Before we decided to work on this post, we had a couple of discussions about the Harmony Barber Shop with some friends and family. These conversations usually went one of two ways: Either the people we spoke to had never heard of the barber shop and they were surprised to learn that there is actually a real, working barber shop in the Magic Kingdom, or they had heard of the shop but they assumed this experience was only for kids. Since Chaz actually ended up getting his hair cut at the barber shop last trip, we’re going to debunk two of these myths and fill you in on what our experience at the Harmony Barber Shop was like.
First things first, if you’ve never seen the Harmony Barber shop before, and are doubting its existence, chances are you’ve probably walked right by it without ever thinking twice. The shop is located right next to the Emporium closest to the park entrance, near the car barn and fire station. The exterior (and actually the interior as well) are probably smaller than most barber shops, and this smaller scale combined with the detailed exterior to fit the rest of Main Street is what probably accounts for so many guests missing it– but trust us, it’s there!
Once inside, the shop is set up with only three chairs, so the space is probably noticeably smaller than the barber shops you’re used to at home. Though we arrived only about ten minutes or so after the park opened, we had anticipated that we may need to make an appointment and come back later in the day. There were actually two open chairs when we checked in, so Chaz was able to take a seat right away.
After I snapped some photos, I took a seat in the small waiting area (basically just two walls of benches on the opposite side of the room). The entire haircut probably took about 25 minutes, which has crazy as that sounds to me (since doing anything to my hair takes hours) that is actually quite long for Chaz. He’s usually in and out at home, so this was one noticeable difference. (The other girls in the waiting area with me had commented that their men were taking a while too, so it wasn’t just our stylist. I’m not sure what kind of magic they were working to make it take longer than usual, but the finished product was great!)
The Harmony Barber Shop offers pretty standard services with the exception of the First Haircut package. Adult haircuts are offered at $19, child haircuts are $18, and the First Haircut package (which comes with commemorative ears and a certificate) is $25. Chaz pays $20 for a haircut at our local barber shop at home, so we found the $19 price tag to be quite reasonable. Our stylist did a wonderful job with Chaz’s hair, but at the end of the day the real charm of this experience comes in simply having your hair done at a Victorian barber shop on Main Street U.S.A. We also (both) had out hair pixie-dusted, which if you ask me definitely makes this the most magical haircut experience we’ve had.
The decor and overall feel of the shop really does immerse you in that Victorian era with the rest of Main Street, however one thing noticeably missing from the experience is shaving services, which we assume would have been offered in authentic Victorian barbershops. We assume the reason for omitting additional services is simply to keep up with the demand of guests throughout the day– offering only haircuts would allow the shop to accommodate more guests without rushing people out. It should also be noted that the shops do not have sinks, so while they will do a woman’s haircut it would need to be on hair that they would be able to cut dry (and that the guest would be comfortable in allowing them to do so). We lucked out in getting a chair right away at about 9:10 am, but only about ten minutes or so into Chaz’s haircut other guests were coming in needing to make appointments for later in the day. If you want to make sure you’ll be able to get your haircut here, you can always call ahead to make a reservation: (407) 939-7529.
Have you had your hair cut at the Harmony Barber Shop? We recommend it to anyone looking to put off the trip to the barber shop before their trip, and especially to families looking into the First Haircut package for their little ones!
