Which Special Extra To Do with 4 year old?

[Tinker326]

Hi,

I'm new to the Dis Boards and was hoping I could get some opinions from people who have participated in some of the extras that Disney offers. I want to suprise my 4 year old DD with one. Since we are meeting other family, we'll only really have time for one of these treats.

I'm considering the Alice in Wonderland Tea Party, A Hair-Do/Nail package at the new boutique in Downtown Disney or the Family Magic Tour (least I think that's what it's called).

A little background on my DD- she is very girly girl. Loves princesses and dressing up. In fact she told me once that if she could not change into her Cinderella dress right away she would NOT be beautiful and might just die. (Yes, she's a tad overdramatic too!). She is, after all, a princess...

She loves the movie Alice & Wonderland. She Loves getting her hair done. (but could I get away with getting some glitter in hair at the Harmony Barber Shop for $5 instead?) And she Loves the characters that usually show up at the end of the family tour (but would she get bored with the Treasure Hunt theme?). So what to choose?

If anyone has done any of these activities with a similiarly minded 4 year old, I would appreciate your opinion or thoughts on what I should book!

Thank you so much for any help!

 

[LuvOrlando]

My little girly girl DD7 just LOVES the tea party. I've been taking her there as an extra treat every year since she was 4 and she still requests it every year. To be fair The Bibbity Bobbity Boutique wasn't there this past Feb for our last trip so I can't do a comparison for you but you, and your girl, won't be disappointed if you choose the tea party. We usually schedule a MK visit for the day of the Tea Party and hop on the monorail for the Floridian in time for Alice & the Mad Hatter. We usually make it back to MK in time for the Parade.

The girls all collect in the alcove to the right of the Floridian Check-in desk and make friends (so do Mommy's) right before they go in. You'll get a beeper and she'll get a name tag and then they'll show you all in to the beautifully decorated table, then wave good-bye because they'll shoo you out, kids only.

According to DD Alice & the Hatter come in to play awhile. They play hide & seek in the restaurant and tell corny jokes and leave. Then the kids decorate their own cupcakes for lunch using fingers to spread the frosting instead of knives. They have apple juice in smartie candy tea cups and then eat dessert (opposites) which is a choice of sandwich being PB&J, Ham, Cheese or Turkey.

I always send a cheap disposable camera with my kids because the cast members always catch good pictures for me to see when I get home and develop the film. Of course the kids take cute pictures too which are usually slanted or missing the head


Have fun but book ASAP

PS-The Pirate cruise is awsome too but I'd stick with the Tea Party at her age.

 

[lady_hlh]

I showed pictures of Bibbidi Bobbidi from this thread to my princess obsessed super girly 4 year old DD and she is so excited to go there on our next trip. I booked the cheapest package because she likes to peel off nail polish and found a Tinkerbell costume on sale that we can take with us. We haven't tried the tea party which does sound like fun but my DD isn't a huge Alice fan.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1070501

 

[sara74]

We haven't been to the Tea Party, but I would have to place a BIG vote for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!!!!! It was wonderful!!!! our DD4 loved it and loved the attention that she got for the rest of the day after being there. We had the first appt of the day 9:30 and then she beamed for the rest of the day as people called her princess, smiled and pointed at her and one CM asked for her autograph! We did the hair and nail package and brought an Aurora dress from home (Target) rather than pay so much for the Disney dress that I might freak out if she ripped it. It was a wonderful time and money very well spent!!!

These are just a few of the photos we have of DD's makeover!!! It was so wonderful!

 

[golden1]

If you want to spend the $$$ you could try the Perfectly Princess Tea Party. Since my daughter's name is Aurora I sprung for this one. It is a special tea party with Princess Aurora.

 

[Tinker326]

Thank you all for the advice!

After seeing those adorable pictures from the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, I want to go myself! Can I ask where you got the professional picture from? Was that part of the package or did you book something extra? Those pictures are beautiful! If we did that, we would probably just bring one of our many princess dresses from home too!

It sounds like DD would like the Alice tea party too. She really does like Alice & enjoys putting on her own 'tea parties' for her dolls & sister. The idea about sending a disposable camera is a great idea. I know I'd get a lot of lopsided pics of the table, but they would be SO cute! I'm a huge scrapper so I can already envision the scrap page.

What to do? What to do? Maybe just break down and book both!

 

[tbthomps]

I loved your pictures....you daughter is beautiful.

I look forward to taking my daughter there in the fall.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Tinker I'm with you. Those pictures look so nice I think I'll be doing both for DD next trip Sara, your princess is just beautiful.

 

[sara74]

Aww, thanks guys! I think so but I'm sort of biased!

After the makeover, we were sent to another store - I can't remember the name but it is close to the entrance of DTD and it has art things in it. There they had a little studio set up and took a bunch of pictures. They put them all on the photopass card. If you had the more expensive package with the costume included they also gave you some prints. We didn't do that as we had planned on getting the photopass CD at the end of our trip. I'd say they took a good 20 pictures of DD and they were so good to her! It added to the overall experience quite a bit!

When we return to WDW this is a MUST for us! It was such a great experience!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tinker326]

With how great those photos came out, I expected you to say you paid quite a bit for the photo session. So YHEA for photopass!!! I know I already plan on using photopass and buying the CD at the end of the trip! So this is kinda like a 'freebie' photo session in my eyes!

I'm most definitly going to book this package. You all have completely convinced me! DD is going to love it!

