Packing all the princess dresses?

[Bektasmic]

What a lovely "problem" I have. Need some advice. DD5 is so excited to meet the princesses for the first time and wants to bring all her dresses (9 or 10 thanks to wonderfully generous grands and friends who are generous with passalongs) and accessories. She will absolutely not keep them on for a full day in parks b/c they get itchy and would restrict skipping and such, but wants to change into them to meet certain princesses or go on certain rides (ride mine train in her Snow White outfit, etc).

Half of me is thinking "how fun!" And wishing I could do the same thing. I mean, I would LOVE to dress up like Jasmine and ride the flying carpets! The other half is thinking its a lot to pack (although we would have an unused free bag to check through SW), and how would I manage lugging around those dresses to the park, especially MK with the diverse princess opportunities.

DD is very sweet, so it's not a case of her being demanding, it's more a "I want to make all her little dreams come true" thing. We don't know if budget will allow another family trip, and if so, most likely not at this magical princess stage for her. So there's that.

One idea I had would be to make a princess autograph book with her through Shutterfly and have the pages be her dressed up like each princess and a blank page opposite for the princess to sign. And then just take 1 or 2 dresses/accessories with us? Or tell her we're only bringing one dress per day to the park (3 MK days, 2 Epcot days including Akershus, 1 HS, and 1 AK).


Any other suggestions on compromise or splitting the difference? Or advice from those who bring lots of dresses? (I've heard large garbage bags to contain the glitter)?

Thanks in advance

 

[smi727]

I'm looking forward to the suggestions. We're taking our 4 year old and 1 year old DDs in the fall and I'm anticipating the same problem x2!

 

[KelnRon]

My 5 year loves the dresses, hates to wear them for a long time. What if you pick a few of her favorite & then buy cute "thinner" more comfortable clothes that are themed. I bought a super cute tutu dress from Sears that were Frozen & one that was Sophia. She loves Sophia so we will wear that one to HS. I have a cute Mickey/Minnie T from Disney Store w/ a super cute fluffy skirt that we will wear to MK etc

Last year we did dinner at CRT the girls had their fancy Cinderella costumes on but they didn't want to keep them on very long. I had a change of clothes for them to wear.

 

[mom2rtk]

We did a lot of that through the years.

Space bags or Ziploc bags can be your friends. Roll the air out. Some will wrinkle, but most store bought ones will shake out quite nicely. When you're done with them for the day, put them in a locker.

 

[Amanda999]

Short answer: I'd bring them all (especially due to free checked bags) UNLESS you will go to WDW alot while she's still in princess phase.

Long winded answer:
DS12 is autistic, low IQ, and so, so sweet. He never played with a toy or paid attention to anything fictional until we went to WDW when he was 8. He rode the Peter Pan ride, and Pooh, and asked for those plush characters for xmas! (He had never been interested in gifts or xmas before either.) We get misty still thinking about it.

So, we now go to WDW 3 or 4 times a year. He LOVES to meet the characters, and - here is the relevance to OP - bring them 'gifts.' (How can I refuse that?! So cute.) For example, he found Disney character fruit snacks. Ok, fine, but they can't be carried on so we had to check a bag. Ok, still free back then on JetBlue. Then it was a book for each character (to show them - not to give them) - they are paperback so ok (but it is 8 million degrees on most of our trips, so would prefer to not have a backpack at all). Then it was fruit snacks for all of the 10 characters he wanted to see that had fruit snacks (at our grocery store they sell Disney character snacks). Side note: the characters make a big deal about him bringing them gifts. (He can't converse much with people, and seems to get alot out of the non-verbal feedback the characters pantomime when he brings them something). It's awesome, but, still, we're dragging this stuff around in the heat for hours sometimes).

Unlike a neuro-typical child, DS will not likely 'grow out' of his love for the characters, and, thus, nor his desire to bring them things (he's rule driven - if he did x last trip, he has to do it again). It's great, but I do manage expectations: we bring a maximum of 2 or 3 fruit snack boxes now, and 2 books, and limit character meals to 2 (or whatever). Otherwise if I let him bring everyone something, he will want to do that every trip. (And we meet Mickey several times, so we had a rule from the beginning that Mickey only needs 1 thing, the 1st time we meet him. Of course, its the same Mickey every time....)

