American Girl Getaway

[Happy Mom2]

DD got an American Girl doll for Christmas. I have a feeling this is the beginning for a whole new obsession. Her birthday is in July and I am considering taking her to Dallas to go to the American Girl store. It would probably be just the two of us. Has anyone been to any of the hotels around the Galleria that offer the American Girl Doll experience? Can anyone tell me how far the AG store is from the Galleria? Any information anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated.

I've also thought about going to the one Boston, NY, Chicago or Denver, but I lived in Dallas for a short time 10 years ago so I guess it seems a little less intimidating to go alone with my DD. Not to mention, it might be a little more in my budget. But if anyone has thoughts on those cities, I'd appreciate them as well.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

DD got an American Girl doll for Christmas. I have a feeling this is the beginning for a whole new obsession. Her birthday is in July and I am considering taking her to Dallas to go to the American Girl store. It would probably be just the two of us. Has anyone been to any of the hotels around the Galleria that offer the American Girl Doll experience? Can anyone tell me how far the AG store is from the Galleria? Any information anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated.

I've also thought about going to the one Boston, NY, Chicago or Denver, but I lived in Dallas for a short time 10 years ago so I guess it seems a little less intimidating to go alone with my DD. Not to mention, it might be a little more in my budget. But if anyone has thoughts on those cities, I'd appreciate them as well.

FYI, I'm pretty sure the store in Dallas is a small one. We've been to the other 4 on your list (and Mall of America, lol- DD and I did a cross country road trip ) Chicago and New York are much larger stores, and are also right downtown. (Denver and Boston stores are actually in the suburbs). Chicago is right on Michigan Ave and NYC is across from Rockefeller Center. They have the fancier restaurants and more other things there (photo studio, make your own Tshirts {though Denver had that too, I think, one of the small stores we hit did}) Chicago also has nice "windows" displays into each historical time period.

In Chicago, we got an AG package at Four Points hotel (3 blocks away) with an AG package that included a doll bed to take, free breakfast (gift card for bakery next door) and free parking- for $140.

NY offers alot to do in the immediate area and beyond- but hotels would probably be alot more.

 

[Happy Mom2]

WOW! Sounds like you and your DD had a great road trip. Thanks for the information. I'll have to do some more research on the other stores.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

 

[MichelleinMaine]

WOW! Sounds like you and your DD had a great road trip. QUOTE]

(should add only Mall of America/Chicago/Boston was the road trip. We had to drive home from my inlaws in MN and picked our own stops NY and Denver were separate trips.)

 

[SueM in MN]

The American Girl store ion the Mall of America is pretty cool, plus you would have the whole mall to look at.
http://www.americangirl.com/stores/location_min.php

I know in the past that some airlines had specials to Minneapolis for shopping at Mall of America. Not sure if they still have them or if they have them after Christmas/Holiday Shopping time is passed.

There are quite a few hotels in the area and most have shuttles to and from both the airport and the mall.

 

[tchrrx]

The hotel in the Galleria (Westin, I think) has an American Girl package. You get a doll bed (not AG brand, but still cute), and they deliver cookies and milk at bed time. The AG store is right outside the mall. You can very easily spend a day (or two) without having to leave the mall/AG store unless you want to. The Galleria also has the ice skating rink inside if that's something you are interested in.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I took DD to the AG place in Chicago this past October. I found a great rate on SWA. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton which is in the same building as AG. The AG experience was unbelievable . My DD had both her dolls hair done and ears pierced. We ate lunch at the cafe and had DD's picture taken in the studio with her doll.

The Ritz treated us like royalty. My DD had her own bathrobe, toiletries and was able to make cookies with the chef. They sent them to our room later with frosting to decorate and juice boxes. We had a clear view of the Navy Pier and were within walking distance to alot of things.

If u need any info, feel free to PM me.

 

[disneydawg10]

I can't say anything about your destinations, but we did the AG getaway in Atlanta. We had the best week-end! We had the cookies and milk, bed, movie, and snacks. The experience was so worth just watching my daughter! We also had a very delicious breakfast. The store (in ATL) is smaller, but they do have special events throughout the year. We (yes, mom loves the AG too) absolutely love her AG! I hope to make it to NY for another fun trip! And yes, this has become a great (and expensive) obsession! Hope y'all have a great time!

 

[lemondog]

Chicago store is huge and insane. Boston store is smaller and less busy. We had a GREAT experience there at the hair salon and in the restaurant. My girls had a blast!

 

[Happy Mom2]

Thanks everyone! I really hope I can talk DH into this. I will keep checking back if anyone has anything else to add.

 

[SueM in MN]

Looks like Marriott hotels have American Girl getaways in most of the cities with AG stores. It looks like some had special rates thru December 31, 2011. Not sure if the rate just ends then or the whole package. I imagine it may be both - depending on the hotel and how much demand they have for the packages.
Here's a link for the Minneapolis one:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-deals/mspmn-minneapolis-airport-marriott/

Here's the link to the Atlanta one with a picture of the bed - looks like Marriott is partnering with AG, otherwise they could not use the logo or probably call it AG Getaway
http://www.marriott.com/specials/mesOffer.mi?marrOfferId=316042
And a review I found from October of the Atlanta one:
http://www.fieldtripswithsue.com/20...xperience-at-atlanta-marriott-alpharetta.html

Chicago:
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-deals/chidt-chicago-marriott-downtown-magnificent-mile/

And a review of one at the Orlando Hotel in Los Angeles:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...487-Orlando_Hotel-Los_Angeles_California.html

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Looks like Marriott hotels have American Girl getaways in most of the cities with AG stores. It looks like some had special rates thru December 31, 2011. Not sure if the rate just ends then or the whole package. I imagine it may be both - depending on the hotel and how much demand they have for the packages.

