American Girl Doll vs Disney Princess Animators Collection Dolls?

[ItsyBitsy]

DBS will turn 3 in august and she is OBBSESSED with dolls.I was thinking about getting her an AG doll. The problem being that they are so expensive and for a 3 year old I'm not sure they are worth it. Well I saw these dolls at the disney store and I though They were pretty cute. She loves tanlged so I would probably get her the rupenzel one.

Anyways, my question is when did you get your AG doll for your DD? Has anyone bought one of the disney dolls? are they similar in size? I've never seen a AG doll in real life - only online. What's your take on what I should get for her? Another good suggestion for a doll?

Thanks!

 

[snubie]

DBS will turn 3 in august and she is OBBSESSED with dolls.I was thinking about getting her an AG doll. The problem being that they are so expensive and for a 3 year old I'm not sure they are worth it. Well I saw these dolls at the disney store and I though They were pretty cute. She loves tanlged so I would probably get her the rupenzel one.

Anyways, my question is when did you get your AG doll for your DD? Has anyone bought one of the disney dolls? are they similar in size? I've never seen a AG doll in real life - only online. What's your take on what I should get for her? Another good suggestion for a doll?

Thanks!

Dd got her first AG when she was 6. She had a cheaper Target version before that. There is no way I would spend $100 for a doll for a 3yo. The recommended age for AG dolls is 8. You could look at the bitty baby or bitty twins from AG, the recommended age for them is 3 I think.

 

[jessp1021]

Bitty Baby is recommended for 3 and up..my DD begged for an AG doll from 3 up, while we were at a family trip to DC earlier this year (4yrs) we let her go and get her own (we don't have a store here) and tried to pursade her in to the Bitty but she was only interested in the real deal! I can say she has done well taking care of her though..maybe try something similar and see how she does and if you are up for it get an AG for Christmas?!

 

[TxDisFanatic]

My girls have AG dolls. My youngest got her first a twin when she wasn't quite 2. My oldest has quite a few, and if any part should get messed up you can have it repaired. We have had a new head put on due to my son cutting the hair. You just send it to the doll hospital and it comes home with the new parts and cleaned. If you are looking into getting one for your daughter, I would recommend one with shorter strait hair. They are easier to care for, although any strait style is easier than a curled one. My youngest just sits and brushes and changes her clothes. She also has a lot of the princess and me dolls, the clothes wont fit AG dolls so if your looking for the disney outfits you need to buy the disney dolls.

 

[Becc1]

I agree with the others about possibly getting your DD the Bitty Twins or a Bitty Baby. But if you think she would do well with the AG doll then I would go ahead and get it. My Dd got her first one when she was 2 and because she plays nicely with her dolls her first is still in great condition and it is her favorite doll that goes everywhere with us. At age 5 she now has 8 AG dolls plus a baby and triplets and they are played lovingly with everyday. So worth the money! She also has most of the Disney princess toddlers but they mostly stay on a shelf in her room.

 

[atmail35]

DD just got her first AG doll for her 7th birthday (just before we left for WDW). We took the doll with us to WDW and she was barely played with while we were there!

Anyway, I think the girls are getting these dolls at a much younger age these days. At the store I saw 5 year olds with them. I was surprised that people got the regular one for kids that young. I'd worry that DD would destroy it (hair).

I agree you can try the Bitty Baby...my daughter got one at age 3 (from MIL) and did not love that doll much, I think it was too heavy for her. Poor thing sat in the basement unused.

Off topic, but does Disney sell a Mickey T-shirt that would fit an AG doll? or Mouse ears? I totally forgot to look while we were there!

 

[capeseal]

I think it depends upon the child but I am not even entertaining the idea of a regular AG doll until DD is 5. Right now, she is almost 4 and has one Bitty Twin (if you buy them in the store you don't have to buy two) and Cinderella and Ariel from the Animator's Collection. She is very careful with all of her toys but I don't think she would fully appreciate an AG doll at this time. She prefers smaller dolls anyway. Groovy Girls and 12" Disney princess dolls are her absolute favorite at this time and I am not rushing towards the regular AG dolls (if she ever gets interested) because of the expense. (Not only for the dolls, but the accessories.) If she does become interested, I really hope it is in the historical dolls because I am a geek and I would really get into that too

Why not start with an AC doll or one of the Target AG-like line and then, if she cares for that doll well and is still interested, get her an AG for Christmas?

 

[ItsyBitsy]

Okay, I pretty much agree with everyone. Plus the disney toddlers are on sale right now. I jsut wasn't sure when everyone else was thought was the right time. Thanks for the help!

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We got both of our girls AGDs for Christmas this past year...so my girls were 3 and 5 when they got theirs. They have a couple of the toddler princess dolls, which are around 14" I think, and while I liked them at first- I didn't care for the quality in the long run. They also have Middleton baby dolls, which were much better quality and our girls did very well with them. It was also for this reason that I skipped Bitty Baby dolls and went straight for the full sized AGDs. I know the age suggestion makes a lot of people ask why, but the main reason for the ages 8 and up is because of the story books. i.e. a 5 year old is going to love the doll, but not fully grasp the historical significance of her doll or be able to read her doll's books.

