Dolls and Conventions

I'm seeing a lot of information as to how to go about taking a doll to a con, and what to do to keep it safe. I was hoping this wasn't already made, but I was thinking that this could be a helpful thread on what to do and what not to do so that your doll makes it home, unbroken, and with all the parts it came with.

So, what are your Do's and Don'ts of going to a con - any con, or even any crowded public place - with a BJD?

 

Just my own personal theories and thoughts if you're taking your doll out somewhere with lots of people.

Do take a doll you can comfortably carry for the entire day; even carrying a YoSd for 12 hours can be tiring!
Do take a bag big enough to fit your doll and some protective padding, should your arms need a break.
Do pack a magic eraser for dolly, and some alcohol-wipes for people!
Do expect comments, stares, snickers and maybe laughs (at you and your doll) - and be prepared to answer questions (maybe practice a few witty come-backs for the smartalecs!)
Do make sure your doll's wig, eyes and accessories are positioned and fixed properly (nothing creeps out non-bjd people more than a wonky-eyed semi-wigless doll! - Also you don't want their wig to fall off while you're walking around!)

Don't ever leave your doll unattended, heck take them into the bathroom with you if you have to! (or have a trusted friend who can hold them for you!)
Don't let someone you're not comfortable with handle your doll. It's better to be a little rude, than have a damaged/mussed up dolly.
Don't leave your doll standing on the table/floor. Tables get bumped, and people don't always watch where they're walking ^^; It's best to avoid any chances of face planting!
Don't take anything with loose magnetic parts. Some dolls have very weak magnets holding things like hands or horns on; I don't know how many times I've nearly lost an ear or horn because it's fallen off!

That's all I can think of for now!

 

I speak from a substantial amount of experience. :3

Do bear in mind what your con schedule will be -- will you be at the con all day, with no chance to go back to the hotel before the meet? Do you have anything planned where a doll might be in the way?
Do consider your poor arms and back, as well as your room situation! Taking everyone you own might SOUND like a good idea in theory but resin gets REAL heavy after a while and wrestling with a bunch of dolls in a hotel room -- especially if you're rooming with multiple people -- can be a wee bit of a pain.
Do consider your outfit, if you're cosplaying -- if you've got props that need lugging around or something that's somewhat maneuvering-challenged, factor that into your dolly carrying considerations.
Do have some kind of reliable carrier if you're going to be trekking around for a while. If you're going straight from hotel to meet and back again -- and your hotel is VERY near the convention -- carrying your doll in arms is fine. If you're NOT, then get a good carrier. (I must say that the long narrow Dollmore bags are ideal for cons, or have been for me in the past -- I can sling them over my shoulder and carry two SDs for a reasonable period of time without killing myself.)
Do watch the weather report and make sure you have a carrier if you think it might be at all icky!
Do pack an 'emergency kit' - magic sponge, wig brush, that kind of thing.
Do be willing to answer a lot of questions and pose for a lot of pictures if you're just walking around with your doll in arms.
Do keep a close eye on your doll at all times. Con meets get very big very quickly and it's easy to get lost in the shuffle.
Do be ready to ask for DoA usernames -- and give your own! I dunno about you but I remember usernames WAY better than I remember real names.
Do enjoy yourself!

Don't count on someone being available to watch your doll at all times. Make sure you keep track of your dolly yourself.
Don't expect other congoers to be considerate of your doll. Keep that baby well-guarded.
Don't forget the batteries for your camera (whether that means charging a battery or packing around a bunch of AAs. I cannot COUNT the number of times I've run out of battery at the worst possible moment!).
Don't be shy. In my experience, convention meets are the most 'scattered' kind out there; there's no centralized dolly area, everyone is all over the place. If you want to meet new people and see new stuff, be ready to dive in headfirst, so to speak.
Don't be careless with hands or feet at the meetup, for that same 'scattered' reason. Dolls are everywhere and a lot of times people are sitting on the floor. Watch your step!
Don't bring anything you're worried about losing. Chaos isn't conducive to keeping track of things.
Don't worry about whether or not everyone will like your dolly.

