Cinderella Tea

We had reservations for a Cinderella Tea at a tea room we hadn’t been to before. Marina didn’t want to wear a costume, so she wore her Belle inspired dress.

At first we had trouble finding the place, but Marina spotted it as we were driving around. I found a parking place and we walked over. When we arrived we were taken to an outside area for the tea.

Everything seemed a bit disorganized. It took a while for us to place our order. Marina wanted to try the Black Vanilla Rose tea. When it finally arrived we both rally liked it. Unfortunately it took a very long time for our food to arrive. We were really hungry and Marina was getting a bit grumpy.

While we waited, we watched Cinderella dance. We had seats right in front so we had a great view. At first they couldn’t get the music working, so it was a bit strange watching without music. When they got the sound system fixed, she danced again. We all enjoyed it better with the music. We took photos of with her and the Prince.

When our food finally arrived Marina and I dug in right away. It was all petty tasty. We both loved the mini cream puffs though. After we ate we paid our bill and then went out for a carriage ride. Since no one else was ready, Marina and I got a private ride with no one else. It was fun. Marina loved petting the horse and the corgi that rode up front.  After our ride, we went back to the car. It had been a bit disorganized, but we still had a nice afternoon.

Frozen with Friends

Marina and Ainsley have wanted to get together for the past few weeks.. So we invited her to join us for dinner with Anna and Elsa. She came over to our house a couple of hours early so the girls could get ready.

Ainsley was happy to dress up for dinner. She was able to fit into the Anna summer dress, so she decided to wear that. Marina had a tougher time deciding what to wear. She finally decided on the Elsa coronation dress.

When we arrived at the restaurant the owner met us at the door. Our friends were already at the table, so we went to join. Just as we did, Anna and Elsa arrived at the table. So we visited for a while and took photos.

Marina decided to have a salad for dinner while Ainsley and I shared a pizza. After we ate, the three girls went to watch the song and dance part with Zay. They even made sure she got a hand stamp.

After the performance was over we chatted with the princesses for a while and the Marina walked Zay to Angie’s car. Then we left and dropped Ainsley off on our way home.

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.

Unicorn Princess Party

We’ve been attending character meals quite a lot lately – so much so that the staff and owner know us now! Our friends were particularly interested in the Unicorn Princess Party, so I made reservations for the four of us tonight.

Our friends started buzzing about the dinner early this morning. She dressed in her unicorn t-shirt and had her unicorn purse in hand. However, when they showed up, she had added a pink princess dress on top of the shirt. Marina didn’t want to dress up. I managed to get to wear a silver sweater and she brought her unicorn horn headband, although she said she wouldn’t wear it.

As we were eating, the Unicorn Princess stopped by our table. Our friend was completely taken with her. Even Marina put on her unicorn headband for some photos.

We were seated on the patio, so when the stories, singing and dancing started, we were right in the middle of it. Our friend sat in for the story and song. When the dancing started, she got up and danced along. Clearly she was having a good time.

Despite Marina’s misgivings about attending these events, she agrees she wants to come to their next one in two weeks. So we all agreed we’ll meet again for that one too.

Dinner with the Easter Bunny

Marina and I have been enjoying the character dinners at Oblio's Pizzeria. And even though our friends couldn’t join us today, she wanted to attend the Easter Bunny Dinner. She especially wanted to see Fawn, the animal fairy who was there as well. She didn’t really have any ideas for a costume, so she didn’t wear one. I suggested she wear bunny ears, but she didn’t like that idea.

We arrived a little bit after the event started. The Easter Bunny and Fawn were already there, so Marina gave each a hug and we took some photos. Then we were shown to our seats. They were on the patio near where the Easter Bunny and Fawn were set up, so we had plenty of interactions with them while we were there.

Our server was the same one we've had every time we eat at Oblio’s. We debated about getting chicken wings but ultimately decided on pizza instead.

After she ate, she spent time playing with a two year-old who was there with his parents. She even took him to get a glitter stamp on his hand.  Marina didn’t participate in the singing and dancing, but we could see it all from where we were sitting.

Tea with Queen Elsa

Marina and I  we were looking forward to the Disney Tea this afternoon. I found out ahead of time that Queen Elsa would be the special guest. Marina and I invited one of her friends to join us. She’s still unsure about having tea, so we thought we’d try again.

Marina came down with a stomach virus yesterday and she still wasn’t feeling well today. But she wanted to try to go to the tea anyway. At first, the girls didn’t want to dress up, but I talked them into it. So Marina wore the Elsa coronation gown and her friend wore the green Anna dress. They each added a sparkly tiara.

We arrived right on time. I was surprised that none of the other attendees wore costumes – not even the kids. At first, the girls were self-conscious about that. We went on a tour of the castle again before sitting down to tea. The tour was a bit dull and Marina had to sit down and rest often.

When we sat down to tea, we had the same table we had the last time we came. We also noticed the Alice in Wonderland decorations. But as we looked around we saw that each table had a different Disney theme – Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Princess and the Frog and Aladdin.

