Fairy Godmother & New Enhancements Coming to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
Walt Disney World has announced new enhancements coming to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Magic Kingdom, with similar changes also rolling out to Disneyland. This offers a quick look at what’s happening, along with our commentary speculating about the why of this.
For those unfamiliar with it, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique offers magical makeovers for royalty-in-training ages 3 to 12. Fairy Godmother’s Apprentices (Cast Members) will pamper and primp your child until they look storybook stunning. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique packages offer themed costumes, plus styling and accessories that will have children ready for a royal ball or a daring adventure.
With a sensational new look and a dash of imagination, it’s an experience they’ll remember happily ever after. Costumes range from size 3 to 14, with select styles available in extended sizes ranging from 5/6P to 16/18P. All styles and sizes are subject to availability.
All of the above is the current description of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. On the official websites for both coasts, new alerts have been added to the top of the page:
“New enhancements are coming to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, including special visits from The Fairy Godmother! We will also be rolling out new, simplified package options. These updates are coming in early October.”
Here’s a video accompanying the announcement:
View this post on Instagram
The exact details of the changes have yet to be announced. One possibility is that Disney is going to find a way to raise prices, whether directly or by improving margins with cuts to existing offerings, nudging people towards more upcharges, etc. This is consistent with past precedent (charging more, offering less), and the timing around the start of the new fiscal year makes sense. This is the cynical view, and you couldn’t be faulted for this perspective.
The inveterate optimist, my gut says that this is essentially the opposite of a price increase. Walt Disney World and Disneyland typically do not lower prices, even on underperforming products. Instead, they release new packages at lower price points or make other changes to improve the value proposition when bookings are low. I don’t purport to be an expert on Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, but that’s what I think is probably happening here.
More on that in the commentary below. First, let’s take a look at the current Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique packages:
The Carriage Package – Starting at $99.95 Plus Tax
- Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique T-shirt
- Princess sash and cinch bag
- Shimmering makeup and face gem
- Choice of nail polish and hairstyle.
The Castle Package – Starting at $199.95 Plus Tax
- Disney Princess gown of your choice with additional coordinating accessories
- Princess necklace, sash and cinch bag
- Shimmering makeup and face gem
- Choice of nail polish and hairstyle.
The Deluxe Castle Package – Starting at $229.95 Plus Tax
- Deluxe Disney Princess gown of your choice, selected from a limited number of Disney Princesses
- Coordinating boxed accessory set
- Princess necklace, sash and cinch bag
- Shimmering makeup and face gem
- Choice of nail polish and hairstyle.
The Princess Signature Dress Package – Starting at $450.00 Plus Tax
- Signature Disney Princess gown created with heirloom-quality fabric and intricate design details that tell the tale of the princess
- High-quality crystal tiara
- Organza garment bag and satin hanger
- Princess necklace, sash and cinch bag
- Shimmering makeup and face gem
- Choice of nail polish and hairstyle.
The Disney Encanto Package – Starting at $179.95 Plus Tax
- Mirabel or Isabela gown with coordinating accessories
- Princess sash and cinch bag
- Shimmering makeup and face gem
- Choice of nail polish and hairstyle.
The Knight Package – Starting at $19.95 Plus Tax
- Mighty sword and shield
- Hairstyling with gel
The Deluxe Knight Package – Starting at $79.95 Plus Tax
- Knight costume
- Mighty sword and shield
- Hairstyling with gel
For reference, here’s a rundown of packages and pricing from when Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique reopened in 2022:
- The Crown Package – starting at $69.95 plus tax
- The Carriage Package – starting at $94.95 plus tax
- The Courtyard Package – starting at $144.95 plus tax
- The Castle Package – starting at $199.95 plus tax
- The Deluxe Castle Package – starting at $229.95 plus tax
- The Princess Signature Dress Collection – starting at $450.00 plus tax
- The Disney Frozen Crown Package – starting at $119.95 plus tax
- The Disney Frozen Package – starting at $179.95 plus tax
- The Knight Package – starting at $19.95 plus tax
- The Deluxe Knight Package – starting at $79.95 plus tax
As you can see, prices haven’t really gone up all that much in the last 3 years. Some have increased a bit, others not at all.
Our Commentary
I try to have wide-ranging, high-level knowledge about Walt Disney World, even things that don’t really appeal to me. But honestly, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is a complete blind spot. So the portion of this commentary that’s specific to BBB is going to be brief (by my standards).
