A Little Girl's Dream Come True: Preparing for Our Disney Princess Royal Ball {#CBias #DisneyPrincessWMT}

Although my girls' tastes and preferences have changed as they've grown, there are some things that have held a solid place in their hearts since the beginning.

For my nearly-6-year-old, it is her unwavering love of Toy Story and the exciting adventures that the characters represent.

But for my 3-year-old, it's a full devotion to everything and anything princess.

Princess, princess, princess. When she wants to wear a dress (pretty much every day), she runs to her closet and gleefully announces I want to wear a princess! When she sees someone on television with the hint of a ruffle on their skirt, it's Oh! Look at her princess! In essence, the sight of just about anything sparkly, frilly or girly is somehow related to being a princess.

So, you can imagine how much her eyes lit up when she found out that Disney is re-releasing the classic, beloved tale of Cinderella on October 2nd.

One of the Top 10 Animated Films of all time, it has been seven years since Cinderella was released from the Disney vault! While we could let the occasion pass by with little fanfare, what fun would that be? Instead, we're excited to celebrate the upcoming Cinderella movie release in multiple ways!

First, we got in the princess mindset right at home with the FREE download of the Disney Princess Augmented Reality App (in the App Store for Apple devices and in Google Play for Android).

Loading this app onto my phone took only moments over breakfast one morning, and Little Sister B was instantly intrigued (as was I).

We both were immediately smitten with the story aspect of the app, as we were taken through being able to select our own complete princess outfit (dress, tiara, necklace and shoes), customize our own carriage to ride to the ball, and then dance right along with the other royal attendees!

While Little Sister B wanted to spend hours designing each outfit and carriage, I loved the way that the app allowed me to easily capture her joy through photographs at each step that placed her right in the action.

While we were having a great time with the Royal Ball AR 2.0 app right at home, I was eager to bring it to Walmart to extend it even further. By keeping an eye out for Disney Princess Augmented Reality App trigger points around the store (Fairy Godmother, Cinderella Blu-Ray/DVD, and Cinderella's face), we would be able to unlock even more fun!

I mentioned that I was a little excited about this app as well, right?

As well as going to Walmart to play with princesses on my phone, Little Sister B and I had some shopping to do for the second aspect of our Cinderella celebration: our own Cinderella Viewing Party. What better way to enjoy the wonder of the movie than by having our friends over to watch it with us? Throw in some princess decorations, snacks and goodie bags and we would be all set!

Once we arrived at Walmart, it didn't take long before we were admiring the wide array of party supplies...

...grinning over the Cinderella costumes...

#DisneyPrincessWMT

...and, in general, having our own version of Where's Waldo as we spotted Cinderella in various places (and products) around the store. See our full shopping trip in photos here!

After we made our final princess decisions, we breezed through checkout (where our friendly cashier took one look at the items on the belt and said, "Ooh! Looks like someone's having a Cinderella party!") and were ready to head home.

While we are still putting the final details together for our Viewing Party, we are also looking ahead to even more fun with the upcoming Retailtainment Event at Walmart on October 6th!

That's right! This Saturday, from 11am - 3pm, select Walmart stores across the country (contact your local Walmart for more information and to see if they are participating) will be having pumpkin decorating, coloring sheets, interactive activities and more... and young attendees are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite Disney Princess character!

You don't have to tell us twice! An event that gives us an excuse to shop at Walmart (along with the Blu-Ray/DVD Combo Pack, we want to see the 2-disc music and Tangled Ever After DVD Box Set, the Fashion Doll set including the Prince, Cinderella and Horse, and the Cinderella Ornament), really try out the Disney Princess Augmented Reality App and dress like a princess?

In case it isn't obvious, that's a big YES!

Be sure to visit Walmart.com to see their large collection of Disney Princess gear, download coloring pages, take the Disney Princess Quiz, get inspiration for planning your own Disney Princess Party, and more. You can also connect with Disney on Twitter, Disney Princess on Facebook, and Cinderella on Facebook so that you never miss a single hint of sparkle or magic.

Keep an eye out soon for a follow-up post showing our fun at the Retailtainment Event, Cinderella Party and by unlocking more features to the Disney Princess App! It's Princess-mania around here and we're going to be twirling, whirling and enjoying every minute!

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Disney Consumer Products, Inc but all thoughts and opinions are honest and my own. #CBias #SocialFabric