A Fairy Tale Day with Rapunzel

October 3, 2011 By

Really. Today was a fairy tale. A day I’ll remember forever.

Mix London with perfect sunny warm weather and top it off with a free Disney Princess procession – complete with horse drawn carriages – attended by thousands of people .

And let’s not forget the biggest event of the day – the crowning of Rapunzel.

100 girls from some 25 countries flew into London to attend Rapunzel’s giant star studded celebration. Attendees were able to watch her crowning as Rapunzel was welcomed into the Disney Princess Royal Court as the 10th Disney Princess.

Truly this was the experience of a lifetime for the little girls that attended this extra special event.

Here’s some quick snapshots from my iPhone of the highlights and a super duper brief recap.

Celeb Mom Nicole Richie attended with her cuties and hubby Joel Madden too. We sipped fizzy pink lemonades and all the little kids were entertained brilliantly by Disney – no one does entertainment like Disney. Before and after the crowning kids were treated to all sorts of fun activities – my Mackenzie and Kyle would have devoured every second of it and I was thrilled to see so many little kids living it up and experiencing the Disney magic.

Pixie dust was in the air along with face painting, hair braiding, lantern making and more. And let’s not forget that each of these cuties was able to see every single princess all in one spot at the same time. Spectacular!

Disclosure: Disney paid my travel expenses to London so I could take part in this historic celebration. As always all thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Day 1 in London Highlights

September 30, 2011 By

I’ve arrived! With only about 2 hours of sleep in the last 36 hours, the adrenaline of being in London for Disney’s Rapunzel celebration is keeping me running.

Today I relished the sights – as I saw the grand changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, went for a run in Hyde Park, ran around the grounds of Kensington Palace and saw Big Ben!

I’m trying to soak in all that is London during my 3 day adventure here. It’s a gorgeous city – everything is totally foreign but in a surreal and comfortable way as everything and everyone is incredibly English which makes for an easy adjustment for Americans like me.

Think red telephone booths, double decker buses, black taxi cabs, and of course the need of adapters to charge up any of my tech gear! Even the toilets are different and let’s not forget they drive on the opposite side of the road.

I love it as these minor differences are big reminder that I’m now on the other side of the Atlantic.

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Disclosure: Disney paid for my travel expenses so I could attend the Rapunzel Celebration in London to cover this event for the US Media.

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Rapunzel & Classy Mommy visit Big Ben!

September 30, 2011 By

The soon to be official Disney Princess beat me once again to another hot spot in London. Rapunzel admires one of the world’s most famous clocks, Big Ben, as her sightseeing adventures come to an end. And yes, I had my moment today with Big Ben too as you can see below!

Big Ben is VERY big and I was amazed by it’s beauty on this gorgeous fall day in London. I popped up from the Tube after venturing out to explore this morning – despite the jet lag and not sleeping for 24 hours to be greeted by this majestic fixture in London.

Rapunzel posed for a quick picture on Westminster Bridge before heading to Kensington Palace to start preparing for her royal celebration.

Disney will officially welcome Rapunzel as the 10th Disney Princess character at a celebration at Kensington Palace, to take place in front of a global audience on October 2, 2011.

Disclosure: Disney paid for my travel expenses to London so ClassyMommy can cover this historic Disney Princess event for our audience. 

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Rapunzel hangs out at Trafalgar Square

September 29, 2011 By

SEPTEMBER 29: Rapunzel enjoys the view of Trafalgar Square and poses for a photo in front of Nelson’s Column. Disney will officially welcome Rapunzel as the 10th Disney Princess character at a celebration at Kensington Palace, to take place in front of a global audience on October 2, 2011.To tweet this photo include #RapunzelCelebration in your message to be part of the online conversation. For more information visit http://www.disney.co.uk/rapunzel

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Rapunzel is sightseeing by the Thames in London

September 28, 2011 By

Looks like Rapunzel is hitting all the gorgeous spots in London – here she is taking a break to admire the Tower Bridge. Isn’t this shot beautiful? I love seeing her out and about in London. Wonder where she’ll show up tomorrow?

Follow the hashtag #RapunzelCelebration to keep up with her & hear all about Sunday’s big party. And join me virtually at 11 AM EST on Saturday October 1st for a Twitter party – with lots of Disney princess prizes and conversation.

I’ll be catching up with her very soon as I land in London in about 36 hours – I’m so excited for her big party at the palace I can hardly stand the anticipation.

