We are fresh off of our latest trip to the World and I have lots of posts running through my head, but since I am still trying to get my head above water I am sticking to an easy subject for now. We tried a few new things this trip and I will review those later, but for now I will stick to describing the experience that my little Princess had at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (BBB).
First, let me say that I have been wanting my daughter to do this for the last few trips, but she always adamantly said no. She is not one who likes to be the center of attention and does not like anyone making a big deal out of anything she does. She gets easily embarrassed and does not like to do anything "different". These characteristics are what has kept her from agreeing to the makeover in the past. So, needless to say, when I asked her this year when we first started planning this trip if she wanted to do the BBB, I was shocked when she very enthusiastically said yes. After I picked my jaw up off the floor I started working in my head how we would pay for it :) Since we were going to be there (as usual) over her birthday, her Dad and I agreed that we would allow her to do the biggest package they have as part of her gift if that is what she wanted. When we offered it to her, she jumped on it and grinned from ear to ear. That right then is when the magic started for me. So, when the 180 day mark came, I called and made a reservation for her in the castle. For the next six months I heard many details about which Princess she was going to become.
Fast forward 180 days and the magic jumped to a million different levels. Her reservation time was 1:00 and several times that morning she brought up to me that she was going to do the BBB that day. My baby girl was excited (and I must admit so was Mommy). So, when the time came, we walked into the castle ready to be transformed. We signed in and then went to the wardrobe to pick out her royal dress. After a little discussion she (we) decided to be Belle over Jasmine. She really liked the long gloves that you could add to the dress and they were out of the wand that went along with the Jasmine dress (and Mommy was a little concerned over the belly being shown with the Jasmine outfit). So, she let them know her decision and she went to the changing area. They said the magic words (Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo) and her royal costume was magically waiting in the changing room for her. Once she was dressed in her gown and shoes, she waited for her turn in the chair. Her wonderful Fairy Godmother in training did a great job of giving her the royal princess hair do and putting on her makeup and nail polish. While all of this was being done she was kept facing away from the mirror until they sprinkled the magic dust in her hair and they did the big reveal. She was then grinning from ear to ear when she saw her reflection. She was thrilled and so was I. It was worth every penny (though Daddy joked that it was the Second Mortgage Package).
Once she was transformed, she left the castle and headed over to a nearby shop to have her picture taken. The photopass photographer was great. He showed her how to hold her dress like a true Princess and put her in some really sweet poses. So after her "photo shoot" we picked out our favorite three shots and took home her "portfolio". The photographer also suggested that we head to Toontown to meet the princesses and have them sign her portfolio. So, off we went through the park and I have to admit it was precious. She was holding her dress high to keep it off the ground and grinning from ear to ear through the whole walk. Then we met the Princesses and they were wonderful. They made such a big deal out of how pretty she was and Belle really got into it asking her if she had gotten into her closet that morning and borrowed her clothes. My daughter's face had to hurt from all of the smiling she did :)
The whole rest of the day she enjoyed all of the compliments she received from both employees and guests. Later, we went to the Grand Floridian resort and ate dinner at 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella and Prince Charming. It was so much fun to see her walking so proud in her beautiful dress. It was a wonderful backdrop for all of the pictures we took! This was a wonderful way to end such a magical day for my Princess. That night she went to sleep with a smile on her face. Again, it was worth every penny.
When she woke up the next day her hair was still mostly in place. It was starting to fall a little, but we were at Downtown Disney and one of the workers at the BBB location there fixed it a little and helped to make it last one more day. Since she still looked so cute, it was easy for her to talk Daddy into splitting the cost of the Jasmine costume and she was a Princess once again. So, for the price, plus a little more for a second costume, we got two days out of our investment. If I would have known this, I would have packed one of her costumes from home to wear day 2 and saved the extra purchase :)
So, would I do it again? If she really really wanted to I would let her do the hair and makeup portion and I would take my own costume from home. It was definitely worth doing the whole package once, but I think the same effect can be done with only doing the hair portion. The workers were wonderful in every aspect from check in, to hair, to pictures at the end. They made a wonderful memory for my daughter that I don't think she will ever forget. I also think she was at the perfect age to do this. I would think age 4-9 are probably the perfect ages. I say this only because if you are paying this much you want them to remember it, and much older than 8 or 9 they are probably going to think that they are too cool for Princesses. I believe that if your daughter is asking for it and you can swing the cost, you should definitely do it. They are only young once and "next time" they may be too old to get the magic out of this experience. Who knows when they will be "too cool to do something so silly?"
