Ana & Elsa Boutique vs BBB

[Zeebs]

have a nearly 5 year old who loves all things sparkly and princessy, thought I might look into both these options.

I must say, I hate with a passion the hairstyles that the BBB offer.

like the hairstyles they seem to offer with the AEB however, but this isn't about me........ well maybe just a little bit.

Is the experience at the BBB unrivalled or will we have just as much fun at AEB, and end up with a better hairstyle.

Should she decide on the day that she wants to be Ariel instead of Elsa would they mind at the AEB or just go with the flow.

Many thanks,

Kirsten

 

[NiceOneSimba]

I have no idea about the experience, but I was in line behind three girls who had gone to the AEB for hairstyles this past weekend. The hairstyles were ADORABLE. So much cuter than the BBB! They seemed to be thrilled with their hair, and the grandma seemed pleased, too.

I think the experience will be great no matter what!

As for changing her mind--I think they'll let her wear whatever dress she wants, or just get her hair done. That said, I don't think they have any other princess dresses at the AEB other than the Frozen ones, though. (I did look in the window of the shop, and it's pretty much Frozen, Frozen and more Frozen). And I suspect that you can only get the Frozen hairstyles at the BBB or the BBB styles at AEB, but that's just speculation on my part. Maybe they do. Ask when you book your appointment to make sure.

If she wants to be another princess, you could always just buy the dress somewhere else in the park (or at home) and bring the dress along with you for your appointment. I don't think they'd mind that, as it's fine at the BBB.

 

[nicolispicoli]

I've never been to BBB, but we did AEB in November was I thought it was fantastic! We brought our own dress (thank goodness!), so it ended up being what I thought was really cheap, something like $30 with the AP discount. I think it's a great value as it includes their choice of hair inserts, tiara, nail polish, make up pallette and glitter choice for hair. I think the basic package at BBB stars at 49.95.

The hair choices were adorable and not as stiff as BBB from what I've seen. I'd definitely take her back on our next trip. She loved it, felt so special all day and the CM's all called her Princess. For a 3-year-old, it's pretty grand.

I'll attach a couple pictures of the Elsa hairstyle. Like she mentioned above, you really could pair it with any princess dress if you wanted to.

 

[Zeebs]

thank you both very much for your help, I am going to attempt to book Ana and Elsa Boutique. the others I am travelling with have got on the band wagon, so I will be trying to book for 7, 3 girls and 4 boys, should be a fun time, if I can get a booking for each of them.

We aren't going to go to the parks that day, we have limited time, at a busy time of year so we will spend the afternoon at DTD all made up and then to Goofy's for a character meal for dinner.

Kirsten

 

[4Mickeys]

Oooohhhh your little girl's hair looks gorgeous!

We did BBB in September and chose the best one from a bad bunch - the simple bun. Sorry but I just do not get the weird fake hair attachments they are using. My daughter has very thick long hair so her bun actually ended up looking quite nice. And surprisingly she said it did not feel tight at all - I think with how they smooth it all out it looks tighter than it is (if that makes sense).

It just all depends on what type of experience you are after as well for instance at the AEB do you get to skip the line at fantasy faire and meet those princesses? or does it get you express to meet A&E?

I agree if you are aren't worried about skipping the line to meet princesses or the photoshoot at BBB, then get the great hairstyle and wear whatever princess dress you want

 

[pudinhd]

Great thread! We have decided to do the Anna and Elsa Boutique based on the information in this thread!

I have a couple questions... 1 - Approximately how long does it take? 2 - How many children can be worked on at the same time? 3 - How much room is there for adults to watch and take pictures?

Thank you very much!!

 

[DharmaLou]

DD6 far preferred A&E to BBB (she did that at 4). A&E only do A&E and a few other hairdos - but at BBB they don't do specific princess do's either.

I thought A&E was crowded and there was noplace for mom to sit, and they also don't do PP+ photos like they do at BBB, but I also far preferred her 'do to the BBB one.

It took about 45 minutes, give or take.

 

[lorijohnhill]

We've done A&E twice now. I looked into BBB, but you get more for quite a bit less money at A&E. It is a small space for families to watch, but it's such a fun experience! We did the Elsa style the first time and Anna the second. I preferred the Elsa. It lasted so much longer (4 days) and looked neater. The kids get to pick from a selection of extensions and get to pick the colors for their nails, makeup, and glitter. They also get to keep the nail polish, makeup, brush, and comb. They give you a nice little gift bag with all the items when you leave. There is also a dressing room for kids to change. There is a mural on the wall that is great for photos and a photo machine where you can get a picture taken and printed for $5.

