American Girl Doll Store in NYC

[cheeptrick]

Is it worth the $$ and 4 hour drive?

Friend wants us to go with her daughter and she and I'm skeptical!! OR should we just detour and go to the Statue of Liberty instead?

I want to go to the latter and skip American Girl Doll Store...going to pitch it to her!

 

[newchickenfamily]

Never been, but if you want to hold on to your $$$, go to the Statue of Liberty!

But, I would think you could do both in one day.

My DD's have the Bitty Baby dolls and my oldest DD won a Barnes and Noble contest that was giving away the Kit & Ruthie dolls!!!

 

[cheeptrick]

I think we are going to make a weekend out of it. I want to see the Statue of Liberty and ride the subway!! I've just got to find an affordable hotel outside the city but near the subway so we can HIKE and SUB it the whole way!

I'm doing research now...

THANKS!!

 

[newchickenfamily]

Shoot, there are so many things to see! We went 2 years ago and only spent one full day in NYC. We went to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island (super boring for the kids

), saw Ground Zero and went to the top of the Empire State Building. We did lots of walking with 3 kids in tow!! I would definitely do the American Girl store. Lots of $$$, but probably worth it, just to see it.

They opened an AG store here in in California not too long ago. One day I'll take my DD's there, but it's about 6 hours from us. It'll have to be a weekend trip for us too!

Whatever you do, have a good time!!!

 

[cheeptrick]

I'll have 3 kids in tow too!! LOL My husband said Ellis Island/Statue of Liberty was going to be super BORING too!
Maybe we will go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Ah..that'll probably be boring too for the kids!! LOL I think I'll choose 2 things to do...American Girl Doll store is one for sure....cannot get out of it...but I'll do more research. I'll post pictures when we get back~!~

 

[herechickchick]

Skip the doll store. To expensive for something she will probably destroy. Go and see the sights, the Statue of Liberty sounds very cool and way more memorable.

Have a great time.

 

[newchickenfamily]

I have to say, my 3 were OK with the Statue of Liberty. They liked the boat ride over, they were OK with everything on that island. They were 6 1/2, 4 and a baby at the time.

Once we got to Ellis Island, I have to say that for a kid it was BORING. As an adult, I would have liked to have stayed. I could have spent a couple of hours there. So much history.

Anyway, I'd definitely do Lady Liberty and skip Ellis Island. I think the ferry does both, but you can stay on the boat and not get off??.... my memory is fuzzy on that part...

You'll have to update us once you are back from the trip!

 

[chiknlady]

People that are "into" American Girl Dolls--LOVE this place--if you are just tagging along--visit Madame Toussaud's Wax Museum or the ToysRUS in Times Square instead...

If you go--be prepared to plunk down some bills...

 

[ams3651]

Id definately do the museum, I was there in high school and theres so much I dont think the kids would be too bored.

Oh and the Hershey store on Times Square, Id hit that one! I love Hersheys chocolate.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

If your child already enjoys the American Girl dolls, then she'll likely enjoy the store. I've been to the AG store in Chicago (had the afternoon tea) and the AG store in Los Angeles (saw a program with skaters Kristi Yamaguchi and Marai Nagasu) and both were enjoyable. But yes, AG and all of their activities can be expensive. Part of the fun is to bring the doll along for the ride, so if you're planning on walking about the town, that's an extra thing to trek along with you.

My daughter was 4 1/2 when we went to NYC and the AG store wasn't yet open when we went. She and her brother (7 at the time) enjoyed the Statue of Liberty (tho the interior was closed since we were there less than a year after 9/11) and the boat ride over. Neither kid really enjoyed Ellis Island, but I think they'd have liked it if they were a bit older. Particularly interesting is the display of items submitted by descendants of Ellis Island passengers. An older child might also enjoy the computers where they can find an ancestor's name that traveled through Ellis Island. You may want to confirm that they were passengers through there ahead of time to help your child navigate the system. The Stephen P. Morse database (free online) is a good place to do that.

Younger kids will enjoy the Merry-Go-Round at Central Park. That's one speedy Merry-Go-Round! The Empire State Building is great. If you plan to go there, I highly recommend that you purchase your tickets online ahead of time as it'll save you a good amount of time once you get there. The information will be on their website. A hotdog from a street vender is a fun and inexpensive way to feed yourself one of your meals. Another option is NY Pizza - Grimaldi's in Brooklyn is rated #1 by Zagats. You take the subway under the East River to get there, which is fascinating for the kids.

When we went, we stayed in town at a place called Plaza 50, which has now been remodeled and renamed Affinia 50. It's a convenient location, close to subway stops. We got GREAT rates at that time, about $150 a night for a suite with a full kitchen. I don't know if you can still get those kinds of rates, but it was really handy with kids (and less expensive) to make our own breakfast and one other meal of the day. There was a grocery store really close and the BEST bagels in the world were right around the corner. I still drool thinking about Ess-a-bagel! I've been known to bribe friends to bring some back with them!

Sounds like a fun trip! I hope you have a great time!