A princess-themed Disney World trip plan

Lots and lots of parents look forward to taking their princess-loving children to Disney World to experience all of the fairy tale magic before the kids get older and move onto a new stage.

Disney World knows how popular princess stuff is and has gradually been adding more and more attractions for little princesses.

Here is a 7 day trip itinerary made especially for families looking for all of the princess goodness they can fit into one trip.

(It also includes non-princess stuff that most princess lovers will enjoy.)

Before you leave on your trip

Write a letter to a princess and the princess will send you an autographed postcard in return. You can write to any princess, you can send multiple letters if you have multiple children and there’s no need to send postage.

This is a fun way to get your princess excited about their upcoming trip.

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Send your letter to the this address:

Walt Disney World Communications
P.O. Box 10040
Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830-0040

Where to stay

There is a resort in each category – Value, Moderate and Deluxe – fit for a princess.

Value resort: Art of Animation, the Little Mermaid section
The Art of Animation resort began opening in May 2012 and the Little Mermaid section opened in September 2012.

The rooms are standard rooms with 2 double beds that accommodate up to 4 people. There is also a Flippin’ Fins swimming pool nearby at the Little Mermaid Courtyard.

Rooms start at $94/night.

Moderate resort: Port Orleans Riverside, the Royal Rooms
In early 2012, about 25% of the rooms (over 500) at Port Orleans Riverside were converted to Royal Rooms. Special touches like fiber optic special effects, ornate decorations, custom drapery and art adorn these newly refurbished rooms.

The rooms start at $189/night.

Deluxe resort: The Grand Floridian
The Grand Floridian doesn’t have rooms that are explicitly princess-themed, but the Victorian theming along with stained glass ceiling and chandeliers definitely make it feel very regal.

The Grand Floridian is also home to a couple of the princess-themed events listed below and is in a location fit for any princess – right on the monorail line, one stop away from Magic Kingdom.

Rooms start at $460/night.

Day 1 – Arrival Day

On the first day of your trip, you’ll be traveling and checking into your hotel.

For an extra special princess touch, consider getting a limo to transport you to your hotel from the airport.

Take time to get your room comfortable and explore the resort.

Have dinner at 1900 Park Fare for Cinderella’s Happily Ever After Dinner. This is a buffet-style meal at the Grand Floridian.

Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia and Drizella are the characters at this meal. (Make dining reservations well ahead of time for this dinner.)

Day 2 – Magic Kingdom

Time for your first Magic Kingdom day!

Head to the Magic Kingdom for an 8:00 breakfast in the castle at Cinderella’s Royal Table. You’ll enter the parks before they are open, giving you a perfect chance to take pics in front of the castle without any crowds.

Characters vary but often include Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, Belle, Aurora and Snow White.

My daughter at Cinderella’s Royal Table when she was 10. She goes to college next year.

You must make these reservations 6 months in advance because it’s a very popular character dining meal.

Once you wrap up breakfast, you’ll be ready to head into the parks.

Grab FastPasses for Peter Pan and head to Enchanted Tales with Belle which has very long lines later in the day.

After that, ride Journey of the Little Mermaid and visit Ariel’s Grotto.

Next, it’s time to meet Merida. As you’re facing the castle, the path to the right has an outdoor theater called the Fairytale Garden where you can meet Merida.

Spend some time riding rides in Fantasyland – Winnie the Pooh, Golden Carousel, Peter Pan (with your FASTPASSes), It’s a Small World – and then line up to meet the Fairy Godmother behind the castle which begins at 10:45.

Look for Lady Tremaine and the step sisters who roam Fantasyland. They have a meet at 11:15 but can be located in many places throughout Fantasyland.

Head to Mad Tea Party to see Alice in Wonderland at 11:30. You might find White Rabbit with her too.

Before lunch, have a volunteer run to get FASTPASSes for both the Princesses and Mickey & Minnie next to Tony’s Restaurant.

Have a counter service lunch and then head for an afternoon of characters.

After lunch character plans:

• Meet at the Town Square Flagpole at 1:00 to meet Daisy
• Go to the Town Square Hat Shop at 1:15 to meet Mary Poppins
• Next, find Snow White in Town Square for her 1:35 meet.
• Use your FASTPASSes from earlier to meet the princesses at Town Square Theater.
• Use your other FASTPASS to meet Mickey and Minnie at Town Square Theater.

At this point, you might want to head out for an afternoon break or take the time to ride some rides.

