EXCLUSIVE: ‘Create Your World’ Campaign Reveals New Disney Princess Products

The new multiyear campaign for the Disney Princess brand, Create Your World, encourages fans to embrace their inner Princess and build new worlds through play.

The omnichannel initiatives supporting the campaign include new consumer products, “Portal to the Princess,” a complementary augmented reality meet-and-greet with Disney’s Ariel, Moana, Tiana and Rapunzel; a new series, “Create Your World | Making a Disney Song!,” premiering Aug. 1 on the Disney Princess YouTube channel and insights into early development for parents by the Child Mind Institute.

New Disney Consumer Products

The new Disney Princess range inspires children to create the worlds they want through pretend play. It includes items from transforming playsets and building blocks to detail-rich dolls, movie-inspired costumes and more.

Key partnerships include the new, highly interactive Disney Princess Deluxe Day Spa Style Set from JAKKS Pacific, the Disney Princess Market Adventure set from the LEGO Group and the Carriage to Castle Transforming Playset from Mattel. Products from North American brands include American Girl, Disguise, Janie and Jack. New products will be available on DisneyStore.com starting Aug. 1.

Adults looking to embrace the Disney Princess magic can enjoy products from U.S.-based licensees such as Barefoot Dreams, DIFF Eyewear, Loungefly, Sassy Woof, Sigma Beauty, Tweezerman, Unique Vintage and Vera Bradley.

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Disney Publishing has also launched a range of new books and titles, including “Cinderella Pop-Up Book” from Insight Editions and the “Leading Ladies! Little Golden Book” from Random House Children’s, as well as the global release of “Rapunzel: Paintbrush Pals” coming Sept. 19. In addition, “Tiana’s Perfect Plan,” a debut picture book by Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana, will release in October. For young adult readers, releases from New York Times best-selling authors include “A Sword in the Slumber” by Sara Raasch and “Tangled Up In You” by Christina Lauren.

“Magic is at the core of the Disney Princess franchise and our company,” says Tracy Thurman, vice president, global product design, Disney Consumer Products. “It’s what fuels our stories and the beloved adventures our characters embark on. We constantly strive to bring this magic to life in new ways through products, leaning into how kids play and how they want to interact with our characters. It’s our hope that children not only continue to believe in the magic of Disney Princess but that it inspires them to find their own magic within.”

Princess Market Adventure by LEGO

“Portal to the Princesses” & Other Entertainment Touchpoints

One key innovation bringing the Create Your World campaign to life is “Portal to the Princesses,” designed to augment play and create immersive and interactive options for kids and adults alike. Fans of all ages can virtually interact with Disney Princess characters – Ariel, Moana, Tiana and Rapunzel – at home on mobile phones through the augmented reality experience. Parents can help their kids choose which Disney Princess they want to meet and then will be prompted to help the Princess create a new experience together, unique to the world of each Princess. Fans can access the virtual experience on any mobile phone through Disneyprincess.com/ar.

Leaning into AVOD, Disney is also introducing a new edition to the Disney Princess YouTube channel on Aug. 1, “Create Your World | Making a Disney Song!” The six-episode video series follows four talented girls participating in the first-ever performance of a new original Disney Princess-inspired song in front of a live audience at Disneyland Park. The series aims to teach young viewers about the world of music and performance as an example of how little ones can achieve their goals and create their worlds – featuring internet hit and singer, Claire Crosby. 

Mattel Carriage to Castle Playset

The Importance of Imaginative Play

In-depth research conducted by the Child Mind Institute powers this campaign and provides parental resources. According to the Child Mind Institute, imaginative play offers a powerful and fun context for children to express their creativity and can facilitate the development of essential skills. As kids dive deeper into fantasy play, they embrace extended narratives and create their own pretend worlds, leading to better-developed emotion regulation, creativity, language skills and executive functioning, which are the skills that help self-regulate, plan and achieve goals.

“Pretend play is what psychologists call the make-believe that kids immerse themselves into when, for example, they imagine that their toys are real animals, pretend to be a prince or princess or create an imaginary world with blocks and figurines,” says Kathryn Keough, clinical psychologist, Child Mind Institute. “This kind of play can help kids develop important social, emotional, cognitive and language skills, from creative thinking to emotional control.”

Embracing one’s Disney Princess magic requires creativity, imagination, determination and the belief that one can do whatever one sets one’s heart to. “Being part of the Disney Princess family has been one of my highest honors,” says Jodi Benson, voice of Ariel in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” (1989). “Ariel’s journey, her confidence and courage to create a better world inspire me to this day. My hope is that her story, as well as all the other adventurous Princess stories out there, continue to inspire all generations to find the magic of their inner Princess so they too can create the worlds they want.” 

For young children, the magic of Disney Princess characters is real. In contrast, for parents, nurturing this belief in magic and confidence is a cherished aspect of parenthood that the Create Your World campaign looks to support in full through new products, innovations and imaginative touchpoints.