American Girl Doll Hospital Review

For American Girl Dolls who need a bit of extra care, or just want some extra sparkle with a pair of earrings, there is a service available for them. First, you fill out an admission form here. (Only available for Canadian or United States addresses) Once you've printed out and filled out the form, you place it and your undressed doll in a sturdy cardboard box along with payment, and ship it to the doll hospital.

 In my case, I included a money order. I taped the box shut and then my mom taped it again. A few days later, my mom received an email asking to call them because they had a few questions concerning my Felicity doll. I had sent her to get her ears pierced, and to get her defective torso fixed (It squeaked horribly whenever the head or limbs were moved) free of charge. I called and gave them my reference number. They asked if I'd like to have just the torso replaced, or the entire body. I said that just the torso was fine. They then asked if I'd like neck strings put in or a new cable tie (zip tie), as the original body had a zip tie. I said that I'd like a new zip tie. She said she'd write that down on the form. (They gave Felicity neck strings anyway... strange.) 

They then asked me how I intended on paying for the ear piercing. I then panicked and thrust the phone at my mom. Great going JCole. You're nearly 15 and can't handle someone asking about money. As it turns out, The money order was gone. WHAT?!! *sobs* I'd payed with my own money and it was gone! My mom and stepdad payed for it with their own money for me and then called the place where we got the order from if it had been cashed, but it turns out, we can't know OR get a refund without paying $15, and the order was for $16. We weren't going to pay that much just to get a dollar. *Sobbing intensifies* 

So. Sending Felicity made us lose money. I'm feeling extremely bitter towards American Girl right now. I'm glad COVID-19 has shut you almost completely down!! I'm sorry, I'm being really dramatic. I get that way sometimes.

Anyway, let's put that aside and look at my beautiful Lissie! 

I sent her March 6th, 2020, and she arrived at AG on March 11th, 2020, she was admitted on March 12th, 2020 (They couldn't admit her until we payed... ugh) and she arrived on March 16th, 2020. Overall, it took 10 days. 

Also, most of these photos are really grainy or overexposed, because I took these late at night. The overexposed ones are due to flash, and the grainy ones are due to editing the lights so you can actually see the photos.

She arrived in a plain white doll box with the Doll Hospital logo sticker stuck on. The sticker had slight damage to it, but that's fine.

After I took off the lid, I noticed that there was writing on the side of the box. In English and Spanish, it has doll care instructions. It reads:

.
CARE FOR YOUR DOLL
Caring for your American GirlⓇ doll is easy!
Follow the simple care steps below to make sure your doll stays pretty for many years to come.

Care for Straight Hair
   · Use only a wire wig hairbrush. Do not use a comb or plastic-bristle brush. 
· Take time to gently work out each tangle.
· Brush in small sections, being careful not to pull hair too hard.
· Do not use a hair dryer or curling iron.
· Washing your doll's hair is not advised.
                                                                                                                                                Care for Curly Hair
    · Finger-style curls for best results. Twirl and smooth the hair around your fingers in small sections.
· Do not use a comb or brush.
· For looser curls, use a wire pick to style your doll's hair.
· Work in small sections, being careful not to pull hair too hard.
· Washing your doll's hair is not advised.

Doll Cleaning 
· Doll can be surface-washed with warm water, mild soap, and a soft cloth.
· Doll should not be placed in water.
· Avoid getting water in your doll's eyes.

Earrings
· If your doll has pierced ears, you can remove the earring posts to add hanging earrings.

________________________________________________________________

 


I checked the box that Felicity originally came in, and it's on it too, with the minor difference of a note saying not to try taking out Josefina's or Addy's earrings, as they are permanently attached to the doll. It is also in pink ink, instead of black.

So that's what happened to the wrist tags that the dolls used to come with. It's just printed onto the box.

On the bottom of the box, there was a (nasty looking) sticker with my last name, a string of numbers, and Felicity's name.

Felicity arrived in a white doll box, with her neck attached with an elastic cord, and her legs with a rubber band. Both her neck and ankles had foam around them to avoid damage from the tight bands.

