Cinderella's Royal Castle - Princess Dress

[First timer]

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

I bought my DD's dress on the Disney Store online. I love buying online. It was on sale because there were too few sizes left and I searched for an online discount/coupon too! It is Cinderella's wedding gown, large and I only paid $25.00 bucks (shipping with coupon was free)! Do a search for princess dresses there are lots of deals out there. There was no way I was paying 60-70 dollars for something that she may very well insist upon wearing for a better part of the day. I don't want to stress it if it gets damaged.

 

[beattyfamily]

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.

Your right is does sound harsh even though it's your opinion, I strongly disagree regardless.

I ask my girls if they want to wear them. If they say yes, we pack them. They are not $60, more like $25 and they get LOTS of uses out of them, not just the one meal. They only wear the dress during the meal and change right afterwards so no, they aren't hot as the restaurant is air-conditioned; they wear a t-shirt underneath so no itching. They wear their park shoes with the dress (sneakers or sandals) so no sore feet.

It makes them feel pretty and special. Nothing wrong with that, IMHO and you're right, just let them be kids, and by wearing the pretty dresses at Disney World, they are!

To each their own!

 

[First timer]

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. I guess you feel quite strongly about this. I have to say that I am not a mom that over indulges her children so I certainly agree with you on that point, but this is going to be a very special time for us. I want this trip to be memorable in my DD's heart. For a little price (compared to the whole trip) she will feel like a Princess for the day - which is what it is all about - is it not? My DD is not demanding she is a very good and understanding little girl and knows that mom and dad can not always do all the things she would like to do nor can we buy her things whenever she asks so when we have the opportunity to make her feel special - well why shouldn't we? Like others have said - the dress will be worn over and over - as a matter of fact I myself will probably get sick of looking at it - she is already talking about wearing it for Halloween.

 

[rickdeni]

We (a group of 11 - 8 adults - l girl (6), 2 boys (4 & 7) went to the breakfast last October. The boys enjoyed Peter Pan and the princesses. My granddaughter did not dress up and did not feel strange since it was about 50-50 on being dressed like Princesses. She owns about 3 of the princess dresses but the option was not given to her and she did not miss being dressed up. She was, of course, dressed for MNSSHP and enjoyed that immensely. I think it is a personal decision whether to dress or not. I would have given her the option but she did not even mention the other girls being dressed as she enjoyed the breakfast immensely. Money well spent!

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

Well, I do know that while I am the "boss" I use my position of power wisely.

We did not purchase my daughter's dresses specifically for the castle meal. She wore them for Halloween and then later wore them when we went to Disney. I guess I am lucky because my mom makes my children's Halloween costumes and they hold up super well.

This is something my younger daughter enjoys. Interestingly enough, when my older daughter was the same age, she was not interested in this at all and that was fine with us.

 

[sugarpie]

NJOYURLIFE:


You are lucky!!! That costume is beautiful & your daughter is a doll!!!

 

[Canbarker]

Yes..the little ones do come dressed (some not all). I also saw kids in the dress all day long well into the night. My opinion it is too hot. However if the your child is comfortable than I would not worry about it.

I have been told there are lockers but I did not use them. We went to the princess breakfast in Epcot. My DD did not wear a dress as she does not like all that clothing when it is not 95 in the shade so I did not attempt it there.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I guess my earlier post did sound a bit "colder" than I had intended, but you have to know how many of the little girls that we saw who obviously were dressed up because their parents wanted them to be. Yes, many of the girls looked very happy and that's great for them! But for every happily dressed up little girl, we saw another who was literally being dragged through the park in their spankin' new park-bought dresses, shoes, tiaras, etc. which had obviously been worn all day, sweaty and upset, dragging their wand on the ground, all because the parents thought they'd look cute and didn't plan ahead enough to bring a change of clothing. This was not just at CRT, which is more understandable to wear the dress for a special occasion & then change, but throughout the whole park. Those are the ones I don't understand. From my personal experience, it seems to be that many (not all) of the parents want those 'perfect pictures' of their princesses, regardless of whether the child wants to or not. Sorry if I offended anybody, but again, this is just one family's opinion based on our personal experience and observations.

That being said, CRT and just Disney in general is just as magical an experience whether or not the kids are dressed up, and if they truly enjoy it more that way & it is THEIR idea and the parents can afford it, then yes, that definitely is letting kids be kids.

 

[indigoxtreme]

When we took my DDG last sept it was her birthday and she wore a dress made out of cinderella print material that her great grandmother made her. She received a lot of comments about it, she also made her a short set out of the same material. If you let her keep her dress on, be sure to bring comfortable shoes to at least let her change into, you know how it can get wearing dress shoes and walking alot. The lockers are locate at the entrance under the train station unless they moved them during the reconstruction. We also had a buggy and kept her dress in the backet in a sack after she changed. Have fun it is great.

