Princess attire for CRT lunch?

[pperfectmom]

I posted this question in the restaurant section, but may get better response here. I am taking DD(3) to CRT for lunch after a morning in the park. Am I going to get the "Rotten Mother of the Year" award if I don't dress her up in itchy spandex and lace? I'd love for her to be in a cute dress, but don't want her in it all morning and probably won't want to change in a restroom. What would you do? I realize this isn't that important to most people, but I am obsessing over everything for this trip.

 

[RockyMtnMaria]

We bought a Cinderella dress from the Disney Store on clearance, and it fits well into a ziplock bag when rolled up, and then shocks me how big it is once we pull it back out, lol. We plan to pull it on over her clothing before her princess dining experience, and also before Mickey's Toontown Faire.

Also if the itchiness is a factor, there are some nice well made ones available (that aren't Disney sponsored) that are soft, stretchy, and well made.

 

[ducklite]

My neice has been to WDW twice, done about every character meal there is, and has never worn a princess dress.

Instead she wore her t-shirts with princesses, and seemed quite content with them.

IMHO in the summer it's soooo itchy and hot for those kids in the costumes. And I just want to throttle the parents that have them wear those matching shoes and don't bring along their sneakers or sandals, those poor little girls after a hot day in WDW in plastic shoes...

Anne

 

[liamsaunt]

Will it make you feel better if I tell you that my 4 YO niece wore her Patriots jersey to our PSB dinner last year? We offered to get her a princess dress, but it was a game day, and so she HAD to wear her Tom Brady shirt. I have all these pictures of the princesses and the kids in their Brady shirts.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Maybe you should ask your DD how she feels, it really won't be that bad pulling on one really quick in the bathroom right before and taking it off right away when you leave? that's what we're doing with DD and she will be in her sneaks/sandals still we don't have the shoes (except her Belle costume came with little ballet flats which are pretty cozy!!). We always have a diaper bag/backpack type of thing that it won't take hardly any room up in there (we've practiced). When you ask her make sure you mention that there may be some girls in princess dresses. Just to avoid a melt down of any sorts.

 

[jeepgirl30]

We have breakfast ADRs but I plan to pack DD6 an extra set of clothes and have her change after.

I've posted this before but I have this sad memory of seeing a really beautiful but very tired little girl all dressed up (wand, dress, crown and shoes) she was crying and her mom was screaming how "I told you NOT to wear those stupid shoes but no you just had to do it so too bad, keep walking". The little girl was sobbing silently. I wanted to smack the mom and tell her of course the little girl wanted to wear it all but as a parent it was her responsibility to take other clothes. This was all pre kids so I just minded my own business but that image has stayed with me for many years.

Ask your DD ahead of time, she may not want to wear the dress but be prepared if she does to have the spare clothes. No use spoiling a beautiful memory with a fight you can avoid.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

We went to CRT in May. My daughters wore pretty handmade dresses made out of princess fabric. They love the princesses, but I too, didn't want to put them in itchy clothing in such hot weather. They are 4 and 6 and although we saw other girls in their costumes they never once asked why they couldn't wear theirs. We did, however book the Bibbidi Bodddi Boutique for the $45.00 package( that did not include the princess gowns) and when my daughters saw all the kids walking around with their makeup and gowns, my oldest asked if she could wear a princess dress for her appointment. Well, needless to say we didn't bring theirs and i felt like I would get the award for the worst mother of the year so DH and I went to the local Walmart and Target to pick up princess dresses. They cared more about wearing the dress for that than CRT or the Storybook Princess lunch. I woudl ask your daughter, it may not even matter to her.

 

[pperfectmom]

Well, I have to confess that DD doesn't even own a princess dress yet. I am thinking of getting her the Ariel costume but it is awfully $$$$. She would be able to wear it for MNSSHP later that same week, though. Thanks for all the advice. I think we will just take it with us(how much room could it take?) and change into it before the meal or just put it over the clothes. After lunch, we'll most likely be going back to our resort for naptime, so wearing it in the heat all day shouldn't be an issue. As for the shoes, we'll stick with what she has on already. Even princesses need their feet to be comfy.

 

[Zoemakes5]

When we went to the princess meal at DL, DD was the only one dressed up. She was slightly over 3.5 at the time. We did ours at dinner on the day that we checked out of our hotel, so I was a bit concerned about what to do for her. We decided to put her princess attire in a bag and put the bag in one of the lockers. When it was close to time to eat, we got the bag, got her changed into all her "bling" and went to the dinner. When she got that outfit on, and had her hair done a little bit, WOW, she really was a princess that night. She had been a bit tired and crabby before that, and afterwards she just glowed. She strutted (yep, not other word for it!) around like she was "all that". She has pictures of her and all the princesses in her princess autograph book, and she sleeps with that dang thing under her pillow! And, when she describes it as she's showing it to people she says "look, I'm a princess, too". To me, that experience was priceless, and as she gets older, I just don't think it will have the same "magic" as that night did.
So, if you take her without the costume, she definitely wouldn't be the only one, and she certainly would still have a great time.
If you want creative ideas on how to make it work, even mid-day, then we'll be glad to help you!
Edited to add, after dinner, after going on the carousel, she wanted that dress off pretty quickly! So the experience was certainly short lived! So much for the "well, she'll probably want to wear the dress all day and all night" thoughts that I had beforehand!

 

[mikymouse]

My DD4 did change into her princess dress right before our Princess Storybook Lunch. She felt and looked adorable... pictures were too cute. She changed immediately after lunch into her comfy clothes. We also did CRT Dinner and she refuse to wear her itchy dress and just wore a regular everyday cotton dress. She did not care one little bit that the other's were dressed up and there were not that many at dinner which I am sure is different from the Breakfast and Lunch. Next time I will just stick with taking a "Church" Outfit for any special occasions.

 

[shruley]

When we took our 2 1/2 year old to CRT, we took along her Cinderella dress (was Halloween costume) and just changed her before breakfast. Wasn't a big deal for us, the dress fit fine in the bag we were already hauling around and they have a large family-type bathroom in the waiting area of the castle that it was VERY easy to change her in. (And beleive me, we had a plenty long wait for our ADR). Changing her outfit at least gave us something to do in that time The Disney dress is all one piece, so getting it on and off is very easy. We didn't bring any special shoes, etc., though. She changed again after breakfast.

It was worth it to us. We got some really cute pics, like of her coming down the Castle steps in her dress, and the Princesses all commented on her dress and it gave them something to talk to her about since she was quite shy. I hardly would've considered it a pain to change her, probably took 5 minutes total!

 

[Fainfamily5]

WE had the storybook lunch in Epcot and most girls were dressed up including my own. My neice who had an itchy costume did not mention a word to us b/c she was so excited to see the princesses. Some girls were not dressed up. The princesses did not seem to mind but I did feel sorry for the little girls who kept staring at the other little girls that were dressed up. I think they would have liked to been dressed up too. I would tell your dd tthat some will be dressed up and some will not and if she wants too she can but she doesn't have too. We did change in a family restroom close to the castle in norway and it was actually nice we stayed in their for several minutes just cooling off.

 

[maxiesmom]

We too are going to CRT for lunch, and my 6 yr old niece wants to wear her Snow White dress. I'm thinking of putting it in a locker and having her change before we eat. Or maybe keeping it in a back-pack. Because it would be a pain to have to go all the way back to the train station to put the dress away again. I'm still not sure. I went a little crazy booking character meals, and the little sweetie wants to wear a different dress to each one! So I need to figure something out!