 

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Rapunzel Hits Covent Garden Today

September 27, 2011 By

Looks like Rapunzel is keeping busy while in London. Today she hit the market – with her hair in tow.  Glad she could fit in a special stop at Covent Garden to see the rich cultural offerings of London’s popular marketplace.  Hope I have time to visit there too!

Wonder where she’ll visit tomorrow? Hmmmm. Any guesses?

Disney will officially welcome Rapunzel as the 10th Disney Princess character at a celebration at Kensington Palace, to take place in front of a global audience on October 2, 2011.

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Rapunzel’s Hair Spotted in London!

September 26, 2011 By

Looks like the dazzling Disney Princess beat me to London!

Her hair has been spotted – what looks like about 70 feet of it – coming out of a window at the Tower of London. Love it!

Rapunzel will be visiting landmarks in London starting today at the Tower of London and ending on Friday as she prepares for her official welcome to the Disney Princess Royal Court as the 10th Disney Princess character on Sunday October 2nd at Kensington Palace.

Locations for her appearances are still top secret – but if you are in London keep an eye out for Rapunzel and her gorgeous locks!

 

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I’m Off to Welcome Rapunzel to the Disney Princess royal court

September 25, 2011 By

London here I come! This time next week, Rapunzel will be officially welcomed into the Disney Princess Royal Court in London at a worldwide star-studded celebration.

I’m so excited to announce that I’ve received my own official royal invite to Kensington Palace to attend Rapunzel’s big party. I can barely contain myself and honestly I was so excited after getting this invite I could hardly sleep and was awake half the night full of anticipation!

Here’s the special invite that will allow me entrance past security at Kensington Palace to participate and report on all the festivities at the royal celebration.

Very cool!

I’m a bit nervous about leaving these cute kids and putting the Atlantic Ocean between us for almost 5 days, but can’t wait to explore London and get up close with all things Disney Princess – and Kensington Palace of course.

It feels like a fairy tale!

At 3 years old Kyle is pretty oblivious to the fact that he’s not invited, but Kenzie, who is almost 6 is for the first time is feeling very left out and sad about not receiving what she imagines to be her own invitation to this special “ball”. She’s longing to join me on my adventure to this foreign country and full of all kinds of questions about the crowning ceremony, meeting Rapunzel, and of course if I will get the chance to chat & get a photo with William and Kate as she has Royal fever like the rest of us.

I promised her to find a very special souvenir for her and that I’ll take “Where’s Waldo” style photos of me everywhere in London so she can experience it all through my eyes – and that I promise to say hi to each and every Disney Princess for her.

For all my friends in the US, we’ll be hosting a Twitter Party at 11 PM EST/9AM PST on Saturday October 1st to talk everything Disney Princess – and Rapunzel of course. I’ll be hosting this live from London after seeing bits of the rehearsal at Kensington Palace as it will be 4 PM London time for me.  Join us with hashtag #TangledTweets – and we’ll be giving away great Disney Princess prizes plus chatting with London and UK Moms as we’ll be simulatenously hosting a party together with the help of well known London Mom blogger – Janis fromReallyKidFriendly.com and on Twitter – @KidFriendly_UK.

And if you live in London – Join the fun! It’s free and everyone is welcome to watch this stellar procession full of horse drawn carriages with every Disney Princess in the court – on Sunday October 2nd at 1 PM.

Janis from London says to arrive early to get a good view as this is the 1st time a Disney Procession will ever take place in central London so everyone will be in on this spectacular event. The procession will start at 1 PM at Queen’s Gate and finish at 1:30 pm at Kensington Palace.  The best place to stand to watch the Disney Princesses is along Mount Walk, near Kensington Palace.

Disclosure: Disney will pay for my travel expenses for me to cover and attend this extraordinary once in a lifetime experience for ClassyMommy.com 

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Disney will Honor Rapunzel to Disney Princess Royal Court

September 3, 2011 By

Big Disney Princess news!

Disney will officially welcome Rapunzel as the 10th Disney Princess character at a high profile, star-studded celebration, to take place in front of a global audience on October 2, 2011.

Mandy Moore, the voice of Rapunzel

Even cooler?

This special coronation and celebration of Miss Rapunzel will take place at  Kensington Palace in London.  I find this even more exciting &  fascinating given the recent Royal Wedding that has captured the attention of the world – and myself!

