I am oh so excited about our upcoming trip to the Happiest Place on Earth! We actually live close enough to qualify for a Southern California Year Round Pass, but far enough away to make it more than just a one-day trip. So even though I have several friends and family members that buy year-round passes, we have not, and probably won't, for the foreseeable future. Unless you buy the completely unlimited pass, which is pushing $800+ now I believe, there are so many restricted days - all the days we would like to go of course. And again, it's not just a one-day trip for us. It would require a minimum of a one-night hotel stay, which greatly adds to the cost. So, for now, it's not a good investment for us. And that also means that we will only be able to make a once-yearly trek to the Disney Resort, as it's now called. (I'm secretly hoping for two, but that's probably not going to happen).
Fantasy Faire has been completely overhauled and I cannot wait to see it! And share with you of course! Last year for my daughter's fourth birthday we did the whole she-bang. The complete princess makeover at the Bippity Boppity Boutique, with the purchase of the dress and wand and etc etc. It was quite the experience! And one that will probably only happen once in a lifetime! After her princess makeover, we went to the fantasy faire and danced with the princesses!
This year there will be no trip to the Bippity Boppity Boutique, but my daughter will wear one of her princess dresses that she already has, and I will do her 'princess hair' myself before we go. One mistake I made last year, and it was completely a lack of preparation on my part, is not buying the dress before hand. The Disney Store and Disney Park dresses are very good quality; better than the cheap costume dresses that you find elsewhere, but still not boutique quality. I am very picky however, as I sew, and know what a dress should consist of. I had planned on making an Aurora dress (my daughter's favorite princess), but time got away from me and it didn't happen. And there was no time left to purchase a dress online, so we ended up buying one at the park. Now the dresses at the park and the dresses online are similar, but different. One difference you will notice right away is the price! Currently the dresses online are $44.50 retail, and they have had several sales over the past few months, up to 30% off. The dresses in the park are not even priced on the tag. They just have a sign above the rack to show the current price. For Summer 2012 they were $69.50. Goodness knows if they've gone up since then. So if you have a little princess in your life, I highly recommend planning ahead and buying a princess dress at disneystore.com if you know that is something she will want.
Another tip I just learned - as I was standing in line at Target I noticed they had Disney gift cards. I decided to purchase a couple to handle our food purchases and not have to use cash. I also have the Target RedCard and get the 5% discount, and the discount was given on even the giftcards! Sure it's not much but that 5% starts adding up! If you don't have a RedCard already, get one! It doesn't even have to be a credit card - you can also link it to your checking account to be used as a debit card.
Lastly, to keep this post from becoming a book *wink wink*, if you have a AAA membership, use it to purchase your tickets. There are also lots of credit unions that offer discounted tickets. Again, it's not more than a few dollar savings, but every little bit adds up.
I'll be back soon to update all the details of our trip, and to share the new Fantasy Faire! And we are going to California Adventure this time too, a first for us. It should be exciting! I know I already am!
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