difference between dresses bought in the park, and those from the Disney store?

[MishLosingIt]

We got all of our dresses on clearance from the Disney Store Outlet by us. Check after Halloween!

 

[MrsJ Henry]

HAIRSPRAY!!! Seals it on. If you have to wash it, spray it again.

thank you !!!!

 

[pixiedustmomma]

The dresses from the park are 100% better. Who ever said the ones from the Disney Store is made better lie. They rip and fall apart! The ones I have from WDW have been worn over and over again and not one single rip. Every single dress I have bought from the Disney Store has ripped apart. The Cinderella dress I bought from there got three rips in the torso area within a month of having it. The Cinderella dress I bought from the park has lasted for two years and is still in perfect condition. My girls (3 and 6) wear them all the time. We have Cinderella, Snow White and Merida from the Parks, all in perfect condition. I have bought Cinderella, 2 Belle, Minnie Mouse and the Blue Merida dress from Disney Store and all of them have a rip in it. They just do not hold up as well as the ones from the park. So splurge on your favorite dress. I even have my Minnie Mouse dress that I got from the park when I was 6. I wore it all the time, neighbors child wore it and now my oldest can wear it. Still in perfect condition.

 

[Mom22girls56]

The dresses from the park are 100% better. Who ever said the ones from the Disney Store is made better lie. They rip and fall apart! The ones I have from WDW have been worn over and over again and not one single rip. Every single dress I have bought from the Disney Store has ripped apart. The Cinderella dress I bought from there got three rips in the torso area within a month of having it. The Cinderella dress I bought from the park has lasted for two years and is still in perfect condition. My girls (3 and 6) wear them all the time. We have Cinderella, Snow White and Merida from the Parks, all in perfect condition. I have bought Cinderella, 2 Belle, Minnie Mouse and the Blue Merida dress from Disney Store and all of them have a rip in it. They just do not hold up as well as the ones from the park. So splurge on your favorite dress. I even have my Minnie Mouse dress that I got from the park when I was 6. I wore it all the time, neighbors child wore it and now my oldest can wear it. Still in perfect condition.

I don't think anyone lied, they simply stated their opinion from personal experience just like you did. It's ok for you to disagree but to say someone lied is a little harsh. I would have to disagree with you and say I have bought several princess dresses from the Disney Store (I have 3 daughters) and they have never ripped.

 

[cobright]

We are a costume-centric family and probably own 6 or more Disney Store Dresses. Generally speaking they are well made.

A few years ago there was a line of the dresses that had way too much scratchy mesh. This year's offerings are pretty good though.

 

[CaffeinatedMama]

Before our trip last year I bought Rapunzel and Belle dresses from the Disney Store. My daughter wore then every day of our week long trip and they still look new. They hold up well. This year we've added in Jasmine and Mulan. I agree with the other poster who said people Leo asking where she got her dress and if it was available in the park. Last years Belle dress from the Disney Store had, in my opinion, a waaaay prettier design than the park version. I must have been asked about 5 different times about where to get it while we were there. For the most part once I got a look at the park costumes I tended to prefer the store options I got back home. Not to mention they are less expensive. Quality wise we have had no issues at all.

 

[CaffeinatedMama]

We are going on a Make a Wish trip in October, and I am trying to figure out if the difference between dresses is worth it? My daughter loves to dress up, but I am not sure I can justify $80 for a dress from Disney World for a 4 year old, but I want her to have an amazing experience.

PS. If this is a Make a Wish trip I can only assume that your daughter, or another one of your children, has been very sick. Send me a private message and I will get your daughters dress for her. You deserve to feel special too.

 

[cobright]

PS. If this is a Make a Wish trip I can only assume that your daughter, or another one of your children, has been very sick. Send me a private message and I will get your daughters dress for her. You deserve to feel special too.

I didn't even think of this, my girl-kiddo is older but small and we may have some of her earlier stuff packed away.

 

[maxiesmom]

Before our trip last year I bought Rapunzel and Belle dresses from the Disney Store. My daughter wore then every day of our week long trip and they still look new. They hold up well. This year we've added in Jasmine and Mulan. I agree with the other poster who said people Leo asking where she got her dress and if it was available in the park. Last years Belle dress from the Disney Store had, in my opinion, a waaaay prettier design than the park version. I must have been asked about 5 different times about where to get it while we were there. For the most part once I got a look at the park costumes I tended to prefer the store options I got back home. Not to mention they are less expensive. Quality wise we have had no issues at all.

That was my experience too. The ones at the Disney Store were much prettier than the ones you could get in the parks. A few years back I purchased a Cinderella dress that was so big it had to have it's own suitcase to make the trip to WDW! It was gorgeous! And we had no problem at all with it (or any of the other costumes) holding up.

