My daughters Birthday is smack in the middle of January. So kids are just getting back to school. So we do a small weekend trip with our girl (and her girls)... hehe. We drop her brothers off at Grandma's house. We already have the car packed and then pick her up a few hours before school is over on Friday. You want to make sure you won't be traveling through any big cities during rush hour! We travel 4-5 hours to Atlanta. Atlanta's rush hour is not fun!
Planning your trip....
Everywhere there is an AG store/Bistro you can be sure to find hotels that have AG Doll packages! It is such a fun thing for kids! You can choose to go more expensive with the package and have "everything pink"! Which includes, pink matching robes for your girl and her doll. Pink sheets! Pink towels! A pink bean bag! A little pink bed, blanket and pillow for her doll. Your little girl will also get to "check in" after you check in. They have a pink carpet and pink stairs that help her stand eye to eye with hotel staff. They will welcome her with a sign with her name, a sucker of her choice, also a gift card for a snack at the hotel gift shop. She will also have a chance to sign up to win a new doll! The hotel will bring a tray of cookies and milk for your girl, before her bed time. You can schedule the time for that when you choose! The cookies are sugar cookies and they are pretty hard! You want to make sure to dip them in the milk first to soften them up! haha
Make sure to book a few weeks in advance! The last trip we had was sold out pretty fast!
Also, some hotels offer a free breakfast buffet for up to 4 people! The one in the Atlanta Marriott, is AMAZING!
On our first trip, we went straight to the hotel. We borrowed the hotel's Apples to Apples game, and played in the room. They have an indoor pool too if your little girl likes to swim! We ordered room service for dinner and rented a pay per view. We got up for the breakfast buffet and headed to the store after that. We had reservations at the bistro for a late lunch at 2:00. The store is a complete mad house!!! Girls are everywhere!!! Little ones, big ones, bored brothers and fathers (haha) and mom's rushing about trying to keep up with their excited girls! There are long lines to pay...long lines to get your dolls hair done, long lines to wait for your reservations at the Bistro! So if you want to run in and run out~ forget about it! Plan to be there a long time! Before you start shopping I recommend getting your dolls hair style picked out and paid for. And if you are getting your dolls ears pierced as well, you have to pay in the LOOOONG line before you even get to put her on the waiting list to get it done!
My little girl had her home party before our trip. On the invite I wrote that she was requesting cash instead of gifts to spend on her trip. She racked up about $300 from family and friends and even did odd jobs around our house to make money to spend on her obsession. So, while we waited for her dolls hair and ears to be done- we shopped! and shopped! and actually $500 doesn't go too far with American Girl products. But they are very well made, adorable little items that bring out the kid even in us "old" moms! haha. I joke all the time that I want to play with the dolls and accessories. It is also kind of a small area around the hair salon. We had to fight through the girls and moms to get to the front when they were doing Alyssa's dolls hair. These stores should be bigger!
Check into the bistro around 15 minutes early before your reservation. And even then you are going to wait! They do not accept walk ins unless you want to sit at the bar area. And you have to stand there and wait until other people get up. We waited an additional 30-45 minutes past our reservation time each trip we made. But it's worth it!!! Your little girl will love it! The place is covered in pink! They will ask you how many dolls you have too and set the dolls chairs up at your table too! They will bring the dolls fake food and drinks. The waiters wear pink aprons. You can even order pink SPRITE! :)
Everything we have tried at the Bistro is good. You can also pre-order a birthday cake. We always just let Alyssa order a dessert from the menu and they will all still sing to your child.
We have seen that you can actually have a party room at the Bistro, or book a party there. We would love to do that if we had a Nashville store!
So, do you want to get the most out of your time?
This is what we learned on our last trip....
We waited to go to the hotel and decided Friday night to eat at the Cheesecake Factory in the mall. After we ate, Alyssa begged us to go to the store. So we did. It was around 7:30pm. And guess what! We were the only ones in the whole store! It was awesome! No crowds! She spent her money, and got her dolls hair done, and ears pierced with no one crowding the salon! From now on we will always go on a Friday night to the store. The Bistro is only open til 5:30 on weekday nights, so if you want to go on Friday, get there early enough to do so!
Remember to take your time and don't stress. It will make your time miserable! Make sure your husband knows, (If he goes) that the store/bistro portion will take a long while! He can go off and wander through the mall if he gets bored. Alyssa loves that her father is interested in what she is interested in. It is a very fun trip and provides great memories for your little girl. Take lots of pictures. (She's only little for a short time.)
I have done the research for you!
Want to plan your trip now?
Visit my page with the city name you will be going to! I have already gathered the phone numbers to make all your reservations! Leave me a comment and let me know how your trip goes! We would love to know, so we can maybe visit the store you go to! Let me know your tips as well.
Watch the videos from our trips-
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