Merida's Royal Celebration

Merida’s Royal Celebration at the Princess induction into Disney Princess Royal Court was amazing.

Merida’s coronation was Saturday morning and we all over slept because we had such a great time the evening before at Disney Hollywood Studios. Taking my son to the extra FANTASTIC Disney hours didn't help much either! I literally was ready to bonk myself over the head with my very heavy camera for this oversight!

I think we were the last family on the busses to MK that morning and I was in a bit of a panic that we would miss the entire procession. We made it to the roped off area on time to watch Merida ride in on her stunning black horse, Angus. I was able to snap off a couple of fantastic photos of her and that lovely hair of hers.

We absolutely were not close enough to see the princesses very well and my daughters couldn’t see at all due to the crowds, but we could hear everything perfectly.

I love that there is now a spunky red headed princess among the other inducted princesses at Disney. Now, I truly have someone to emulate, being a fellow red myself. 

In attendance was Gaby Dougals, a two time gold medalist at the olympics and who better to introduce Merida. Merida’s mother, Elinor , came out to crown the gorgeous red head with her flowing lock of hair and can I just add that I REALLY want red curly hair like that. I’m not kidding.

Merida exemplifies everything that I want to teach my daughters, loyalty, bravery, following your dreams and your heart. I don’t want my daughter’s to ever turn me into a bear, but I do understand that they need to find their own path in life as well. It may not always jive with what I want for them, but I also need to learn to let go and let them realize their own dreams and let them walk {or run or gallop} the path they choose.

I will always be there to pick them up when they stumble, like Merida’s mom was when she stumbled. The important lesson with Merida is that she is a princess even when she thought she didn’t want to be. My daughters are princesses to me and even though they won’t ever rule a country, they will be the princess of their lives and hopefully their children's some day as well.

We finished waving good day to all 11 princesses and enjoyed a bit of time at MK.

We scooted back to the hotel to get ready for a super duper surprise at Downown Disney. We were all able to view a sneak peak of Disney’s Monsters University before its release that afternoon. All my children were barely containable as we were waiting for the film to begin.

I was a bit misty as Monters Inc used to be my son’s favorite movie. When he was two year old and couldn’t speak a word, he would somehow muster up the strength to mumble out Monster’s Inc. No one had a clue what he was uttering except my husband and I. But our little boy whose brain was all a jumble with major sensory issues would sit and watch Monsters Inc and be completely mesmerized from beginning to end. This movie will forever hold a special place in my heart and here, 9 years later, is the prequel and I was overjoyed to be a part of this audience.

photo credit @hyku

All I can say about Monsters University is when it is released on June 21… GO, Run to the theatres . . .GO NOW. It is outstanding! We will be back in line that day and so should you! Disney knocked it out of the park again.

That evening we had a TRYit! Eat and Tweet dinner with the DSMM attendees at Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course. Disney Radio was there for the dinner event as well. My kids love Radio Disney as there have been a couple events at the malls near us that they have hosted and they are always so lively and fun.

More Disney TRYit! foods to sample and marvel at. More deliciousness I say! My nephew was wonderful at all these meals and tried everything! He loves everything! He ate everything! My own kids are quite particular and two suffer from severe SPD, so getting them to TRYit! was a bit of a battle. I was able to get my daughter to sample a couple of new food items, but my son would not. But at least he didn’t throw a raging fit when I asked him, which is a win for me.

I couldn’t get the kiddos away from the foam blocks all night. They were busy all night long building and constructing contraptions and mini towns. They were not the least bit interested in miniature golfing so we didn't get to sample the course at Fantasia Gardens as they were enjoying the building blocks so much.

"Get a good idea and stay with it. Dog it, and work it until it's done and done right." - Walt Disney

disclosure: I attended the Disney Social Media Moms Conference with my family and received discounted rates and tickets to various events and attractions. All my magical opinions are my own.