Princesses in Disneyland - your experiences?

[lovethesun12]

Can some explain how I should do princesses at Disneyland?

My daughter loves Moana, Ariel, Aurora, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, Elsa & Anna.

I planned initially to book BBB then a princess meal like I do at WDW (she LOVED this at WDW, it was the absolute best part of the visit, plus there were meet and greets in between as well).

So I looked into that and besides the fact the cost is WAY higher to do all this, none of the above princesses are guaranteed or even regulars. So given the price tag, with no guarantees to see the princess she chose after, the decision to drop both of these was an easy one.

Then I thought well maybe we'll just dress her up each day and hope she sees one (seems to be the best option really, and I get to save a lot of money this way, but still kinda sad it doesn't seem it will be as magical for her).

Is there anything different we could do that I'm missing? I'm kind of sad she won't get her princess day, but happy I'm going to save a ton of money compared to WDW!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

DL has three princesses at Fantasy Faire (usually Cinderella, Snow White, and Ariel, although it varies), and DCA has Anna and Elsa together in the Animation Building. So it’s pretty easy to knock out five.

Aurora meets by the Wishing Well, and Rapunzel meets outside of Fantasy Faire (often with Flynn), and sometimes after her show at the Royal Theater.

Moana is the trickiest because she does roaming sets in addition to meet and greets, but she was doing a M&G by the Tarzan Treehouse exit on Friday.

The app will list them, but it’s not always accurate, so it’s best to ask an actual CM in the Fantasy Faire area when/where it would be best to catch them.

ETA: Fantasy Faire is right by BBB (the highest BBB package used to skip the line to meet the princesses - sometimes still does!), so many people do BBB and then FF - you can meet the three princesses inside, and then often one outside and/or one across the way at the Wishing Well... maybe catch the Royal Theater show with a princess, too... it’s pretty easy to catch a slew of princesses after BBB if you time it right.

 

[lovethesun12]

DL has three princesses at Fantasy Faire (usually Cinderella, Snow White, and Ariel, although it varies), and DCA has Anna and Elsa together in the Animation Building. So it’s pretty easy to knock out five.

Aurora meets by the Wishing Well, and Rapunzel meets outside of Fantasy Faire (often with Flynn), and sometimes after her show at the Royal Theater.

Moana is the trickiest because she does roaming sets in addition to meet and greets, but she was doing a M&G by the Tarzan Treehouse exit on Friday.

The app will list them, but it’s not always accurate, so it’s best to ask an actual CM in the Fantasy Faire area when/where it would be best to catch them.

ETA: Fantasy Faire is right by BBB (the highest BBB package used to skip the line to meet the princesses - sometimes still does!), so many people do BBB and then FF - you can meet the three princesses inside, and then often one outside and/or one across the way at the Wishing Well... maybe catch the Royal Theater show with a princess, too... it’s pretty easy to catch a slew of princesses after BBB if you time it right.

Thank you so much for your response! It's hard being a newbie again (since I'm use to WDW) but so excited. Sounds like BBB would be great then in this case =)

 

[DLgal]

In the afternoon hours, there are ALWAYS princesses out at the entrance plaza, just inside the turnstiles, in front of the train station. It's usually 2 or 3 of them. It's a daily occurrence.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

I went to Fantasty Faire right after RD one morning while my boys did the big rides and met Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White with no line!

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I went to Fantasty Faire right after RD one morning while my boys did the big rides and met Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White with no line!

We went last Friday at 9:30 and there was no wait - we actually thought maybe they weren’t open! All of the princesses were actually chatting together in the first room and so the last two had to make a hasty retreat to their own alcoves as we walked in!

That’s not normal, but this has been a weird summer with crowds/waits.

 

[Michele King]

I will agree with previous posters that many princesses are out in the afternoons by the turnstiles at the front of Fantasyland.

If you want to see Rupunzel that best way is to watch her show at the theater in Fantasy Faire and then she and Flynn usually will do some meet and greets right after. Try to sit close to the front on the righthand side as that is where the meet and greet will be inside the theater right after.

Anna and Elsa are pretty easy to see over in California Adventure. Their meeting place is in the same location area as Turtle Talk with Crush.

Also there are meet and greets of 3 princesses at Fantasy Faire, but which three I believe rotates throughout the day, so ask the CMs there.

 

[poptart90]

Thought I’d toss in my DS experience meeting princesses at FF. First off, it was supposed to be DD cause she was SO excited, but balked when we arrived at the first alcove. So I suggested DS go over and talk to Snow White and DD would most likely follow. Well, that never happened. But what did happen was some of the most fun and interactive M&G’s my DS (7 at the time) has ever had!! Those beautiful ladies spent tons of time with him, asked him all sorts of fun & exciting questions, and just generally had a blast with him...don’t think they get many boys by themselves!!! DS really enjoyed it and still talks about it as one of his fave meets ever. Wanted to share in case anyone else has a DS curious, interested, or uh...can be coerced to go to FF!! They just might enjoy themselves more than they ever thought! Plus, the princely things at BBB are pretty awesome...nothin’ like a foam “wacker” sword !!

 

[lcp9]

so a couple years ago, my 4 year old daughter and I tried to meet all the princesses in a 3 day trip. I think we did it over 2 days. The first day I checked the app and got an idea of where they typically met (i.e. when tangled was playing at the theater, belle was out, and when beauty/beast was playing rapunzel was out.) A lot of times they would also switch out at the same place, and I made note of that also. The key is to be there BEFORE the line starts forming. So, for example - Ariel was meeting at 9:15 at the wishing well, we got there at 9:05 and started the line. After we met Ariel, a decent line had formed and we went to the back of that same line before it closed b/c Aurora was scheduled to be there at 9:45. By the time we got to the front of the line again, it was Aurora.

