Princess Dilema

[xkwisit]

I'm on the fence about dressing my 2 1/2yr old in a Princess Costume for her 1st Disney experience. I was thinking practical that it is going to be way too hot for her but my girlfriend who took her daughter last year says I absolutely need to. She took her to the boutique & got her all done up. I was thinking of saving some major bucks & bringing a costume & doing it myself since I am a stylist. But I am also thinking the end of August is beyond hot & I want her to enjoy herself.

Any thoughts or suggestions? What has everyone else done?

 

[squirrel]

Dress her up for the meal and bring a change of clothes!

I did that and my niece was happy. The photos look good as she was dressed up and then she was comfortable the rest of the day. I found the costumes pack up quite small and I kept it in the backpack until we arrived back at the resort.

Luckly, my niece doesn't know about BBB. I can't see her wanting someone touching her hair. I can think of lots of other ways to spend $.

 

[disney queen]

i agree w/squirrel......dress up and bring play clothes for aferwards. enjoy!

 

[Kparks]

I think you'll be glad if you dress her up!! Where else can you really feel like a princess!!! I treasure the pics of my little girl with Cinderella in their matching dresses. They grow up tooooo fast!

 

[LisaInNc]

Dress her up and once the meal is over change her into regular clothes. A lot of girls are all decked out for these meals but you don't have to, since you are a stylist and can do her hair I would not bother with the BBB. In the gift shops you can buy the hair acessories they use.

 

[RMulieri]

You don't have to do anything That said I agree with PP. But be prepared, she may not want the dress on at all.My daughter was gung ho till she saw how hot and humid it was outside, and she REFUSED to be put into a dress for ANY length of time. Those dresses are scratchy and do not breathe well at all.

 

[annacali]

We don't do Princess dresses at all. Both of my DD's think they are too itchy and won't even wear them for Halloween, so I know they would never wear them in the parks. We have always done fine with cute Princess themed sundresses or tshirts and they are happy AND comfortable. When we met the Princesses at DL last month my DD4 was wearing a shirt that said "I am a Princess and proud of it" from the Children's place and she got tons of cute comments on that from the Princesses who were so happy to meet another "princess".

 

[Neesy228]

Well, you have to be 3 to do BBB anyways, but really....it's so much hairspray and a lot for any little-ish one to endure. My DD just turned 3 and I couldn't imagine her letting anyone touch her hair and take her through the whole BBB process -- and she loves girly princessy things.

Anyway....not your question!

We always have DD dressed in a princess t-shirt and shorts, and we carry her princess dress. She almost always changes into the dress for the photos and takes it off immediately after our meal. One day she didn't want to wear the dress, because she liked her princess t-shirt too much...and that was okay too! I would go with both options and just roll with the punches! Enjoy!

 

[dizmom2mwjk]

We never dressed up for WDW, but then, all of a sudden, my 5yo dd decided she had to get dressed up...and I did not have a costume along. We ended up getting lucky and found one cheap(for Disney standards) at a store nearby, but I will never make that mistake again. I will always have a costume in the room...that way she will have the choice to wear it the following day, if she wants. And we can use that money on a souvenier that we don't already have at home...

 

[llqool]

my princesses (ages 6 and 4) are pretty picky about textures and fabrics and I often have to put a cotton undershirt underneath the dresses so they are not so itchy. i usually let them put on the costumes if they want to and then bring a change of clothing for them. Sometimes, they will keep the costume on most of the day and other times they take them off right away. it's amazing that even with the heat and humidity, sometimes they actually choose to wear their outfits for most of the day! i guess sometimes they are just willing to suffer discomfort to look mahvelous!

 

[Belle4mygrl]

I agree with PP's. Save the money. My little has been to BBB twice she loves it but was happy the last time I did her hair and nails the morning of. She wears her dress pretty much all day long. But I do take extra clothes just in case.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

My girls were 3 and 5 last trip. We couldn't get them out of their princess dresses. They wanted to wear them to the parks everyday. I think part of it was the attention they got from everyone when they were wearing them.

 

[scard192]

My daughter plans to dress her 3 yr old in her Princess dress for dinner and then change her into play clothes as we will be heading back to MK afterwards.

 

[jcemom]

In the past we have let DD dress and then change afterwards. If we were having lunch rather than breakfast I'd just bring her dress along and let her put it on right before we checked in. This time she's just going to wear a princess sundress, but she's almost 7 now and has done the dressy princess dresses enough times that it isn't a big deal to her any more.

 

[tami82]

I would do it yourself. I bought my two little girls the princess dress & crown, hair extensions, fake princess nails, etc.... and will be doing it myself.

 

[Canadian Girl 77]

Sometimes DD wants to wear a princess dress. Sometimes she wants to wear her normal clothes. I suspect she'll be wearing more normal clothes this next trip. She's really into her Gymboree stuff.

 

[Tink3Bell]

I would do it myself and save I think the age is 3 and up anyway.
Just bring clothes for her for later. She will love walking around like a princess.

 

[ThanksForNoticingMe]

I would look online for a cotton version of the Princess Dress...cotton would be lighter and be more comfortable for your little Princess.

 

[Sandy321]

I'm on the fence about dressing my 2 1/2yr old in a Princess Costume for her 1st Disney experience. I was thinking practical that it is going to be way too hot for her but my girlfriend who took her daughter last year says I absolutely need to. She took her to the boutique & got her all done up. I was thinking of saving some major bucks & bringing a costume & doing it myself since I am a stylist. But I am also thinking the end of August is beyond hot & I want her to enjoy herself.

Any thoughts or suggestions? What has everyone else done?

How sweet - such a special time! Do you have a Princess Breakfast planned? If the Princess meet and greet at ToonTown is a great place for a little one on one interaction - but esp GREAT PICTURES!! the backdrop, the dresses, etc!!

ITA with others I have a tote bag and bring the "space bag" DD always wore her shorts under the dress - so we'd pop into a bathroom when she was done wearing her dress - I'd put it in the space bag, roll the space bag up and have it in my tote bag - no problems!!

Also - since you are a stylist - do your DD hair!! bring lots of hair spray, gel - at the stores you can buy the small crown for $10 - at BBB they put the hair up in a bun - and the crown fits right in!! You probably know where you can buy some sprinkly, pixie dust to dust her hair with too!!

 

[xkwisit]

Thanks everyone for your advice! I will bring a princess costume just in case & all her princess t's. I just can't imagine myself wanting to walk around in that scratchy costume material in that humidity~UGH! I'm going to see to if I can find a pretty princess sundress too. GREAT IDEAS everyone!

This is her first trip & we are doing the princess dinner at the castle! I can't wait to see her face when she sees the castle in real life. She gets excited when she sees it on TV.