Hello all, I'm new to the boards and looking forward to my trip to WDW in Oct. 2008.

My last trip to the world I was pregnant with my first child. After watching all the little girls in princess dresses, I vowed that we would come again when the baby was four and I would let her pick out any princess dress she wanted, complete with accessories.

Well, the time has come. She will be four on our trip in Oct., and I am wondering just how much $$$ I need to save up to complete this little fantasy of mine.

Anyone know the typical cost of buying a princess dress and accessories in the world?

On another note...I am also wanting to buy a Pal Mickey for the trip. If I buy it off of Ebay, will he work again when he is back in the parks? Can you buy him new anywhere outside the world?

Thanks ahead!

I'd say for about $150 you should be able to get a complete outfit. Dresses start at about $75, shoes are about $16, etc.

HTH

Have you considered the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique? I think you can drop a couple hundred dollars for the over-the top version (but cheaper options are available!) - Your little princess gets a hair/makeup makeover, and with the more expensive options, a full costume and such. 407-WDW-STYLE (407-939-7895) for reservations up to 180 days in advance. There's a location in the World of Disney store as well as one in the MK in the castle.

Other than that - to get an idea on the cost of the costumes, you might want to check out www.disneyshopping.com - a quick look there looks like dress for about 40, plus of course, you need shoes and wands and crowns.

ETA - based on Jenn's comment, there are obviously different qualities - and she has more direct experience than I do buying princess costumes!

I don't think you can buy a new Pal Mickey outside of the parks. There have been two versions, the older one would not give you info about newer things within the parks.

We are going in May, I have a 5 year old daughter:) We are doing Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and CRT on Mother's Day.

I think the whole package is between 140-200. I was trying to decide if I should get a dress somewhere else and bring it or do the whole package and I decided to do the whole package after reading reviews from other people. I am super excited! Can't remember where I did my research, maybe here or Mouseears???

They said that when you get the dress there they have it in a garment bag for the girls and all id their stuff laid out to get dressed. It sounded very grown up and glamouros and worth every penny for the experience. The look on the girls faces and the parents sounded priceless..all of the reviews made it sound more than worth it. There was hardly anything negative on there, and if it was, it was more about them running late or having a Fairy God Mother in Traning who wasn't super friendly.

And, guess what??? You can get your hair and make up done too:) No dresses for adults though....lol. I am totally getting my hair and make up done:)

Plus, I have read that the girls get treated differently by CMs throughout the day. I think it will be awesome and say go for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!

And, you can get appointments before the park opens if that interests you!

if you buy any version of pal mickey off eBay, assuming the seller is trustworthy, he's fine in the parks. as mentioned, the first edition won't know about soarin (i think) and later. the next version was the HCOE/tuxedo version and the current version is sorcerer mickey and he retails for $65 in the parks.

you can get him via WDW Mail Order as well, 407-363-6200

We bought our Sorceror Pal Mickey from E-Bay, and he worked just fine. We got him a free "tune up" in the Camera Shop on Main Street as soon as we got there. The person we bought from was great. If you would like his E Bay info, PM me and I will get it for you.
On the princess thing, lucky you...I would love to do that, but hubby just won't let me dress our son up as a Princess, LOL!

I've been through the whole princess thing with two kids. Honestly, I did better getting costumes on Ebay, and they are easy enough to pack. One our first trip, my daughter was in what must have been an older style of Mulan, that I got, never worn, on Ebay. She wore it to the princess lunch at the Norway restaurant, and Mulan was wearing the exact same costume, which was not the one being sold in the stores at that time. The picture I got of the two of them was priceless. Our best souvenirs were pressed pennies. Bring lots of quarters and pennies and let her go to town all over Disney World. You can buy little books that hold the pennies. Currently, the girls love to buy pearl tickets at the Japan pavillion store, and pick out an oyster for the pearl. We are saving the pearls to have jewelry made for them. We did the BBB a couple of years ago. My older daughter (then 7 or so), loved it. My younger one would not allow them to mess with her hair, even though I kept telling her they would not be cutting it. If your daughter is cool with going to the hair salon, she will probably enjoy it. My daughter picked the style with extensions, and she used them a lot at home, so that was a better deal for her.