American Girl Place Opens at Tysons Corner

Thousands of girls and their parents came to Saturday's grand opening of the new American Girl Place venue at Tysons Corner Mall.

The 23,000 sq. foot location is only the 10th store in the nation for the former mail-order magazine based brand. People started lining up to get into the store at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. Doors did not open until 9 a.m. Saturday.

Outside, lines curved around the mall to obtain tickets with a group number. Another line inside the mall awaited attendees, with group numbers called off one by one.

American Girl dolls and books are wildly popular with girls ages 3 to 12. American Girl creates and sells contemporary as well as historical dolls, set in various time periods of American history. The dolls come with their own books and, in some cases, DVDs.

During a visit to the store on Wednesday, the doors were open and several dozen customers were inside checking out the mecca for girls. Here's the scoop:

• Felicity fans: The Washington, D.C.-area store will be the only place where anyone can purchase one of American Girl's "archived" historical dolls, Felicity.
• If you're planning on having a party in The Bistro, book it now. The private party room is already booked for the next three months. (If you do have a birthday in the next three months, you can still throw a party in a corner of The Bistro.) The restaurant seats 110.
• In addition to the historic dolls, you can also purchase look-a-like dolls, where you can match hair color, skin tone and eye color.
• The two-story store has an escalator that takes you down to the Doll Hair Salon, where stylists are standing by to create a variety of hair styles for your doll and even pierce their ears. Girls can also make T-shirts for their dolls, choosing from a variety of prints.
• Look for interesting decor such as chandeliers that look like dozens of glass bubbles and light fixtures in The Bistro that look like giant pink flowers.
• In addition to dolls, you can also purchase books, DVDS, doll accessories and doll clothing (as well as matching girls' clothing).
• Grown-ups can purchase champagne and mimosas in The Bistro.
• Check out the tiki hut, where you can pose for a picture with the 2011 American Girl doll, Kanani.
• The store will have red American Girl T-shirts for purchase, enscribed with "Washington, D.C."

For a tour of the new store, watch the video in the media player above. Click through the photo gallery for pictures of the grand opening.