on June 29th (will be hot-hot-hot!) and as soon as we have had our breakfast I want to change her into her comfy cool clothing. Are there lockers nearby so that we don't have to go back to the Poly for her to change?

 

[KJF]

I can't help you any, but have the same questions.

In addition, does anyone leave on the dress & go around the park like that after breakfast? Is it ok on the rides? Ours is in Dec so it may be ok temperature-wise to still wear it.

 

[Dizneydaz]

Yes, most girls do seem to wear their princess dresses when eating with the princesses. My DD6 has everytime. When we did it in January I had her wear a top and pants underneath, it was sooo coollllddddd! She wore it for awhile and then took it off. When it's been hot, she has taken it off sooner. I usually carry her change of clothes in the stroller (she's still small enought to use the stroller )so I haven't used the lockers. I believe the lockers are locatated at the entrances to the parks.

She wore her dress the longest after her birthday lunch last Sept. and got alot of comments from CM (also alot of happy birthdays since she was wearing the HB pin.) In Mexico they even sang HB to her in Spanish-and we got to go on the boat ride through the special entrance (the exit). So yes, have her wear the dress, bring a change of clothes, and take it off when it gets uncomfortable (or sooner if you don't want it to get too dirty)

 

[WAHMto5]

We had breakfast there this past December. About 75% of the girls were wearing their favorite princess dress/set. Since we were there in December and not in the summer, she wore hers all day long and LOVED it. She was given soo much attention and really felt like a princess

If you wanted to change, they have a nice large bathroom right in the castle!

 

[natlexi]

My DD (3) wore her Aurora and Cinderella costumes (with crowns!) to both princess meals (Norway and the Castle). Many little girls wear their princess dresses to the meals, but have seen a fair number that didn't. I was glad that she wore her costumes because I think she would have been disappointed to see others in them at the meals.

You can always change in the ladies room after your meal and stash the dress in your backback/stroller etc. My DD wore her costume all day long, but I think she got tired of all the attention by the end of the day. People really meant well, but after hearing "what a beautiful princess" all day long, she was ready to get out of "character".

Enjoy your trip!

 

[DCDisney]

You can really go either way. We took my daughter at age 4 and 6. It was maybe 50% of girls dressed up but my daughter didn't even really notice or care. She was just happy being in the castle and seeing the princesses. She did wear regular clothes with princesses on them and got more than enough compliments

Yvonne

 

[Mickey1122]

You can buy them anywhere in Fantasyland and you can get the princess makeover at Bibbitty Bobbitty Boutique. Lots of girls wear them all day.

 

[sugarpie]

I bought my girls (ages 2 & 4) princess costumes for our princess lunch in Epcot last year. They wore their normal clothes underneath and I just threw them on over their heads, outside the restaurant. The pictures were so cute! I'm not sure I'll do the same this year, though, because they really weren't thrilled to be in the frilly dresses. I'll probably just have them wear a pretty sundress and bring along a tiara or something.

 

[GretchGraham]

Some of my favorite pictures are of my DD7 in her Cindy dress with the real Cindy. She was absolutely beaming and I know she would have been disappointed if we arrived and she saw all those others girls in their dresses and I had her in normal park clothes.

Was it a pain to haul her jeans and shirt etc to the park with us to change? Yes, absolutely. Was it a pain to haul her princess outfit around the park after we changed in the bathroom in the castle (DH wouldn't hear of wasting time to go get a locker)? Yes, it was. Was it all worth it? Without a doubt.

 

[emma'smom]

My dd4 wore her Snow White dress to PSB and Cinderella to CRT in March. I took a change of clothes for her each time, but she chose to wear her dresses the whole day. CM's bowed to her, folks asked for her autograph, she got an extra ride on the Carousel. She loved it! It certainly wasn't a requirement...but what a fun thing to do if you child is already into wearing dress-up costumes!

This time we're taking her "Alice" dress for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare and then she is just wearing her Winnie the Pooh t-shirt for Chrystal Palace.

