American Girl @ Water Tower - Question Regarding This Weekend

[SarahKate]

Hi all,

It feels like forever since I've posted a question!

My daughter has been working on a big goal and her reward is going to be her very FIRST American Girl doll. She's 9 and hasn't been interested until now, but some of her friends have them and now she wants on the bandwagon.

I was thinking about surprising her and riding the train up to Chicago on Saturday, which will be the day after Black Friday. We live in Central IL and it's about a 3.5 hour ride. We've been to the AG store at Water Tower Place, but she's never bought anything other than a Bitty Baby outfit.

I'm wondering about crowds this day. I know it will be busy, downtown Chicago always is. But will it be utterly insane this day? I'm also curious about Black Friday itself. Would one day be better than another? It seems like shoppers on BF would be flocking to shopping centers moreso than downtown, but I'm clueless about this.

I also want to go to the Chriskindlmarkt (sp) the German festival @ Daley Plaza. It looks super cool! Any feedback or tips on that from Diser's?

I would also love to hear about any other must sees or must eats! I've been downtown a handful of times but am definitely not enough to know exactly where everything is. We will just be there during the day and coming back home that evening. Thanks!

 

[Que_Sarah_Sarah]

Gino's East pizza. It is fantastic.

 

[Jeafl]

You will find a lot of people on the streets walking, but sometimes the stores aren't too bad.

However, I can pretty much guarantee that the AG store will be insane. It is always busy on the weekends, but that weekend in particular is crazy! I don't mind though, it's a fun place to be.

Last year Michigan Avenue was packed the whole weekend, as well as the State Street Macy's. Everyone goes there to see the windows and eat at the Walnut Room.

As for the ChrisKindlmarket, I haven't been in a long time so I can't help you there.

 

[plutospup]

I'm sure AG will be busy this weekend, but then again when isn't AG busy?

Have you considered having lunch at AG, doing the photo shoot with your daughter and her AG doll, doing the doll hair salon? We did this in NY with our 9 yr old daughter and she had the time of her life.

Congrats to your daughter on reaching her goal!

 

[Stinkerbell1973]

Gino's East was AMAZING. Also, there is a Webber's Grill restaurant that was fantastic. DH and I went for a long weekend in April and had a wonderful time, every meal was great.
We visited the AG store on Michigan Avenue to get our DD a souvenir and I loved the store there so much better than the one here in Atlanta. It was MASSIVE.
Enjoy. You'll have a blast.

 

[SarahKate]

Thanks all! I haven't decided yet if we'll go Black Friday or on Saturday. Part of me thinks that BF might actually be a little lighter but who knows. I fully expect lots of crowds no matter what.

I'd love to try out the Weber restaurant sometime, but my husband would KILL me if I ate someplace with mass quantities of steak without him.

I warned DD of the 3.5 hour train ride and that we'd be there ALL day and we have to be patient with the crowds (hard for us!) and we're going to see a lot. We told her tonight and she was very excited!

 

[nilseks]

It will be mobbed but like PP said, sometimes the worst part is the streets. It can be insane just trying to walk down Michigan Avenue at Christmastime. Once you get into the store, you might be okay.

If you get down there early enough and it's a clear day, consider doing lunch at the Signature Room (in the John Hancock, right across from Water Tower). The view is amazing and it's much more inexpensive than you would think! You can dine there for about $20/person. When I bring my kids there they always go out of their way to put us right by the windows. It's spectacular! But you have to get there right at 11 when they open.

 

[adventure_woman]

I haven't been in years...but the Chriskindlmarkt is fun - a lot of people but fun.

 

[ckrum]

I'm sure it will be very busy both days, but still a fun outing.

Are you taking the Amtrak or driving up to the Metra? We usually drive up to University Park and then take the Metra.

Since it will be so busy, I recommend your daughter have her doll picked out or at least narrowed down to a couple of choices. Get there early, so you don't risk her doll being sold out. If you can get reservations for lunch at the AG Cafe, I highly recommend it. Every girl needs to go at least once.


We went to the Christkindlemart a few years ago and enjoyed it.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[ashleyasiegel]

We just went to AG this past Saturday while downtown for the Mag. Mile Light Festival Parade with Mickey and Minnie. The crowds outside were way worse than the store. I really didn't think the store was that bad really for a Saturday afternoon. Very managable in my opinion. Now the Disney Store on the other hand was extremely crowded and you were bumping into people all of the time. I would pick Black Friday because everyone else should be at all of the other stores I would think espcially since I don't think AG has a BF sale. Have fun!!!

 

[Sandy321]

My favorite time of year to go to Chicago!

I took a bunch of the youth group from church to the http://www.christkindlmarket.com/ market - that's where we ate for lunch -

from the Union Station we jsut take the 151 train (I walk out to the CVS to buy a one day bus pass for $5 - its probably more now - but to recoup that money you need to use it twice I believe - so we'd go from the train station to the market, then from the market to Water Tower, then from Water Tower back to Union Station -

with a 3.5 hour train ride - try using www.betterbidding.com and priceline a hotel for one night - We did the AG breakfast without reservations - we got inline early and they had an opening -

the cta's trip planner website is very helpful http://www.transitchicago.com/

Good Luck - AG is an awesome memory for me with my dd - so cherish it, they do grow up fast!

 

[trish.]

If your DD knows what doll she is getting, I might call ahead and ask if they will hold it for you. My dd finally saved enough money and we showed up to buy her doll and it was sold out. Thank goodness we live 20 minutes from the new one in Seattle But she was pretty disappointed and it was a long week wait for her.

This weekend, if you spend $100 you can purchase the $30+ swimsuit set for only $14. That is the only deal or sale I have seen. Also - they have a winter sweater and headband set for $14 with a purchase of $50, I think. I can't remember the amount.

Have fun!

 

[SarahKate]

Thanks again to everyone who gave such great advice! Here's a little recap of what happened....

We ended up going yesterday. Hopped an early train and got to the station about 10 a.m. Went across the street to get our 1-day bus pass - what a great deal! I just don't understand why you can't buy it in the station though....you can buy 3 and 5 day passes but not ONE!

The bus system was great....so efficient and we never waited longer than 2 minutes for a bus. I think we used it 5-6 times over the course of the day.

AG was our FIRST stop, of course. And yes, it was jam packed as I figured. It took her a while to select her doll and we were up and down the escalator multiple times as she was going back and forth on things. But she is so happy with her choice.

Then we went to Freshlife inside the water tower. It's a really neat place for anyone who hasn't been there. It's basically like a food court with all different "stations" with different cuisines. They actually seat you first (so you don't have to worry about finding a table, give you a swipe card for each person in your party and you just go wherever you want and pay at the end. The food all looked very fresh (haha, the name of the place!) and was good too.

After that we had ice cream @ Ghirardelli. Yum.

Took the bus over to Navy Pier. It had been a while since I had been there and forgot that the place is kinda bleh. We went to a little fun house thing which was cool but way too short for the money.

Headed back to Michigan Ave and went to the Shops @ North Bridge. Then my DD remembered that she needed a special brush for her doll's hair and we had to go back to the AG Place!

After that, back on the bus to Daley Plaza and over to the Chriskindlmarkt. Such a neat place! But it doesn't handle crowds very well. We did manage to buy a few glass ornaments from Germany but I didn't get to see all that much.

DD was totally spent by this time so we headed a little early to Union Station. Got a bite to eat and waited for our train.

It was a great but tiring day. DD said that she had a great time too. It was something we had never experienced before and I'm glad we got to make a mommy daughter day out of it. I hope it's a day that she'll remember for a long time.