I will probably think of more later but that's a start.

 

I usually attend only one con, [Going to Otakon this year though, woopwoop] Usually they have a teaparty on Saturdays, which I'll bring either one or two of my boys, I'm usually super cautious cause I dont want to bump into anyone and get my boy ruined, and I usually have his face shying towards me, so mainly that wont get bumped into. Last year I was in a really complex costume, which required both hands at all times, so when the meet was I just changed out of my costume quickly at a friends house and went like that.

 

I currently only have one doll, and I took him to his first convention in January. It was rather big, 2K+ attendee's. But I mostly left him at my friends house during the weekend because I didn't feel like carrying him around. But over Easter weekend I took him to a new con and had him with me a majority of the time. A met a lot of people who were either fellow BJD owners or saving up for their first doll. It was great.

I plan on taking him to another convention Memorial weekend which is planned to have 8K-9K+ in attendee's. I'll actually be cosplaying Kellan from D.O.D and having a mini little BJD meet up. I hope to have my doll cosplay Grell and Pit to match my cosplays.

Once I get my second doll, I'll bring both since they'll be a pair, but both being SD sizes and very heavy, I'd get so tired. xD

 

In my local dollie community, we are always invited once a year I think. However, I am the oldest in my group and feel a little out of place. I would love to attend but work and RL gets in the way most of the time. I try, however, to attend mini-meets from time to time.

 

I have never had a good outcome with conventions, usually i go to go to a doll meet and usually either cant find it, or no one shows up... and having SDs I tend to get loaded down easily already... If i ended up doing an artist table or something I would have them set up and NOT leave... otherwise I am just not going to do it again.

 

I will be at AnimeNorth this year and there is a consecutive event being run called DollNorth. I will be bringing two dolls with me, but I'm not 100% sure who that'll be. I do know that I will be bringing different dolls from the ones I've brought the last two years.

I think my only no-go's will be Ryzel and Quin, who are both SD in size. I don't have a large enough bag to accomodate them both and carrying around 2 SD's will get heavy/awkward fast. This year might be the year of the tinies since they're ultra portable.

 

Well, to the first con I went with a doll, I took my MSD. Partly because he was the only doll I had at that moment, partly because I thought he would be he easyest to carry.
On my last trip to Paris, I took one of my SD with me because his character is french. I had him with me for three days around town, and it was very nice.

I normally only take one doll with me, it's easier to handle, controll any situation and all around enjoy the event.
How I choose?
Well, the doll that has most in comon with the place I go to, or the things I will do there. Or the doll I know will be best to handle there.

 

The last convention I went to was 2 years ago now.
I brought my EL and I was regretting it by the end of the day.
I'm not the strongest person and he just felt so heavy. My arm was twitching and I kept having to switch sides. So, as a result he had to spend the rest of the time in my hotel room.

If you are comfortable with holding your larger dolls all day or have a friend who can take turns with you then it works out better. Some people take doll wagons or strollers to bring the whole crew. That worries me because so many dolls get stolen at conventions. It wouldn't hurt to put a 'leash' on your dolls for that reason. Even if you have one in a basket, attach some string or nice ribbon to the doll. You never ever wanna have your eyes off your doll because people can be very bold. Tinies are especially vulnerable because you can just grab and pocket it and walk away.

Taking a doll to a con can be a great experience though! It's kind of like waving a flag to other BJD owners so you can make some new friends. And of course it's the one place where no one is weird for taking their doll around in public. You'll get a lot of questions so keep that in mind if you don't like people.

