Lowering Your Ears At The Magic Kingdom

Main Street, U.S.A. boasts many storefronts and little touches that make it look like a small town in early 20th century America. And many details are easy to miss. When you enter the park and pass under the train station, stick to the left a bit. Just to the left of them Emporium, you'll see a little door tucked away a bit with the unmistakable candy stripe barber pole outside. But this is no mock-up or false front... it's a real barbershop complete with talented folk to cut your hair (or even all your hairs!)

Although they will cut the hair of any park patron, young or old... one of the most special things they do is a child's first haircut. Taking advantage of this requires some foresight and planning on your part, but it is well worth it. The cut is less than $20 with tip, and it includes stickers, the haircut, a lock of your child's hair saved for you, a certificate, and coolest of all... a pair of classic Mickey Ears with "First Haircut" stitched on the back.

Before and After. This young man was 15 months old.

Both of our children had the opportunity to do this. The cast members there are fabulous and patient with young children. They are careful and meticulous, yet they don't keep you there forever. Generally, it takes about twenty minutes per head and there are two chairs. So if you end up in the line that stretches out the door, you can count customers ahead of you as approximately ten minutes each. A few more tips:

• Try to go first thing in the morning. Go straight to the shop and wait for them to open the doors.


• If you are late arriving and there is a line, go ahead and wait in it. We made the mistake of wandering off and coming back to see if the line got shorter... it never really did. You may have different luck, but we've done this three times now (our two kids, plus a friend's kid). Only once did we luck upon no line at all.


• Don't put your sleepy or irritable child in the chair. Although these guys are good, try to give them something other than a mass of grumpiness to work with. And yes, this is from personal experience.


• BRING A CAMERA and roll film! You won't want to forget this.

Before and After. She was 18 months old.

If you are new parent and are like me... clueless about when your infant will end up needing that first cut, well... who knows? You might have a little Suri Cruise who needs a trim about two hours after birth, or you may have a little Lex Luthor who doesn't even grow any hair until he's well past eighteen months old. Best guesses are about the only way to go on this. One year seems to be the trend among my friends' babies, give or take a month or six. I chose to err on the side of caution with my first child and set the trip for just after she turned eighteen months. We used a lot of barrettes for about six months!

If you have an older child (or you sit in the chair yourself), they will conclude the cut with a dash of pixie dust. Unfortunately, they can't do this for a first cut because it's a bit of a choking hazard. If you ask nicely, they might pixie you instead!

Do you have experiences with the Main Street Barber Shop to share? Please leave us your experience in the comments!