It had to come up sometime: American Girl Place Cafe

Has anyone been? My 3 year old niece (and 5 year old nephew) will be visiting in a few weeks. It's their first trip to Chicago (really, their first to any big city) and the ONE request my niece has made is to see the "amer girs, amer girs!" I know they have a variety of dining options at their cafe (brunch, lunch, tea and dinner, I believe), and I'm wondering which might be most appropriate (if at all) for a 3 year old.

Thanks in advance -

We have been to the cafe at American Girl Place a couple of times, but not for several years. The Cafe was always a highlight of our day wandering around American Girl Place. While your nephew will probably be one of the few young men in attendance, the room is usually packed with little girls and their moms or grandmoms. Most kids dress to the nines for the experience.

I believe they have an age limit for the Cafe and I suspect your niece is too young. I would check the American Girl website for prices and the current menu. If she is old enough, many girls bring their dolls with, and can get a special "booster" seat for them at the table.

There is no age limit to come and look at the dolls and all their accessories. Bring lots of money -- it ain't cheap.

If the nephew needs equal time/equal expenditure, he might enjoy the "#1 Blue Engine" store on the 7th level of Water Tower Place, which is all Thomas the Tank Engine, all the time. They even have a little train to ride. The times we've been there with our little Thomas fan he's been in absolute heaven and our credit card gets a workout. (Hmm, if there are enough adults maybe you guys can split up and do these consumerist extravaganzas in parallel?)

Afterwards, of course, Water Tower has plenty of child-friendly places to eat suitable for a 3 year old (foodlife, even Mity Nice Grill).

I can't believe that I am saying this ....

The Circle of Friends show at the American Girl Place is a pretty good show. You can *generally* get discount tickets at the visitors center at the Water Tower.

jlawrence01 wrote:I can't believe that I am saying this ....

The Circle of Friends show at the American Girl Place is a pretty goof show.

I'm assuming you mean pretty "good" show

Although we're straying from food here, I fully believe you. I've been a Gretchen Cryer fan since "I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road," circa 1978.

And, as long as I digress, let me again plug this "bad girls" review of American Girl Place, American Girls Gone Wild

HI,

Tribune did favorably review the American Girl play when it came out. They commented the play emphasized the options available to girls when they grew up. If the older set of nieces were just a wee bit younger, I would have brought them. They may still see it sometime when I bring the youngest someday.

My approach to visiting American Girl with my consumer-oriented nieces was to treat the visit like a museum. Sure, get the passport and fill it up with all the coupons of things-you'd-like-to-buy. I just underscored before we walked in, we were there to look and admire. Ultimately, I did buy them a souvenir of my choosing: a t-shirt and a book. I spent a lot of time with them, so we had lots of practice looking and admiring.

"I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road" - I saw this at Drury Lane Water Tower Place around 1982. I was way too young for the message to have any impact on me. Now it would resonate loudly I suspect. Anyway, I was bored silly. During a soliloquy near the end, I observed a man give a tremendous yawn. His response started a spasm of laughter I had a heck of a time suppressing. I was gasping for air and trying to keep quiet. My friends, who seemed to enjoy this play more than I did, thought I was crying with sympathy. They handed me a handkerchief, then saw I was exploding with mirth.