We were welcomed by Queen Elsa and she made regular rounds to all the tables. She called us “my people” when she saw how the girls were dressed.

We were served peppermint tea followed by the first course, tomato soup. Marina tried it, but her stomach wasn’t having it. For the second course we had four mini sandwiches and a broccoli cheese quiche. We felt bad that Marina was so sick.

Each girl received a chocolate frog and Marina couldn’t help herself, she ate part of that. Then we had scones. Marina managed to eat half of hers. The last course was dessert. We each had a mini Snow White apple pie, a Cinderella pumpkin cake and a Briar Rose berry tart. We were pretty full by this time.

Marina was still not feeling well, so after getting photos with Elsa, I got the car and picked the girls.

St. Patrick's Day Princess

Since today was St. Patrick’s Day, we made plans for a special dinner with Merida and a leprechaun. Marina wanted to go even though we didn’t have any younger kids to take with us. We both decided to dress up. I recently bought Marina a new Merida costume (she’d grown out of her last one) and she was excited to wear it. I dressed in a green medieval princess gown.

When we arrived we found our seats were on the patio, right where the entertainment part of the dinner would take place. When the leprechaun came by our table she gave Marina a lucky gold coin.

Merida was played by Danielle, an actress we have met before but we don’t know her as well as some of the others. Despite that, she spent a while talking with Marina. They even discussed marina’s desire to visit Scotland.
We ordered the Hawaiian pizza for dinner. Marina was too full to try the special St. Patrick’s Day dessert.

Frozen Pizza Party

Last month we went to a Princess Pizza Party with our friends at a pizzeria. While we were there, they advertised for an Anna and Elsa party. Since our friends are big fans of Frozen, we all decided we wanted to go to this one too.

The pizza party was this evening. Marina was excited to see our friends again. She decided to wear her Elsa coronation dress. She put on her own makeup and I put her hair in a bun. She looked so pretty and she loved playing with the long cape.

We arrived early and waited outside with other families. The weather was nice and Marina enjoyed playing with the kids.Our friends hadn’t arrived when we were seated. But they showed up a few minutes later.

Marina and I ordered the same pizza we got last month. While we were eating, Anna and Elsa stopped by our table. We were happy to see that they were played by two actresses we know. It seemed that they spent a bit more time with us than the other tables and they called Marina by name!

Marina and the girls listened to the princesses sing and she happily sang along. After the performance, we said goodbye to Anna and Elsa. Then we went back to our table to finish our dinner. It was another fun night but it was getting late.

Princess Pizza Party

Marina still likes to dress up and attend princess events, however now she prefers to do it when a younger child is with us. So I when I saw the Moana and Ariel party at a pizzeria I invited a friend and her niece to join us. Marina wore her Ariel costume and added jewelry and a tiara with pearls.

When we arrived it was a bit chaotic. We were happy to sit down. Our server took great care of us. Marina and I ordered a large pizza so we would have leftovers later in the week. While we were waiting, a huge plate of breadsticks were brought to our table, Marina loved those.

Right before our pizza arrived Moana and Ariel came by our table. Both girls got a necklace from Ariel and a heart of Tifiti from Moana.

After we ate, Moana and Ariel each sang a song. After that we waited to pay our bill. But before we left we signed up for the party next month. We’d had a fun evening.

Fairytales and Fondue

Last year we went to a Fondue Fairytale. We had a fun time, so we decided to go to one this year as well. Marina had a tough time picking out her outfit. She was planning to wear her Elsa coronation dress. But when I mentioned that we would be eating chocolate fondue, which Anna sings about in her coronation dress, she changed her mind. I put her hair in a bun and we added a green tiara. She looked very pretty.

We arrived at the restaurant right on time. We met two of our friends there. The two year old was dressed up as Tinkerbell. We were all really hungry, but it took a while for them to get our first course of cheese fondue took a while. Once it was ready we all dug in.

While we ate, we listened to a few songs sung by the characters. They had Ariel, Rapunzel, Aurora and Prince Charming. I took pictures of Marina with all of them. I even managed to get a group photo. One girl even asked Marina for her autograph. She signed it “Anna.”

 

We all enjoyed our food even if it was served slowly. We talked with them for a while before leaving the restaurant.

Princess Castle Party

We have been to many events at the nearby castle, but have only been inside one time. So we were excited to attend the Princess Party with Belle and Cinderella. I contacted our friend before the party and she told me she would be playing Belle today. Marina decided to wear her Zelda costume, after all, she is a princess.

We arrived right on time. We saw Belle and Cinderella as we entered the castle. We each got a warm hug from Belle and were introduced to Cinderella who told us she’d already heard about us.
Marina and I picked up some food and punch and we sat down. While we ate, the princesses circulated through the room. We talked with both and took pictures.

After a while, the princesses sang songs and told stories. They led dancing and Marina encouraged a shy girl to join in. Then each girl got a craft. Marina made a crown for Belle and another for Cinderella. They both seemed pleased with them.

Before we left, we took pictures outside the castle as well. It’s always fun to see our friends and make new ones.