We will definitely be doing this again.

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

Oooohhhh your little girl's hair looks gorgeous!

We did BBB in September and chose the best one from a bad bunch - the simple bun. Sorry but I just do not get the weird fake hair attachments they are using. My daughter has very thick long hair so her bun actually ended up looking quite nice. And surprisingly she said it did not feel tight at all - I think with how they smooth it all out it looks tighter than it is (if that makes sense).

It just all depends on what type of experience you are after as well for instance at the AEB do you get to skip the line at fantasy faire and meet those princesses? or does it get you express to meet A&E?

I agree if you are aren't worried about skipping the line to meet princesses or the photoshoot at BBB, then get the great hairstyle and wear whatever princess dress you want

At WDW they let anyone in to do a photoshoot at the photography studio by the BBB. Does DL only allow BBB makeovers in?

 

[starjazz]

Our 4 yo would love this. But she has shorter hair - barely shoulder length. Anyone how they'd make that work? Or maybe not worth it in that case?

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We have done both and & I much prefer E&A! The hairstyles are better, last longer & are cheaper! We finally took them down after day 4 and only because the kids had gone swimming (well except for DS, who went on GRR that night and got soaked). They will only do the hairstyles they offer, but you can pick when you walk in. There is much more room in E&A to watch. We did a big group in Nov (7 girls & 1 boy) and they were able to take them all together (we did 4 & 4 in the back section, one right after the other), but we had to book through group reservations as their computer couldn't find a time slot for that many (they gave me the number to call). It all worked out great!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Our 4 yo would love this. But she has shorter hair - barely shoulder length. Anyone how they'd make that work? Or maybe not worth it in that case?

My friend's daughter had short hair like that and they were able to take the high ponytail style and two two pigtails instead, but keeping the "theme" the same. It was really cute. (at E&A)

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

How far in advance can, and should, A&E be booked?

 

[Canadian Harmony]

We'll be going during my kid's birthdays. Depending on the day of the Halloween Trick or Treat, we'll be doing AEB on one day and BBB on the trick or treat day so they'll be in costume for that. We can bring our own Elsa dress for one kid, but the other might not want the costume, just the hair style and nails.

They won't last through swimming, right? The girls really want to swim each day at the pool, so I need to prepare for destruction.

I wish they'd do adults... I could use a new hairdo

 

[nicolispicoli]

How far in advance can, and should, A&E be booked?

It can be booked up to 60 days out. I would defnitely book it as soon as you could in that time frame, just to be safe. You can always easily cancel up to 24 hours before. Any thing less than 24 hours and they charge you $10 per person, per cancellation.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

How far in advance can, and should, A&E be booked?

We did it at the 60 day mark, which is the earliest. I would do it as early as possible to ensure a decent time slot

 

[trainingupmy4princes]

Does anyone have a picture of the Olaf hairdo for boys? My youngest DS might like that.

 

[pudinhd]

I just found this website with pictures.

http://www.disneyparksmerchandise.com/parksauthentic/anna-elsas-boutique/

 

[Zeebs]

We have done both and & I much prefer E&A! The hairstyles are better, last longer & are cheaper! We finally took them down after day 4 and only because the kids had gone swimming (well except for DS, who went on GRR that night and got soaked). They will only do the hairstyles they offer, but you can pick when you walk in. There is much more room in E&A to watch. We did a big group in Nov (7 girls & 1 boy) and they were able to take them all together (we did 4 & 4 in the back section, one right after the other), but we had to book through group reservations as their computer couldn't find a time slot for that many (they gave me the number to call). It all worked out great!

Thanks for this, we will have a group of 7 as well. 3 girls 4 boys 60 days hits tomorrow, so I will be ringing shortly as I also want to get into House of Blue and for some reason you can book bigger parties online for there.

Kirsten

 

[MaxnElliesMama]

Can they do this, and be any princess? My DD is kind of over frozen, so we were gonna do BBB, but I LOVE the Elsa hairstyle and her brother is OBSESSED with Frozen and could wear his olaf get up this day!