One thought...she insisted on wearing her princess dress all day...including to AK. She did put her foot through the netting while climbing in the Bone Yard. My take is that the whole experience is about having fun...so I wasn't really upset. However, I could see how other Moms might be..especially if they had just paid 60.00 for the dress in WDW!

 

[DisneysBeauty]

where can i buy the princess dresses? Besides at the park

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

We were there last August and I brought the clothes for my daughter to change into. Well, she didn't want to change out of her Cinderella outfit. I was always one of those people who would look at the children in the outfits and think how can a parent do that to their child in the heat. Well, it made her happy so we decided not to fight it. She was thrilled. The one thing that I did not plan on was how cute she would look on the carousel in her outfit. That was another priceless moment. I would have missed that if I had insisted that she change.

This last trip was the Mary Poppins outfit and I did have to put my foot down because I couldn't imagine her wearing white all day. We didn't put it in a locker. It fit well in our beach bag, so we just kept it with us.

 

[ILvRbnHd]

Dont mean to hijack this thread with my own question This is my first post as I just joined the boards. However back to the Cinderella thing, I know its mostly a girl thing but I did read where they give "prince's swords while the princess received crowns" my question is, would it be awkward for my son? I do not have a daughter but I would love to experience eating at the castle with my second fav disney character of all time (robinhood first) and I think my son since he is still young would enjoy it too. But if he is the only little boy there my husband (who I will drag along) will complain all day about that. I am making up for lost childhood years never spent at Disney because my father would never let us go (he did not believe in taking vacations and yes they're divorced now). So any feedback on this is much appreciated. We will be also doing the Chef Mickey for sure but figured I would throw in the Cinderella one if it will not be too nuts to take my son. (all this is not for my trip tomorrow its for the mega deluxe disney trip we are planning for september any other ideas besides these are appreciated too!) THANK YOU

 

[hannah's dad]

where can i buy the princess dresses? Besides at the park

A Disney store, WalMart (for much much less than the park price), or ebay.

 

[Marinerbaby]

ILvRbnHd~

I have three boys and one girl and we took them all to breakfast at the Castle last August. I think my DS (4) and DS (1) had a better time than my daughter (12). They dressed up as Peter Pan and Captain Hook and really enjoyed themselves.

 

[lyzziesmom]

This dressing up to eat in the castle is, I must say, one of the most ridiculous things I have heard of! My DD7 saw a couple of kids in their dresses at CRT last Sept, and all she could say was, "Aren't they hot? Aren't those dresses scratchy? Those shoes must hurt!" I agree. Not only that, but there is no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks I am paying $60+ for a dress to have a small child wear once and EAT in! Hello? I have a hard enough time getting them not to spill on their regular clothes! I think this just adds more stress to the experience. Just let them be kids, they are going to have a good time no matter what they are wearing. I think in general it is the parents who started this tradition and continue to make a big deal out of it. And for those who might say, "But my 3 (or 4 or 5) year old WANTED to wear their dress!" I say So What??? Who made the CHILD the boss?

This may sound harsh, but it's not meant to, it is just my opinion.

 

[AngieBelle]

I love seeing little girls dressed up at the castle! One reason I love the Not-So-Scary parties is that it's the only time of year that I can go in costume too. Just bring a change of clothes and comfy shoes in case the child wants to get out of it.

Don't feel forced to get the $60 fancy dresses- there are plenty of much cheaper alternatives at other stores. In fact, some of the prettier ones I've seen were not the WDW ones.

As for boys, I've seen them come dressed as princes, knights, pirates, and super heros.

 

[crisi]

A Disney store, WalMart (for much much less than the park price), or ebay.

The ones at Disney are very expensive, but they are made very well. We have a Target one and several Disney ones - and the Disney ones hold up for playing dress up constantly untill she outgrows them - and can then be passed along. The Target one - not so much.

