Travelling with your dolls: issues/ideas/etc. Part I

I've taken Ioan on a plane...and oh yes, carrying BJD in public gets you attention. I wouldn't say it's all negative attention though.

If you think you're really going to miss him I'd go ahead, but be prepared for some reactions.

Funny you post this today...I'm busy devising a way to take Honorine to a job interview today as a good luck charm, lol.

 

If you use a BJD carrier bag as a carry-on, who's to know what's inside? If it really bothers you, do a little research to see if there's a doll shop or something in Nashville. Then if your coworkers find out, tell them that "your niece" (cousin, goddaughter, whatever) wanted a souvenir from Nashville for her doll ... and very nicely lent it to you so you could find something in the right scale.

I mean, you ARE going to get Kieran a souvenir, right? :wink:

Some people have imaginary friends ... I have an imaginary niece, who is my all-purpose excuse for doing anything grumpy people think isn't "adult" enough. Instantly, I go from "odd" or "childish" to "what a nice aunt you are!"

 

If you don't want to take a whole carrier bag, you can just stick him in a large handbag. Wrap a jumper around him to create a little buffer, and he should be fine. I've gotten on a plane interstate with two 60cm sized dollfies stuffed into my backpack because I was way too shy to carry one openly. XD I'd take him along. It'd be fun for you, especially if you've only had him such a short period. It wouldn't be hard to keep him from being seen by your coworkers. Good luck!

 

*****n/a*****

 

Ahhh... you guys are very wise in the way of story telling - or lying LOL I love the imaginary niece. I'm taking my girl on the ferry to the meet-up in June and was trying to figure out how to deal with the stares. I'm trying to find a violin case but I have the fear that someone will ask if I play... now I would just lie and say yes, but with my luck they would be with the symphony or something. And because I can't just be mean and say "get lost" I'd find myself faking through a conversion on the finer points of noctunes or something (kinda like the begining of "Life of Py"

Now I'll can just bring her outright and lie about a niece.... now what should her name be?

I say bring Kieran with you. It will keep both of you from becoming lonely.
Lyssa

 

I made a trip to Nashville with my doll last month (my Mom is a doll collector and was dying to see an SD in person) and what I did was pack up the body as safely if I was going to be mailing it, and checked it with my luggage. I wrapped up the head separately and kept it in my carry on so I could keep closer track of it. I figured that if my luggage got lost, the body would be traumatic to replace than the head.

And there are indeed doll specialty stores in Nashville. One of the better ones is Lindsey's Doll Cottage - might actually be worth stopping by if you get a chance. The last time I was there they sold accessories and such for dolls, so you could probably find some goodies for your boy. It's in the Berry Hill area near Hundred Oaks Mall, off of I-65.

 

I was taking pics of a doll in Bar Harbor, Maine, at around 6:30 am, on one memorable trip up there....and this older man came by while I was setting her up and taking her picture. This was the only person I saw the whole time I was out - about an hour or so... He stood there, and stared at us. I think he just couldn't get his brain to accept what he was seeing. After a couple minutes, as I was picking her up and getting ready to move on, I stopped and looked at him and said, "It's a long story..." He just sort of came to, like he realized he was being rude by staring, and kind of smiled in a confused way and walked on. Pretty amusing! But I wouldn't want to have to encounter hundreds of people staring and commenting...it would just irritate me. So I probably wouldn't carry any of my dolls around with me, because of that. I'm not really seeking that kind of attention...and I hate strangers touching them. I would, however, take them with me on a trip, and go out at quiet times, to enjoy the outside world and to take pictures. It's really very enjoyable, when no one is bothering you, or hurrying you (dear hubby)... For carrying on the plane, a carrier bag, or a large purse, like was suggested in a prior post, would be the ticket! :grin:

 

I'm not being a wet blanket I PROMISE! LOL! but... to quote Mom... "When in doubt, leave out."

If you really want to take him, then by all means take him. I am just playing devil's advocate here...

If you are worried about what your coworkers may say, I'd leave him home. Will he be safe in the hotel when you're out? Are you going to have time by yourself when you CAN bring him shopping with you? Or are you always going to be with coworkers, even if you are not working? If you aren't going to have any time by yourself, you may feel awkward, even with the pretend niece story (which is great by the way, LOL)...