We did the same thing at fantasy faire with like Merida and Rapunzel if remember correctly, and at that point we had just enough time to get over and see Jasmine. We spent from about 9-12 doing this, and with a little strategy we met everyone except Elsa and Anna (and the few in the royal hall.)

Royal Hall is best during or right after parades. The line fluctuates a ton, so just watch it.

We actually still did BBB that trip, but didn't really need it for princess meeting purposes.

Anyway, check the app to get an idea of what a general schedule is, and then you can plan around that. Just be there before the line starts forming or either it will be a huge wait OR they might cut it off.

 

[mickeymom22]

We just got back from our first DL family trip...we too are used to getting our Disney fix at WDW. I just wanted to let you know that the characters roam around. We got to "meet" with Belle and the Beast in Fantasyland. They were just strolling around when the Beast spotted my daughter and really spent a lot of time with her. We also happened upon Snow White late in the afternoon. We were making our way from DL to DCA when we exited through the train station and there she was...no line...just hanging out! So of course we stopped and she spent so much time talking with my daughters about their adventures from the day and the ones they were getting ready to have! My daughters are older (13 and 19) so it was special to see them interacting with them.

Be on the lookout for some "spontaneous" meet and greets on your app...so magical!

 

[Aurora0427]

We have seen Ariel, Cinderella, jasmine and Snow White at FF. We’ve met Aurora by the wishing well, we’ve met Jasmine and Aladdin at the wishing well, we’ve met Belle in her blue dress outside of FF, we’ve met Rapunzel and Flynn outside of Fantasy Faire, we’ve met Pocohantas by the fort wall right where FL and Frontierland (I think) meet near the hub, Tiana is on the river boat, Elena right outside of FF, and we’ve met Moana by the Tarzan treehouse.
After the first two Beauty and the Beast shows, Belle does a meet and greet in her yellow gown. Rapunzel also greets guests after the first two shows. So see the show and just stick around. They don’t announce the m&g. You really just have to check out these locations throughout the day and see who is there.

The lines for the characters meeting right outside of FF get super long. We arrived 30 minutes before Rapunzel and Flynn were scheduled to be back, and were second in line. By the time the meet and greet started, the line was an hour and they cut it off.

 

[ExcitedMama]

My DD is all about princesses so I get it! It used to be that the princesses would switch out but our last few trips it seems that it is always Snow White, Cinderella and Ariel. We used to go a couple of times a day so she could see a variety but they never seem to switch it up. The biggest problem is that they dropped the photographers completely or maybe they do one princess and it’s really dark in there so it can be hard to get great photos on your camera phone which is a bummer. If the line is long just skip it and try again later, it will be really short at other times. Unfortunately the app can be unreliable when you are trying to find princesses so ask the CMs. I try not to tell DD so she won’t be disappointed if I see someone on the app and then just casually head that way. Both the Rapunzel and Belle plays are really cute and DD always wants to watch them each trip.

DD also likes to wave at the princesses in the parades and Fantasmic so that could be another option.

 

[DisSurfer878]

I just checked and you're wrong.

BBB is more expensive at WDW.

 

[lovethesun12]

I just checked and you're wrong.

BBB is more expensive at WDW.

Sorry I might not have been clear enough. I meant BBB + princess meal is more expensive. From everything I've read BBB is the same at both. The princess breakfast at MK is $58 for adults and $38 for kids (Akershus is cheaper again). For us, a family of 4:

WDW: 199.95 (BBB) + 2(58) + 2(38) = $391.95 (tax/gratuity included for meal) + $13 (6.5% tax from BBB) = ~$430

At DL I know the princess meal has better food and experience but it's also the only comparable option to choose (to the best of my knowledge) so nothing cheaper is available for a meal:

DL: 199.95 (BBB) + 125x4 (tax/gratuity not included) = $699.95 + $54 tax (7.75% tax on everything) + $90 tip = ~$844

Hopefully my calculations are off and someone can correct me so there isn't hundreds of dollars in the difference =)

 

[Aurora0427]

Sorry I might not have been clear enough. I meant BBB + princess meal is more expensive. From everything I've read BBB is the same at both. The princess breakfast at MK is $58 for adults and $38 for kids (Akershus is cheaper again). For us, a family of 4:

WDW: 199.95 (BBB) + 2(58) + 2(38) = $391.95 (tax/gratuity included for meal) + $13 (6.5% tax from BBB) = ~$430

At DL I know the princess meal has better food and experience but it's also the only comparable option to choose (to the best of my knowledge) so nothing cheaper is available for a meal:

DL: 199.95 (BBB) + 125x4 (tax/gratuity not included) = $699.95 + $54 tax (7.75% tax on everything) + $90 tip = ~$844

Hopefully my calculations are off and someone can correct me so there isn't hundreds of dollars in the difference =)

No. You aren’t wrong. The princess meal at Disneyland really is that expensive. It’s a shame... at WDW you have two opportunities to dine with the princesses- at Cinderella’s Royal Table and Akershus in Norway. I was so looking forward to a princess meal for my three year old, who is obsessed, since my older daughter has done the WDW meals multiple times, but for our family the total cost even without BBB is like $600. Yikes!

 

[CateinPhoenix]

I also highly recommend Mickey and the Magical Map show! Repunzel, Tiana, and a few others make appearances. Sorry, I have boys so I can't think of all the Princess names!