Some possible plans for the rest of your day:

• The Celebrate a Dream Come True Parade is at 3:00 and features some princesses.
• Ride Buzz Lightyear (get a FASTPASS if there’s a line)
• See the Monster’s, Inc. Laugh Floor show
• Ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority

Day 3 – EPCOT

Start off your EPCOT day by attending the Princess Storybook Dining breakfast at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall which is located in Norway. Just like you did when having breakfast in the castle, you should try to get 8 a.m. reservations here so that you enjoy an empty park and don’t miss out on any touring time.

Since all of the princesses that you’ll meet at EPCOT are in the World Showcase section and the World Showcase section doesn’t open until 11, you’ll want to head back to the front of the park after breakfast so you can be there when the park opens.

Ride these rides in this order:

• Soarin’ (get a FASTPASS for later if you want to ride again)
• Sum of All Thrills (located in Innoventions East)
• Test Track
• Mission: SPACE
• The Seas with Nemo and Friends – including exploring the Living Seas and seeing Turtle Talk with Crush
• If you got FASTPASSes earlier, ride Soarin’ again
• Ride Maelstrom in Norway
• Ride Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros in Mexico

You’ll need to check the daily schedule to meet with these princesses in the World Showcase section:

• Belle and the Beast at the World Showcase France Pavilion

• Jasmine & Aladdin can be seen in the World Showcase Morocco Pavilion

• You can find Mulan at the World Showcase China Pavilion

• Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) can be seen in the World Showcase France Pavilion

• Snow White can be seen in the World Showcase Germany Pavilion

Other EPCOT things to do:

• Explore all of the pavilions in the World Showcase. Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure is a fun way to keep little ones interested in exploring all of the various countries.
• Spaceship: EARTH (located in the “golf ball,” many head there first thing since it’s at the front but it’s not busy later in the day)
• Explore both Innoventions buildings
• Club Cool has fun drinks, including those from around the world which are free to sample. The Beverly drink is disgusting so if you like to play jokes, encourage your family to try Beverly and watch their reactions.
• Illuminations is the nighttime show that takes place on the water in the World Showcase section

Day 4 – Animal Kingdom

There isn’t a lot of princess stuff going on at Animal Kingdom but Pocahontas is available at 10:15, 11:15, 12:15 and 2:15 at Camp Minnie-Mickey. Minnie Mouse and many other non-princess characters are available starting at Camp Minnie-Mickey from 10 a.m. until the park closes.

Get to the park before it opens and then head to ride Primeval Whirl and TriceraTop Spin in DinoLand. If there are any members of your group that want to ride Expedition Everest, they should head to ride EE first and/or grab a FASTPASS there to ride later.

The Dinosaur ride is also located in DinoLand. It has a 40″ height requirement which means a lot of kids will be tall enough to ride but it is a very scary ride so be aware of that.

Head to the Camp Minnie-Mickey area to line up for characters that start at 10 and then Pocahontas whose meet starts at 10:15.

See the 10:30 Festival of the Lion King show while you’re here. If you don’t see it at this time, make sure you see it later. It’s one of the best shows in all of Disney World. If you don’t have time to meet characters at Camp Minnie-Mickey before the show, you could also meet with the characters after the show.

It’ll be getting close to lunch and Pizzafari and Tusker House are good options. Grab a FASTPASS on Kilimanjaro Safaris before lunch.

Ride Kilimanjaro Safari after lunch, once your FASTPASS return window opens up.

For the rest of the day, find time to do these rides/shows:

• Flights of Wonder
• Maharajah Jungle Trek
• Kali River Rapids
• Flights of Wonder
• Finding Nemo – The Musical
• Afternoon Parade at 3:45

Since days at Animal Kingdom end earlier than other days, you could spend the rest of the day resting from all of your park touring or you might want to take a bus from Animal Kingdom and head to Downtown Disney.

In Downtown Disney, you might enjoy trying out these things:

• Disney Design-A-Tee – design and personalize your own t-shirt, including using Disney characters (which, of course, includes princesses)
• little miss matched – this store isn’t necessarily princessy but it does have lots of fun, colorful clothing and accessories that many little girls love to wear (side note: they sell Disney merchandise on their website)
• World of Disney – the store that overwhelms me (it’s 50,000 square feet!) but has any Disney merchandise you could possibly want, including a Princess Experience Room (which is where the Downtown Disney Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is located)

Day 5 – Hollywood Studios

Disney’s Hollywood Studios offers two princess-based shows, one featuring Ariel and another featuring Belle.