I got DD5 Ruthie and DD3 got Kit. We also invested in a cheap doll bunk bed ($30) that came with bedding and a lady at MIL's church crocheted them doll blankets. Rather than go for pricey clothes- I've gone through home sewers on ebay...so the dolls have a few dressy dresses, some shoes, and sleepwear for like the price of 1 AGD brand outfit. My girls don't play with them all the time, but enough to make me happy. The larger size makes it easier for them to dress the dolls and their hair is better quality, so the girls can easily brush the dolls' hair and not have it get all matted like their princess dolls.

I also look at it this way...if they never really get into them and I want to sell them, you can usually sell them for a gain once they're retired.

 

[ktlm]

I don't agree with everyone else that says not to get them that young. DD (6) discovered AG when she was 2 through her cousin and for 6 months there was a certain doll in the catalog which is what she told everyone Santa was going to bring her for Christmas. It was the only thing she wanted, so Santa brought it. She was not quite 3 at Christmas. She loves that doll. She has played with that doll ever since and the doll is in just as good a shape now as it was when she got it. Her Grandma got her the bitty baby that same Christmas and she never played with it. The Grandma's also split the bitty twins for her 3rd birthday, and again, she hardly ever played with them. She always liked the older dolls. She wanted to play with "kids", not babies. At age 4, most of the girls in her pre-school already had AG dolls and the girls would all play with them. We had tea parties, restaurants, movies nights etc. with the dolls. The only thing about starting those dolls that early is that they do get hooked, especially doll kids like your daughter! Ours has gotten a couple of friends in the last couple of years. DD also loves the Princess & Me dolls they carry at Toys R us, and for a while the AG doll was second fiddle to Cinderella. I think she got Cinderella at age 4 from Santa. Cinderella's hair hasn't done quite as well as the AG, but Cinderella went EVERYWHERE with us for a year, so that is understandable.

DD has never been interested in the animator's dolls because they don't have clothes changes like the other dolls. When she was 4, the kid would sit and dress and undress dolls all day. DD's cousin got her AG doll when she was 4. Before she was age 9, she considered herself too old for them, so if they had waited until she was 8, they would not have gotten near the use out of it as they did. I'd rather get them young and have them heavily played with for a few years so that I can feel like we got our money's worth out of the doll.

 

[dragonfly57005]

The ag dolls are not meant for a 3 year old. My 5 yr old is just starting to get into but she has older sisters.

Stick to baby dolls or cabbage patch dolls for now.

Save your money until she is older. The ag dolls are so worth it as they are a high quality doll that will last. The Target ones are cheap and look it.

 

[smallandfierce]

I'd rather get them young and have them heavily played with for a few years so that I can feel like we got our money's worth out of the doll.

I'm going to have to agree on this. My girls started asking for them when they were 3 & 2 and I basically said, "No way!" Well...long story short, MIL got them each one for Christmas the year they were 4 & 3 and outside of the hair looking a bit matted (they received Kaya and Josefina) those dolls are still in beautiful condition five years later, they take SUCH good care of them. My 7 year old has gotten two more over the years, Kit and Emily, and my 8 year old received Julie for Christmas last year, and they're all in wonderful shape and get plenty of playtime. Obviously all kids are different, but FWIW, my three year old did great with them.

 

[iheartdisney]

My DD just got her first American Girl doll when she turned 9.
I started buying her the knock-offs (Target brand, TRU brand, Disney princess toddler dolls, etc.) when she was about 3. Finally the one we bought her when she was 8 was still in decent enough shape to justify the cost.

I think the Animators' Collection dolls are perfect for a 3 year old. And they are SO adorable!

 

[ChristusG]

Older DD (now 8) got her first AG doll when she turned 7.

We asked younger DD if she wanted one for her birthday that just passed in March (she turned five). It was a definite NO....she wanted an animators doll! We've been getting her princess dolls since she was two. She always asks for them for various occasions. She has Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Tinkerbell, Jasmine, and Ariel......Snow White and Jasmine are animators dolls. She puts AG sized clothing on them though it is a bit too big for the dolls....but it does stay on them.

 

[nannye]

I just ordered V (turned 5 on fri!) an AG doll. I have NO worries about how well she will care for it. She is just in that general nature with caring for her toys. I think it really just depends on the kid. Just because it says age 8 and up doesn't mean a thing, i can't think of any small parts that you need to worry about.

another option is the 18 inch princess dolls at WDW. I know Toys R Us has them to (at least near me) They are not the animator dolls. I don't care for the animator doll myself.

 

[ktlm]

. I don't care for the animator doll myself.

DD(6) thinks the animator dolls all look like they are sad. They are pretty much the only Disney Princess dolls I have ever seen that she never even asked for one of them.