 

[Bellestreak]

I'm with the posters who say the quality is about the same. We have a Cinderella dress from the store and it has held up great. Between my princess loving girl and her princess loving friends, this dress gets a work out. I hand wash it, but it washes and dries beautifully.
Since the store ones are less expensive and at least as pretty, we usually go this way. But, sometimes, they will carry styles you can't get anywhere but the parks. Last summer at DL, we spotted Ariel's green dress, something we have never seen at the Disney store. So, it was worth the more pricey splurge.
As far as the itchy goes, at home we don't worry about it, but at the parks I put a lightweight white cotton cami under it. I worried about extra warmth at first, but kiddo always stays comfortable (as much as you can be in a big ruffled gown), even in the heat.
Oh, and as far as space in the suitcase, we use travel compression bags for the dresses and they always come out perfect at the hotel and take up way less room on the trip there.

 

[Honeybee83]

We are going on a Make a Wish trip in October, and I am trying to figure out if the difference between dresses is worth it? My daughter loves to dress up, but I am not sure I can justify $80 for a dress from Disney World for a 4 year old, but I want her to have an amazing experience.

Don't waste your money! I got an entire princess Jasmine costume at a garage sale (top, bottoms, crown, wand, and I think even shoes) for $10. You can look on ebay, craigslist, even discount stores like Ross and TJ Max sometimes have them. Be sure to bring along a spare set of clothes and put her in comfy shoes just in case. You won't want to have to go all the way back to your room when DD starts saying she's hot and itchy. Good luck and have an awesome time!

 

[Honeybee83]

Speaking of the princess dresses, does anyone have a way to tone down the massive amount of glitter they shed? We got the Cinderella one at the Disney store and every time DD2 wants to wear it (almost every day now) it looks like a fairy exploded all over our house! I've tried washing it, but it doesn't seem to help.

You could try some type of sealant spray (check with a local hobby shop) to see if that helps. Just make sure whatever you use is child safe and machine wash safe.

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

PS. If this is a Make a Wish trip I can only assume that your daughter, or another one of your children, has been very sick. Send me a private message and I will get your daughters dress for her. You deserve to feel special too.

Brought a tear to my eye...so generous!

My niece is a St Judes/Make a Wish kid. I hope and pray this trip is at the happy end of a long journey for you.

I saw some amazing Halloween princess dresses at TJ Maxx. Miles better than the ones I had seen at Target/DisneyStore.

 

[Honeybee83]

The disney store currenly has a sale that you can buy a package of 3 or a package of 6 dresses of your choice for a set price. The set of 6 dresses allows you to choose which dress and what size for each individual dress of the six in the package for $150. There is a picture to show you each dress in detail. It's an extra $9 per dress to upgrade to one of the deluxe dresses. The great thing about it is if you get a very generic crown/shoes/wand etc, you can get just one of those that will go with all 3 or all six dresses you pick out. Besides, if she's wearing them to the park she'd probably rather wear tennis shoes than most of the decorative shoes anyway.

 

[Honeybee83]

HAIRSPRAY!!! Seals it on. If you have to wash it, spray it again.

Forget what I said about a sealant spray! This is a way better idea!!

 

[Honeybee83]

PS. If this is a Make a Wish trip I can only assume that your daughter, or another one of your children, has been very sick. Send me a private message and I will get your daughters dress for her. You deserve to feel special too.

You are a very awesome person Caffeinated Mama. I didn't even notice the Make a Wish part of the post.

To the poster, I hope that whomever is sick in your family becomes well again very soon. Thoughts and prayers for you! I hope your vacation is truly wonderful and magical!

 

[mumto3girls]

My youngest loves Minnie Mouse. She was almost 4 when we went in August 2010. While we were there I bought her a Minnie dress, ears, shoes and gloves. I think I spent around $100. We gave it to her for her 4th birthday at the end of August. She wore that dress for Halloween--actual trick or treat plus several parties on other nights, for several "Princess" birthday parties she went to during the next year (she's not a fan of the princesses), for the next Halloween and several parties and then during our Disney trip about a year and a half after she got it. It was at that point getting a bit small and the following fall I sold it at a consignment sale. It held up beautifully and was laundered many times with no issues--stains came out easily.

It was a lot of money and I was very unsure about buying it, but after all the times she used it and how nice it was--not at all scratchy, I think it ended up to be a decent deal.

I think it compares to the quality at the Disney store--IMO maybe a bit nicer.

 

[Hayliesmom]

I honestly think many times the dresses at the Disney store are better. Quality wise I believe they are the same, but I often like the style at the Disney store better. Whatever you do, stick to either Disney store or park dresses. The others tend to fall apart very quickly. My daughter has had her dresses for many years (she's small so even her first ones still fit, although they're getting kinda short). The ones we bought at walmart/target need to be thrown away (some are even newer). If it was me (and actually it's what I plan to do) i'd buy them when they have their halloween sales on costumes. You can get a great deal!

I planned on buying my daughter a minnie mouse dress at the park last year because I didn't have time to order one before we left when they went on sale (our store in town closed). I ended up leaving the park and driving to the mall to go to the Disney store there and buy one for my daughter to wear to the MNSSHP. I just thought the price wasn't worth it.