You’ll want to arrive at Hollywood Studios around 8:15 or 8:30 (the park often opens early so be there to take advantage of the extra time) and head to Toy Story Mania which isn’t princess-themed but is the most popular ride at Disney World and fun for everyone. Either get a FASTPASS *and* ride first thing (so you can ride twice during your visit) or get a FASTPASS and come back later to ride.

Afterward, you can see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show and Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage. Check show times to see when they are available but usually VotLM is around 9:15 and 9:45 and BatB has shows starting a bit later in the morning.

For the rest of your day, these are good attractions to hit with younger kids (doesn’t include Tower of Terror or Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster but if you want to do those, use FASTPASS and/or Child Swap):

• Star Tours II (40″ height requirement)
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
• Playhouse Disney
• The Great Movie Ride
• MuppetVision 3D
• Studio Backlot Tour
• Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show
• The American Idol Experience
• Fantasmic (night show – scary for some children, does feature some princesses)

Day 6 – Magic Kingdom

For your second day at Magic Kingdom, you’ll meet the rest of the princesses and ride the rest of the rides that you didn’t do on the first day.

Arrive before rope drop and immediately after rope drop, head to Town Square Tour Guide Gardens beside Town Hall to meet Rapunzel at 9:00.

Next, head to the Liberty Square, behind the Christmas Shoppe to meet Tiana beginning at 9:20.

You can next meet Jasmine right beside Magic Carpets of Aladdin at Agrabah Bazaar where the meet begins at 9:30.

To wrap up the morning characters, you’ll be able to meet the Fairies at Tinker Bell’s Nook.

Now it’s time for some rides!

Ride these nearby rides after you’ve completed your character meets this morning:

• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Jungle Cruise
• Optional: Magic Carpets of Aladdin

If you want to ride Splash Mountain and/or Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, grab FASTPASSes before heading to lunch. Nearby, you’ve got Pecos Bills and Columbia Harbour House which make good Quick Service choices (although not especially princessy).

After lunch, ride Splash or Big Thunder Mountain if your FASTPASSes say it’s time.

Ride the railroad over to Fantasyland or Tomorrowland to do anything you didn’t get to do on your first day at Magic Kingdom (or repeat things you really liked).

Grab FASTPASSes for Mickey’s PhilharMagic or something else that offers FASTPASS that you’d like to ride/watch a bit later.

Head to the castle for a princess makeover at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. This reservation should be made well ahead so try to do it 6 months in advance. Make the reservation for early afternoon so you don’t miss out on morning opportunities in the parks.

The packages available are:

• Coach Package includes choice of hairstyling, shimmering makeup, princess sash, face gem and princess cinch bag — $54.95 plus tax.
• Crown Package includes choice of hairstyling, shimmering makeup, nail polish, princess sash, face gem and princess cinch bag — $59.95 plus tax
• Courtyard Package includes exclusive Courtyard hairstyling, shimmering makeup, nail polish, face gem, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique t-shirt, trendy tutu, princess sash and princess cinch bag —$89.95 plus tax.
• Castle Package includes the Crown Package components plus Imaging Package (one 6″ x 8″ and four 4″ x 6″ photos in a princess-themed photo holder) and complete Disney Princess costume with coordinating wand and tiara accessories — starting at $189.95 plus tax.

Since only the Castle Package includes a full costume, you can bring your own if you want to do one of the other packages. The PhotoPass photographers take lots of pics here, including afterward where you can go to a special area to pose for pics.

Use the FASTPASSes that you obtained before going to your Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appointment, kill some time doing whatever you’d like and then head to the Splash Mountain exit before 3:40 to meet Jessie and Woody.

Day 7 – Departure Day

On departure day, finish your princess trip off with a bang by attending the Perfectly Princess Tea Party with Sleeping Beauty at The Grand Floridian. This is offered on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and takes place 10:30am – noon. Check in 15 minutes prior to reservation time.

Each guest aged 3-11 will receive “My Disney Girl” collectable doll plus accessories: a tiara, princess link bracelet, princess scrapbook page and a “Best Friend” certificate.

Head back to real life, having overdosed on all things princess and with memories to last a lifetime.

Whew! This is the longest post on this whole site. Have other things to add or comment on this? Please leave it in the comments.

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