Princess Fantasy Fair Vs. Princess Dinner??

[muppetfreak]

We are finally taking our girls to DL for the first time & I was wondering what the Princess Fantasy Fair is. I had planned on taking them to Ariel's grotto for dinner one of the nights that we are there, so I know that they will have a chance to meet the princesses. (purely selfish on my part. I do not want to wait in lines just for one princess at a time.) Is that all PFF is? Just a place to meet all of the princesses without having to pay the high price for dinner? Or is there more to it? Is it a must see for my princesses?

 

[bumbershoot]

The Faire is a meet and greet. You meet 3 princesses at a time (one at a time, but you're back there with 3 of them) and you do NOT know what princesses will be there for your turn until it's your turn.

That's all there is back there now, well, and the little store and a food place. It used to be more, but those things were "non revenue generating" and were recently cut. Now it's just the meet and greet and a food place (bratwursts) and princess stuff store.

 

[pixiewings71]

Yup, it's a Meet N Greet and that's it. Go with Ariel's Grotto, you'll get good food and the Princesses will come to you! The only thing with AG is you never know you will meet (except Ariel of course) but it's like that at the PFF too, they switch them out pretty regularly.

 

[WannaBeAPrincess]

Like the others have said, at Ariel's Grotto you will meet most of the princesses, whereas at PFF you will only meet 3, and you never know which 3 they will be. The Grotto really is a lot of fun, you won't be disappointed. Every little girl in there was in heaven!

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Just a heads up, you never know which Princesses you will get at Ariel's (aside from Ariel, of course). If you stop by for breakfast and meet, say, Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora, and Belle, then walk by later and see that now Cinderella is there instead of Jasmine, you will not be able to go back down and try to meet her too.

At either location, there is no guarantee of which Princesses you will meet, but if you're not picky, you're sure to be pleased Another heads up that normally a Princess joins the cast of Drawn to the Magic in the Hollywood Backlot (either on the stage or street). Normally it's Cinderella, but Aurora and Snow White have made appearances instead of her. Good Luck

 

[Vala]

I'd go with the meal as well.

We were an all adult's group during my last trip and did both, PFF and the dinner. We did PFF more for getting the chance to say "we've done it" and because the line seemed really short, probably because it was a Wednesday.

My friend who was in line with me for PFF asked afterwards: "I waited this long in line for *that*?"
But she really enjoyed the character meal. We had lunch at Ariel's Grotto two days later. Even if you don't get to see the princess you want to meet, the food is really good after the menu change.

Regarding Drawn to the Magic, we met Snow White there. But as it has been said, most of the time it was Cinderella. I have heard that this show was also cut though.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

No, it's only been cut for 2 days of the week.

 

[Vala]

Thank you, I didn't know that. It was my understanding the show was permanently cancelled.

It is a cute little show and I'd love to catch it again when I have the chance.

 

[fairykin]

For our family... we love the princess fantasy faire, over Ariel's Grotto meal. Why?

It's not for the reason of money. It's because the dinner with the princesses was LOUD.. and we felt kinda crowded.

Much preferred was the one on one character interaction in the quiet of the Princess Fantasy Faire.

Our trip report has quite a few pictures of the princess fantasy faire interaction.. you can look at it just below my signature. We really love Princess Fantasy Faire.. and it's always tops on our list.

I hope whatever you find is best for your family.. you have a really special time.

fairykin

 

[pixiewings71]

Just a heads up, you never know which Princesses you will get at Ariel's (aside from Ariel, of course). If you stop by for breakfast and meet, say, Snow White, Jasmine, Aurora, and Belle, then walk by later and see that now Cinderella is there instead of Jasmine, you will not be able to go back down and try to meet her too.

At either location, there is no guarantee of which Princesses you will meet, but if you're not picky, you're sure to be pleased Another heads up that normally a Princess joins the cast of Drawn to the Magic in the Hollywood Backlot (either on the stage or street). Normally it's Cinderella, but Aurora and Snow White have made appearances instead of her. Good Luck

Yes, I did mention that in my post. But just to clarify once more. When you get to AG you go downstairs and meet Ariel in her dress. They have a Photographer who snaps shots of you/your kids with Ariel and you can also use your own camera. We do this everytime, we've purchased the picture twice I believe but we normally just take shots with our camera and pass on the purchase. Then you are seated, while seated you meet 4 or 5 more Princesses. We usually get the "standards", Cinderella, Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Jasmine. Once we went at an "off" time (5:15, we walked up and were seated outside) and we got to meet Snow White, Jasmine, Mulan and Pocahontas. That was exciting as we had never met Mulan or Pocahontas. I've heard you can also get the Fairy Godmother or Minnie in her Princess outfit but we've never seen them so I can't say for sure. We have eaten at AG probably 8 times and we've always been very happy with our experiences there.

 

[dan_81877]

Like everyone has posted before this really depends on if you are wanting to see a specific princess. We went to AG a while back and it was fun. Food was great but it felt that the princess were just being rushed around to make sure they get to all of the tables. Also, I heard that the prices went up on AG . But that's just what I observed when my family where there once.

Yeah with PFF its really the luck of the draw on which princess you get. However; I've found out that if you get thier early when it first opens up, the first set of princesses is usually Snow White, Cinderella, and Princess Aurora (sleeping beauty) Usually they will switch out every 30-40 mins or so, and if you get done and wait near the ATM Machine near the food stand that's where the princesses come in and out. You might be able to get a snapshot with your kids there before they fully switch out.

This is just from a lot of going there just to meet Snow White, which is our daughters favorite princess. We had to go there about 3 times just to time it correctly. But overall, while you get a few moments with the princess it's a little more intimate for the kids just to talk and spend some time with the characters.

 

[muppetfreak]

Thanks for all the clarification. I think that we will do AG the first day & then we can try to catch any other princess that we cannot do without. I like the idea of having the princesses come to me while I am having supper. Although I am sure that my DDs will not eat much.

 

[pixiewings71]

You might be surprised. AG is one place I know my girls will eat well. They do every time we go. That's part of the reason we don't mind paying the prices they ask, I know the kids enjoy it, they eat well and the Princesses are a huge bonus.

 

[annacali]

Is there anywhere that you can be guaranteed to meet Mulan? She is the one and only request of my two DD's and they will be a little sad if we can't find her at Disneyland!

 

[pixiewings71]

Ask at City Hall when you get to DL, they will be able to tell you where you might find her. I don't know if there is a "schedule" at PFF but I know that we were super excited to see her at Ariel's Grotto. So unexpected but definitely welcomed.

 

[gtrain219]

If you can get to PFF when it opens I would suggest it the Princesses are happier because they are all coming on. We had an experience when Sleeping Beauty was trying to get out at the end of her shift and was not her Princess happy self. Waiting in line for that long is not worth it unless you get there early.

That's all there is back there now, well, and the little store and a food place. It used to be more, but those things were "non revenue generating" and were recently cut. Now it's just the meet and greet and a food place (bratwursts) and princess stuff store.

So have they taken out the storytelling part of PFF now?

After two attempts to get into AG due to bad pre-planning on our part we are bound and determined to be there in May. We have only heard good things about it and want to see it before they change it with the DCA reconstruction.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

So have they taken out the storytelling part of PFF now?

Yes. They also took out the Princess dancing thing. I don't remember the exact name, but where they dance with the May Pole.

 

[MonkeyDishwasher]

Yes. They also took out the Princess dancing thing. I don't remember the exact name, but where they dance with the May Pole.

Coronations.