Ballet Fairy Tales

A few years ago, Marina and I saw the ballet Coppelia performed by a small ballet company. We’ve wanted to see other shows of theirs but couldn’t schedule them. Today we were looking forward to seeing their Fairy Tale Suite. Marina decided to wear her new Mulan dress with a light wrap.

We arrived at the theater, it was one we hadn’t been to before. We saw lots of little girls in princess outfits, they reminded me so much of Marina when she was little. The show was a short one, but it was cute, combining the stories of Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty and the Beast and an Asian Empress.

After the show, there was a small tea party in the lobby. We had snacks and met a few of the dancers. After a bit of a wait we saw the choreographer for the show. He also dances in The Nutcracker that we see every year. We were excited to meet him and he was gracious enough to talk with us for a few minutes. After that conversation we went home.

An Enchanted Dinner

This evening, our favorite pizzeria had an Enchanted Dinner with Belle and Cinderella. We made plans to attend with our friends. Marina decided to dress up as Cinderella. She was especially excited to wear a pair of new sparkly light blue heels. I wore my Belle dress and we added fancy capes to help us stay warm.

When we arrived, Angie and the girls were already there. The restaurant was still being set up, so Cinderella and Belle came outside and visited with us while we were waiting. Once everything was ready, we went to our table. We also had our usual server.

Shortly after we sat down, Cinderella came by to see us. She’s an actress we know so it was fun to see her again. A little while later, Belle also came by. Our friends loved having time with them and Marina enjoyed hanging out with them.

Marina wanted a wedge salad and I also ordered a pizza. The salad came with dressing, which Marina usually doesn’t like. But she didn’t seem to mind and she ate the whole thing minus the tomatoes. She also had a slice of the pizza.

After we ate, Marina took the girls outside for songs and stories with the princesses. While they played along, Marina stood with the parents and watched. When storytime was over we got ready to leave. We’d had fun with our friends.

Unicorn Festival

Today was the annual Unicorn Festival. This year, we invited Ainsley to join us. After considering many options, Ainsley wore her Belle costume. Marina was excited to wear her new Anastasia costume.  I offered the girls capes to wear over their dresses instead of jackets since it was chilly today.

We arrived at the Unicorn Festival early. We found a really good parking spot and checked in quickly. We had to wait for about 15 minutes until the festival opened. While we waited a little girl asked if she could have her picture taken with Ainsley and Marina.

When the festival opened we went first to the Princess Palace. A friend of ours was dressed as Mary Poppins. We visited with her for a few moments. We also knew the actress playing Moana, so we took photos with her as well.

Next we went to the Mermaid Lagoon. Last year it had a long line all day. We arrived before it opened and had a short wait for our turn. We took photos with two mermaids before meeting Ariel. We got some nice photos there as well.

When we exited the Mermaid Lagoon, we were at the Mad Hatter Tea Party. We planned to wait for the show but it was taking a bit longer than usual, so we browsed some of the booths. We went back for the show and after we got photos with Alice and the Mad Hatter, we stopped for lunch. I also bought fancy cupcakes for dessert.

After lunch, we decide to wander around the festival. The girls loved shopping the various vendors. Marina insisted that we stop by the Harry Potter Sorting Hat. She was pleased that both she and Ainsley were sorted into Hufflepuff. We ran into Peter Pan and Tinkerbell along the way.

We headed back to the Princess Palace where we took photos with Tiana and Jasmine. Cinderella arrived as we were there but her line was pretty long, so we decided to come back to see her.

We did a little more shopping. At one booth both Marina and Ainsley found necklaces they loved, so I bought them. By this time, Cinderella’s line had shortened, so we took photos with her.

We checked out more booths and the petting zoo, which both girls loved. They also went through the castle maze. By this point it was starting to sprinkle. Because of that, the line to sit on a “unicorn” was as short as we had seen it, so we waited for Marina and Ainsley to have their photos taken on the larger “unicorn.”

By this time, it was starting to rain. At the Princess Palace, Anna and Elsa were there. Since there wasn’t much else to do, we waited in the line. It was pretty cold by then so we teased Elsa that she must have brought in the bad weather.

We were all ready to go home but since Rapunzel was due in 15 minutes, we decided to take a photo with her and then go home. Unfortunately the waited ended up being nearly and hour. Marina got a bit grumpy. Eventually she went over to the Storytime Cottage and talked with the drag queen there. Apparently she was asking for makeup tips.

Eventually, Rapunzel arrived and we quickly took a photo with her. After the long, cold wait, we were all pretty miserable. We headed to the gate, stopping along the way to pet more “unicorns.” So we left the festival and stopped for dinner.

Family Fairytale

Marina and I have been going to see shows at dinner theaters for many years. For the summer show, Beauty and Beast, we thought we’d bring our family to see it with us. So we invited ten family members and friends to join us.

Marina didn't want to wear a costume today. So I bought her a blue Belle inspired dress. It was really cute. Unfortunately we couldn't really see it because she wore a red cape over it.

