We recently made our first trip to the new American Girl Store in New York City (now located at Rockefeller Plaza) in June. We loved every minute of our day that included my daughter, her two grandmothers, and myself. Since I often see parents looking for tips on taking their own kids to American Girl, I thought I’d share some of our experience to help you plan a fabulous trip!
Book Salon Appointments in Advance Online
While the store was not busy when we visited on a weekday that school was still in session, the salon was busy and booked for much of the day, especially in peak times between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Bookings for girl and doll salon appointments are easily done online via the American Girl website.
Set Spending Limits
For the dolls, salon services include hairstyling, ear piercing (includes extra earrings), and nail painting (includes polish to take home). Prices of doll services range from $10-$25. I can’t say enough about what a great job the stylist did on the doll’s hair and how friendly she was, talking to my daughter the entire time! The doll hair appointments each lasted about 15 minutes, which is helpful to know if you want them to join you for a meal in the café!
We also let my daughter choose one service for herself–she opted for the mini manicure which was more involved and better than I expected for the $15 reasonable price!
When it comes to shopping, the store itself is two floors of fabulous displays that will wow your kids! The upstairs features sections devoted to the Girl of the Year and Truly Me dolls, while downstairs offers the American Girl historical dolls, Wellie Wishers, and Bitty Baby dolls and accessories.
Ask About Promotions
When we visited, the store was running a discount on doll ear piercing for American Girl rewards members, which was an easy add-on at the time of our existing appointment, so be sure to ask about any promotions when you are there!
Eat in the Café
When we were planning our trip, I wasn't sure about adding lunch at the American Girl Café onto our day, but the prices there were very reasonable when you realize that every restaurant is more expensive when you are in a tourist area. Along with the salon experiences, this was my daughter's favorite part of the day!
The restaurant, located on the bottom floor of the store, has high chairs so that your doll can join you at the table for your meal and each doll even receives their own special souvenir! We also received an American Girl hair tie to keep that was wrapped around our silverware.
All of our meals were great and the portions (especially salads!) were generous sizes. The kids' menu includes an adorable dessert option, but we also purchased Decorate Your Own Cupcakes that my daughter loved!
You can view their full menus with prices on the American Girl website.
Plan the Best Route into the City
There are lots of options for traveling into New York City. For this trip, we chose to drive to the Secaucus train station which was easy to find and clean. They also have a parking lot that includes valet parking at no additional charge other than the $20 per day parking fee. It was just a short 15-minute ride on a New Jersey transit train (my daughter loved that it was a double decker!) right into Penn Station in NYC.
We chose to walk along Broadway and through Times Square to get to the store (about 1.5 miles from here), but you could easily take a taxi or Uber, too. See NJ Transit’s website for additional station stops such as Trenton, Hoboken, or others.
We have previously taken Amtrak either from Lancaster, Philadelphia, or Elizabethtown. While comfortable, this can be a more expensive option depending on how many people are traveling and how far in advance you book your tickets. I’ve also had other friends who have taken the New York Waterway Ferry, opted for a local bus trip, or just prefer to drive into the city.