So, I guess I'm saying that if this is the once in her childhood trip, so no worries about 'managing expectations' for future trips (that would make you dread another trip), then bring them all! I would! But if you go alot, then limit it to whatever you think you can live with every trip until she is out of princess dress up phase.

Just my 2 cents - hope it helps!

 

[anniebabymu]

Space Bags!! I always bring at least 4 dresses per girl (we have two) and I can pack them all in one Space Bag! Contains the glitter awesomely and once all the air is rolled out they take up zero space... even with 8 dresses shoved in it!

Then I bring whatever dresses for that particular day in a smaller Space Bag and throw it in our park bag for the day. They won't wear the dresses all day and it, again, contains all the glitter and takes up no space in the park bag!

 

[nighttowll]

I'm not sure if it would work or not because of wrinkling, but have you thought about the vacuum space savor bags?

They make ones where you don’t need an actual vacuum to use; you just push the air out with your hands. We have used them before for travel, and they work pretty well. They come in different sizes, and you could stick one or two dresses in a small or midsize one, suck all the air out, and then throw it in your bag or a locker until you need it. Then, when you are done, you just put it back in the bag. It might take a little experimenting at home to figure out how to fold the dresses to prevent wrinkles, but it could work.

 

[Bektasmic]

Space bags!!

Of COURSE!!

I was thinking about those big puffy dresses just being loose, but yes, they would TOTALLY squish down! Love it. That makes it totally manageable. Plus protects them against spills or snags better than just throwing them in a backpack. Thank you so much for the great idea!

 

[Bektasmic]

Short answer: I'd bring them all (especially due to free checked bags) UNLESS you will go to WDW alot while she's still in princess phase. Long winded answer: DS12 is autistic, low IQ, and so, so sweet. He never played with a toy or paid attention to anything fictional until we went to WDW when he was 8. He rode the Peter Pan ride, and Pooh, and asked for those plush characters for xmas! (He had never been interested in gifts or xmas before either.) We get misty still thinking about it. So, we now go to WDW 3 or 4 times a year. He LOVES to meet the characters, and - here is the relevance to OP - bring them 'gifts.' (How can I refuse that?! So cute.) For example, he found Disney character fruit snacks. Ok, fine, but they can't be carried on so we had to check a bag. Ok, still free back then on JetBlue. Then it was a book for each character (to show them - not to give them) - they are paperback so ok (but it is 8 million degrees on most of our trips, so would prefer to not have a backpack at all). Then it was fruit snacks for all of the 10 characters he wanted to see that had fruit snacks (at our grocery store they sell Disney character snacks). Side note: the characters make a big deal about him bringing them gifts. (He can't converse much with people, and seems to get alot out of the non-verbal feedback the characters pantomime when he brings them something). It's awesome, but, still, we're dragging this stuff around in the heat for hours sometimes). Unlike a neuro-typical child, DS will not likely 'grow out' of his love for the characters, and, thus, nor his desire to bring them things (he's rule driven - if he did x last trip, he has to do it again). It's great, but I do manage expectations: we bring a maximum of 2 or 3 fruit snack boxes now, and 2 books, and limit character meals to 2 (or whatever). Otherwise if I let him bring everyone something, he will want to do that every trip. (And we meet Mickey several times, so we had a rule from the beginning that Mickey only needs 1 thing, the 1st time we meet him. Of course, its the same Mickey every time....) So, I guess I'm saying that if this is the once in her childhood trip, so no worries about 'managing expectations' for future trips (that would make you dread another trip), then bring them all! I would! But if you go alot, then limit it to whatever you think you can live with every trip until she is out of princess dress up phase. Just my 2 cents - hope it helps!

Loved reading about your family and your DS's continuing enthusiasm and joy from Disney. I'm a developmental therapist and work with kids on the spectrum and teared up reading about his budding interests at 8. Thanks for sharing your experiences as well as advice. I didn't realize you could bring gifts for the characters. My DD wanted to bring Ariel a Dinglehopper (aka, fork), but I told her only a drawing. Shhhhh...no one tell her any different-lol

 

[Here4mydisneyfix]

We have THREE little princesses who ALL love to dressup! lol We find that a big trash bag works great! (and black ones are the best so that nobody can see what's in them...you can leave it in the bottom of your stroller that way without worry...just looks like a trash bag!) You can roll the dresses up small and stuff them in, then squeeze out the extra air. They do squish down very small and when you take them out, if you just shake them, it gets them "refoofed" and unwrinkled. You could bring them all, no problem!

