Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. We knew it would be that added magic for our six year old daughter, the cherry on top of our Walt Disney World sundae, but what we didn’t know was how amazing that cherry would turn out to be. Our daughter Madelyn’s reservation (which was a surprise for her) was at 8:30am and when we made the reservation, the cast member made sure we knew to get to the park early so we could take lots of pictures of Main Street and Cinderella’s Castle with minimal people.
Getting all done up
The day of our reservation was a Saturday in mid-August. Our check in went smoothly, we just gave our names to the cast member checking people in and away we went, about 45 minutes before my daughter’s reservation. I wasn’t sure what to expect in regards to how many people would be in the park early. I’ve read a lot of mixed opinions about whether it is worth it to get in the park early, that it isn’t as empty as one would think. Well for us, it was worth it. Sure we didn’t have the park to ourselves, but there weren’t a lot of people there either. We got all the pictures we wanted with no problems and with not many, if any, people in the background. Also there were PLENTY of PhotoPass photographers there to take our family pictures.
We arrived at our reservation about 15 minutes early and they were able to take our daughter right away. Madelyn was ready to go, especially when she realized what she was about to do. Wearing her Cinderella dress (hint: always check the after Halloween sales, that’s how we got her dress at a great price!), she was whisked away by her Fairy Godmother-in-Training. We chose The Crown Package, which included hair, make-up, and nail polish for $59.95. Now I did a lot of research before we decided to book the appointment, but what I didn’t know was how that one appointment would change the rest of the trip for Madelyn.
First let me mention how her appointment went. Madelyn had a great Fairy Godmother-in-Training. She was engaging and talkative. Unfortunately Madelyn was shy, just yes and no answers, no matter how hard the Fairy Godmother-in-Training tried. Madelyn got to pick her hairstyle from a pamphlet that they had and then proceeded to get her hair, make-up, and nails done, quietly reveling in every minute of it. The boutique was spacious, with PhotoPass photographers taking pictures and plenty of comfy seating in the middle to sit and watch. Once the experience was over, Madelyn got to keep two different colors of nail polish, a sash, a bag, and two very nice Mickey Mouse bobby pins that were encrusted with little pretend diamonds. Also after her appointment she had the option of going and doing some “glamour shots” with a PhotoPass photographer. So of course what little princess wouldn’t like to go pose for a few pictures and off she went for a few minutes taking some pictures in different poses. It was a delightful experience that we are glad we took advantage of! And I was honestly surprised that she got to keep the nail polish, as well as receive some high-quality bobby pins to go along with her hair extension! Bonus!
But the real bonuses came because of her experience, not necessarily the experience itself. One lucky break we had because of the time of this experience was that my 3-year-old son Asher and I wandered around the castle a little bit after he got bored of watching his big sister be turned into a princess. We got to chat with cast members, explore and notice the little things without huge crowds, and got to watch the mad rush of people entering the park from the gates of the castle, a humbling experience. Then something happened completely by accident. We were watching a few people from the crowd come up by us and wait by the ropes behind the castle, so we decided to wait with no particular purpose. Soon the cast member took down the ropes, led us around the carousel, and that’s when it hit me. While Madelyn was finishing up with her hair, I could take Asher over to see Anna and Elsa.. So off we went, following the cast member and then eventually we broke off to Princess Fairytale Hall. We ended up third in line to meet Anna and Elsa, not bad for something totally random! After that awesome character interaction we hopped right on Peter Pan’s Flight, and then met back up with Madelyn and my wife.
The rest of the day was amazing for Madelyn and for us as parents to watch all the attention Madelyn received. She had guests all over the park greeting her and telling her how beautiful she looked. She had cast members calling her princess and making her feel like a true princess. At dinner at Be Our Guest, she had waitresses bow to her and thank her for dinning with them tonight. The extra attention had her so excited that she dressed up again on our second day at Magic Kingdom. Luckily for us, Madelyn’s hair was still holding up really well for day two so all we did was attach the hair extension, and she wore a different princess dress. On day two she received more of the same compliments and attention. We happened to come upon a dance party as we were wandering around the park that day as well and Madelyn jumped right in. She got to dance with Mr. Incredible and have a PhotoPass photographer right there taking a bunch of pictures, another magical experience for a princess
Getting her groove on with Mr. Incredible
Madelyn had two magical days at the Magic Kingdom and they were enhanced by Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Can you assume all of this extra magic will happen to your daughter if you schedule her an appointment? Of course not, but the key is it MAY happen and if you’re on the fence about making an appointment, consider this: On top of how great the actual Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique experience was for Madelyn, just one person calling her princess and telling her she’s beautiful made Madelyn’s trip, everything else was icing on the cake. Also as a side note, we wish we would have known that there was a little mini photo session for Madelyn after her appointment on top of the PhotoPass photographers being at the boutique taking pictures (you are allowed to take your own pictures during the appointment as well), If we would have known that, we would have paid for the Memory Maker package ahead of time. Overall, this was a great experience for Madelyn and our family and we are very happy we decided to do it. It was one of the happiest moments of my life being able to see how special Madelyn felt for those two days at Magic Kingdom and we felt the experience was well worth the price.