She is wearing a white hospital gown with the Doll Hospital logo on the top right side. All over the gown are butterflies, flowers, and band-aids. This gown is the third edition, released in 2012. It closes with two small squares of Velcro. She also has on a pair of white socks with a heart on the sides. These feel different than the ones that Skylar came with when I sent her in 2018. A bit thinner, maybe? She has a Doll Hospital band on her left wrist. Finally, she is wearing a pink ribbon tied in her hair around her ponytail.

Here is a closeup of the Doll Hospital decal. It feels sleek and slippery. Honestly, it feels like like an iron-on decal. Luckily, it doesn't peel off or crack. 

The socks are definitely a bit thinner than the older pair. I actually prefer these, as they might actually be used with other outfits now. The older pair was too thick to use with any shoes.

Her hair came styled in what appeared to be a ponytail flip, and was tied off with both a clear elastic and a pale pink ribbon. The ribbon began fraying very quickly, but after a quick run-in with a lighter, it stopped fraying. Don't use lighters kiddos, I had my mom do it.

Here's a closer look, if anyone's interested.

I also opted to have her ears pierced, which lost us nearly 40$. She came with a pair of blue studs in her ears, and a pack of extra earrings. Included were a pair of blue gems, (So you'll have two pairs) a pair of silver studs, and two pairs of dangles to put on the ends of the studs. There are a pair of hoops, and a pair of stars. I personally think that the dangles look best with the silver earrings, and the blue gems look best alone.

Her old torso was defective, so American Girl replaced it for free. Here is the (Very long) body tag. I removed it entirely from the seam, so that it will not be in the way, and so it appears there was never a tag in the first place, so I can't take any better photos.

*GASP* NECK STRINGS?! I hath asked for a zip tie!! Apparently, the lady misheard me, and wrote down that I wanted strings, so that's what she was given. I told my mom about it, and said that it wasn't a huge deal, that I could replace it myself because I had a few extra, and she said that AG should have to fix their mistake, and because the Doll Hospital is currently closed due to COVID-19, they'll contact us once they open. They'll send us a shipping label so that we don't have to pay anything. Also, they said that they'd move her to the front of the line!! Normally, AG opens dolls in the order they were received, but they said that they'd fix her as soon as they receive her!  So that's exciting! Lissie will just hang out with us until they're ready. More doll boxes are always welcome!

Here is the Certificate of Good Health. Thanks to Doctor... Lindy? I can't read that very well. Let's all just assume it says Dr. Lindy.

There was also a tiny doll-sized Get Well Soon card.

Inside it says "From your friends at American Girl".

Around her wrist was a white ID band. It says: ❤ ☆American Girl DOLL HOSPITAL  ❤ and wraps around the wrist, and tucks into a loop, so it can be re-used, unlike real hospital bands. I've always had to cut those off.

I decided to take her hair down. It was really pretty, but it was caught in the box, and the stray hairs were driving me crazy. Once I took out the ribbon, I noticed that her hairstyle was not a flipped ponytail, but a... braid... ponytail? I know that Elizabeth's hair came styled similarly to this. Also, this photo is extremely overexposed. Sorry about that.

Her new torso no longer wrinkles at the neckline, but now there is a massive gap between her neck and head. That is really bothering me. Hopefully a zip tie will make her head closer to the torso.

Unfortunately, this is the only before picture I was able to take, both of her ear, and her torso.

Oh wait! Here's a picture from September. It appears she always had that gap. Wrinkly doll necks don't normally bother me, but in Lissie's case, it just reminded me of her defects.

Overall thoughts? The Doll Hospital is a wonderful idea, and I'm glad the service is available, except for a few issues. I was particularly upset that they LOST THE FREAKING MONEY ORDER oh also they held felicity hostage until we payed again. Isn't that wonderful? 
The storage box, outfit, and accessories are wonderful to have, and particularly the socks have improved since the last time I used the DH. I do feel that AG should've taken responsibility for losing the money, and not CLAIMING WE DIDN'T SEND ANY. Either way, I'm glad Felicity is back... for now at least. I'll make a follow-up post when we send her again, and another review with better pictures once she comes back again.

'til Next Time!  - JCole