Our Visit to the American Girl Doll Store Orlando

The American Girl Doll Store is located in The Florida Mall in Orlando, Florida. The store sells its signature dolls, books, and accessories but also has a hair salon (where you can watch your doll’s hair get styled) as well as a little bistro that will cater to not only your daughter but her doll as well.

On our visit, we found a Truly Me doll that looked like the kids. At first, my son wanted one, then he decided against it, which was kind of upsetting because I found one that looked just like him. If you are considering getting a custom one (which is around $200) I would highly recommend looking at the Truly Me line first because they offer a huge variety of options.

My daughter was so happy to find a doll that looked like her. She was using her birthday money to make the purchase. She debated on a few different dolls until we came across the Truly Me.

Aren’t They Expensive?

Many times people will complain about the expense of an American Girl Doll and yes, they have a point but at the same time you can justify just about anything. If this doll encourages her to read and play outside discovering things isn’t it better than spending $500 on a video game system? It’s all in your perspective on it.

In this instance, she had decided to spend her birthday money on it and I saw no issue with that. I’ve heard the complaint that you buy one and then you have to get clothes or playhouses for the doll, etc. All I can say to that is “Um, no.” I will not be buying the doll a wardrobe or it’s very own playhouse. I look at it as you can be happy you have the doll or you can not get it at all. Mean? I don’t think so but some might. Either way, it’s not happening at my house and that’s ok. If you’re down with it happening then no judging here on that end either. My point is- it’s your choice. It’s not a demand that comes along with the doll.

What’s The Difference In American Girl Doll vs a Target Doll?

The difference in the doll itself? Probably nothing. The difference in the experience? A whole lot. When you walk into the American Girl Doll Store, it’s very kid friendly and the associates are stopping to talk to the kids and answer any questions. When you buy the doll and they unbox it and hand it to your child there’s a whole moment of excitement and anticipation. That is really what you’re paying for in my opinion- the experience.

The Salon

The salon at the store does ear piercings and hair. I asked about getting the hair done and they said I’d need an appointment which I thought was crazy. Fortunetly, there was an appointment available then. We went over and looked at the hairstyles and decided which one would be best. We also went ahead and got the ear piercing as well. I considered making her wait and the next time we were down bringing the doll back, but it was a birthday weekend so we went with it.

Y0u can actually stay and watch as the doll’s hair gets done. They have mirrors positioned so that you can see the styling as it’s done.

American Girl Doll Store Hair Salon — Getting her hair styled

The Bistro

The bistro is simple, the fun part is the way that the doll is catered to as well. They get a placemat, cup & plate. We didn’t have reservations going in but thankfully, they did have some availability.

The napkins have a ribbon hair-tye that you can take home with you. It’s an adorable idea! Below are some images of the menu. They have kid-friendly foods (of course) and some good choices for adults as well.

We chose a club sandwich with fries that we split. The image below is half of the sandwich. It was definitely plenty!

The kids came with an adorable fruit skewer of grapes and an apple heart.

“Bella” the new doll got to eat with us and enjoyed her own little setting.

Our visit to the American Girl Doll Store in Orlando was a lot of fun. It is a great experience to have. Now that they also have boy dolls as well we did see quite a few little boys that came in with one looking for accessories (skateboards, etc) for it.

Oh! I can’t forget, my favorite set of dolls (and the cheaper ones at $65) are the Wellie Wishers. My daughter loves the Wellie Wisher line. They’ve got book series and an Amazon series as well that is fun. We had a fantastic Wellie Wisher Birthday Party last year!