When I was a little girl I loved princesses. I vividly remember daydreaming about being Princess Aurora and living in that adorable little cottage in the woods and meeting my Prince Charming on a walk one day, all while getting to wear beautiful dresses (even her cottage dress was beautiful to me) and being able to sing like an angel. I know I would have loved meeting her and other princesses like her in real life. Fast-forward about 25 years and I had the opportunity of doing just that on our Disney cruise in March. Precisely because of the 25 years older thing, I didn't feel compelled to wait in line and actually meet them, but I did enjoy seeing them. If I ever have a daughter and she is into princesses, we will definitely do that!
This was a princess meet-and-greet line-up with Cinderella, Princess Aurora/Sleeping Beauty, Tiana, Ariel (I wish her name were spelled "Arielle" because I think it's prettier and more feminine!), Belle, and Snow White.
How fun to be a little girl (or boy, if that's his thing) and to get to meet the pretty princesses! As you can see they kneel down on the kids' level, give hugs, talk with them, and seem genuinely happy to meet them. What a special treat for a child!
{Get ready for an abrupt transition from all this innocent loveliness to its opposite!}
My 8-year-old son John is most definitely NOT into princesses and girly things. His aversion to them makes me laugh. He does this when a commercial for girl toys comes on TV:
So not surprisingly he had no interest in meeting the princesses on the cruise. But that suddenly changed on the last night when he must have been feeling a little sentimental. He and Peter went to a farewell show in the lobby and John decided that he wanted to meet the princesses who came out afterwards. He claimed that he didn't want to hurt their feelings by ignoring them. I think know he really did want to meet them once he saw them, but I'll just keep that to myself!
I love these pictures and will whip them out whenever John complains about princessy/girly things in the future!
I had my some of my own princess moments while sitting in a regal chair by these lovely tile mosaics from Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.
My favorite restaurant on the ship happened to be devoted to princesses in the most elegant way. It was The Royal Court, which is beautifully designed and decorated to look like its namesake, a royal court. We ate breakfast there one morning and it wasn't crowded so I walked around and took pictures of the beautiful mosaics and paintings on the walls that depict the lovely Disney princesses. I can't believe these mosaics are made from individual tile chips! They're amazing! They were among my favorite things on the entire ship.
Beauty and the Beast is a particular favorite of mine, so I'm giving it three pictures.
This scene from Sleeping Beauty is pure magic for me, and has been ever since I first saw it as a child. If this had been for sale I would have wanted to buy it!
Another wonderful scene from Sleeping Beauty.
Cinderella
The Little Mermaid
Aladdin
Aren't they beautiful?
My inner princess was definitely indulged on this cruise and I often felt like quite the princess myself amidst such beautiful surroundings!
