American Girl Store NYC 101: A Guide to a visit

American Girl Store NYC 101: A Guide to Making the Most of Your Visit

A visit to the American Girl New York store is a dream come true for American Girl (AG) doll fans. The NYC flagship welcomes kids of all ages for an incredible day of dolls and their stories, outfits, accessories, and interactive and educational experiences like the cafe, salon, and historic exhibits. Take one step inside the store and every visitor will feel like a VIP thanks to the warm, welcoming, and knowledgeable staff. Bring your doll for the ample photo opps  and to create magical memories.

The flagship store has two, sprawling levels of fantastic fun. Some families will love that they can walk into the store and enjoy experiences without advanced planning and without spending a penny while others will love planning ahead to ensure everything is scheduled and experiences are secured. Some families may plan a special visit to purchase their very first doll and others may plan an annual birthday visit. Whether you spend a few hours, half a day, or an entire day at the store, there’s no right or wrong way to spend time at AG. Savor every second and get ready for some doll and girl sized fun. Not sure where to begin? To plan the best visit ever, here is the ultimate guide to everything you need to know for your visit. 

Highlights

• Dolls, dolls, dolls

• Interactive exhibits and hands-on displays

• American Girl Café celebrations

• Dolled Up Salon experiences

Suggested visit: It’s best to plan to visit for a few hours for a meal and doll fun but be warned – once your doll lover starts to play and explore, s/he won’t want to leave.  

The Main Attraction: AG Dolls, Dolls, Dolls

American Girl truly has a doll for everyone and AG experts say that it’s most important that the kids choose the doll they love best and not what parents love best. Throughout the store everything is thoughtfully placed at child height to be easily taken in and is fully accessible. 

The heart of American Girl is its historical character dolls. Each of the AG doll characters has an empowering story, bringing the past to life with inspirational, girl‑sized stories. Visitors will find each of the doll’s two books, stories, and accessories within each doll section. Everyone will also love the hands-on and immersive doll experiences like playing basketball in Julie’s Groovy World, and admiring the revolving closet that mixes and matches bold ‘80s fashions in Courtney’s World.

Younger visitors may gravitate to Bitty Babies and Wellie Wishers and everyone will love the Girl of the Year, World By Us, Truly Me, and Create Your Own. The ever-popular Truly Me is the contemporary line of dolls that reflects your personality and matches who you are and want the doll to be. Create Your Own is a special experience where you create your own doll and design one-of-a-kind fashions with more than 2.4 million possible combinations. Pricing for these 18” dolls starts at $115.

There are also endless clothing, accessories, pets, furniture, and much more—there are even cars and houses.

Get All Dolled Up  at the Dolled Up Salon 

The Dolled Up Salon  is as darling as it sounds and offers services including girl and doll hair styling (the most popular hairstyles are twice twist and sweetheart styles), girl and doll ear piercing, girl and doll nails, and doll hearing aids. Girls will love that there are doll and girl styles that allow for the girls to twin with their dolls. There are lots of sweet extras and add-on as well like tiaras or spa packages. Everyone will be glowing inside and out after their visit to the salon. Be sure to reserve an appointment ahead of time and look at the styles online before you go. Pricing starts at $10.

Cafe
The American Girl New York City Cafe serves lunch, dinner, and tea and has special occasion packages.. The café is the ideal spot to celebrate a birthday with their special packages complete with birthday cake, goody bas, and tiaras for girls and dolls. There are also private dining room for parties and special events.

Don’t forget to bring your doll to dine with you and if you don’t have an AG doll or forget yours, they have a beautiful selection of dolls at the café to borrow for dining. Every meal there becomes its very own special occasion with the delicious food, sweet doll experience, and extra high touch. Dolls get their very own doll chair, plates, and cups to eat alongside their kiddo. Start with the cafe cinnamon buns and order fan favorites like the bow tie pasta and chicken fingers with the best French fries. And don’t miss the adorable and delicious chocolate mousse flower pots for dessert. Enjoy this tasty, three course meal for $27 per person and again, make sure to book reservations online in advance.

Complimentary Personal Shopping

Anyone can make a free personal shopping appointment in-person or virtually. There is no budget or minimum spend required. Just book an appointment to have a shopper share their expertise and help you find what you’re looking for to get the most of the time together. 

Doll Hospital
The hospital offers a free doll wellness exam with a specially-trained doll doctor who checks the heartbeat, pulse, temperature, and reflexes of each 18-inch patient.  Once they have a thorough exam (and little ones have lots of pretend doll doctor fun), a complimentary Certificate of Good Health is given to doll owners after each visit, along with wellness tips to help girls care for their dolls at home. 

Activities and free special events

American Girl Store New York hosts a multitude of sensational, seasonal events, ranging from free Trick-or-Treat days to seasonal salon and activity classes (think Dolloween dance parties, pumpkin painting, and tea parties) for a fee. The full calendar of events is here.

The best of the rest
The store has ever-changing displays and new fan favorites. Everything displayed can be purchased for any doll, and mixing and matching is part of the fun. There’s always something new and exciting and you cannot go wrong whichever way you go.

Details
American Store New York

75 Rockefeller Center

Store hours: 11am – 6pm (weekdays) and 11am-7pm (weekends). Check website to verify as hours may be subject to change.