Maybe this is simply a pure enhancement, motivated by the various entertainment, merchandising and management teams that work on Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Perhaps they had a good idea for a ‘story moment’ with the Fairy Godmother or have seen guest satisfaction scores and surveys, and want to enhance the experience. Any of this is plausible!
Personally, I’m a bit skeptical that they’d add a performer to the experience just for fun without underlying motivation, though. Entertainment isn’t cheap, and Walt Disney World is practically allergic to spending on it unless absolutely necessary. So there’s almost certainly a business justification for adding Fair Godmother.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique doesn’t seem as difficult to book as it used to be. When searching last-minute, I found available time slots in the morning, afternoon, and evening. It seems that there’s frequently pop-up and walk-up availability, too. It was my impression that this didn’t used to be the case. I seem to recall parents booking Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique 180 days out back in 2019 and earlier.
That was at a time when there were also Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique outposts at both Disney Springs and the Grand Floridian. Both of those are still listed as “Temporarily Unavailable,” and at a time when staffing shortages are no longer a material impediment to reopening shuttered venues.
It stands to reason that if Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique were still a high-demand, license to print money, Walt Disney World would’ve reopened those locations. It also stands to reason that prices would’ve increased more during the pent-up demand period were that true.
Even without specialized expertise or knowledge of Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, I think it’s fair to look at bigger picture trends at Walt Disney World, apply those here, and surmise that Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique probably isn’t as popular as it once was. Why is that?!
One theory is that this kind of experience has fallen out of favor.
Not necessarily with the Disney faithful, but with the park-going public as a whole. I don’t really want to open this can of worms too far, but I can say that Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique doesn’t appeal to me in the least–even as the father to a little girl who has a burgeoning princess interest.
For a number of reasons, I’d rather just buy a trunk of princess dresses on Amazon (4 for $35!) and be done with it. But it’s not just about the cost, honestly, because we’d find a way to justify BBB if it were really important to us. It isn’t. I don’t want to extrapolate too much from my own preferences, but I wonder if this line of thinking is becoming more common.
One thing that we absolutely know is more common is demographics shifts. Adults without children make an ever-increasing slice of the pie at Walt Disney World. It’s fairly undeniable that Childless Disney Adults are a huge growth opportunity for Walt Disney World.
Otherwise known as DINKs in the real world, this demographic has disposable income to blow on food & beverage, merchandise, and more. This growing demographic is underserved currently, which explains why Walt Disney World just opened GEO-82 and the Beak & Barrel Bar. It also explains why both are insanely popular at a time when ADR demand is on the decline.
This upsets some families with small children, but I’m not really sure why. America has an aging population with a declining fertility rate. It is critically important for the future viability of Walt Disney World that it aims at childless audiences. That’s just a practical reality–an ‘it is what it is’ kind of thing. Even in the here and now, fewer families are visiting Walt Disney World, and more Childless Disney Adults are visiting. Obviously, the latter has no use for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Another potential explanation revolves around overall vacation costs. This is a topic we’ve discussed at length, from multiple angles. A multifaceted one with Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique could be that the cost of this plus Cinderella’s Royal Table (the obvious one-two punch) is just too much for most families. This is exacerbated by the realities of Florida weather ~9 months of the year, when it just doesn’t make sense to get made-over. Why spend so much money on BBB at the expense of something else?
None of that is nothing new, but it has been amplified in the last few years. One more recent development that we’ve heard from countless travel agents and third party ticket sellers is that the average duration of visit to Walt Disney World is on the decline. That basically, many guests are feeling squeezed, and as opposed to not visiting at all, they are spending fewer days in the parks. I’ve seen enough evidence of this theory to believe there’s truth to it.
If people are spending fewer days in the park, that time becomes more valuable. Guests are less inclined to spend it on things like table service restaurants and experiences like Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Now, maybe these guests weren’t the target demo for BBB in the first place, but at least some of them were doing it.
Speaking of table service restaurants, another thing we’ve discussed at length is the reallocation of vacation budgets.
Another reason ADR demand is down is the monetization of FastPass via the various Lightning Lane tiers. What was once free is now paid, and is a “non-negotiable” add-on for many Walt Disney World guests. It shouldn’t be, but it is. Most people don’t have bottomless vacation budgets, and expenses incurred on a new product offering result in cutting something else. This means that discretionary spending gets cut, disproportionately impacting things like table service dining or Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
If this were a thesis about the downstream effects of Lightning Lanes, it’d be a lot longer. Suffice to say, I strongly suspect that the monetization of FastPass has had untold negative ramifications for huge elements of Walt Disney World’s ~2019 business model. Frankly, it’s to the point where a return of free FastPass during the next economic downturn would not surprise me in the least. But that’s another topic for another day.
