Little girls of Scottsdale rejoice! Mothers of little girls in Scottsdale, get ready to plan your 7 year old’s birthday party at American Girl Place at Scottsdale Quarter.
That’s right, your child’s dolly-dream-come-true is supposed to open in 2015! Wade Opland, American Girl’s vice president of retail released a statement earlier this summer announcing the upcoming boutique store opening at Glimcher Realty Trust’s Scottsdale Quarter.
This store will include a Bistro with seating arrangements for doll and girl, a hair salon for dolls, books, clothing and other interactive activities for the girl and her family to enjoy.
Scottsdale Quarter is home to H&M, The Gap, Sephora, and many other specialty stores, boutiques and restaurants. Opland believes that American Girl Place will be a perfect fit for the scene at the Quarter.
For those families who are not acquainted with the American Girl experience, I will attempt to explain the wonder in my younger sister as my family took her to the American Girl Place in Chicago, IL last year for the summer. Try to picture this:
I walked into the store with my mother and younger sister, then 8 years old. Her eyes lit up and she was instantly overwhelmed by a place she only dreamed could exist. She’d been hearing about this place ever since I handed her down my old dolls. When I went I was around her same age and I had my picture taken with my doll in a matching outfit. My mother and I had hyped American Girl Place up so much; we were worried she would be underwhelmed. We were wrong to worry though. Her own doll in hand, she couldn’t decide where to run first. Does she eat a light brunch at the Bistro with us and her doll? Does she take a picture with her doll friend?
She decided, like any member of my family would, to head for the clothing and shop around a bit first. After all, she needed a new outfit to dress her friend up in, preferably an outfit that comes in her size as well. After we followed her to the bathroom so she could change her clothes as well as her doll’s into matching outfits my mom just bought, she dropped off her 18 inch companion at the Doll Hair Salon so the knots ingrained in the faux hair can be remedied.
After we picked her doll up from the salon we took one final walk through to savor the experience. We checked out the books about her doll, the specific outfits that coincide with the stories about her doll, and we browsed through the hundreds of accessories available for her doll and herself.In the end, her doll looked brand new, and my little sister’s imagination roamed free.
The Chicago location is two stories, the first floor being mainly the original historical era dolls, the second holds the contemporary dolls as well as the “Girl of the Year” dolls, the hair salon, and the Bistro. No word on whether or not there will be a second story within the Scottsdale location.
Regardless of whether or not your daughter, niece, sister, or whomever has an American Girl doll, the experience of the super store for girls and dolls is one she will not want to miss. She’ll thank you in smiles, hugs, and possibly some whining that you couldn’t buy her the entire store. You’ll tell her you would buy her everything she wanted in the store if you could.
She may pout some more. But it won’t bother you, because watching her smile herself silly and enjoy the unfiltered imaginative world American Girl makes it all worth it.
