There are many reasons to take a young child to Walt Disney World.  There is the magic and the delight that comes only from watching a very young child experience it as real.  There is the cost savings, as children under the age of three are admitted free.  And there are the extras, some designed specifically for this age group.   My favorite experience for toddlers visiting the Magic Kingdom for the first time is found at the Harmony Barber Shop.  It is the First Haircut and it is great experience for a remarkably low price.

Less than $20 will purchase your baby’s first haircut.  This includes the haircut itself, a certificate celebrating this milestone, a sweet keepsake bag with a lock of baby’s hair and if you are lucky on a slow day….a PhotoPass Photographer to capture all the memories as part of your trip!

Here’s how it happened for us just a few short years ago…..

Harmony Barber Shop fit our daughter in for her first haircut even though we missed our scheduled appointment. Because we were late, Samantha had time to watch another little girl get her first haircut. That other girl’s mommy was sad that her last baby was getting a haircut. This helped me see the a haircut as a fun adventure for Sam, not a sad farewell.

Before Samantha’s turn, the Fairy Godmother in Training heard the parade music. She told us that Mickey Mouse will be here soon. She invited us to go see Mickey. Craig held Samantha on his shoulders for essentially a private viewing of the parade. Many of the performers blew our daughter a kiss. Over half of the street performers stopped to interact with her. They swirled flags around her, gave her confetti, bowed, blew kisses, tried to shake hands and generally made a big deal over the little princess.

After the parade, Samantha climbed into the big chair for her first haircut. With stickers, stories and swirly toys, she had her first little trim. I made a random comment about pictures and before you know it, the hostess had a photographer on the way! The wonderful lady doing our daughter’s cut slowed down the haircut to wait for the photographer to arrive. Roxanne, the photographer, was great. She caught some wonderful images of Samantha. These photos showed up in our MemoryMaker account as part of our overall PhotoPass experience.  What a wonderful extra!  The certificate and first lock cut saved in a sweet little memento bag were simply icing on the cake.