The bottom line here is that Lightning Lanes being a “non-negotiable” for many guests has probably reduced guests’ propensity to purchase the Park Hopper add-on, Disney Dining Plan, Enchanting Extras, and other bells and whistles. Among those things: Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.
Anyway, all just theories I’m throwing at the wall to see what sticks. But I think at least 1-2 of these are right on the money, which is why I believe Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique won’t be charging more money when these changes hit in October 2025.
Assuming I’m right, this could mean positive changes for other things “we” care about. As for what could be next, perhaps counter service breakfast and lunch at Be Our Guest as well as a return of the Beast meet & greet. Who knows, maybe other entries from our list of the Big ‘Little Things’ Walt Disney World Needs to Bring Back!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Are you excited for the Fairy Godmother and other enhancements coming to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique later this year? Why do you think these changes are happening? Simply to improve the guest experience, with no deeper rationale? Or is there a business justification? Think we’re wrong and these changes will actually be accompanied by massive price increases? Or has BBB seen its popularity fade, and is in need of a refresh? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Just fyi, Im 67 and will be visiting in 2 weeks. I would LOVE to have my picture taken with the Fairy Godmother!
I miss the Pirate makeover that used to be next to Pirates of the Caribbean. It was fun to have options that were less rigidly gender-stereotyped and enjoyable for slightly older children and even parents. Or — as in one of my favorite WDW memories — if you came during October, you could get the off-book Siren makeover, a “scary” alternative to the Mermaid. I would 100% pay to do that again! And I’m pretty sure on my next adult-only WDW trip, my group of friends would all join in.
Our daughter is almost 12, and I can say that I may be the type of person you referred to briefly, Tom, for whom this type of experience has fallen out of favor (or perhaps more accurately, I never favored this type of experience). I completely understand folks who take the perspective of “there’s nothing wrong with some pampering and having a time to be the center of attention,” and I’m glad this is something they have enjoyed! As a family, we have worked really hard to downplay anything that is focused on physical appearance, and we have deliberately searched out storylines in books and movies that have strong female leads and no Prince Charming (e.g., Ada Twist, Ramona Quimbly, Merida, Moana, Coraline). Do I think that watching Cinderella or having a special experience and dressing as Cinderella is somehow “bad” for children? Of course not! This is just a personal choice we made in our family.
Disney may also be losing the generational loyalty of the Walt Disney brand from the grandparent age demo who sometimes is quite willing to pay for special events like these.
You are off on this, Tom. 100% of the problem is the stale offerings. They have had the same 3 hairstyles forever. No option for anything different. My 9 yr old daughter loves it and wants to go every time, but after 4 times in the last 3 years, I don’t want to pay for the same exact makeover. I didn’t know about these 3rd party options, but we will definitely do that next time. Also, a trunk of cheap costumes from Amazon is not the same thing at all. It may be fine for a toddler, but that age won’t appreciate the full experience anyway. This is not about dressing up. It’s about a special experience for your little girl where she becomes the center of attention. They eat it up. If Disney updated the experience, made it more bookings would increase.
You raise a good point, but there’s no way staleness is 100% of the problem.
At least some percentage of guests, probably a majority, are first-timers to BBB. To them, everything is brand-new. Still, repeat guests like you do constitute a big demo for BBB, and if you view it as stale, so too do others like you.
Based on yours and other comments, it would appear that the issues are multifaceted.
I think it is not as hard to get anymore because more people are booking the people who come to their rooms. You don’t need to use up valuable park time (we used to do it on our rest day at DS) and also there are more choices and better styles by the people who come to your room. These people only started offering their services during the Covid closures.
From what I’ve seen, many if not most of the third party folks offering the in room services on the various FB groups (Ear for Each Other, etc) are ex-BBB cast members who were part of the mass COVID layoffs during closures. That’s why these services really only started proliferating during the reopening. Only a few are just regular cosmetologists or aestheticians. Most were forced to pivot to indie work after the layoffs and are probably doing better than they were as CMs.
I’m a mom of four daughters and we’ve done BBB a handful of times of both coasts. My opinion is there are multiple factors at play here. One is that there haven’t been any recent Disney princess movies that have been popular. After Frozen came out and every little girl wanted to be Elsa, there was a Frozen boutique in Downtown Disney that was really popular where kids could get Anna or Elsa hairdos. A popular movie like that with more hairstyle options (Merida anyone?? Mulan? Hairstyles that actually match the Disney Princesses??) might help. Also, price is a huge pain point, especially if you have multiple kids that are interested in doing it. I believe they’d also do well to have and advertise options for kids with sensory sensitivities!
