Character Sightings Part 4 - The Princesses

Well, my first experience with the Princesses was this April. DH had some business in Anaheim, so I went down with him and we stayed at a hotel across the street from Disneyland for two days. During the mornings and early afternoons I would wander the park by myself. At first I thought that would be kind of weird, but I soon decided that it was really great because I could take my time and do whatever I wanted.

The first day I wandered around Toon Town and got quite a few character photos that I posted in the last entry. Then as I left Toon Town I figured that I might as well give the Princess Faire a try since it was right there.



I must admit, standing in line with all the little princesses was a bit daunting. If you have never been to the Princess Faire, you need to go over there even for a few minutes just to see what it is all about. Seriously, a little girl could pretty much just spend the whole day there. You can buy a princess outfit, complete with all (and I mean ALL) the accessories. Then you can purchase various tiaras and hair extensions and have a stylist princessify you right there (for less than $100)

All the little girls around me were admiring each other's princessness and those who hadn't been princessified were quick to beg their parents into taking them over for a little princessification before their big photo shoot.

They also have princess crafts, princess storytelling - one of the princesses comes out and tells a story to the kids, and the royal coronation ceremony where at least 3 princesses come out on stage and the little girls get to learn how to curtsy and do a princess dance.

Anyway, back to the Princess Royal Walk. You stand in line for about 90 minutes with a bunch of very princessified little girls and their moms who are constantly on the cell phone finding out where all the males in the family are and telling them when to be back.

At the end of your long wait, you will be able to take couple of pictures with three of the princesses. You don't know which three until you greet the first one. Here are the three I got the first day (it was June Gloomy in April, thus the coat with shorts. The day starts off very cool and overcast and heats up hotter than Mr. Toad's Ride!)

Princess Jasmine (in her June Gloom outfit)


Princess Cinderella


Princess Pocahontas


Day number two rolled around and I decided to hit California Adventure and get one of my favorite Malibu Mocha Frappes for the long wait in the Princess Faire line. Seeing as I missed getting my picture with my favorite princess (Belle) the day before, I was determined to give it a shot again.

That day I got:

Princess Pocahontas


Mulan (at the time I hadn't seen the movie and didn't know she isn't a princess. I guess since we don't really have any place else for her to be they figured princess and heroine were close enough and so they put her in the line up.)



Princess Aurora


While wandering around California Adventure I noted the Snow White backdrop in front of the Animation Bldg. and waiting in line three times to get pictures (in the previous posts I showed the ones with Dopey and the Old Witch) Snow White was the last one I got and when I went up to her I was so surprised that she even talked in the nasally Snow White voice. It really cracked me up!



Ariel can be found at the Princess Faire with her legs, or over in her special grotto by King Triton's pool with her fin (flipper? tail?). Currently both the pool and this grotto are under renovation. I don't know what they are doing or if it will remain like this. They are working on a whole Ariel's Island to go out in the water in DCA in front of the Ariel's Grotto Restaurant. That is not under construction right now, but I imagine they may be moving this over there eventually.



This is my favorite Ariel. I think she looks the most like the actual animated character.




As I mentioned there is a restaurant along the pier in DCA. It is fairly pricey and the food is only okay. You won't be hungry, but you certainly won't want to hurry back for the food.

Seeing as I hadn't been able to get a photo with Belle in my two Princess Faire tries, on a girls day in July, Mom, Sis and I did the Princess Lunch at Ariel's Grotto.


You come in and go down the stairs and are greeted by Ariel (with her legs) and she poses for pictures with the photographer and they will also use your camera.



Me, Sis, Ariel and Mom



Then you get four different princesses that come by your table while you are eating and they chat with you and take pictures with you. You don't even have to get up!

Princess Aurora


Princess Snow White


Princess Cinderella


Princess Jasmine


As you can see -- no Belle. UGH!

At this point let me note that usually in the afternoon, between 3 and 5 I have seen at least 3 of the princesses come out to the entrance area of Disneyland for photos. Last week I also saw the Fairy Godmother and the Evil Queen as well. Once after this I spotted Belle at the front entrance to Disneyland and got in line, but some guy totally cut in line to hug her and get a picture and she ended up going in just before I got to her.

That did it, from that point on I was on a quest to get my picture with Belle!

DH and I went to Disneyland for the Fourth of July. Sounds really cool, but we'll leave that for another post. It was very hot, somewhat humid, and really crowded. DH hates it when it's crowded. So we opted for no rides that day and instead, DH said he wanted to see the Princess Faire and get our pictures with the princesses. No joke, he totally wanted to do it.

We go there and the line was surprisingly short - about 30 minutes. Two college guys got in line behind us. They were from Arizona and one of the guys was going to be the photographer and the other one wanted to get pictures with the princesses so he looked like a "player." Needless to say, the "player" notices Aurora going in to the photo area and asks which princess she is. I told him that she was Aurora, but he probably knew her better as Sleeping Beauty. He said, "Oh, well, the only Disney princess I really know is Anastasia." (Don't worry -- I set him straight and gave him a quick tutorial on Disney princesses before we got up there!) None-the-less, they were really entertaining for DH and I was glad he wasn't the only guy in line.

That day we got:

Princess Minnie (I personally feel that this is cheating -- kind of like princess filler ya know?) But she is darn cute isn't she?



Princess Aurora


And Princess Jasmine (can I tell you how completely excited the "player" was that we got Jasmine? That bare midriff really makes her a favorite with the guys doesn't it?)


Alright, as you can see, no Belle AGAIN! I mean, I was starting to wonder if they had some kind of Belle Secret Service that would radio ahead and let them know I had gotten in line and to get Belle out of there.

Last week my friend Kim and I went down for the day. She has a DH and a son so they are like my DH -- all about the rides and food. We decided to do some things that she didn't normally get to do when they were with her and the Princess Faire was one of them.

We got:
Princess Jasmine (this is my favorite Jasmine)


Princess Ariel


And.....can I have a drum roll please???

That's right, Princess BELLE! Waaaaaahoooooooo! I was so incredibly excited and surprised. I haven't gotten a copy of it yet, but she was so thrilled that I was thrilled that she asked me for a hug and the photographer snapped a picture of it. It was really sweet. (I know, silly for an adult to be so excited about a character, but now that I am into this character thing it kind of takes you over!) Anyway, I'm very happy that I finally got a picture with my favorite princess.