If you think you are going to worry about him or the reactions of others more than you will have time with him, I'd consider leaving him home, and after 5 days of being away you can have a big fun play day, just the two of you.

 

HAHAHAHA. That's fantastic. ; ; I laughed aloud and scared my dog half to death (he was sleeping on my feet).

Next time someone says they're out to get something for their niece, though...> > Oh, I'll KNOW the truth. Tsk!

 

I have to agree with Sher. I took Sharmin with me when I travelled, and honestly? It would've just been easier to leave her at home while I was flying from airport to airport. Since I don't have enough arms to hold everything, managing luggage, books, and doll became somewhat of a problem. ^^;; I was so worried that I was going to crush her (even when I lived in Guam, I transported her on my 14+ hour flights... Not fun, somewhat of a hassle). Then again, I don't have a doll bag like everyone else~

If you have a safe means of carrying him with you, do so; however, if you're worried about freaking out your coworker, how about letting him/her know beforehand to see if he's okay with it?

Have fun on your trip.

 

I took Gabriel with me to Japan. Having a carrying case was definately the best way to go becaus then I could sling it around my shoulder and haul my luggage at the same time, and it was also convenient for getting him through the airport security. I usually took him out once I was through security and/or on the plane though...

 

I've taken Anouk to Shanghai, HongKong and Paris. I just packed her up securely in my luggage case and checked it in. I know it's very risky, but so far, I've been lucky.

I've taken pictures of her at the most touristy locations. There were always people staring and smiling probably thinking that I was a nut. But, once I found a nice spot to take pictures, I stopped paying attention to all the people looking at me.

It's always so nice to return to your hotel on a long day and see your doll in the room. So, I say bring your doll. You kind always put your dolls in the closet if you are worry about your colleagues seeing her.

Have fun traveling,
Devon

 

I honestly see nothing wrong or weird with taking your doll on a business trip. I don't go on many business trips, and the last one I went on (to India!) I was accompanied by my husband (yay!), but if I were on a business trip without my husband, my kids or my dogs, I might consider taking Kasai along to make me feel more at home when I was in my lonely single hotel room. Certainly it would give me someone to "talk" to without being quite as weird as talking to myself! :p

Actually, this reminds me: I want to make or adapt a "backpack" type hand-luggage case for carrying him, preferably one that holds other stuff as well. It would be very useful, particularly as SD13s are relatively heavy...

 

hi, i've carried two bjd's back from japan and used my carry on with the pillows. the xray guy ask me if i had to skeletons in my carryon, he said they looked really weird going through the xray machine. they didn't even check the bag. if you want to take your doll, you should. it sounds like fun to me. and it really wasn't a huge hassle. paul

 

If you go do take your doll with you to Nashville, go to the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center. One of the Grand Ole Opry giftstores sells miniature instruments, and some of them may be to scale, if you are interested in getting your doll an instrument.

I planning on going on my next trip to visit my parents...and hitting as many stores as I humanly can.

 

Hehehehe! I used the imaginary neice when getting Pokemon figures from Toys-R-Us... but now I can order them in bulk, over the internet, for CHEAP!

Might want to try simply taking your doll's head. I'm not much of a traveler (I HATE TRAVELING... *homebody*) but that is what I would do.

 

When I want to take Takeo out somewhere, and now Yamato, I generally just use the DoD carrying case and leave it at that. It came with pillows.
Actually, thanks to the alrge front pocket its almost perfect as a strapped purse, so bringing my dolls with my is also somewhat practical xD;

I generally don't take them out though, unless I'm in like a coffee shop with a friend.

 

Ooh, Sticky Wicket. There are lots of pros and cons to this situation.

I would be parinoid about leaving my Doll in a hotel, honestly. ops: But I'm just incredibly parinoid.

If I were traveling with Odette, though- I wouldn't exactly carry the big honking carry bag(especially the DOD one) if you're trying to be discrete... I've been eyeing a bag...somewhere... I saw it on a site here- it looked like a regular old purse- just MSD-sized. Try and find a bag that fits them that doesn't look incredibly suspicious. :P then stuff it to death with "normal" stuff.

 

Not recommended for everyone, but this is how I packed my kids in a hard suitcase. Thought I share with you this cute pic. Pls ignore my wardrob

 

Aww, they look so cozy!