We met everyone outside the theater and spent some time catching up before going to the table. I was a bit surprised that Marina ordered the tilapia. She seemed to like it, but didn’t each much. She did, however, finished her dessert – a chocolate cupcake with “the grey stuff.”

We all enjoyed the show. Our friend was playing Lumiere. He wasn’t waiting tables today but he saw us before the show so he came out for pictures afterwards. We also took photos with Mrs. Potts (who was one of our servers), the wardrobe and Belle. It seemed like everyone had a good time.

Another Princess Partea

For the past two years Marina and I have attended The Princess Partea. While Marina said she wanted to go, at times she felt reservations about being too old. However, today she was excited to go. She wasn’t sure what to wear, so I suggested a Cinderella costume. She finished it off with sparkly shoes and a blue crystal tiara.

The hotel the Partea was at this year is fairly close to our house. So we were able to arrive early. We ended up in a long line when we arrived but it moved very quickly. Once inside, we looked for the princess meet and greet lines with the shortest wait. We quickly saw Merida, Mary Poppins, Tinkerbell and Sleeping Beauty. Then we saw Jasmine’s line was fairly short, so we met with her. Marina was particularly excited to see her with a new Aladdin movie coming out soon.

At that point, we were shocked that the line for Anna and Elsa was pretty short, so we went o see them. Last year their line was long the entire time, so we happy about that. Next we went over for pictures with Moana, who had an amazing palm tree made of balloons near her.

One of the longest lines was for Belle. But we were willing to wait. She was, as always, just lovely to us. After a few pictures, we went into the Under the Sea Tea Party where we sat down for a bit and had a snack. Then we got into the fairly short line to see Ariel.

The longest line during the whole party was for Cinderella. But since Marina was wearing a Cinderella costume we had to see her. While we were waiting in line, Marina saw there was no line for Moana, so she talked with her and Merida to pass the time.

After a lovely visit with Cinderella, we saw that the lines for most of the princesses were practically nonexistent. So we stopped by to see many of them again before we were ready to leave.

Family Enchantment

Marina and I have been going to Disney on Ice shows for years. This year, her aunt and cousin wanted to join us. So we arranged to go together this afternoon.

Marina is not allowed to dress up for the shows anymore, so she wore her Alice in Wonderland dress. We left early to avoid the crowds. We got a good parking spot and easily got into the building. We picked up drinks and went to our seats.

When the show started, both girls were drawn in by the show. We saw a long Toy Story segment followed by The Little Mermaid. The second part started with a short scene from Cars and ended with Frozen. When the show was over, we took a few photos near the ice before walking out to the parking lot.

Still Daring to Dream

I’ve been taking Marina to Disney on Ice shows for a long time. When tickets went on sale for Dare to Dream she said she didn’t want to go this year. But when one of our friends wanted to bring her niece to the show, Marina was much more interested in going. Instead of dressing as a princess, marina wore her elf dress.

We had a busy day today and didn’t leave as early as we’d hoped. We also ran into rush hour traffic on the highway. But we arrived about fifteen minutes early. We were on the club level they had fancy sodas. So Marina was happy to have a cream soda.

Our friends arrived after the show started. They had been in the wrong seats! Despite her earlier misgivings, she enjoyed the show. The first part had the stories of Belle, Cinderella and Rapunzel. Marina particularly enjoyed the aerial stunts in the Tangled portion.

Marina was hungry at intermission so we picked up some churros and popcorn. When we were back at our seats, she played with our friend's niece for a while.

The second act featured the stories of Frozen and Moana. Both had some great special effects and we all enjoyed singing along. After the show we left fairly quickly. It was a school night after all. Fortunately it didn’t take us as long to get home as it did to get there.

A Festival of Friends

It’s been a crazy summer and we hadn’t been to the Renaissance Festival yet this year. One of Marina's friends has wanted to go with us for years. So yesterday at her party we decided that she and her father would join us this year.
She dressed as Belle today. Marina had planned to dress as a fairy but it was foggy and cool this morning, so she changed into her Ariel costume instead.

Traffic wasn’t too bad and we arrived shortly after the festival opened. We saw Juniper the Fairy in front. Marina was happy to introduce her. We also saw our friend Princess Elizabeth on top of the gate. Except this year she is Queen Anne!

We started toward the jousting grounds so we could be there for the first round. On the way we saw the unicorn and the Owlmancer. Along the way the girls were happy to shop the jewelry and clothing stores.

For the first joust of the day we were in Sir Duncan’s section. Sir William was acting as Master of Ceremonies again this year. But we were able to talk to him briefly after the match was over.
We headed to the food court and the girls shopped more along the way. Marina and I shared our traditional turkey leg. While we ate we watched part of the Exotic Cat show. We stopped to see our favorite face painter where both girls picked a design to go with their costumes. Then we wandered the shops a while longer until it was time for the second joust.
 
For the second joust, both Marina and Ainsley bought favors for their favorite knight. Marina chose Sancho and her friend picked Duncan. Then after the joust was over, we took photos with both of them as well as Sir William.

