Disney Store Spring Fair Belle Review

Well folks, Vacation Bible School is officially over for the week.  While there were moments that were a bit hectic and the mornings were early (especially for a non-morning person like me!), overall the week was very rewarding.  We had a wonderful turnout and made a lot of great memories.  The kids loved the songs, games, and crafts.  Every year, we have an offering contest between the boys and the girls that attend, and everything they bring in goes to a missionary family supported by our church.  This time around, we were able to raise about 300 pounds (weight, not British currency) ;) in change for our missionary family.

The best thing about being involved in VBS is sharing the Gospel with the kids.  I always love to see the way the Lord uses each of us with our various talents to come together and minister to the children that attend.  Some teach classes, some organize the games, others are in charge of food or crafts, I help lead the music...but each and every one of us plays a vital part in making the week a success.  By coming together with the desire to serve the Lord and reach out to others, we are able to create something fun and beautiful for the kids each year.  And even though I'm tired and looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow, a part of me is already excited about next year. ;)

Now that I finally have some time to sit and do a post (and don't have to save my brain power for tomorrow), I thought I'd share a recent eBay purchase. :)

Several years ago, the Disney Store did a "Spring Fair" theme with their Disney Princess line.  There were bed sheets, plush toys, and (of course) dolls.  I fell in love with the Spring Fair Belle doll and have wanted to add her to my collection for some time.

I've searched online for a couple of years now and haven't been able to find her, but just this past month I finally found one on eBay for a reasonable price:

I just have to say that I ADORE the packaging on this doll. :)  It looks like a beautiful fair pavilion. 

  

Here's the back of the box.  As you can see, there were also Cinderella and Aurora dolls released in this series.

A closer look at some of the details on the back of the box:

Here are the sides of the box:

Here's a closer look at Belle's face.  Out of the older molds/paint jobs (pre-2010), this mold is my favorite. 

Belle's floral wreath appears to go all the way around her head.  It makes me think of the Renaissance period. ;)

I love the flower detail on her dress, too.  As you can see from this picture, she has a normal, Barbie-type body without articulation at the elbows or wrists.

She has tiny pink ribbon roses at the hem of her skirt as well.

The dolls in this series all came with little foals.  I would say this was baby Philippe if it didn't look so obviously feminine.  It also doesn't look like a baby draft horse. ;)

It looks like the horse's head might move.  Either that, or the head is just a different piece of plastic than the body.

At the horse's feet is something that looks like a stand of some sort.  Perhaps a doll stand?

Belle comes with this huge crown-shaped brush.

She also comes with 5 flower hair clips.  It is unclear whether these are supposed to be for the doll or for a little girl.

A few box details from the front:

The sides have pretty gold butterfly and sparkle accents:

Because the packaging is so beautiful, I will not be deboxing this Belle doll, so this won't be as complete of a review as I wish I could give you.  I'm super excited to have her in my collection, though. :)  Her dress is pretty and unique with the floral accents, and I love the beautiful style of her packaging.  Her golden eye shadow is a bit much, but it's not the worst I've seen from the Disney Store. ;)  

Dating this doll is difficult.  Unfortunately, the Disney Store dolls do not usually have dates on their boxes, and I wasn't actively collecting at the time this was released.  We did get two sets of the bed sheets that were released at the same time, and that was either before Little Gal was born or shortly after, so this doll has to be from 2008 at the very latest.  I'm guessing it's more like 2006 to 2007.  If any of you have this doll in your collection or have more information about her date of release, feel free to leave it in the comments.  I'm still working on my "visual encyclopedia" of Belle dolls, and I'd love to have an official date for her.

Bottom line, my favorite Belle face mold from the Disney Store will probably always be the 2010 Belle, but I do enjoy this one as well (even though I'm a bit frustrated by the green eyes). ;)  These dolls are super hard to find and are a great addition for any Disney doll collector.  

More to come!  For those of you who are curious, I do have some pics of my Apple White and Briar Beauty dolls, but since the Ever After High dolls are not something that all of my readers enjoy, I thought it would be nice to break things up a bit. :)  I'll try to get those up sometime in the next few days. 

For now, I've got to get going.  Belle is hoping to get her post up by tonight...which she can't do if I'm hogging the computer. ;) 

Until next time. :)