Last week my daughters were out of school for Spring Break, and because my wife was working hard on renovating a house we purchased and I’ve been away from home a lot, I decided to take my girls on a Daddy-Daughter road trip to Chicago for a few days. Of course many of you know by now that Girls + Chicago = American Girl Store. It’s a rite of passage for many parents and daughters to trek to this doll mecca. For me, it was a chance to not only get some quality time with my girls, but also an opportunity to check out a marketing destination that I originally read about years ago in the book The Experience Economy. I can say that all of our high expectations were met or exceeded.

We stepped into the store just after its 9 a.m. opening last Thursday, which gave us the chance to roam around with few other people. The store is set up a bit like a museum, with areas for each of the specific American Girls that are currently being sold. For those who are unaware, the dolls take on personalities of everyday people from specific dates and times in American history, ranging from New Mexico in the 1820s to Colorado in the 1970s. Each doll has a specific station with a look and feel of this time in history, and of course boxes of clothing and other accessories available for purchase.

In addition to these shopping zones, the store had several opportunities to create an experience. We first stopped at a photo booth where each of my daughters got pictures with their dolls that were turned into actual magazine covers. Unlike the annual school-photo rite of passage, it wasn’t hard to get them to smile for these pictures. We also strolled by a hairdressing station where you could get your doll’s hair de-tangled and braided (among many other style options). Another mini-store offered the chance to design a T-shirt for your doll. And there was also a clinic for doll repairs.

But the highlight of the trip was our lunch in the American Girl Cafe. As you can see from the photo above, it was a very cute (very pink) affair in which the dolls were given special chairs to join us at the table. The lunch consisted of several small courses of family-friendly food. Our waiter was extremely nice and made the meal even more fun. There were nice touches such as a box of questions to encourage conversation, such as, “What is the biggest dream you have?” And although I was just about the only solo-flying father in the building, I felt very comfortable—and left very full.

In The Next Evolution of Marketing I include a sub-chapter in which I describe the power of creating experiences such as this. One study I cite shows that happiness created by experiences lasts much longer than what comes from mere products. In the case of my daughters, our trip to the American Girl store got them more interested in their dolls before, during, and after our trip. I wouldn’t be surprised to see several AG-related items on their Christmas lists this year. So turning a store into an experience is clearly a marketing strategy that is working for the brand. But this marketing experience is a significant revenue driver as well. Between the meals, photos, and one additional item each, I think I dropped at least $300.

And for this dad, $300 was a small price to pay for an experience that I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.