BBB/Pirates League questions

[KyGirl]

We are taking our four year old DD to WDW in January so I'm coming up on my 180 day mark next week. Because she loves princesses and is four (which sounds like the sweet spot for it) I assumed that I'd be making a reservation for the BBB. I've been talking to her about it though and she says she doesn't want to do it. This doesn't break my heart. I'm not a girly girl myself so makeup and hairspray hold zero appeal for me. But if she wants it, I want her to get the whole Disney princess experience. I don't want my preferences to keep her from what she wants! Anyway, now she's saying that she wants to do the pirate dress up thing (the Pirates League?) instead. I'm totally fine with that too. I think it looks pretty cool and just as "special" of an experience.

The problem though, is that she's a four year old! Her whims change daily! So I was perfectly happy to book the Pirate thing and move on but I'd hate for her to change her mind when it's too late for me to get a booking at BBB. I was thinking of booking both of them and then cancelling one, not at the last minute but maybe a week before or something when she can really grasp that it's her last chance to make the decision.

So, with that, some questions.
1. Is that crazy? And would they let me do it anyway?
2. Has anybody done the Pirates League with a little girl? Do they do cool makeup and stuff for them? And would it still be a fun interactive experience? Any other little girls preferred it to BBB?
3. This is an important one! Do they also have photopass photographers at the pirate league? That was one thing I was looking forward to at BBB.
4. When you are going to do BBB or PL do you usually do it towards the beginning of your week or the end? I'd like to do it our first park day, get it over with, and move on but I wonder if it would be better to save it as something to look forward to. I know we'll be seeing pirates and princesses on the rest of our trip so I don't know if that will make her wish she'd saved her turn. Our last days always feel kind of hectic trying to finish up so I thought we'd relax about it more at the beginning. What do you think?
5. Anything else I need to know about either experience?

Thanks so much in advance for any help!

 

[revdon64]

1. Crazy? Probably no crazier than most of us planners are. Personally I wouldn't do that, I'd make her stick with her choice. But she's your child not mine.
2. We did BBB with my daughter and PL with my son on the same day. They absolutely do girls at PL. There are some girly kind of things or she can go with the whole pirate getup.
3. Yes, they do pictures in another room after the child is done.
4. This one is pure preference. We did it mid vacation.
5. PL is significantly less expensive even when you add in accessories and a t-shirt. It also takes less time and is a bit more interactive for the child.

 

[Cynergy]

We've never done PL, but for BBB I can answer number 4 & 5.

4. We do it the day after our off day, so about half way through our week. BBB asks that they be fully bathed and have their hair washed and free of product. We find it easier to do that on the night of our off day so we aren't doing a bath after getting back late from fireworks or early in the morning, we usually do BBB pre RD. For us BBB is on our full MK day where we usually do CRT, Fantasyland and meet as many princesses as we can in her dress. We also get a few pics by the Rapunzel bathrooms since Rapunzel is her favorite and her dress of choice.

5. Buy your dress ahead of time for BBB. We have picked up the dress at the Disney store in our local mall when they were on sale/clearance. This is much more cost effective than buying at BBB.