Review of the American Girl Store Orlando

Recently we were lucky enough to get to visit the American Girl Store in Orlando, Florida in The Florida Mall. The little girls absolutely loved their experience. In fact they said it was their favorite day on our trip, even beating out Disney World, so that’s saying something! There was plenty of special doll experiences and fun thing to see.

Lunch at American Girl Bistro in Orlando

We had lunch at the Bistro while we were there. While most of the food was decent, it’s not something to really rave about. Our server was really busy, we think maybe he was also preparing the food, but he was handling his rush like a champ and was very friendly. The best part of lunch was getting to have a special seat for the dolls and their own miniature place setting which you get to take home with you. The girls loved that our napkins were wrapped in a hair tie that they also got to keep. Our sweet server noticed how delighted the girls were about this and brought out a few more hair ties for them to take home. For desert, we ordered the girls a cupcake that they got to decorate themselves. It even included a mini cupcake to decorate for their dolls.

Salon at American Girl in Orlando

We made reservations for ears piercing, doll hair styling, and nails. The ears piercing was $15 and included a set of earrings. Both girls went with the waterfall braid for their doll’s hairstyle, also $15, which included their choice of two hair ribbons. We were nervous about getting Josefina’s hair done because it was the first time we had ever taken out her braid, but the waterfall style turned out really pretty on her. We were also surprised at how long Josefina’s hair actually is! Getting the dolls nails done was only $5 and included a little bottle of doll friendly nail polish to take home with you, definitely worth it! The stylist did a great job with the dolls, and took her time to explain some things about doll hair care to the girls.

Shopping at American Girl in Orlando

I recommend going in with a budget in mind, because, oh my, there is so much fun stuff at the store. Looking through the American Girl catalog or website, you really don’t get as much of an idea of how cute the products are, but in person, well, you could hear us collectively swooning as we walked around the store looking at the displays. We swooned over dolls like Nanea and Kaya, that we had yet to see in person, and the American Girl Kitchen. It’s so fancy, it even has marble countertops!

Grandma allowed the girls to each pick out an outfit or small set. Both decided on a pet, also much cuter in person than online. They went with the Chameleon and the Cat Care Essentials set, both adorable. The chameleon’s cage light looks just like reptile lights. The Cat Care Essentials includes a super cute scratching post and a litter box with kinetic sand litter and, uh, “clumps” to scoop out. We also found a few other things that needed to make it home with us too.

We loved our first experience at an American Girl Store, and will likely try to visit one again when we are in a city that has a store. Our state does not have one, so this was a treat for us.

Have you ever visited an American Girl Store? How was your experience?