 

[Bektasmic]

My 5 year loves the dresses, hates to wear them for a long time. What if you pick a few of her favorite & then buy cute "thinner" more comfortable clothes that are themed. I bought a super cute tutu dress from Sears that were Frozen & one that was Sophia. She loves Sophia so we will wear that one to HS. I have a cute Mickey/Minnie T from Disney Store w/ a super cute fluffy skirt that we will wear to MK etc Last year we did dinner at CRT the girls had their fancy Cinderella costumes on but they didn't want to keep them on very long. I had a change of clothes for them to wear.

Thanks for the suggestion. I sew and have been working on a couple comfy versions of the princess outfits and some tutu skirts. We are likely doing family matching shirts with iron ons for most days. But wondered how kids did in tutu skirts all day. She's fine in them at home, but didn't know if activity in the parks would make them uncomfortable. I guess the key would be leggings or shorties underneath to make a barrier against itchy fabric?

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

Loved reading about your family and your DS's continuing enthusiasm and joy from Disney. I'm a developmental therapist and work with kids on the spectrum and reared up reading about his budding interests at 8. Thanks for sharing your experiences as well as advice. I didn't realize you could bring gifts for the characters. My DD wanted to bring Ariel a Dinglehopper (aka, fork), but I told her only a drawing. Shhhhh...no one tell her any different-lol

DD gave Ariel a fork on one of our trips last year - we're talking a plastic fork from one of the CS places at Disney - DH happened to have picked up an extra and we put it in the camera bag. Anyway - it was priceless - Ariel was thrilled!!

OP we've gone through the princess phase and carried around the outfits and while it can be a bit much at times it is also SO much fun! We tended to bring all outfits (I think we maxed out at 7) and she could pick one to wear to the parks per day (and we'd bring clothes to change into). DD is now 15 - still loves meeting the princesses (to tell the truth we all do!) and we have many amazing memories from her interacting with them.

Also if you do a photo album with her dressed as each princess I'm sure that will get a ton of attention from the characters as well (not just the princesses a lot of characters will want to look through it and see her various pictures!)

 

[PrincessMadisonsMom]

We do the same thing with our little girl who owns at least 14 dresses between the princesses and other characters. She is two, but absolutely loves the princesses and being dressed as one. On our last trip I rolled each dress into a gallon sized Ziploc bag and put the matching shoes in with it. I then used a permanent marker and labeled the bag so that my husband wouldn't have to guess which princess dress was in there and was able to help me.

We packed them this way for the trip (helped with the glitter), and then I took them out and hung them when we got to Disney. Every morning I would roll the dresses we were taking that day back up in the Ziploc bag and pack them in our backpack. She would wear one to the park and then change into another dress when it was time for the next princess. The dresses were surprisingly pretty wrinkle free, but I also packed Downy wrinkle release in our backpack just in case.

Some tips-
We wouldn't attempt more than 4-5 dresses in one day, and you have to plan your day in advance to know which princesses you will see.
We also packed her a "regular clothes" Ziploc bag to change into each day just in case, but she never used it.
Bring a brush for hair fixes.
Buy the memory maker since you don't know when you will be able to make the trip again, and the photopass photographers have a way of getting the better shots.
We were able to change her in between princesses at Anna and Elsa since she is still young and daddy shielded her. We just used the "shimmy down" method so she was never actually exposed though.

It is a lot of planning and a lot of work, but I would go for it since you mentioned you want to make her dreams come true. It is totally worth it once you see the pictures of your little girl dressed as the princess she is with (some photos made me cry). They are precious! Also the interactions with the princesses and princes tend to be just a little more special when she's dressed like them, although they are all great no matter what. Let me know if you want anymore tips on meeting the princesses. This post got longer than expected and I didn't want to bore you if you've already done your research! Good luck and have fun!

