Disney Clothing Question

[katydid1971]

We will be taking DC to Disneyland in April. I am excited because I know they will love it. In all the ads the little girls are wearing princess costumes. It seems like it would be hard for DD to get around in a princess costume. How important is having the princess costume do you think? I saw a couple out fits online I thought might work for DD but would you think a princess costume would be better? DD will be 4 and if shes the only one not in costume I don't want her to be sad about it, I am spending lots of money on tickets etc so spending some more on costumes isn't a big deal, I want to make this a very special trip for the kids. Please give me your input.
These are the two outfits from the disney store I thought might work well. I would have her put leggings on under the Minnie dress.

[sariana]

The Disneyland rules say no one over 9 is allowed to attend in costume. That being said, I have only ever seen a few little girls in princess dresses. Most wear regular clothes. The dresses are cute, but I agree that they would be cumbersome. I would not let DD go dressed in one--too inconvenient.

The outfits you posted are both adorable. Just be prepared with layers. It can be chilly in Anaheim in April, especially in the evening. (It also can be boiling hot! You just never know.)

[smiles33]

We did the BBB makeover so I brought DD1's Belle dress. She LOVED the attention she got from cast members and wore the dress subsequent days, too. I always brought comfy cotton clothing to change into if she changed her mind, but she never did. Now, we went to DLR in September, which had mild temperatures in the 70s, so she was never hot.

I would say less than 20% of girls her age were in princess dresses, so your DD wouldn't feel like she was the only one not in one. However, because there are some girls in dresses, they are noticeable. Many other little girls would smile and point at DD1 when she was in her Belle dress.

[TwinFoxes]

I would say 90% of the girls wear street clothes. Maybe more than 10% bring a dress, but only wear them one day. We got the girls little t-shirt with mouse ears and their names from Etsy for photo ops only. I think Disney plays up the girls in dresses for the commercials because they sell the dresses.

[smiles33]

I would say 90% of the girls wear street clothes. Maybe more than 10% bring a dress, but only wear them one day. We got the girls little t-shirt with mouse ears and their names from Etsy for photo ops only. I think Disney plays up the girls in dresses for the commercials because they sell the dresses.

Are saying only about 10% wear dresses at WDW or DLR? OP is going to DLR, which has much milder weather (not humid AT ALL) so as long as you didn't buy the cheapest dresses with itchy parts, it's quite comfortable to wear the dress-up dresses.

FYI, I did make DD1 wear her Umi sandals and not dress up shoes so she could actually walk!

[TwinFoxes]

Are saying only about 10% wear dresses at WDW or DLR? OP is going to DLR, which has much milder weather (not humid AT ALL) so as long as you didn't buy the cheapest dresses with itchy parts, it's quite comfortable to wear the dress-up dresses.

FYI, I did make DD1 wear her Umi sandals and not dress up shoes so she could actually walk!

I didn't say the dresses were uncomfortable. But after a day at Disney, none of my DDs' clothes were wearable without a wash. But obviously YMMV (they were only 2.5)

I've been to WDW several times, and was an annual pass holder at DLR (I acknowledge I'm an addict) and I think the percentages are about the same. But they're also just estimates on my part.

[katydid1971]

She has a snow white costume so I guess we will take it and not get any other costumes. I really like the tinkerbell outfit above so I'll wait for a deal to come up (disney sends coupons out a lot it seems). Thanks for the responses, its good to know that not every little girl at disney land is dressed like the princesses.

[fivi2]

Not every girl is dressed up!

That said, I did have fun dressing my girls up and so did they! I attempted to make pillowcase dresses (my first sewing attempt ever - you can see on this thread: http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/sho...d.php?t=357105) We also took some short sleeve princess and fairy dresses that we wore with shorts and tanks/t-shirts under. Ours aren't elaborate, just the cheap Target ones. We had fun with it, but you certainly won't be the only ones not dressed up! (We went to WDW in 2010 and DL in 2011).

[mommytoC]

I would say less than 20% of girls her age were in princess dresses, so your DD wouldn't feel like she was the only one not in one.

We've been to WDW twice, and I agree with this. I haven't wanted to bring dress-up clothes, so we've been part of the 80+%. For our princess breakfast at Askershus, DD#1 wore a colorblock LTT dress from HA, white (Stride Rite) sandals and a princess necklace from the hotel gift shop. She looked beautiful, IMO, in
her picture with Belle. Both girls had a WDW t-shirt from the Disney store that they wore on our last day. Otherwise, they just wore their regular summer clothes
(a treat in and of itself during our February trips, given how cold it was at home). I do think, though, that either would have loved one of the outfits above!