Disney chose Kensington Palace as the perfect location for this magical welcoming ceremony of a Disney Princess, as it has been the home of many real life princesses over the centuries. All ten Disney Princess characters will take part in the royal celebration and will be joined by VIPs, celebrities and little princesses from across the globe in festivities including a procession through Hyde Park, party activities and a welcoming ceremony.

This whole event sounds so magical! And guess what?

One lucky family has a chance to win a trip to attend this celebration.

For a chance to win a trip to London to attend Rapunzel’s coronation and celebration at Kensington Palace, take a peek at entry details for Disney’s My Princess Moment Online Video Contest here. 

Did you know that Tangled is one of the top ten grossing Disney movies of all time ahead of Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, Cars and Toy Story 2???

This movie has universal appeal for the entire family. My husband loved it when we saw it in the theater.  My 3 year old son and 5 year old daughter went crazy for the preview trailers for months – then were captivated by the movie in theaters and again on DVD. And of course  Moms everywhere I know loved it too!

Here’s my Kenzie dressing up as Rapunzel when we went to see it in the theater last year.

Here’s some more details about the Rapunzel celebration from Disney’s official press release: 

“Once Rapunzel becomes an official member of the Disney Princess court, she will be celebrated and recognized as such across Disney, and will be included in all Disney Princess products featuring multiple characters, in addition to her own merchandise line. Plus, across all Disney Parks, Rapunzel will for the first time wear her royal tiara, stolen from the kingdom by Flynn Rider in the Tangled.” said Mary Beech, vice president of girls franchise development and marketing at Disney Consumer Products. “With London knowing a thing or two about bringing royal celebrations to a worldwide audience, it seemed only fitting for the city to become the stage for the celebration to welcome Rapunzel into our own Disney Princess royal court. We are inviting girls from across the globe to welcome each Disney Princess character to the Palace and celebrate with Rapunzel on her special day.”

Independent charity Historic Royal Palaces has joined with Disney to help stage the event, in a collaboration that aims to encourage children all over the world to explore the stories behind the real kings, queens, princes and princesses alongside Disney’s. “Our aim is to help everyone explore the stories of how monarchs and other royals have shaped society, in some of the greatest palaces ever built,” said Ruth Gill, Head of Interpretation at Historic Royal Palaces. “Kensington Palace has always been a place of spectacle, beauty and majesty, and home to many inspirational real-life Princesses. We are therefore delighted to celebrate our relationship with Disney by hosting this magical event that will welcome Rapunzel as the 10th member of the Disney Princess royal court.”

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Disney Online Video Contest: My Princess Moment

September 3, 2011 By

Wow! Enter this contest quick !

Disney will officially welcome Rapunzel as the 10th Disney Princess character at a high profile, star-studded celebration at Kensington Palace in London on October 2nd. To add to the magic, Disney is inviting fans to participate in the “My Princess Moment—The Story Begins With You” online video contest.

Take a peek at the details below that I outlined for you! It’s easy to enter.

My daughter Mackenzie loves her Disney Princesses as do so many little girls. And making a fun princess video for a chance to win a trip to London or an awesome toy castle is  cute and easy activity to do with  little girls.  We’ve been super entertained watching the entry videos online today and are inspired to make our own video. The directions on the website are very easy to follow and Disney provides 4 Princess songs – so choose your favorite – for download to include with your video.

So far there were only 33 videos submitted – so encourage your kids to enter.

Where do you enter? 

Contest entrants will submit a home video to compete to win the ultimate Grand Prize—a trip to Kensington Palace in London on Oct. 2 to welcome Rapunzel into the Disney Princess Royal Court (participants must enter by Sept. 12).

All fans need to do is create a royal video inspired by their favourite Disney princesses.  Simply go to http://princessmoment.disney.go.com/, download a sound clip, make a 45 second video and spread the magic. Every fair maiden in the land age 12 and under (and with a parent’s permission) is elibible to win.

More Entry & Prize details: 

Videos entered between now and Sept. 12, 2011  at Disney.com/PrincessMoment are  eligible for the ultimate Grand Prize – a trip for four to London for Rapunzel’s royal celebration.  From videos entered by Oct. 4, 2011, one First Prize winner will be selected to receive a 3D TV and DVD assortment from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, and ten Second Prize winners will receive the Disney Princess Ultimate Dream Castle from Mattel.

Good luck! We’ve been super entertained watching the entry videos online today. So far there are only 33 videos submitted last we checked so chances are good for those who enter by September 12th.

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