Fun In The Florida Sun - Part 5 - Royal Princess Birthday Lunch

So here is the main reason for visiting Epcot and seeing true magic happen in Disney fashion...

I wanted to do something extra special for Arabella's 5th Birthday.  Jay and I both felt she had been through a lot of change with the move and leaving her friends and she wanted to have a birthday party.  But with not really knowing any one in Charlotte, that would be hard to pull off.  So we planned the Disney trip and I knew that we would be eating lunch with the princesses...Jay wasn't too thrilled with the idea, but what guy would be?  I think I was just as excited as Arabella, I mean what girl doesn't want to have lunch with Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, Belle and Sleeping Beauty??  Our reservations were at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall.  All Arabella really knew was that we were going to have lunch, but as soon as we were called inside, she spied Ariel and she couldn't contain herself!  It was pure magic.  The look in her eye was precious and something I will never forget. 

Part of the "package" included 2 professional pictures with a princess - ours were with Belle - it was perfect.  Arabella was so excited to meet her and had a grin from ear to ear on her face.  What made it extra special is that they knew it was her birthday so everyone greeted her with Happy Birthday.  And I have to say, the princesses are spot on in their looks and manners...how the heck does Disney do it???  During our meal, each princess who was there came to every table, to greet every single last kid, take pictures and give autographs.  It is so special.  I don't know how the princesses do it, but they do with constant smiles on their faces.  They even took pictures with Max.  I swear I cried when I saw Snow White, my favorite princess.  And just to see Arabella interact with then was priceless...something I will never forget and neither will she.  Even Grammie, Uncle Mike, Uncle Jeff and Jay were impressed.  The food was great and the service too (I suppose when you pay over $200 for lunch for 1 kid and 5 adults, it should be.)  You might think that it would be cheesy, but it was quality and worth the price, we left being very full. 

You can see the magic in the pictures below.  Happy Birthday Arabella!

They did a princess parade with all the kids around the restaurant, which Arabella enjoyed doing.  It was very cute.  And at the end of the meal, they brought us 3 traditional Norwegian desserts...delicious!  And Arabella got a special birthday treat.  She loved it!  But one of her favorite memories was when the waiter brought her a birthday card signed by all the princesses - she treasures it. 

This is one meal that we all won't soon forget!