From DL to the American Girl store

[abby]

My dd 8 has discovered American Girl dolls. She wants to go to the LA store when we have our Dec. DL trip. How far is it, I had not planned on renting a car, so what other options do we have? Is it worth the trip?

 

[Gisele]

If it is of any help, Amtrak travels from Anaheim to Los Angeles, it only takes about 40 minutes, to do so, and the station in not far from Dl.
Now, how far the station in LA maybe from the American Girl Dolls shop, I would need to do a distance search.

I hope that you have a very nice time on your trip,


(once again, I do not like that what we write about, is actually being tracked by google, that is like spying in my opinion, am I the only one that is disturbed by this? )

 

[Sherry E]

My dd 8 has discovered American Girl dolls. She wants to go to the LA store when we have our Dec. DL trip. How far is it, I had not planned on renting a car, so what other options do we have? Is it worth the trip?

The train station is Downtown L.A., if you take Amtrak rather than drive. The American Girls Store is just right up the street from where I live. It is located at The Grove at Farmers Market, on Third Street and Fairfax. It is a lovely outdoor mall. I live about 40 - 45 minutes from DL by car, with little traffic, meaning the Grove is about 45 minutes from DL in Anaheim, and I/the Grove are about 20 minutes from Downtown L.A. by car or bus/subway (because traffic is terrible).

 

[eduk8r26]

That's the only AG store in Los Angeles. There are only 4 others in the country--Chicago, New York, Dallas and Atlanta. Dallas and Atlanta are considered bistros or boutiques. Don't know how that's different from the stores.

 

[Artist823]

The AG store is at The Grove near the LA Farmer's Market. A trip to the store would have to be an all day event because it may take about an hour to get there, park, and then explore the store (there are many things for girls to do inside with their dolls)...plus you may end up wanting to explore the rest of The Grove and Farmers Market (there's some really good food there). If you end up driving back to the DL area between 3-6pm, prepare for the traffic.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

I actually just walked in the door from there - my oldest got her very first big girl doll! (Disclaimer - this is all thanks to my friend from out of town, who made us go there with her two weeks ago. My daughter has talked about nothing since, so we caved today.... Especially since the doll she wanted looks just like her Tia (Aunt).)

It is a full service store with cafe and everything - a two story extravaganza. (They did close down their theater, though.) Be prepared for spending at least 2-3 hours in "the experience", especially since your daughter is the perfect "age" for these dolls. Each of the historical dolls has it's own room with diorama displays of all outfits and accessories, and the Just Like Me dolls are on both levels.

The store does validate, but parking fees will run you $5-$8. It's considered a very upscale mall. There is also no good way to get there from the freeway - you will have to do a mix of freeway and side streets. I might suggest I-5 to the 101 and then get off at the Hollywood Bowl and go south to Franklin and then turn on LaBrea. Take that to 3rd and turn left. Takes about 20 minutes to get there from the freeway (the way we go all the time). Public transportation (trains) don't even really go in that area - you would need to bus or cab, if you don't have your own car. For reference, it is near to the LaBrea Tar Pits and the LA County Museum of Art. Also, the Peterson Museum of Car Culture in right by there for the dads... It's also very near the famous Pinks Hot Dogs....

I'd be happy to help you further, if needed.
Nancy

 

[Sherry E]

So YellowMickeyPonchos, you were right in MY neck of the woods today! You could throw a rock and hit me from there, that is how close I am.

Anyway, I think we were not sure if the OP was going to be renting a car to go to the American Girls store/cafe, so a PP suggested the train. I would suggest that if you DO rent a car and drive to The Grove from Anaheim, the easiest and fastest way, in the fewest steps, is to take the 5 north freeway to the 10 east freeway, and get off on Fairfax heading north. Just take Fairfax all the way up to Third Street and there you are.

 

[abby]

I was hoping not to rent a car, since we won't need one the rest of the trip....well, more planning.

 

[Sherry E]

I was hoping not to rent a car, since we won't need one the rest of the trip....well, more planning.

Unfortunately, The Grove is too far away from Anaheim to NOT rent a car or take a train. And you might not want to pay for a train just to visit the AG store. That is a dilemma, though, because your daughter really wants to go to the AG store, right?

