Frequently Asked Questions
What is a princess party? We come to you dressed to the nine’s in fun, frilly princess attire and bring games, music, art, crafts and other activities that introduce your child to music, movement, listening skills, creative development and more! In short, we create a simple, smashing success of a party that is fantastic fun for both kids and parents alike!
Are you Disney Princesses? No. We offer themed character entertainment based off of classic beloved fairy tales.
What characters do you offer? The Ice Queen & Winter Princess, Princess Sophia, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Princess Beauty, Rapunzel, Little Mermaid Princess (in fin dress or blue land dress), Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, Green Fairy Princess, Arabian Princess, Frog Princess, Ballerina Princess, Pinkalicious, Mary Poppins, Prince Character, Pirate Character.
Will you hold a date for my event? Due to our desire to give all of our clients the utmost attention and care, we don't do date holds, without a deposit being paid. We are looking forward to working with you, so just let us know when your date is firm and you're ready to book!
I don’t see anything that fits my party on your packages page? Now what? We want to help you find the perfect “glass slipper fit” for your party. Please email or call to tell us more about what you’re looking for. We are always happy to provide a customized quote based on your party specifics.
How does the flow of your visit go? Our entertainers will arrive 15 minutes prior to your desired start time to change into costume. They arrive with all the necessary materials for your chosen activities and will be fully costumed ready to enter the party right on time! We begin with a “getting to know you circle time” to break the ice and loosen up any shy guests. From there we will begin the first activity. Based on your choices – we put together a customized “glass slipper” fit based on the size of your group and party space. Our overall goal is to keep guests engaged as much as possible! So cutting down on waiting time is key. Often with two character parties you will see one princess doing sparkling makeovers while another leads a group craft and we’ll all join back up together once we’re through for the next fun activity! Our hour wraps up with about 5 minutes to take any photos you may want or to sing happy birthday etc.
How do you fit so much into only an hour? I don’t want to feel rushed. Every party is different, just as all children react differently to live entertainers. While we work on a timeline, our main goal is to create an enjoyable, energetic experience for the children. If necessary we might improvise or modify an activity to facilitate maximum enjoyment and comfort. In other words, we go with the flow. We also kept this in mind when structuring our packages which is why you will notice there are maximums on the amount of children per package. If your party exceeds these numbers we require an additional performer or may direct you to the next package up. By keeping our child to performer ratios low – we are able to ensure that every child feels they’ve spent adequate time with the characters and we, as entertainers, are able to ensure the party keeps moving and everyone stays engaged for the full hour! Of course if you would like to add additional time we are able to offer that as well! Just take a look at our a la carte options at the bottom of the packages page.
So the princess is fine handling all the kids for an hour? I’m thinking of hosting the adults in a separate area during this. Adult guests are expected to supervise their children. While your entertainers strive to offer a picture perfect entertainment package, they are not there to babysit nor discipline unruly or overexcited children. If a child is acting out and being disruptive during a party, your entertainer may politely ask you or another adult to remove them from the group until they are ready to re-join. Also, a lot of our activities such as sing alongs, story time, and crafting are a wonderful chance for parents to participate with kids and the princesses! Not mention ADORABLE photo ops :) Thank you for your understanding in advance!
Do you provide dress up clothing? New York Princess Party does not provide dress up clothes for sanitary reasons. However, we invite you to encourage children to come in full royal regalia!!
Do you have your own party space? No. We come to you!
Will you come to a restaurant, the park, or other venues? Yes! Please just let the venue you know you will be expecting a character entertainer as one of your guests. We also have many preferred vendor relationships throughout NYC. Take a look at our affiliates page! Our business is covered by general liability, but if a day of insurance policy is required by the event space, we will add the cost of the policy into your package.
How much space do you need? We’ve performed in all kinds of places throughout NYC and strive to adapt our activities to your space. Ideally, enough floor room for everyone to sit in a circle together is ideal. We like to conduct a lot of our activities in a circle time-style atmosphere.
