On our recent Walt Disney World vacation, there were two things my daughter wanted to do – meet Tinker Bell and go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique {affectionately nicknamed “the BBB” by my family.}  After seeing the BBB on the Travel Channel, like any bright-eyed, Disney princess/fairy loving five-year-old, my daughter could not stop talking about it and how amazing it was going to be when she went there.

I knew reservations for the BBB needed to be made well in advance, but we had just booked our trip and it was already two months away.  I googled the BBB, got the number, called, made my reservation, miraculously got the date and time I wanted, confirmed my reservation and hung up the phone.  I walked away from the computer, made dinner and came back to shut it down.  That’s when I noticed the word DISNEYLAND in the top left-hand corner.

Fudgecicles.  I had made the reservation, not only at the wrong park, but in the wrong state.  I then called DISNEY WORLD where I was promptly told they were booked for the entire week we were there, in both locations.  She kindly told me to keep checking because there are cancellations.  I was now hoping Ella would forget all about it.  She didn’t.  In fact, she thought she had a reservation.

We did check back to no avail, but on our second day at Magic Kingdom, Daddy, apparently inspired by the magic of Disney, went and made some magic of his own.   He told the Fairy Godmother {she’s like a Bouncer} at the entrance of the BBB the story of how Ella’s mom had the googling skills of a two-year old, and what an awful mistake she had made.

The Fairy Godmother did what Fairy Godmother’s do, and low and behold, she got Ella into the BBB immediately, and then told me she felt so bad for Ella, she would’ve involved the manager if she had to.  I believe I may have shed a few tears of joy.

Here’s Ella’s rendition of the experience {she’s been begging to write a blog, so here’s her chance}:

When I first saw the BBB on TV, I thought it was super cool and I thought it would make you look really pretty.  So, that’s why I wanted to go there. 

When I first saw the BBB at Magic Kingdom, I thought it was kind of weird because I thought why are there so much girls here?  When I was sitting waiting, I was too excited.

It got to be my turn and I thought “Hey, what are they gonna do?”  My Fairy Godmother made me feel special.  She asked me what kind of style for my hair.  I picked a bun because I wanted to look like Tinker Bell.  And I liked the one that everyone had.  Some girls had different hair styles and it was gigantic, like two buns stuck together.  It looked kinda crazy.  I didn’t pick that one.

She put gel in my hair.  She put a crown in my hair then she asked me to pick my nail polish.  I picked pink nail polish because I like pink.  My nails looked nice.  Next she asked me to pick my make-up out.  I picked greenish bluish and pink eye shadows, and red lipstick.  I picked those colors because my Fairy Godmother said it would look like Tinker Bell.

When I was done, she gave me all the stuff that I used and she gave me blue nail polish, too.  She sprinkled my head with pixie dust and made my wishes come true.  Then she let me go.  I got a t-shirt when I left.  I was so excited I wanted to go back again!

The truth is she was so excited she bounced around for the rest of the night.  We headed to Space Mountain and since the wait time was only “20 minutes” the adults decided to go for a ride.  An hour and a half later, we emerged to find Ella and Nana.

The new “BBB made over Ella” passed the time by entertaining the elderly and the scaredy cats who were waiting for their peeps to get off Space Mountain.  Never under-estimate the power of a make-over, no matter how old you are.

The reality is girls like to feel pretty and a simple makeover can do wonders for your self-esteem.  Whether you enjoy turning into a fairy {or a princess} with the help of a Fairy Godmother, or your ambitions are less adventurous, say, changing the color of your lipstick, change is good.  And there’s nothing like seeing the world through the eyes of a made-over five-year-old who felt like she was the most special girl in the kingdom.