I think paid LL is the culprit with reduced demand for any long-duration in-park experience like BBB or ADRs. If you are paying for LL, you want to get your money’s worth, so you need to be using them and booking more all day. This goes double if you take a midday nap/break (which with many little kids isn’t negotiable, especially if you also want to see nighttime entertainment). For our family, we’ve decided that we will do either ADRs/BBB or LL on a given park day. I miss free LL where you could get 2 or 3 in the morning and then round out a day with some entertainment and a nice sit down meal.
We’ve been waiting for BBB until our younger daughter turns 3 so our girls can do it together. I hope they don’t raise prices or cheapen the experience too much. If they can offer the Story Play dresses with the makeover, that would be a big improvement in summertime imo. Those dresses are so nice, and so hard to find anywhere other then Sir Mickey’s (Megatron needs one of she doesn’t already have it).
As a feminist mom of two independent girls, BBB also never appealed to me and I would’ve have never floated the option to my girls as I would have seen it as taking precious park time away from other experiences.
That is, until we went on our first Disney cruise this summer lol.
At 9 and 11 yrs old, they still love costumes and imaginary play – so I told them about BBB (knowing we’d have plenty of time for things like this on a 5-night cruise) and to my surprise, they LOVED the idea. Neither wanted the frilly BBB dresses, so we brought along more grown up/“Disney bounding” style options (that they have since reworn as party dresses) for them and their 10-year old cousin. The actual experience was fantastic – far better than I could have hoped. The fairy godmothers are so lovely, they really made all the girls feel special by talking to them about their interests – I was reassured to hear no sexist tropes, just a lot of attention and pampering.
I still wouldn’t want do BBB on a park day (though I’m sure I’d cave if I had a kid that really wanted that). But I now have a much more favorable opinion on it, including for tween girls who are just starting to get into hair, make up and nail polish.
“Obviously, the latter has no use for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique”…. I actually know ladies in their 40s, 50s and 60s that think it’d be fun to have the “princess treatment”. And that could be a special crown. getting a facial and makeup done, maybe a cocktail or who knows what. I think Disney should consider more offerings for “dinks” where they aren’t violating their rule to dress up as princesses themselves but adult ladies like to have some fun and feel like a princess once in a while!
They used to allow adults. My sister did it once. She was in her 20s and it was fun for the whole family. I think they must not have had knight packages back then because my son just watched. Though he was just as excited for her. They stopped allowing adults a couple years later. No idea why but I guarantee if they brought it back there would be interest.
Completely second this. If there was an option for me to pay and be treated like royalty and allowed to wear a princess gown, I’d totally do it. I know that it conflicts with their costume policy for the parks, though – Disney does not want adults in character costumes because the general public does not know they aren’t cast members. But there’s still ways around that if it’s not a full costume experience (like what you said where you get a unique crown + Tshirt), or if it’s a limited duration experience (like a 2 hour VIP-like tour with other paying princesses where you go on Fantasyland rides.)
For a brief time before COVID adult princess makeovers were done at the Grand Floridian salon, though it was called Character Couture and it wasn’t just princesses, you could get makeovers inspired by any character. It’s always baffled me that it never returned, especially with the popularity of Disneybounding.
Oh Tom, please look into the Little Adventure dresses for Megatron. They are SO much more comfortable and washable. If you buy them a little large they will be longer and she will be able to wear them for long time.
I second this. Megatron will fit the size 2 twirl dresses now.
The Disney Story Play dresses are also fantastic, but hard to find outside of Sir Mickey’s (or the Disneyland equivalent, probably).
Your logic makes sense… that budget allocation and a more adult customer profile both impact BBB demand. I think there may be another reason too… the kids are not watching movies and playing princess pretend in their free time. There are a lot of other online options that capture the same audience and sports/other activities also start younger and younger. Disney probably needs to stop assuming that kids need to adjust what they want to align what Disney offers. That said, I miss my child’s princess days and hope you enjoy your upcoming introduction to how glitter makes everything better!