 

I had my first bad experience with a doll at a convention. We met up for a doll meet at ACen 2012 and some guy and his girlfriend/wife/female friend came over and started asking us questions about what the doll were.....except they weren't kind about it. They would grab the dolls and pick them up and we tried to be polite and tell them to put them down or be careful. It only got worse from there. The man proceeded to undress about four of the dolls and kept touching them in their "naughty places". We tried once again to politely tell them to go away and leave us and our dolls alone but they didn't get the hint. The last straw came when the woman took my BBB Elfkin Moo and held her by the legs and started shaking her in the man's face. I nearly passed out. I took Moo back and informed them that they needed to look and not touch. They lurked around us for a few more minutes telling us which dolls of ours were creepy, which were ugly, and which dolls would look better if styled a different way. We couldn't have been happier when they finally got the hint and left us alone.

 

"SECURITY!!"

I'm Sure ACen has quite a lot of security. And situations where some rude person or people is causing trouble is exactly why there's security.

 

roguegirl9929, you should have called security. You don't have to put up with that kind of behavior at a convention.

Getting back to the fun side, when I fly to a convention, I like to carry a doll when I arrive at the airport. It's like a flag-- you almost always meet other convention-goers at the airport that way, and sometimes you can share cab fare to the hotel!

Carrying a doll at a convention is good identification, when you want to meet up with online friends. Often you recognize the doll instead of the person.

 

I'm thinking of bringing my doll to Otakon, but I'm scared something will happen to her. :'C So many people there! Last time I wore wings they came home all tattered because people would just WALK INTO THEM. I'm afraid of the same thing happening to my doll, even if I have her in a carrier. My current carrier isn't padded at all.

 

roguegirl9929- once they touched -one- doll without asking, there is not need to be polite any more, specialy if they are not polite in return...and I would have stood up in thier faces, so they could not get to the dolls and had another meet up person get con secrity...as others guarded the dolls.. i mean that is just... they were being bullies and totally disrepectful.

 

I only have 2 BJDs, but I always bring both of them to my anime cons. Isaac and Chaucer fit into Isaac's ImplDoll case which is rather large, so I carry the bag around. So if my boys get heavy I put them in the bag, or I walk them back up into the hotel room. I never have a problem with the hotel maids and my dolls or anything. And My boys have fun at the cons

 

I brought the two resin girls I had with me to Ichibancon back in January, but I alternated which one I had with me so I was only carrying one at a time. Then when my hands got tired or sweaty, I had a messenger bag with me that I could put them in for a little rest.

 

I'm taking Chloe to DragonCon this year - we'll see how that works out. I took Lianna & Trey to TrekTrax & that was fun!

 

This is such a great thread, even though it's old ,and I just have to say very informative too. I am taking my dolls to their first big convention, Animethon 19, soon (aside from a mini con earlier in the year), and I have to say I totally stand behind only bringing one doll. I was able to bring both of mine to the mini con but that was only because I had my brother there to carry Vin for me, so I could carry Winter. Winter actually won best dressed at the contest that was held during the doll meet and I was really surprised. I'd only had him three or four days and it was a really nice bonding experience for him and I to win. I still have his ribbon and the beautiful cloak he won. My brother and I had to keep helping each other change arms because SD boys get heavy even after only a few hours. My arms hurt and felt like I'd been lifting weights for days after that convention.

The big con this year will be even more exciting having a doll to bring with me, the hard part will be choosing which one to bring as I will have three by then. I'll be bringing Winter if Sebastian's outfit isn't in from Poland, but if it is obviously I'll be bringing Sebastian Michaelis to an anime convention lol. No brainer there. Since it is a pretty big, busy con I don't know if I'll let my brother or friends carry my other dolls even if they ask. Partly because I'm a bit paranoid about them and want to make sure personally that nothing happens to them, but also because I only have one over the shoulder bag, and when weaving through the crowds it will be a necessity. I don't even bring messenger bags to the con with me anymore because they take up too much room.

 

I am going to AWA again this year and I had a blast at the few cons I have been to over the years. Mostly its about keeping a eye out and making sure you don't carry more dolls they you can comfortable hold. I carried 4 to a con meet up and it was a fun meet up but carring all the dolls around was not. Stupied me forgot a carring bag and my little con bag could only hold a MSD at the time.