 

[hops&dreams]

I used a gallon ziplock bag per dress. I folded it up, sat on the bag to squeeze the air out, and zipped it closed. Worked great to contain the glitter, pack flat, and she brought 4 dresses and got a 5th one there (my parents sent down the deluxe rapunzel dress from the disney store as a surprise for her). Dd wore clothes underneath, and went whole days in the dresses. She LOVED it!
My advice- bask in the magic while you can, because they grow up SO fast!! Now dd is 11, but still asked if she could wear her rapunzel dress when we go later this month. I think I'll see her some less obvious stuff- belle's plain dress, maybe cinderella's maid dress? We'll see what I have time for now that the holidays are over.

 

[Bektasmic]

We do the same thing with our little girl who owns at least 14 dresses between the princesses and other characters. She is two, but absolutely loves the princesses and being dressed as one. On our last trip I rolled each dress into a gallon sized Ziploc bag and put the matching shoes in with it. I then used a permanent marker and labeled the bag so that my husband wouldn't have to guess which princess dress was in there and was able to help me. We packed them this way for the trip (helped with the glitter), and then I took them out and hung them when we got to Disney. Every morning I would roll the dresses we were taking that day back up in the Ziploc bag and pack them in our backpack. She would wear one to the park and then change into another dress when it was time for the next princess. The dresses were surprisingly pretty wrinkle free, but I also packed Downy wrinkle release in our backpack just in case. Some tips- We wouldn't attempt more than 4-5 dresses in one day, and you have to plan your day in advance to know which princesses you will see. We also packed her a "regular clothes" Ziploc bag to change into each day just in case, but she never used it. Bring a brush for hair fixes. Buy the memory maker since you don't know when you will be able to make the trip again, and the photopass photographers have a way of getting the better shots. We were able to change her in between princesses at Anna and Elsa since she is still young and daddy shielded her. We just used the "shimmy down" method so she was never actually exposed though. It is a lot of planning and a lot of work, but I would go for it since you mentioned you want to make her dreams come true. It is totally worth it once you see the pictures of your little girl dressed as the princess she is with (some photos made me cry). They are precious! Also the interactions with the princesses and princes tend to be just a little more special when she's dressed like them, although they are all great no matter what. Let me know if you want anymore tips on meeting the princesses. This post got longer than expected and I didn't want to bore you if you've already done your research! Good luck and have fun!

Definitely would love tips on princess interactions! Not bored one bit and always happy to listen to the voices of experience. Never would have thought about hair fix brush, but we will totally need that!

 

[mom2rtk]

DD gave Ariel a fork on one of our trips last year - we're talking a plastic fork from one of the CS places at Disney - DH happened to have picked up an extra and we put it in the camera bag. Anyway - it was priceless - Ariel was thrilled!!

OP we've gone through the princess phase and carried around the outfits and while it can be a bit much at times it is also SO much fun! We tended to bring all outfits (I think we maxed out at 7) and she could pick one to wear to the parks per day (and we'd bring clothes to change into). DD is now 15 - still loves meeting the princesses (to tell the truth we all do!) and we have many amazing memories from her interacting with them.

Also if you do a photo album with her dressed as each princess I'm sure that will get a ton of attention from the characters as well (not just the princesses a lot of characters will want to look through it and see her various pictures!)

The fork story is adorable!

My DD is 14 now and still enjoys meeting all the characters, including the princesses. I took a bunch of photos from our trips through the years (mostly dressed in that character's costume) and made her a permanent autograph book. We have taken it the last few years filling in autographs to go with the old photos. We have had a ball with various CMs (both characters and handlers) looking through the book with us.

The only problem is that now we now need to add more pages and can't. We might just have to start all over again!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We limit to one princess dress per child. That is plenty bulky. Maybe two if you want. I would not bring ten. One way to compact them is to scrunch them into gallon zip lock bags. (you can also find 1.5 gallon bags and 2 gallon bags if you look). Mostly, the dresses unwrinkle very quickly when exposed to air, or hang in the bathroom while running the shower. Our extended family mostly brought princes dresses just to character dinners. One exception - photos on the carrousel are fantastic! Maybe one quick princess greet. Otherwise a princess shirt is much easier.

