American Girl?

[larina]

Is the right place to ask about American Girl Place? Has anyone been? Any tips? Ideas for places to stay? Thanks for any information you can provide. I've been to the website, but that doesn't tell me anything about the hotels nearby.

 

[larina]

I thought this was the Southern California forum. Darn iPad.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

The American Girl store is located in the Grove shopping mall (an outdoor shopping area, on Fairfax between Beverly and 3rd), next to Farmer's Market in the mid-city/Hollywood area of L.A. There is a small hotel across the street (Farmer's Daughter?) and some chain hotels north on Highland (Holiday Inn Express and Suites, Hilton Garden Inn, Best Western Hollywood Plaza, etc.). If you are staying in Anaheim and will have a car, you won't really need a hotel just for the American Girl store. The Grove is an easy day trip from Anaheim. There is much more shopping besides AG at The Grove (Nordstrom, Apple Store, Nike Store, Anthropologie, etc.) and there are restaurants. Farmer's Market next door has more shopping and lots of places to eat. A short trip north will get you to Hollywood & Highland -- home of the Dolby Theater (site of the Oscars) -- with more shopping and restaurants. There is a photo site there for the Hollywood sign. Disney's Soda Fountain and El Capitan Theatre are across the street.
Hope this helps.

 

[larina]

Thank you. We are looking to do this as a stand alone, 2 night trip. I was hoping not to rent a car, but we'll see.

 

[atomicgirl]

oh my goodness.... I didn't realize there was an AG store in LA!! so glad you started this thread!

Hmmm....do I plan a surprise visit there for DD, or just make sure we don't drive past it?

 

[JacksGirlz]

My DD and I took her doll, spruced her up with some new outfits and ate lunch at the cafe in the store. They brought a little high chair so the doll could sit at the table with us. So cute.

 

[larina]

oh my goodness.... I didn't realize there was an AG store in LA!! so glad you started this thread!

Hmmm....do I plan a surprise visit there for DD, or just make sure we don't drive past it?

You didn't know? Oh my 9 year old daughter looks at the catalogs when they come. She went to the website and has wanted to go ever since. Our birthday is next month and I want to take her down for a weekend just the two of us (she's the middle child, we've never really done a trip just us two) sometime during the month, or soon after.

My DD and I took her doll, spruced her up with some new outfits and ate lunch at the cafe in the store. They brought a little high chair so the doll could sit at the table with us. So cute.

So glad to hear you both enjoyed it. How old is your DD? I'm looking at the day experience with lunch and a makeover for the doll.

 

[atomicgirl]

No, the closest store to me is 4 hrs away in Miami! And that's a new store...before that it was Atlanta. My DD LOVES to look at the catalogs when they come, but she hasn't seen much of the website. I guess I never paid attention to whether or not they mention the stores.

We were planning on going to the farmer's market anyhow, so now I guess we can also go right around the corner! she will be so excited.

 

[JacksGirlz]

You didn't know? Oh my 9 year old daughter looks at the catalogs when they come. She went to the website and has wanted to go ever since. Our birthday is next month and I want to take her down for a weekend just the two of us (she's the middle child, we've never really done a trip just us two) sometime during the month, or soon after.


So glad to hear you both enjoyed it. How old is your DD? I'm looking at the day experience with lunch and a makeover for the doll.

My DD was 10 at the time. We just went on our own (summer 2008 - I think). I do remember the store is huge and that she loved the cafe especially because of the little doll chair.

 

[larina]

Any more AG experiences?

 

[BlueFairy]

We just went to the one in Atlanta yesterday. I noticed that there are many more items in the store than the catalog. All things I had seen before though.

I would suggest familiarizing yourself with all of the offerings before you arrive and give your daughter an idea of what you will be willing to spend. I paid for either hair or earrings for our dolls at the salon and our lunch. Hair is $15 to $25, and earrings were around $15 with a pack of 6 to take home. Anything extra came out of the girls' Christmas gift money from family.

The website is really helpful if you link through to the store. Atlanta gets very busy, especially this time of year. So I was sure to make a lunch reservation online. They also serve breakfast and afternoon tea in Atlanta. We were sure to arrive early because I had heard that the doll salon is first come first serve and can be a long wait. Luckily it was a slow day. We were able to be served immediately, but she was writing down reservation times for each family as they walked up. Also, there is a free personal shopping service by reservation. We did not really need that, but I can see if you are spending a lot or have limited capacity to carry things it might be really nice, especially on a busy day. We made all of our purchases, took the dolls to the salon, and then stowed everything in our car except the dolls and returned for lunch.

The Atlanta restaurant is a 50's diner/soda shop all decorated in pinks and silver/gray. Pink flowers on the table, pink doll chairs, and little plastic cup and saucer for each doll. Pricing in Atlanta is $15 for lunch (includes an appetizer and entree) for all ages 5 and over. The food presentation is really cute and kid friendly but the quality was good enough that we were able to have fresh salads, Asian chicken salad, etc. Salmon was even on the menu. I chose spinach artichoke dip with pitas and the Asian chicken salad. DD(7) chose green salad served with a veggie/cheese skewer and ranch and tic-tac-toe pizza served with fruit. Drinks and dessert were extra. I did notice that all of the portions were large except the desserts. The kiddie oriented desserts were cutesie and kid-sized, but the milkshakes and sundaes were HUGE! We had chocolate mousse in a flower pot and mini ice cream cones with sprinkles, each about $5. The "Bitty" meal for ages 4 and under is a separate menu. A Bitty meal with drink and mini-sundae included was $7.50. My daughter chose the chicken tenders (2) with veggie sticks and fruit. None of us finished our food, so I'd say the quality and portions are great. The pricing was a bit on the high side for the 7 year old.

We will definitely return, though probably not spending as much money next time.

Have fun!

 

[larina]

Oh thank you. This is what I was looking for. I'll remember to be clear about our budget before we get there.