We went to WDW in mid-May 2025, and I had SUCH a difficult time getting two appointments for my children (8 year old son Knight Package, 4 year old daughter Carriage Package) at the very start of the booking window. Kept checking back, finally got two 11am appointments. We brought our daughter’s Cinderella dress with us, which was helpful with cost. As expensive as it was, I do think it was worth it for my kids. They both felt very special during the experience, and my husband and I loved seeing them so happy. We did photos at Sir Mickey’s next door. We typically go to WDW every 2-3 years, so it is likely a one and done experience for our kids. Part of how we budgeted for this was forgoing LLs for 2 out of 3 park days (also no Park Hopping, no Dining Plan, no Photo Pass, stayed at Value Resort). I would totally do it again if the kids wanted to, it was a special memory for our whole family. I do wish that BBB in DS was still open though, as we would’ve preferred to do the experience on a non-park day. But going inside part of the castle was really neat!
My daughter did the full BBB experience a couple years ago and she loved it. And a few months ago we were walking by it in Fantasyland and a CM was outside trying to get people to sign up, they were VERY open for same-day reservations for all the different packages. It’s clear demand has fallen greatly and it’s mostly the cost and the changing demographics.
Meanwhile, I’ve got multiple alerts for a BBB spot and haven’t had any luck! It’s impossible to book!
dad of two girls here, they never had an interest in BBB. I think the reality is that the offerings themselves are stale, just like the movies they come from. They’re dated, and pack a meh factor.
Fewer young kids are about being princesses, and instead being the independent fighter/hero type. The general theming of movies since Frozen has instilled “falling in love is not necessary to be happy” motif. Which is totally fine by me, as we should all be seeking our happiness from within, not within others.
But back to the point, Disney is leaning on an old rotting crutch in this field, fewer and fewer kids know who Snow White and Cinderella are, and even Belle. The idea of being a “pampered princess” dies quickly in a dystopian society.
Hmm, this post gives me such mixed feelings with its claim that happiness should be found within & not with others. On the one hand, I myself am an avowed celibate (not an incel, mind you, but I chose that lifestyle on purpose), so I do think people can be happy without spouses & sex. On the other hand, these pro-family groups like PRI-POP keep hounding me with e-mails about how more kids are needed because of graying populations without enough new lives to take care of the oldsters. And I also have a side that’s a hopeless romantic (for other people, not for me) & I read a lot of romance novels & fight tooth & nail for my TV show & movie “ships”, even writing protest letters to producers if they dare to break a fave couple up.
Little girls absolutely know who Cinderella and Snow White are! You see tons of little girls dressed as them in the parks and wearing their merchandise. They are also heavily featured in parades and shows.
Just because a film came out in the 30s or the 50s doesn’t mean it can’t be loved today.
Obviously every girl doesn’t love princesses and dress up, but haven’t you walked through the hallways of an elementary school? Or around your local Target? Or looked around the parks? Disney princesses are still plenty popular – the merch is literally everywhere. Calling Disney’s princess IP a “rotting crutch” is both kind of sad (love stories aren’t a bad thing and all of the princesses have admirable traits…kindness is currently very underrated) and feels a tad negative toward all the people that do enjoy it.
Where are you seeing all of these reservations readily available? If I don’t book 64 days out there is NOTHING! Last minute cancellations open up but not during peak times. I do see there are a handful for this week (September 7, 9 and 12) but that’s it.
I was down last week and saw sandwich board signs advertising BBB walk ups outside Sir Mickey’s on multiple MK visits. That’s not an isolated shoulder season thing either from my experience lately.
I think there is one more reason for declining popularity of BBB – there are other options available now. Since the Ear for Each Other group was established during COVID, the number of third party makeover artists who will come to your hotel room has grown significantly – some of them are insanely talented and will do all characters, not just princesses. The six year old girl we are taking to Disney for the first time wants to be Stitch so not interested in BBB but we will absolutely book an in room makeover for her to be Stitch!
Yes, I was going to say this as well! My niece is like me in that she definitely wants the “official” Disney experience for all things so she does BBB, but if that’s not an issue I think the informal services sometimes offer more elaborate experiences, like having tea with your “princess”. Not to mention, the local “princess party” and / or girl’s spa experiences has grown so much that many littles have probably already done something similar at a birthday party, local library, etc. (My son is super into trains and Disney princesses even ride the rails these days, there’s sometimes a “princess train ride” option.) I remember about five years ago I knew a woman who hired “Ariel” for her daughter’s pool party and thinking that was so cool and unique. Just a few years later, I feel like every community outing has an obligatory princess and it’s kinda over saturated now.
The other thing is that kids really do seem to grow up faster these days! The princess age gets younger and younger, by 9 or 10 I keep hearing about how girls are doing skincare routines from Sephora because that’s what they see on social media, and even girls into more “kid” stuff have moved on to Descendants and Wicked.