Which girl doesn't dream about being a princess in her wonderland? As long as I can remember, Olivia has the craze from Ariel to Elsa, and this time round, she wanted to become Rapunzel. To be honest, she didn't even watch Disney's Tangled, so I am not entirely sure how she liked her.
Regardless, being the princess in the family, and since we are heading to Hong Kong for our family trip with the grandparents, and since we are going to Disneyland... and since there's this Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where they transform little girls (and boys too!) to a Disney character, I guess Olivia got her wish come true.
We stayed at the main Disneyland Hotel for two nights, and although there's the same boutique within the hotel, we decided to make an appointment for the one within Disneyland instead. It was drizzling the whole entire day (please imagine our dismay), so having somewhere to take shelter was a plus for us.
The entire process takes about an hour and consists of the following:
1. Choosing a package
For girls, there are the Crown Package (HK$980) and Castle Package (HK$2380), the latter which includes a princess dress and accessories. For boys, they do have the Eric Package (HK$680) where they can dress up as Prince Eric or Peter Pan as well. Since it's her birthday, the grandparents decided to treat her to the Castle Package. Perks with going with grandparents! You can keep everything including the dress!
Here's a tip: If you're staying with any of the Disneyland hotels, you will get a HK$100 voucher to offset the packages. It will be given to you during check-in, and even if you didn't bring the physical voucher, they can check in the system.
2. Choosing a princess
- Cinderella
- Belle
- Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)
- Rapunzel
- Tinker Bell
- Minnie Mouse
And obviously, Olivia went with..
3. Dressing up
A staff will bring the soon-to-be princess into the changing room where there is an enchanting scene of a fairy godmother making the dress with the addictive song, you guessed it, BIBBIDI BOBBIDI BOOOOO (I was still singing this one week after the trip). Everything is interactive and Olivia enjoyed it really much.
4. Hairdo and makeup
Once in her dress, Olivia was led to the main makeup area where the staff puts on the wig, do her nails and makeup. You will be given an option to addon a storybook package where they will do a photoshoot according to a story, print and ship the book to you as a "surprise" to your child. Obviously, you got to top up, if I can remember correctly it's around HK$2000.
5. Photoshoot
While Olivia is doing her photoshoot, the parents will wait at a nice waiting area. A staff will come by to show you the photos on an iPad. Most packages have one photo for free, but you could choose more to make a booklet. The price is quite hefty I must say.
6. Transformation complete!
Now that the transformation is completed, roam around Disneyland, take photos with other princesses and dazzle the passerbys!
Transforming into a princess has its price to pay, as she walked around in the drizzle, as she jumped and ran, the wig started to became loose and itchy. Within 30 minutes, Olivia gave up on becoming Rapunzel and removed the wig. I must say she looks way better with black hair.
For princess fanatics, I would say this is an experience of a lifetime. Too bad they cater only for children, because I'm pretty sure Mummy wants to transform into one as well.