What is your service area? Please read the next section carefully to determine if your event location is within our service area. We serve Manhattan: below 116th Street. Brooklyn: Dumbo, Downtown Brooklyn, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, and West Williamsburg. Queens: Long Island City, Astoria, Roosevelt Island.
Our princesses will travel outside of the service areas listed; however, these parties are subject to a transportation fee. Fees for parties held within New York City limits range from $25-$75/performer. All parties outside of city limits are considered “Out of town” and transportation fees are $100/performer. All “out of town” parties are booked on a case by case basis and all entertainers must be picked up and dropped off at the train station, or provided additional taxi/car fare. Parties not located near any public transportation are priced on a case by case basis depending on the cost of a car service or rental.
When should I have my princess arrive? What we see most often that works very well is to have the princess(es) enter 15-30 minutes after your party start time. This allows for any late comers to not miss out as well as kids a chance to settle in. Once our hour of entertainment comes to a close it’s also a nice option to be able to lead the kids to either food or cake. It lends a nice distraction for an easy exit after the princess(es) bid farewell.
What happens if my performer is late?
We do everything in our power to provide prompt start times and pride ourselves on our punctuality. You can expect your performer(s) to arrive to your event location 15-20 minutes prior to their entrance times. However; as we New Yorkers know, traversing the city can sometimes provide its own unique challenges. In the rare case that your performer(s) must make a late entrance to your party, they, or our admin staff will immediately be in touch with you regarding an updated arrival time. Your performers will also do everything in their power to stay the full time purchased from their updated entrance time. External factors beyond our control (mass transit incidents, car accidents, etc.) which delay the entrance of a performer by 30 minutes or less does not guarantee a refund and we appreciate our client's understanding and cooperation in this matter!
I’m ready to book my party! Now what? Please fill out our online booking form – located here! This allows us to capture all of your reservation details in one place. From there we reserve your performer(s) and contact you directly to confirm all your reservation details as well as provide your final party quote including tax and any other fees that may apply.
When is payment due? To complete your booking, payment is due upon receipt of your party invoice, unless your party is more than 60 days away. Parties that are booked more than 60 days in advance require a 50% deposit to book and your remaining balance is due 30 days before your event. For further questions, feel free to contact us.
Why do you collect payment in full before the party? This policy was developed to ensure the safety and protection of our performers. By doing this, we are able to protect them from carrying large amounts of cash around NYC after a party, possibly forgetting payment or receiving delayed or partial payments.
How do you collect payment? We collect payment securely through PayPal. PayPal is a highly trusted 3rd party processor which allows you to maintain the privacy of your payment details. If you’ve ever made purchases on Amazon or other similar sites you are probably familiar with the process! Providing credit card numbers over the phone or through email is not secure and we will not process payments that way. We are however more than happy to assist you with using PayPal and answering any questions for you. You can also learn more about them here.
What is service tax on my invoice? Why am I paying that? Since we are a company that offers a service, we charge all our clients service tax to cover our NY state tax business tax at the end of the year. Many vendors don’t separate it on invoices and instead lump it unseen into their flat fees. We separate it on invoices to allow us better organization as a company at the end of the year.
Do I tip my princess(es)? All of our lovely professional performers are paid a flat rate by the company without gratuity. If you feel you would like to tip your performer(s) for a job well done, please feel free to do so in cash directly to them!
What is your cancellation or refund policy?
All parties performed are nonrefundable. If you cancel your party up to 48 hours before your date, we will issue you a refund within 14 business days, minus a $50 cancellation fee. A cancellation of your party less than 48 hours before your date will incur a $100 cancellation fee. Clients may reschedule their party at no extra charge if we have availability. External factors beyond our control which delay the entrance of a performer by 30 minutes or less does not guarantee a refund. We do everything in our power to provide prompt start times and pride ourselves on our punctuality. However, traversing NYC provides its own unique challenges. We appreciate our client's understanding and cooperation! Clients will be refunded 100% of their payment within 14 business days, in the extremely rare event that New York Princess Party has to cancel an event on an emergency basis.
