Santa brought Anna Clare "tickets" to the American Girl doll store in Atlanta. So the day after Christmas, Steve's mom and I loaded up with AC, and Kit and Ruthie (the dolls) and headed out for a quick overnight girl's trip.
First stop was the Georgia Aquarium
Touching the sea anemone
Then...on to the hotel. We stayed at the Mariott in Alpharetta, which I highly recommend. They have an "American Girl" package for $129. This includes your room for 1 night, breakfast for 4 in their restaurant (which we did not get to do because we had brunch reservations at the American Girl Bistro), a free dessert or candy bar for the "guest of honor", and an American Girl bed for your doll that you get to keep. Also, to use while we were there, AC had a pink robe and there was a matching one in "doll-size" for the doll to wear. Room service brings up cookies and milk for you and your doll as well. She thought she was big time getting to call the front desk to place her order. All of this was included in the package.
When you check in, they have a pink velvet rope guiding you to the front desk with a step stool for your little one to check herself in. She was given a lollipop and asked to sign her pink "VIG" card...Very Important Girl! They called her and her dolls by name and she thought it was all wonderful. The room had pink duvet covers, pink towels, a pink lamp, a pink bean bag, and a pink alarm clock. As girly as it gets!!!
We really enjoyed the hotel experience and then headed to the store the next morning.
She enjoyed seeing all the dolls and outfits and they had everything you could imagine...for sale of course! The trip could have really taken a turn away from economical at this point. But, thankfully, self-control kicked in!
They even had a boutique where the dolls could get their hair done. We did not do this but the ladies were nice enough to let her dolls pose in the chairs for a picture.
Finally, we checked in for our brunch reservation. They give (loan) you highchairs for your dolls and the dolls get their own menus (which you do get to keep). The napkin rings were star-shaped cookie cutters and you can take those home as well. The food was delicious!
One added little bonus... A few months ago, Wilson, our Jack Russell, got a hold of Andrew, the doll, and did a number on his arm. G.G. suggested we bring Andrew along just in case they might could repair him. They sent him off to the American Girl Hospital for a "limb replacement" and now he is back home safely with us...complete with a hospital gown and hospital i.d. bracelet. This was all G.G's doing!
The trip was lots of fun and pretty inexpensive, considering that was her Christmas gift. On a side note, we did not buy any of the dolls that she has. G.G. likes to give her one for Christmas each year. If you have a daughter that likes the American Girl dolls, the trip is definitely worth the drive to Atlanta!
