Managing kids costumes in the parks

[Mintycake]

Hoping someone has some advice on this!
So my DD (6) has a few princess costumes that she wants to wear to the park: Elsa, Belle, Ariel. They're all pretty lightweight but the Ariel and Belle ones have some crinoline in them which make them a bit bulky. We're going in December. I just don't know how she's going to manage the park in these so I figure she could change into them when we do M&G (or princess meals). I know she won't want to wear it the whole time and with the weather I'm not even sure that's practical.

So how do you manage this? Do you keep the costume stuffed in a backpack? We won't have a stroller. Are there lockers? Any advice or strategies? (And to make it more interesting, she wants to wear the Belle dress to our Akershus lunch, which is the same day we'll meet A&E and of course for that she wants to wear the Elsa costume.)

 

[EvilQueen2018]

I would go with the locker since you don't want a stroller, but I'd reconsider a stroller. If nothing else, it can hold some of your stuff until she is tired and wants to sit and rest a bit.

 

[Mintycake]

So the stroller thing....my daughter is only 6 but she's 4 ft 1 and 60 lbs....and she will likely be a bit bigger than that once we go since it's 5 months from now....I don't know if she would fit into any stroller they rent there. We stopped using a stroller when she was 3 because she outgrew it. Also if you have a stroller, then don't you just have to lug all your stuff with you when you go into a restaurant or ride?

Does anyone know where the lockers are?

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

The lockers at MK are just as you enter the park. They are quite generous in size.

 

[BuzzyBelle]

Most of the pouffy princess dresses from Disney store/ parks will fit into a gallon ziplock bag. Squeeze all the air out of it and it's like a mini space bag. You should be able to fit a couple of them into a small backpack or string bag. Packing them this way also prevents glitter from being all over your luggage. DD wears shorts and shirt underneath so she can easily slip it off and also helps cut down on itching.

 

[Mintycake]

Most of the pouffy princess dresses from Disney store/ parks will fit into a gallon ziplock bag. Squeeze all the air out of it and it's like a mini space bag. You should be able to fit a couple of them into a small backpack or string bag. Packing them this way also prevents glitter from being all over your luggage. DD wears shorts and shirt underneath so she can easily slip it off and also helps cut down on itching.

This is brilliant! Thank you!

 

[BuzzyBelle]

This is brilliant! Thank you!

Hope it helps I use ziplocks for a million things on vacation and I'm always learning more uses on here- they're awesome! DD always wants to pack all of her princess dresses and usually never bothers to wear them At least when they're packed this way they don't take up much room.

 

[Gracie09]

We als use zip lock bags. If they wear the dress in the morning, I put a t-shirt in there maybe with shorts depending on what they are wearing under. After they change, dress goes in the bag

 

[Thing 1]

Remember December can be anything from quite warm to cold. We froze at MVMCP one year in early December. You may need a thin t-shirt under the dress or warm tights and turtle necks. I don't think I would try to do more than one dress a day. Remember that lockers may be very far from where you are when you need the dress. Remember if she will be in the dress for more that a meal or a short meet and greet you will want her in her regular shoes. As far as a stroller, the strollers in the park will fit you child if you decide you want one. We never used one after 4-5 but many families do use then with kids 6-7. I have seen even older kids in these strollers and even a few adults!

 

[amy1981]

We only let them wear their dresses to Character meals or evenings out, but not on full park days, it was just too much. And those dresses can get scratchy and uncomfortable, even with the shorts/ leggings underneath. On days when we were just doing parks they wore t-shirts or sundresses with characters plus they would wear coordinating tiara's, mouse ears etc. of course. I also made no sew tulle skirts to match their shirts too. These were really soft and comfortable and looked so cute but were MUCH more comfortable and manageable for them to wear than a full costume. You can get tulle in an any color so I did yellow to go with my oldest's Belle shirt and turquoise for my youngest's Ariel shirt. You can look through etsy to get ideas on these as well, there are hundreds!

http://www.simplyrealmoms.com/posts/adorable-diy-no-sew-tutu/

 

[Betty_Baylor99]

I second the gallon size Ziploc bags. This is how I transported my 4 yr old's dress for our EPCOT and MK days. When we dined at Akershus for dinner on her EPCOT day, she was in t-shirt and shorts all day, and we simply found a restroom for her to slip her Aurora dress over for dinner. She immediately asked to change out of it after dinner was over. When you fold the dress up and squeeze all the air out, the bag in the Ziploc bag pretty much flattens nicely where I could store it in my backpack.

 

[Jack629]

Ziplock bags are lifesavers when it comes to glittery princess dresses! Keeps everything from getting glitter on it. and they double as space saver bags.

 

[Walker24]

My daughter loves to walk around the parks in her dress. A lot of the time CM's will make them feel like a true princess. That being said we do one dress per park and I have her wear a t-shirt and shorts to prevent itching. She did end up taking one dress off halfway through. The first time we went we brought too many dresses. Bags are wonderful for the backpack and controlling glitter