It's only been a few months since some fellow moms and I headed to Walt Disney World (WDW) for Character Couture makeovers: special character-themed salon treatments available at Senses Spa locations around WDW property.
My 8-year-old daughter's first question when she saw photos of my adult princess makeover was, "When can you and I go and do that?"
In my earlier interview with Joseph Motowidlak, the guest services manager at Senses Spa, I learned the makeovers were originally created with Halloween in mind. So, I was quick to suggest we plan a Disney-inspired family costume and head back to the spa together.
Motowidlak explained that Senses Spa launched the makeovers in October 2017 to complement the seasonal event "Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party." The services were so popular that they became a year-round offering. With Mickey's Halloween festivities kicking off their 2018 season, it seemed the perfect time to check out how a Character Couture makeover could add Disney magic to our Halloween party experience.
"We saw that our guests were coming up with outfits and entire ensembles inspired by Disney characters," said Motowidlak. "We really saw a need for some kind of transformative makeover experience for people of all ages — something customized to allow guests to really enjoy their day on our property."
After a bit of Amazon shopping, I had assembled a Peter Pan-themed family costume for my people to wear to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party: My husband and I would be Wendy and John Darling, my daughter Tinker Bell and my son Peter Pan. We were all set to enjoy a spooky night at the Magic Kingdom and couldn't wait to enhance our experience with a makeover.
Depending on the client's age and the services requested, Character Couture prices range from $50-$120. My husband and 10-year-old son would just need a few special accents applied with makeup, but my daughter and I were in the mood to be pampered and pixie dusted. I booked appointments for my entire family at La Vida Health Club — a salon at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort.
Our experience with Character Couture this time around was just as magical as the first — perhaps more so because of how much my kids enjoyed themselves. My daughter ended up with the perfect green glitter makeup, my son received amazing Peter Pan eyebrows and my husband cringed only a little about wearing "guy-liner," but thought his John Darling freckles made his pajamas and top hat costume much more believable. He's a good sport. (See: Romphim)
My stylist nailed the Wendy Darling hairstyle — I loved it so much, I even sent photos to my stylist at home, letting her know I may ask her to re-create it some time in the future.
After getting the full fairy godmother treatment by our salon team, we headed to the Magic Kingdom for the Halloween party and, in my humble opinion, my family had the most amazing costumes there.
"I feel like a celebrity," my daughter whispered to me as we walked through the Halloween-decorated streets of the park. "Everyone keeps staring at me because I look so much like Tinker Bell."
As the night went on, we received compliments on our looks all throughout the park. A "ghost" performer at the Haunted Mansion even stopped her performance to tell us how great we looked.
"Hello Peter Pan, Wendy, Tinker Bell, John," the spooky character said mid-monologue. "You all look wonderful."
When your costume is realistic enough to impress the dead, I'd say you've achieved Halloween party success — pixie dust and all.