Princess Merida Welcomed as 11th Disney Princess in Magic Kingdom Coronation
Hi everyone!
Today, Princess Merida from Disney-Pixar’s Brave was brought into the Disney Princess Royal Court, joining other princesses that include Cinderella, Belle, Princess Aurora, Mulan and Ariel. Queen Elinor was also part of the ceremony, crowning her daughter! The event was part coronation, part Mother’s Day tribute. Keep reading for photos and video of Merida’s Coronation!
Signs and banners were out for Merida’s Royal Celebration, which was a Limited Time Magic offering this week. On the Times Guide, Disney invited park guests to “Join us for the festivities at Cinderella Castle, as all 10 Disney Princesses come together to honor their newest member, the brave and independent Merida”. I think it was great that this was available to all guests, although the event was a bit hard to see from our location. It would have been nice to have a couple of big screens added – but again, I loved that all guests were included.
Sophia Grace and Rosie from The Ellen Show performed a princess rap before the ceremony started.
Gold Medal Olympian Gabby Douglas joined her mother onstage, just as Merida would soon do.
10 Disney princesses filled the stage, including Cinderella, Ariel, Princess Tiana, Princess Aurora and Rapunzel.
Belle was also part of the princess lineup.
Jasmine, Belle and Snow White posed on the stage.
Princess Aurora:
Snow White:
Rapunzel, Princess Tiana and Snow White strike a pose as indvidual introductions were being made.
Merida made quite the entrance, riding on Angus.
Scottish bands and bagpipers followed Princess Merida. This was the location I was taking most of my photos in (including all of the photos above). There was quite the crowd around me, a lot of guests came out to see Merida’s Royal Celebration!
Rapunzel, Jasmine, Mulan, Ariel and Cinderella posed and waved to the crowd.
Princess Merida arrived onstage with clan pennants as the other princesses waited for her.
For the first time ever, Queen Elinor made an appearance in a Walt Disney World park. Not everyone knew that Queen Elinor would be there, and a lot of the guests around my location were extremely excited to see her.
Queen Elinor crowns Merida, making her an official Disney princess – the 11th.
Queen Elinor and Merida hugged each other after the crown was put on.
“I am Merida and I am a princess!”
The rope was dropped from the location I had been at, giving a more central view of Cinderella Castle. Fireworks shot off as the ceremony came to an end.
After the ceremony, the Disney princesses posed with Gabby Douglas and her mom. Princess Merida held onto her bow.
Queen Elinor also took to the stage for photo opportunities.
11 Princesses – Snow White, Princess Aurora, Belle, Pocahontas, Princess Tiana, Princess Merida, Rapunzel, Mulan, Cinderella, Jasmine and Ariel.
Princess Merida waves before exiting the stage.
After the ceremony, the princesses posed for photos in a garden – here are Jasmine and Ariel.
Queen Elinor gives a royal wave to the large crowd watching.
All 11 princesses joined Sophia Grace and Rosie in posing for cameras.
Cast Members in Scottish plaid were happy to be part of the ceremony!
Even our friend Cedric dressed in a kilt for the event! He always has Stitch with him as well.
It was a picture perfect day for Merida’s Royal Celebration.
Dated t-shirts were available for children, but I knew many adults who would have bought one if available!
Princess Merida dolls were on display, along with other merchandise.
We were there in 2009 when Princess Tiana had her debut!
It was a gorgeous day for Merida’s Royal Celebration! I hope we see more of Queen Elinor in the future.