Thanks Again-

 

[slbeaute]

I vote for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique! Our DD3 (almost 4) loved this. They sent a brochure to us with one of our confirmations or something before our trip. DD wanted to do it right away and even had her hair do picked out before we left. They really spent time with her and made her feel special. We did bring our own dress and let her wear it to her appointment. She got a sash at the end of her appointment that she continued to wear even after the princess dress came off. She got a lot of attention and sweet comments at the park later that day.

The tea party sounds great too, but, if your DD is like mine, she wouldn't go for leaving Mommy behind. She's just not ready for that yet, still very attached. I would make sure your DD is OK with leaving you behind before booking the tea party. There are so many places to see characters that I wouldn't book the tour just for that part. If you check the special flyer when you come into each park, they will list times and locations of characters for that day. There were a few surprises too! Have fun on your trip!

 

[ainmama2001]

Just so you know, pricing is

$200 for the Tea Party
$175 for the FULL treatment at the BBB.

 

[Grandmouse]

$200 is for the tea party with Aurora. The Wonderland Tea Party with Alice and the Mad Hatter is only about $30. Both are at the Grand Floridian.

 

[slbeaute]

WE did the $45 package at Bibbidi Bobbidi which included hair, makeup, and nails painted (they gave us the fake ones - DD too small for them). There is also a $35 package that is without the nails. The hair, makeup, and nails are the exactly the same ones as the FULL package. Since she was already dressed, DD didn't notice any difference between her and those with the FULL package. They must do the extra pictures somewhere else because we didn't see any that had picked a dress getting their pictures done. There was a photopass person there that took pictures of DD during her whole transformation when we were there. Also, they give a 10% discount if you have an AP. Hope that helps!

 

[LuvOrlando]

SLbeaute has an excellent point about separation anxiety. When my DD went at 4 my DS was only 5 and young enough to coax into a mostly girl event so they were together. I'm not sure DD would have gone in alone but then again, the fact that everyone waits & makes friends in the lounge area might make the little ones feel safer. Every child is different, some are absolutely fearless almost from birth and others grow slowly into their independence...my girl was a slow grower. Of course, you can always promise, like I do, to stay right in the Floridian's beautiful lobby in case needed. The Grand Floridian Cafe is right there for a rest and a cup of tea while the shops are just above you on the second floor.


I have a quick question for Sara74, did DD's hair stay up all day?

 

[sara74]

DD's hair lasted as she did!! Actually, it lasted through a nap on the bus, AND through several trips down the waterslide at the CBR's pool.

There were so many bobby pins in there, there was a hair net over the bun to hold in stray strands and then there was more hairspray than a Poison concert in the 80's (oops, did I reveal my roots there! )

We didn't go to the parks that day, but I have every confidence that DD's hair would have held up well.

 

[slo]

We haven't been to the Tea Party, but I would have to place a BIG vote for the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique!!!!! It was wonderful!!!! our DD4 loved it and loved the attention that she got for the rest of the day after being there. We had the first appt of the day 9:30 and then she beamed for the rest of the day as people called her princess, smiled and pointed at her and one CM asked for her autograph! We did the hair and nail package and brought an Aurora dress from home (Target) rather than pay so much for the Disney dress that I might freak out if she ripped it. It was a wonderful time and money very well spent!!!

These are just a few of the photos we have of DD's makeover!!! It was so wonderful!

Those pictures are beautiful!!!! She really does look like a little princess I am taking my 8 year old DD to the BBB Salon this September, but we are doing the least expensive package. Her appointment is in the late afternoon and I didn't want to pay all that expense for her to only be dressed up for a couple of hours.


Back to the original topic
A fun thing for a 4 year old would be the Great Adventures in Cooking. This is wear the photo in my siggie was taken at. The kids decorate their own apron and hat, and then they decorate cookies and serve them to their parents. You do have to leave them alone for this activity, and the CM's will give you a pager in case you need to come right away. This was a very fun activity, my DD wants to do it again!!!

 

[Tinker326]

I just booked the $35 package. I think my DD is just going to love it, so thank you all for your helpful hints! I'm going to suprise her with it & so I'll have to sneak a princess dress into our suitcase which will be hard since she's always there supervising my activities. I booked an early appointment so DD can walk around all day...

I also think I'm going to make room in our schedule for the Alice Tea Party. The cooking adventure sounds fun too, as she does like to cook (more than me, I think!)- but in her current princess phase, I think she would enjoy Alice more. She will be fine away from me... Her first day of preschool, she walked in her classroom and never looked back. I was way more upset than she was! She's been little Ms. Independant since birth....

 

[diselderm]

If anyone else wanted to consider it, the perfectly princess tea party is one where mom (or whoever) can come along. That worked well for us since my dd would not have stayed by herself for the Mad Hatter tea party.

It was very special and they each get a doll dressed as Aurora and another surprise in their napkin. Each girl is crowned as she enters and has her own special seat w/her name there.

Though it is very pricey, it was a really neat thing for my dd and I to do together--and lots of great photo opportunities!

 

[larklynn]

My dd has done the cooking adventure
alice in wonderland tea party
my disney girl perfectly princess tea party (with dd and dniece)
pirate cruise(dd,dn,ds)
and albtross cruise (I have 2 sons)
She loved cooking adventure and princess tea party
She liked the alice tea party but the mad hatter freaked her out a bit
She liked the albtross cruise better then the pirate cruise because she said it had more detail. My oldest son has done all but the princess tea party so she would not have to go alone and really enjoyed them. My younger son was to little for most of thes and just went on the albtross cruise last trip at 5

Im looking foward to her trying the bbb.