We went to Juniper’s booth where Marina gave her a book with photos from last year. She was thrilled with it! Next we went for the Knighting ceremony where the Queen Mother and King of Ireland were presiding.

We stopped for snacks and went to the jousting ground for Princess Erin’s tea party. She had asked Marina t help out which she was more than happy to do. After everyone gathered, Queen Anne joined us for the party. After chatting about the festival, Princess Erin told a story with the Lord Chamberlain, the flag bearer, one of her ladies and Marina acting it out. Marina was a lady knight. She clearly enjoyed the role.

After the party we gave Queen Anne photos from last year when she was Princess Elizabeth. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the book we gave her years ago and immediately added the photos! We took a few more with her and Princess Erin.

After the tea party, the girls wanted to go to the petting zoo to see the baby goats. Of course they squealed over them. They look a look at the rest of the animals before we left to watch the final joust. We got popcorn and found seats to watch it. The good knights triumphed over the bad guys.

We look our time going out. The girls rode a pirate swing and shopped some more. On the way out we said goodbye to Juniper and the jousters. Queen Anne was outside with King Henry, so we said goodbye to them as well. We watched the rest of the cast sing and dance for a few minutes before going back to the car. The girls were already making plans to go together next year on the way back.

Patriotic Parade

Marina and I slept in this morning after a late night last night. Our plans were to go to a July 4 parade, just like last year. We left the house early and set up on the same corner. As we waited for the parade to start, a woman and her daughter arrived. We watched the parade with them last year and we were all happy to do it again.

While they waiting, the girls entertained each other. Once the parade started, they moved closer to the street. During the parade the both managed to get some candy, but Marina really got interested when the character performers came by. First she saw Belle and gave her a hug. We also saw Ariel, Tinkerbell and Marina high fived Captain America.

Once the parade was over, we went over to the shop in order to say hello to our friends. Unfortunately, they were not outside as they were last year. So we looked around at some of the other festivities before deciding to get out of the sun and go home.

Unicorns, Fairies and Princesses

Last year we attended the first annual Unicorn Festival. It was very overcrowded and poorly organized, but we decided to give it another try, especially since some of our friends would be there!

Marina wasn’t sure what to wear this year. Last night she put together a dance costume someone gave us with one of her skirts, fairy wings and a flower wreath to be a fairy. It was a cute outfit!

We left the house fairly early because we knew a lot of people would be there for the beginning of the festival. We didn’t leave as early as we hoped but we did arrive at the park before the festival opened. We got into line to enter and talked with the people around us. While we were waiting, we saw Snow White arrive. It was one of our friends!

It only took us 15 minutes to get inside after the festival opened. So we went immediately to the Princess Palace to see Phoebe. There was no line to see her, so we took pictures and talked with her for a while. We also saw Moana.

We moved on to some of the vendor booths. Marina loves to shop and she happily looked around at everything on display. While we were looking around, we ran into Prince Charming. We’ve been running into him since Marina was six and he was amazed at how much she has grown. We also came upon a group of fairies and Captain Jack Sparrow.

The line for the mermaids looked short, so we got into it. It moved really slowly and we were roasting in line. Bur fortunately we finally got through to see the mermaids. At the end was Ariel. Marina spent quite a while visiting with her.

While we were waiting for the mermaids, we saw Anna and Elsa arrive at the Princess Palace, so we went over there. This time there was a line but it moved quickly and we got to meet with them before their sing along. By this time, Jasmine had arrived at the Agrabah Bazaar. Marina joined the kids for story time and then waited in a quick line for a photo with her.

Next, we checked out a petting farm with "unicorns,” goats and a bunny. Marina loved that! We also met a large white “unicorn” who was a bit restless. Then we stopped in a shady spot to eat lunch. We made our way over to the Princess Palace again to meet Merida. She had a bow that Marina tried out and they posed with them.

We wanted to walk around the rest of the festival and ran into Tinkerbell who remembered us from the Princess Partea last month. We looked around a some of the other activities and then went to make sure we got to meet Belle, who was another of our friends. We had a bit of a wait, but we were thrilled to see her.

We decided to look at the Creation Station to see what crafts they had set up. Marina decided to make a wand. We had to scavenge around for the pieces but she ended up with one she was happy with. Marina wanted “something sweet,” so we looked around the various food trucks and she decide she wanted a snow cone. We sat for a while as she ate it. The line to sit on a “unicorn” was as short as we had seen it, so we got in it. It took a while but it was worth it. Marina got to sit on a white unicorn and pet a baby one. The foal tried to eat part of her costume!

By the “unicorns” was a Harry Potter sorting hat. We both tried it out and were surprised we were put into the Slytherin House. Rapunzel was the last visiting princess and we could see it was another friend of ours. Even though the line was long, we wanted to say hello to her. We were both tired so we decided this would be our last stop. We got some really cute photos and then we decided to go back to the car. It was a fun day but we were both exhausted.