Another thing we always bring for all wrinkled clothes, and to style hair- a very small empty travel sized spray bottle. Fill it with water from any sink. (Works just as well as Downy and less chemicals) Then just smooth the wrinkles or brush the hair. For princess dresses that's all you need, for other items, a blast with a hairdryer does miracles.

Carrying anything extra around the parks is a pain, and we try to avoid as much as possible. If you have a stroller, a princess dress is among the 'less valuable' items we were willing to leave in the basket. If not, another reason to only bring ONE dress.

Oh, skip the princess shoes entirely! And all the other extra accessories. Just the dress. the shoes are terrible for walking, and puts the child ina bad place. Many times, I've seen little girls CRYING at WDW, while mom INSISTS that her DD keep wearing the uncomfortable item. PLease, don't get carried away with YOUR vision of what is "SUPPOSED" to happen at WDW. Keep it simple so nobody gets upset.

Then, it does pay to bring a few small Disney stuffed animals/stuffed dolls to WDW if you are staying onsite. Leave them on your bed. Mousekeeping often does something cute if you leave them on the bed. Again, you can compact them in ziplocs in the suitcase. Again, limit this to like one 1gal Ziploc at most, and three items at most. More is too easy to lose. Also avoid her most prized figures- again, nothing she'd be heartbroken to lose. You can get inexpensive ones on sale at Disney stores sometimes. Buying them at WDW costs extra.

If you can find it (usually only at Halloween), glitter hairspray- a.k.a. pixie dust- can be fun. Make sure to ONLY spray it OUTSIDE your hotel room, just as you are leaving the room for the day. (Makes a big mess indoors!) a TINY one-second squirt goes along ways! (fun for adults too!) You can affix it with a little hairspray, if you want it to last more than 5min. This time of year you might find it at a party store or place like CVS. One can goes a LONG ways.

Sometimes just a princess shirt and hair clip+little updo go a long ways to creating the 'princess look'. I don't mean the plastered down BBB look, just a few braids, or a French Twist. Learn how to make hair twists as another quick alternative to braids.

Painting your nails before you go is another option that doesn't take up any space. Also, party stores carry inexpensive princess temp tattoos.

 

[MrsHull]

Oh, skip the princess shoes entirely! And all the other extra accessories. Just the dress. the shoes are terrible for walking, and puts the child ina bad place. Many times, I've seen little girls CRYING at WDW, while mom INSISTS that her DD keep wearing the uncomfortable item. PLease, don't get carried away with YOUR vision of what is "SUPPOSED" to happen at WDW. Keep it simple so nobody gets upset..

I agree, skip the shoes. We bought the ones from BBB for DD last year. She loved them and insisted she wear them all day. I was the mom who what's trying to convince her to take them off. The next day? She was so blistered she had to ride in the stroller.

 

[lisahoo]

I found the glitter hairspray at the Dollar Store. $CORE!!!

And those little bun maker hair thingies. But I'll probably use the sock method instead, I have plenty of random socks!! So we are doing a low-budget BBB in the room for DD's birthday.

My other DD has autism and would wear her Elsa dress every day if she thought that was an option.

So thanks for the idea about the trash bags -- I can just smoosh down the Anna & Elsa gowns and bring them along and mommy doesn't have to be the killjoy.

 

[princessekrus]

LOL. I just finished loading an entire suitcase with princess dresses for our trip starting Wednesday. I have a DD5, and DD8. DD5 will wear at least 1 dress every day. I hardly bring any regular clothes for her, since she will actually wear them all day. (She wore a full-sleeve elsa dress all day in 90 degree august heat... ugh!).

If you may not be going back anytime soon, I say bring all the dresses. I'm less keen on accessories, since I ended up carrying everything within 15 minutes - but maybe a favorite crown, or gloves, or necklace that might help the outfit. Skip the shoes, unless they are comfortable ones, WDW is A LOT of walking, and once they have blisters, it's game over.

DD8 used to do the dressing up, and our last 2 trips she didn't at all, and it made me sad. This stage goes by really fast, and if you already have the gear, get some good use out of it. Plus, the princesses make a special fuss when you are dressed like them.

Have a great time!