I am planning on making 2 princess doll cakes for my middle daughter's birthday.  One will wear pink and the other purple like the new Barbie Princess and the pop star movie.  I would like to use fondant but I am hesitant because of the taste.  Any suggestions on how to make packaged fondant taste better or what brand of fondant taste better.  I am a novice so I am scared to make my own. Thanks in advance

I use Satin Ice nowadays.  Strange but here in Australia a lot of people love to eat fondant.  And I have never met a kid who doesn't like it. But we were brought up with it and buttercream as an all over icing is fairly new here.
 

Wilton's fondant is known for being easy to work with but not very tasty. I suggest you buy it (with a coupon) and knead a little flavoring and buttercream into it. Good luck

I'm not a pro, but here's what I've learned by trial and error:

I use Lorann flavorings (the kind used for candy-making) and knead into the fondant. They're strong so start with just a bit 'til you get the taste you're looking for.

I've used Satin Ice, Wilton, Fondx & Fondx Elite for details in the past. The Fondx Elite smells and tastes like mixed berries. To me, it seems to have a better mouth feel than the others but is a bit soft to work with...and pricey.

The first time I covered a cake in fondant (just this October...was scared to death to try before that) I used Fondx. The next time, for a Christmas BD cake, I used Satin Ice. Comparing the two, the Fondx tastes o.k. but seemed to dry out quicker than Satin Ice...either that or I just didn't work quickly enough the  first try. Satin Ice smells weird  but taste-wise it's o.k. Wilton is easy to work with but tastes lousy.

I've made my own MMF and added the flavoring to the wet ingredients before...easier than all that kneading in after the fact.

Making your own is not hard...just messy as all get-out. Powdered sugar flies everywhere and if you don't grease every surface of every utensil you use as well as your hands up to the elbows, you'll be picking marshmallow goo off stuff for days! 

I suggest you give a go at making MMF. I was a complete beginner when I made my first batch and it came out so well! I used butter, almond and vanilla extracts in it so it tastes and smells really good. It's really easy to work with, cheap, and not hard at all! A little messy, I guess, but no more so than lots of other things we bake. You have nothing to lose but a bag of marshmallows and some powdered sugar and 20 minutes of your time. Go for it!!

AI have always made my own fondant I use equal parts marshmallow and icing sugar a tsp of water for every 4 cups and vanilla extract, just micro wave marshmallow for 40 sec then add vanilla and then half the sugar then ontop of some parchment paper, fold in the remaining sugar. Keep hands greased with butter this will add flavor to your fondant and keep everything nice and clean. Note : water breaks down the marshmallow so don't add too much