*Disclaimer: I received a Build-a-Bear Workshop gift card to apply towards my visit in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by the developing company and/or its affiliates in anyway.
We finally made it! That’s right! Last week my eight year-old had her dream come true… our family visit to Build-a-Bear Workshop! I told you before that she was searching online and had it “all figured out”; yeah, that was until she walk into the store. Total panic! She was was very unprepared for how much she would love EVERYTHING!
She originally had her heart set on an adorable little bear that was covered in hearts. While we were waiting for her to make her outfit selection, our baby girl discovered a pony with roller-skates and was pulling her across the entire store. Once my little girl took one look at that setup- the bear was put back!
From there, she found herself in a whole new dilemma. Pony, puppy, or princess puppy? After princess puppy was the BIG outfit question. It proved to be so difficult that she didn’t decide until after her puppy was stuffed and fluffed. Speaking of stuffing and fluffing… that was another whole set of decisions:
Heart with sound or no? What type of sound?
Do you want your plush to smell pretty too? There are several options available for that too.
How about the plush? How much do you want? A little? A lot?
With all of the options my kids’ heads were spinning. My daughter was enthralled with the choices, but my toddler was more in panic. Thankfully, we were able to help him out a little:
The store had two puppies – “which one?”
“The “Star Wars” sound is awesome! Let’s get that!”
That was it.. he made two choices, skipped the outfit, and went straight for the roller skates! Easy peasy.
After the little guy’s puppy “Hercules” was stuffed, fluffed, bathed, and had his skates on, my daughter was still trying to decide on an outfit. She had a skirt but couldn’t decide on a top. At this point we had spent well over an hour in the store and her princess puppy still didn’t have her skates. I was very thankful that our helper was able to point her in the right direction with a top so we could move forward.
Soon both of my cuties had their own roller skating sweeties and was rolling around the store. After a quick stop by the computer station to complete the Birth Certificates, we were ready to hit the register. My daughter got the works: princess puppy, special “I Love You” heart, Cotton Candy smell, skirt, top, bows (free), two pairs of shoes, two pairs of skates, and a leash. My son picked a puppy, special “Star Wars” heart, two pairs of shoes, two pairs of skates, and a leash. What does that mean about our trip to the register? I was off by about $45 from my mental guestimation. My best suggestion to avoid a register surprise would be to plan and guess higher so you will be pleased at how much less you spent (smile).
What did Mommy Think?
We went to the store in Asheville, North Carolina. The store was smaller than I expected by probably fairly average. It would be helpful if we could see what the store looked like from the website so we could plan our visit accordingly. We were hoping for a more updated store with the digital toy bath and play area for the little ones. There was a small bath station at our store but our toddler enjoyed it for less than one minute.
Our helper was amazing! She was very outgoing with a bright personality. My husband noticed that the other helper in the store wasn’t as outgoing and even commented at how thankful he was that the girl who was working with us was so sweet in comparison to the other employee. He actually stated that our visit would have been very disappointing if we didn’t have such a pleasant helper. While our visit was great, I do think it is important to suggest that more training and screening be in place to be sure that the employees working with children are going to have personalities that are appealing to children & families.
Visiting Build-a-Bear Workshop is an experience, not a shopping trip. So long as you enter your day with this mind-set you and your family will have a wonderful time. Don’t rush through your visit. My family spent over two hours at the Workshop and was sad to see it over. While our previous online experience was okay, I strongly suggest your child experience the Workshop for themselves.
Visit Build-a-Bear Workshop online to find a store near you.