Fondue Fairytale

For lunch today we had reservations for Fondue Fairytales. Marina didn't want to wear a costume, so she wore a pretty floor length sundress. I put her hair in a bun but we left a little on one side which I curled into a pretty spiral. Then we pinned her favorite tiara in front of it. Then Marina put on her makeup.

One of our friends picked us up and drove us to the restaurant. The Fondue Fairytales were on the patio outside. Rapunzel came by our table with coloring pages. Prince Charming also came by and we all took pictures with him.

As we ate, the princesses sang and Prince Charming danced. He was an amazing dancer! Marina went over and danced with him and the Princesses for a while. She also got her face painted. It turned out beautifully. While she was having that done, the Princesses gathered everyone together for a group picture. I was sad Marina missed it. I mentioned it to Rapunzel and she arranged for Marina to have a photo with all of them by herself!

As each Princess left, Marina gave them a warm hug. We finished our meal with chocolate fondue. It was delicious but by then we were all stuffed. On the way home Marina asked if we could listen to Princess music. She sang along with them the whole trip back. We all agreed we want to come back next summer.

Tea Under the Sea

We started our day by attending a Princess Tea Party with Ariel. Marina dressed in her Ariel dress. The party was at a recreation Center, which she is very familiar with. When we arrived we saw lots of little princesses walking in so we knew we were in the right place!

We were a bit early, so we stood in line to go into the room. Once we went inside, we saw how pretty the room was. There were blue balloons everywhere and the plates were so cute with sea themed food.

Shortly after we arrived, Ariel made her appearance. Our table was the last she visited, so Marina busied herself by eating her plate of food (and some of mine!) and she worked on some crafts.

We had a brief visit from Ariel before she called all the kids on the stage for singing and story time. Marina had fun with some of the smaller children.

Before we left, we got some more photos with Ariel. Marina didn’t want to hang around. She was ready for lunch!

Be Our Guest Tea Party

Our plans this morning included attending the Be Our Guest Tea with Belle today. Marina decided to wear her blue Belle dress since she’s always worn the yellow one. We arrived a bit early for the tea party, so we waited in the lobby until they were ready to seat us. One of the servers told Marina she was glad someone wore Belle’s blue dress!

The table was beautiful. We had a choice between Mrs. Potts Vanilla Tea and an Herbal Rose Tea. We both chose the rose tea. Marina liked it – with two lumps of sugar, of course!

As usual, Marina was very hungry and couldn’t wait for the food to arrive. We started off with scones. Marina has perfected the art of eating a scone with cream and jam. She even tried the lemon curd and discovered she liked it. As we finished our scones, the rest of the food came out. It was filled with sandwiches and pastries. Marina was a bit unsure about the spinach quiche, but she tried it and liked it. When we were both full we still had food left.

As we ate, we listened to a signer perform “Be Our Guest” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Then Belle joined the party. She visited every table and handed out cupcakes. After everyone finished their tea, the girls went to make a craft enchanted rose.

We took more pictures with Belle at the end of the party. But before we left, Marina played with a little baby who was there with his mother and sister. Clearly she had made a new friend!

Back to School Ball

This evening, Marina and I had tickets to a Back to School Ball. Since she is already back in school, she had to get ready after I picked her us. She had a tough time choosing which princess to dress as. She first considered Jasmine, but since she wasn’t on the list of princesses attending the ball, she decided on Cinderella instead.

The venue for the ball was pretty far away from our house. So we got an early start but we had to deal with rush hour traffic. It took us nearly an hour to drive there and we arrived just as the ball was scheduled to start.

Tinkerbell checked us in, which thrilled Marina. After we entered we were greeted by the Fairy Godmother, Aladdin and Peter Pan. Marina had her picture taken with all of them. Peter Pan and Aladdin seemed to have a lot of fun playing with her.

We got in line for treats and by the time we sat down the princesses had entered the ballroom and were visiting the tables in the ballroom. It turned out that Jasmine was one of the princesses there. Marina was a bit disappointed she hadn't dressed in that costume. We got Marina’s picture taken with Jasmine, Anna in her coronation dress, Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Aurora and Rapunzel. The only one we weren’t able to meet up with was Elsa.

After mingling with all their guests, the princesses took turns singing their signature songs. Marina knew all the words to most of the songs. By the time Elsa sang “Let It Go,” most of the girls were gathered around the dance floor.

Once the singing was over, the girls got a chance to dance along with the princesses. During that time, Peter Pan had a group of them running around and yelling. Marina thought he was a troublemaker.

The event ended with pictures. The characters divided into two groups and posed with each guest. While we were waiting in line, she befriended a three year-old girl.

We managed to get a photo with Elsa as well as Tinkerbell with Peter Pan. Just before the ball ended, we managed to get a quick picture with Aladdin and Jasmine, which Marina really wanted to do.

Marina wanted to pose for some pictures around the venue. It was a beautiful place. Once those were done, we were ready to go home. We had a long drive home and Marina has school tomorrow.