 

[luvsmickey1968]

We went to American Girl in May for my daughter's birthday and she absolutely loved it!
We bought her a doll and a stand and she used other birthday money to buy quite a few outfits!
Everyone is right that you can spend a lot of time and money in there!
We actually combined our visit with a tour of Hollywood!
We took the Starline Hop On, Hop Off Hollywood Double Decker Tour!
We drove to Hollywood and parked at the parking lot suggested by Starline Tours which is at the Hollywood and Highland Centre which is where the Grauman's Chinese Theater is. This is where the Walk of Fame is and the Disney's El Capitan Theatre is across the street along with the Disney's Soda Fountain.
We looked around a little and then went on the tour which went through Beverly Hills and Rodeo Drive. We did not get off at any of the stops until we got to the Grove and then it stopped right at American Girl.
We asked at approximately what time the bus would be back at that stop so we would know when to be there and went to American Girl.
I think they come about every 30 minutes.
We then walked around the Grove a little, which is a really nice outdoor mall and the Farmer's Market, which was okay, and then we had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
Then it was time for the bus to come back so we got back on it and resumed the tour. We saw the Hollywood sign, Paramount Studios, etc. and remained on the bus until we returned to the Walk of Fame.
We then looked around a little more and visited the Disney Soda Fountain and bought a few souvenirs.
We had cheesecake with dinner or we would have liked to have some dessert at the Soda Fountain! Should of done that before we went on the tour but my daughter could not wait to get to American Girl.
The tour bus wasn't as nice as it looked in the picture and we arrived in Hollywood kind of late so we didn't get to get off at any other stops and the weather was a bit rainy but we still had a lot of fun!

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

So YellowMickeyPonchos, you were right in MY neck of the woods today! You could throw a rock and hit me from there, that is how close I am.

Anyway, I think we were not sure if the OP was going to be renting a car to go to the American Girls store/cafe, so a PP suggested the train. I would suggest that if you DO rent a car and drive to The Grove from Anaheim, the easiest and fastest way, in the fewest steps, is to take the 5 north freeway to the 10 east freeway, and get off on Fairfax heading north. Just take Fairfax all the way up to Third Street and there you are.

Thanks for the alternate route. Since we never drive that section of the 10 anymore, I never know which way to go. I always thought it was half a dozen one way and half again the next! That the Grove was somewhere right in between everything!

I love the tip about combining it with the Star Line Tours. What a great plan for a tourist visitor! I'll have to remember that as something to do for guests from out of town.

Nancy

 

[jlmarr]

That Starline tour is an interesting idea for the OP. Here's the web page: http://www.starlinetours.com/los-angeles-tour-1H1.asp

She could take Metrolink from Anaheim station then the Red Line subway from L.A.'s Union Station to the Hollywood/Highland stop, where she'd hook up with Starline. The Metrolink train fare includes the subway fare, so that helps a bit. Here's the Metrolink Orange County line weekday schedule: http://www.metrolinktrains.com/schedules/html.php?id=241.

To get to the Anaheim station you can use ART or a taxi.

 

[luvsmickey1968]

I just read two reviews of the LA/Hollywood Experience Tour by Greyline on Trip Advisor.
This tour picks up on Anaheim and in addition to other places, you get to go the Grove where American Girl is.
You can get more information about this tour at www.grayline.com/anaheim but they do not indicate how much time you spend at each location.
However, both of the reviews indicated that they got to spend 1 and 1/2 hours at the Grove.
You could always e-mail Grayline just to confirm
I know that this is not as much time as you would like, but if you are not comfortable driving and you do not want to take public transportation, this would probably be your best option. The store is not so big that you could not do it in an an hour and a half!
On a positive side, if you are not in the store too long, you might spend less money. LOL!
Also, in order to maximize your time at American Girl, you may wish to visit their website to at least get an idea of the doll she might want!

 

[jencav5]

My daughter has also just discovered the AG Store and she is 11! We went there on the way back to DLR from Universal Studios. Then, on another recent trip, we went on the way back home to Northern CA. I couldn't tell you exactly how to get there, though-thank god for navigation in the car! It was easy to follow, but it's slow going through town-lots of traffic lights, etc... The Grove is really nice, though, we really enjoyed it. The first time we went it was evening and they had a little show with the water fountain that was cool. It was definately upscale, though-when we asked for validation for parking, they told us we would of had to spend $250 to park for free! We had only bought 1 doll, which was already over $100! Anyway, the next time, during the day, we parked at the Farmers Market, which is actually closer to the store, and I bought some stamps (which I needed anyway) at the post office, which validated our parking and it was free. Of course, we weren't there too long that time-we didn't do the cafe, etc... We were just there to shop for outfits. I would say, as an out-of-towner, that it is a bit difficult to get to, especially without a car. It may be more hassle than you want to deal with. The store is great-we love it, but I will plan to go again for an event-to do lunch and other stuff, etc...-part of the vacation. It really isn't that easy to just stop at-it's not right off the freeway, etc... If you can coordinate the bus/tour, etc... that others are talking about, it might be worth it for you. You didn't say how long your trip was-this will definately take a day away from DLR, as well. Good luck!