There are lots of hotels that have AG packages. You can do a google search to find all in a given city. We did ours in Chicago with Four Points, which is a Sheraton property. Most of them tend to have the doll bed (usually an AG brand foam flip bed with a pillow and blanket), free in-room AG movies and cookies at bed time. Some include free shuttle to the AG mall (though I'm not sure if that isn't just they have a hotel to the mall anyway) and gift cards to AG, but of course you pay more to get the gift card amount back.

The package we did was $140 the night we did it (a Sunday), it would have been $300 the next night. Play around with dates if you can.

 

[Neverland Scraps]

We've done American Girl in NYC and loved it! It also helped that we had a friend who came along and could navigate the subway system because I didn't understand it, let alone I wasn't feeling the greatest!! The food at NYC wasn't the best and was mediocre when compared with the expensive price tag. AG NYC is a flagship so they carry everything! They had so many stories of floors filled with AG things! It was amazing being in there. There were security at the doors and they wouldn't let the children leave unless they had a parent with them. I really liked that safety feature, especially being in a huge city! The lines were long but it was worth the wait to see my daughter excited to get her doll!! (expensive sales tax here almost 9%)

We live in the Atlanta area and have gone to Atlanta (GA) American Girl MANY times, too many to count!! We've eaten there and the food is supurb and the staff is amazing. AG Atlanta is quite small, but because of how small it is, everything that they dont carry or they are out of stock will be delivered to your house free of charge! The staff is very helpful, they are always walking around, suggesting things, talking to the children like they are adults. I love our time at this store and will be sad when we move away in Feb! (I believe it is an 8% sales tax here)

Just this Summer we went to American Girl Chicago and wow were we ever so overwhelmed with the place. It was large, nothing was in order or together, there were so many people in there it was hard to walk through without someone bumping into you staring at you for being the bad guy. We did not like the experience at Chicago. The staff was not that friendly and didn't want to show where things were located other than saying "its down that way somewhere". Overall, we spent the least amount of time in this store, roughly a half hour before we were gone and out of the city. It was too busy, I couldn't keep track of my children and didn't enjoy this location. Also the sales tax here was almost 10%, the most in our three AG store experiences.

 

[RadioNate]

I'd skip Denver - it is a very small store. They don't have a restaurant for tea or anything like that.

 

[carj]

We live about an hour from the Dallas store so we don't stay in a hotel when we visit that one. It does have a bistro and a prettty large store but the Chicago store was definitely bigger and had more experiences to offer. (We loved getting my daughter's picture with her doll on the magizine cover.)

We did an American Girl package at the Wyndham, on St Claire, in Chicago. It came with the bed, a pillow case for my daughter, sleep masks for doll and daughter and a pillow for the doll. Also, the package came with a tin for Garrett's popcorn that you get filled for free when you visit. (Yummy!) We paid about $250 a night plus a "discounted" rate of $40 a night for parking! We live in Texas and had driven to Michigan for another event so we had our car. I don't recommend that, by the way!

My opinion about Chicago is only based on my 3 day stay in July, at the end of a 2 week trip. I found it to be a wonderful but exhausting, expensive city. I also found that the people in the service industries were not very helpful or friendly. Our hotel staff was nice and helpful but we did not encounter many others at places we shopped or ate, who were friendly. It could have been bad luck, but everyone seemed to be in a foul mood. Everyone was complaining about the heat. ( I think it was 90 degrees, not too hot for us Texans.) We were very excited to be there and it kind of put a damper on our excitement. The staff at the American Girl store was pleasant but not exactly 'welcoming" I don't know, like I said, it may have just been my perception. I also freely admit that we stuck with the downtown, tourist areas because of our limited time. I am not bashing the entire city, I promise!

We have never been to any of the other stores so I can't help you there. If you are making a big trip of it, I would personally go to New York. From the descriptions I have read online, they have the most to offer.

If you are local, then I would definitely visit the Dallas store. It is great, I am just not sure that I would suggest it as a destination. It is essentially in the Galleria, though you do have to walk outside the mall to get to it. There are lots of fun things to do in Dallas if you come here!
You and your daughter will have a blast, and if she hasn't been to any of the stores, she will never know the difference!

 

[laughinplace199]

I'd skip "Boston". The store is kind of small and it's not in Boston - it's in Natick, which is 30-40 min outside of Boston.

I liked NYC a lot better, for both the store and the restaurant.

 

[dallastxcpa]

I began shopping for my daughter many years ago when I would take business trips to Chicago. That was ages before Dallas ever had a store. While there is nothing wrong with the Dallas store, if you can swing it, I would take her to the Chicago store. As an adult, I was absolutely blown away the first time I stepped in there.
We went to the Dallas store when it opened and I was a little disappointed. It's still nice, but nowhere near Chicago.

As far as the city. If you are from the south, just remember they don't have the same culture as us. It's nothing bad, but the longer you live in a big city the. More guarded you get. My mom lives in a small town about an hour out of Dallas, people out there don't lock their doors which is just unheard of in the city.