Painting A Whole New World

It has been quite a while since Marina and I have attended a paint and sip class. With the release of the new Aladdin film earlier this year, our favorite paint and sip studio scheduled a few paintings based on that. Marina and I were even more excited when we saw that our favorite instructor was leading the class.

We arrived early for the class and found a group of women who made up the rest of the class were already there. When we saw the instructor, she remembered us and gave us each a big hug. She said she’d looked for us at other Disney paintings, which was so sweet!

Since everyone was there, the class started a bit early. The painting was a bit more complex than previous ones we had done. We had to make a moon and the sky with clouds, the magic lantern and the figures of Aladdin and Jasmine in the background. It took longer than the two hours allotted. But overall we liked how they turned out.

By the time we finished out paintings it was late and we were both very tired and ready to go home. So we hugged the instructor before we left.

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.

Food, Fairytales and Friends

It’s been about a month since we’ve been to to a character dinner. Tonight’s characters were Aladdin and Jasmine. Since we just saw the new Aladdin movie, we were looking forward to it. Marina was disappointed to find her Jasmine costume no longer fits her. So she wore a Jasmine t-shirt and her Hufflepuff scarf.

Our friend brought her teenage son and his girlfriend with her. He looked less than thrilled, but he was a good sport. It was clear that Marina enjoyed having other teens to talk to.

We saw that Jasmine was being played by a friend of ours today. It was fun to see her. She gave Marina a big hug to greet her. Marina accepted a plastic bracelet and ring from Jasmine, but she didn’t participate in the activities. Instead, she opted to hang out with the other teens.

Our food was a slow tonight, so we were there a bit late. Marina ordered the barbeque wings again. They seem to be her favorite lately. It was a fun evening.

Aladdin Movie

Jasmine has always been one of Marina’s favorite Disney characters. So she was very excited to see the new Aladdin movie. Our tickets were for the 3D version.

Both of us really enjoyed the movie. We loved Jasmine’s costumes, the small changes to the storyline and Will Smith as the Genie. And, of course, Marina loved Rajah, the tiger!

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.

Lea Salonga Concert

This evening, Marina and I had tickets to see Lea Salonga in concert. Marina knows her as the singing voice of Disney’s Jasmine and Mulan. I was concerned that she might be bored since she wasn’t familiar with much of the music being performed. However, the performances were so good that Marina stayed engaged the whole time. She was especially happy when she sang “Go the Distance” from Hercules and “Reflection” from Mulan. She finished the first act with “I’d Give My Life For You” from Miss Saigon.

After intermission, Lea performed “Burn” from Hamilton. Marina was thrilled. The highlight of the show was when she performed “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. Since it’s a duet, she asked for a volunteer from the audience to sing with her. The guy who she picked turned out to be a very good singer. After the concert we talked with the man who sang on stage. It was fun to hear how excited he was about the experience.

As the concert wrapped up, Lea Salonga thanked everyone for spending Saturday night with her. Marina called out “It’s the best way.” Lea heard and thanked her. As we were leaving, Marina asked me if we could see Miss Saigon when the tour comes to Denver. I told her I was already planning for that.

A Whole New World

We had tickets to see Aladdin this evening with one of Marina’s friends and her family. They invited us to meet them for dinner as well. So after we got dressed up for the show, we went to meet them. We parked at the theater and walked over to the restaurant. Our friends had just sat down. Marina’s allergies were bothering her and she was quite through dinner. She ordered a honey chicken salad but she only ate a little of it. She didn’t even want to try her friend’s chocolate cake.

After dinner we walked over to the theater and took a few photos outside before going in. Marina seemed to be feeling better. She ordered popcorn and a Shirley Temple for during the show. As we waited for it to start, the girls talked animatedly.

Aladdin was spectacular. Jasmine has always been Marina’s favorite princess and she was lovely. The Genie was hilarious and the sets and costumes were amazing. We all enjoyed the whole show. After the performance was over, several members of the ensemble were in the lobby taking donations for Broadway Cares. We all made donations and took photos with the actors. It was incredible to see their costumes up close. Marina fell in love with a bracelet at the merchandise counter, so she used some of her birthday money to buy one.

 

We said good night to her friends and then we went home. It was late and Marina has school tomorrow, so we got ready for bed right away.

Princesses on Parade

Since it is July 4, Marina dressed patriotically. She chose a sparkly blue tank top and a sparkly red skirt. She wore long white socks and topped it all off with a sequined tiara in red, white and blue

We went to a neighborhood parade. Our favorite princesses have their storefront there and we knew they would be a part of the parade. We arrived early and were able to find a good parking place. We also managed to sit under the shade of a tree until the parade began.

We moved closer to the street when the parade got started. We ended up sitting by two girls who we had met at the Mermaid Meet and Greet on Friday. The girls all got along nicely. Throughout the parade they shared the candy thrown their direction and Marina even let one of them use her parasol.
A little more than halfway through the parade, the Wands and Wishes princesses came by. Anna spotted Marina and greeted her with a warm hug. Of course, all the other girls wanted hugs after that!

Once the parade was over, I got Marina a watermelon popsicle and we walked through the small fair they had set up. In front of the princesses location were the characters from the parade. We met up with Moana, Jasmine, Ariel and Anna, who spent a while talking with Marina. She made a wish with Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. Then we got photos with Captain America and Wonder Woman.

 

Unicorn Festival

For months we have been looking forward to the first annual Unicorn Festival. Marina chose to dress as Tinkerbell. She also brought her mermaid fin and Jasmine costume along.

I wanted to get an early start, but we were a bit later than I’d hoped. We arrived and crowds had already started to gather. It took us a while to get inside.

Our first stop was at the Mermaid Lagoon. Marina really wanted to swim with the mermaids. However, they weren’t quite ready to start, so we made plans to come back. Next we just decided to check out the festival. We ran into Prince Charming and Giselle. Marina posed for pictures with both. We found the Princess Palace and Snow White was there. So we took pictures with her as well. Marina then tried out the castle maze which led to a slide.

We went back to the Mermaid Lagoon and found they still weren’t ready yet. We took a photo of Marina with a mermaid and then went to watch a magic show. Marina volunteered to help out with one of the tricks. We also found a fairy king and queen who we had photos taken with.

We wanted to meet Moana, but the line was really long and Marina didn’t want to wait. So we hung out at the bubble tower for a while and had a snack. By then Belle was available, so we got photos with her. Marina changed into her Jasmine costume and we got to the Princess Palace early to see Jasmine. We were very close to the front of the line so we got a chance to meet her quickly.

From there we went to the Mermaid Lagoon and settled in for the wait to swim with the mermaids. It took a very long time, but Marina felt it was worth it. When it was finally her turn, she put on her mermaid tail but it was difficult for her to put the fin on, so she didn’t. She did seem to enjoy her time in the water despite the freezing temperature.

Once she was done swimming we found the festival wasn’t as crowded anymore. We had pictures with Cinderella and Marina petted a unicorn, then she rode one. She even took a turn in the “Crystal Balls” activity. We also got a photo with Ariel. We were about to leave when we saw Captain Jack Sparrow. Of course she wanted to talk to him!

We’d spent the whole day at the festival and we were ready to go home.