 

[merekc]

Don't forget to check your garage sales and thriftstores. I just got back from buying my niece 2 Disney Store princess outfits, $2 each at a garage sale. They were well loved, but still had lots of life in them.

I've also seen many costumes at the thriftstore. Especially the month right before Halloween (if you can wait that long). Last year, we bought my niece one of the current season's Barbie princess gowns, brand new. We paid half of what it was being sold for across the street at Walmart.

With the huge princess hype that has hit in the last few years, you can now find lots of gowns used as kids grow up.

I agree don't make your girls wear them if they don't want to. But for those girls that want to be princess, go for it. It will just contribute to the Disney magic.

 

[budbeerlady]

My DD loved wearing her dresses around the parks after dinner. I carried her dress for the day in the back pack, we quickly changed before her royal dinner encounters. She loves it that she matched Cindy at 1900 Park Fare. She is a very outgoing child who loved the attention from the CMs in the park. She wore her dress with tennis shoes, the cindy dress I got off from Ebay for $17.

But NOT ALL THE KIDS were wearing them. We were there in December and she was actually cold on the way back to our hotel after the parks. So I have some cute pictures on her in her dress with a pink princess sweatshirt pulled over the top.

You know your child and if they would be comfortable doing this. DD wears them from dress up at home and has her wardrobe of princess dresses. I have only bought 1 of the 5 new, it was Ariel and I paid $29 from the Disney Store. She got Ariel for her birthday party and wore it all night with the crown and barefeet a our house. (A bit over the top but she loved it!!!!!!!)

 

[Bibbidi]

Another place to get the dresses is from a place I found out about here on the dis - it's at the littledressupshop website. They have free shipping and very nice quality costumes that don't have all that itchy stuff associated with some of the less expensive ones. They cost around $26.99/costume. I didn't think that was too bad considering the shipping is free and they look more comfortable and well made. They were also featured on an episode of Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

 

[crisi]

I guess my earlier post did sound a bit "colder" than I had intended, but you have to know how many of the little girls that we saw who obviously were dressed up because their parents wanted them to be. Yes, many of the girls looked very happy and that's great for them! But for every happily dressed up little girl, we saw another who was literally being dragged through the park in their spankin' new park-bought dresses, shoes, tiaras, etc. which had obviously been worn all day, sweaty and upset, dragging their wand on the ground, all because the parents thought they'd look cute and didn't plan ahead enough to bring a change of clothing. This was not just at CRT, which is more understandable to wear the dress for a special occasion & then change, but throughout the whole park. Those are the ones I don't understand. From my personal experience, it seems to be that many (not all) of the parents want those 'perfect pictures' of their princesses, regardless of whether the child wants to or not. Sorry if I offended anybody, but again, this is just one family's opinion based on our personal experience and observations.

That being said, CRT and just Disney in general is just as magical an experience whether or not the kids are dressed up, and if they truly enjoy it more that way & it is THEIR idea and the parents can afford it, then yes, that definitely is letting kids be kids.

I think you may be getting the hot sweaty tired children being dragged through the parks in princess dresses confused with the hot sweaty tired children being dragged through the parks. Some parents simply push a little too hard - and end up trying to get in "one more thing" than may be wise. Also keep in mind that when you see a child for two minutes in passing, you may be seeing their best moment or their worst. We got some looks a few years ago while my daughter was in tears from a tummy ache and we weren't removing her from the park immediately. She went potty (she was at that age where they can forget in the excitement) and five minutes later was having a great time. We've gotten looks during her (or her brothers) brief whinyness when they aren't getting their way, but it passes in a number of minutes. But it really doesn't matter if they are in a princess dress or not....if they are tired, they are tired, if they are whiney, they are whiney, and if they are hot, they are simply hot. How nice that your children never have moments - we are not so lucky with our children.

I can tell you that if my daughter didn't want to wear the princess dress, no amount of me begging and pleading for the perfect picture would have gotten it on her.

 

[DCDisney]

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.

He certainly won't be the only boy. Also it may depend on how old he is. At 6 my son really really disliked the "real" princesses and got under the table to avoid them talking to him. At 8 he wasn't thrilled about the princesses but once he got his food he was happy. For our next trip we are planning to do the Cinderella dinner at 1900 Park Fare in the Grand
Floridian. That way it's more even with Cinderella and Prince Charming. If your DH isn't into it and is going to be unhappy it may be worth finding something all can enjoy. Especially with the price increase at CRT....

Yvonne

 

[NJOYURLIFE]

NJOYURLIFE:


You are lucky!!! That costume is beautiful & your daughter is a doll!!!

Thanks...and I can't even sew a button. Go figure!