Shoups R Us: Disney Day 4: A Day Fit for A Princess

We planned our trip so that it fell on KIC's actual birthday. I wasn't sure how this day would go as she had been feeling pretty miserable the day before, fighting off an ear infection. KIC is very nonchalant about her birthday. She's not so much into the cake and the presents, she's more into spending time with her friends. If it happens to include some fun activities, that's truly all she needs. On the day of her actual birthday, I woke her up and asked her if she knew what day it was. She sat bolt upright and said "My birthday!!!" and then laid back down. We didn't bring any of her birthday gifts to Disney as I didn't want to schlep them down and back and she never said anything about it.

Going down to Disney, KIC knew she was going to the Princess dinner at Epcot. It was something we did last year and we all enjoyed it tremendously. It doesn't hurt that the food is really really good. What she didn't know, is that she was going to get a Cinderella "spa" treatment as a gift from my parents (Minga and Grandpa) from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. This was for a couple of reasons. One, I wasn't really sure she would understand all that was entailed, and two, it was going to be the only gift she got while she was down there so I wanted it to be a surprise.

There are several different packages you can choose for your princess. They do have a package for princes too, but for my money, I'd rather do the pirate for a day for the boy. It's not as though the prince "spa" package is an afterthought, there just isn't much you can do for the boys sans costume. They seem to be more inclined to dress like pirates than like princes (really, who can blame them?). The packages range from $55 to $200, with the latter including a princess dress and shoes. I knew this ahead of time and bought a $20 Tiana dress from Costco around Halloween. KIC was none the wiser and we actually got a ton of compliments on it throughout the day.

This was our first time at the spa as I knew nothing about it last year until it was too late to get KIC in. Like many things geared towards the princesses, it books up months in advance. Our appointment was at 9 am, and with the bonus of the extra magic hours that started at 8, we could leisurely make our way to Cinderella's castle without having to sprint from the entrance. Along the way, we stopped to ride some rides and take some character photos.

I like these because they show the before the "spa" treatment. Finally, the time had come to mosey onto the "spa". Little girls who have received the spa treatment are unmistakable as they wander through the park. Most of them are wearing princess gowns and they all looked grown up. I always looked at them and thought, wow, that kid looks older than her years. It never occurred to me that I was seeing the results of the spa treatment. I will spare you the during photos, but here was KIC's finished product:

Twinsies!

All this excitement, and we hadn't even done the princess dinner yet!

Soon it was time to head to the Princess dinner. If you're not familiar with the Princess dinner, there are two locations. One at Akershus in Epcot and one at Cinderella's castle. We have gone to Akershus the past two years because Cinderella's castle has been booked so I can't do a comparison for you. I can only say that Akershus is awesome. We get the parkhopper pass, so it's easy for us to go between the parks, but if you're only going to stay at Magic Kingdom, then you're definitely going to want to try to get into Cinderella's castle. Many, though not all, of the princesses come to visit with your princess at the dinner. We saw Aurora, Belle, Snow White (how come she doesn't have a real name?) and Ariel. If you can swing it, I HIGHLY recommend taking your daughter on her actual birthday. All of the princesses sign a birthday card just for her. (Side note: Disney sells autograph books that the characters will sign as you go through the park hitting up the various character meet and greets. We do not do this mostly for time saving reasons, but the princesses will also sign books at the princess dinner.) KIC pulled her usual "I'm shy" routine, but we got some really great pictures anyway as these princesses are VERY skilled in drawing out shy little ones.