Personally, while the Disney princess dresses are expensive, if you can afford them we've found them to be a great value. They are well made and we've gotten a lot of use out of them. If they spill breakfast on them - well - next step for them is the playchest. (Except the Minnie dress, she's treated that as real clothes). For us, we bought a dress down there, used it for MNSSHP, used it again for the Princess Breakfast, used it for Halloween at home, and have been using it since for dress up. When I think that a Gameboy game for my son can be $40 - and we will get several of those a year for him, one $60 Princess dress for my daughter every two years isn't a big deal. We don't do the accessories though - shoes, crowns - her crown is a $2 party store crown that goes with everything.

Our daughter didn't wear hers after the breakfast - we threw it in a backpack for the day - and it wasn't even inconvinient to carry since we always have the backpack with the kids. Depending on the costume, they can be itchy, and depending on the season - hot. You don't see too many junior Princesses outside the castle, but I'd say half the girls dress up, and almost all the girls in the five to seven range.

 

[emma'smom]

This dressing up to eat in the castle is, I must say, one of the most ridiculous things I have heard of! My DD7 saw a couple of kids in their dresses at CRT last Sept, and all she could say was, "Aren't they hot? Aren't those dresses scratchy? Those shoes must hurt!" I agree. Not only that, but there is no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks I am paying $60+ for a dress to have a small child wear once and EAT in! Hello? I have a hard enough time getting them not to spill on their regular clothes! I think this just adds more stress to the experience. Just let them be kids, they are going to have a good time no matter what they are wearing. I think in general it is the parents who started this tradition and continue to make a big deal out of it. And for those who might say, "But my 3 (or 4 or 5) year old WANTED to wear their dress!" I say So What??? Who made the CHILD the boss?

This may sound harsh, but it's not meant to, it is just my opinion.

No, my daughter wasn't hot.....she had on an undershirt....she was wearing the same sandals she wears every day...the costumes come from Wal-Mart (17.97).

"just let them be kids"-

Developmentally, it is natural for 3-5 year olds to engage in fantasy play as they begin to develop image and "try on" various roles. This is why so many preschool classrooms have a dress up/housekeeping/practical life section- It is developmentally appropriate to do so.

Would I make my child wear a costume? Of course not! Do I give her the option of fun, self-expression in a place "where a kid can be a kid", of course!

Lighten up and let your kids have some fun!

 

[KJF]

This dressing up to eat in the castle is, I must say, one of the most ridiculous things I have heard of! My DD7 saw a couple of kids in their dresses at CRT last Sept, and all she could say was, "Aren't they hot? Aren't those dresses scratchy? Those shoes must hurt!" I agree. Not only that, but there is no way in h-e-double-hockey-sticks I am paying $60+ for a dress to have a small child wear once and EAT in! Hello? I have a hard enough time getting them not to spill on their regular clothes! I think this just adds more stress to the experience. Just let them be kids, they are going to have a good time no matter what they are wearing. I think in general it is the parents who started this tradition and continue to make a big deal out of it. And for those who might say, "But my 3 (or 4 or 5) year old WANTED to wear their dress!" I say So What??? Who made the CHILD the boss?

This may sound harsh, but it's not meant to, it is just my opinion.

Wow - What a cold reply. What's wrong with a young child wanting to wear a dress?? I agree - they do a lot of role-playing at that age. My daughter is extremely girly-girl - Wants to wear a dress every day, which I don't let her because I am the boss. But, for something like this, it's perfectly fine. I won't go as far as letting her wear her dress up shoes (which she wears constantly around the house). And no, I wouldn't spend that much either to have it ruined. But, she has a Beauty dress from Halloween 2 years ago from the Disney store that only cost $25. She'll have worn it around the house, for 3 Halloween's (after this coming one) and then to Disney - she'll be in heaven wearing it with all the other princesses. It all depends on what your child is into.

Thanks for all the other nice replys - glad to know my daughter won't be the only one dressed. She would be so upset if she saw the other girls & her dress was back at home.