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

I've personally taken dolls on vacation with me twice. I live in Florida and I've taken them to California and to Colorado. It was a good experience both times, actually!

I pack my doll(s) in their carrier (I have a big ol' Dollheart bag of win!) and use it as my carry-on. I wouldn't trust it in a checked bag, however. Unless you disassembled them and bubble wrapped them, maybe. It's all about the risk you're willing to take, really! I felt more comfortable with my dolls being with me at all times, lol. Don't worry about the metal S-hooks and stuff, they don't go through a metal detector like you do, the run through the x-ray machine. I had no issues with it what so ever.

 

Halo usually goes with us on vacation, but she's MSD and easy to haul around. We haven't traveled with the SD boys yet, but they're going to San Diego with us this summer. I got a carrier for them, but I have a feeling that lugging 20 pounds of doll around is going to be quite a workout, not to mention harrowing. I'm terrified something's going to happen to them, but they have their costumes for ComiCon all ready and they'd be heartbroken if they got left behind.

 

just worried that might be stoped and have to pay duty on them because they might thing i actually bought them there and would need a recipt to prove i didn't buy them on holiday and my floating head has been bought through DoA so have no recipt X.x

 

I for one have brought a doll or even dolls on several vacations. I chose who gets to go mostly based on how traveling. If by plane I limit to a small one. So has been one of the Littlefees, or in one trip a MNF Shiwoo I had at time as well as a MSD girl when I went to Disney World for a week. But when we travle byu car then size does not matter and I have taken the most times my Shigure a Dollstown Hue who is SD sized. He has been to OH, Canada and to Portland, OR. This year he gets to travle to CO. I will also be taking 2 of the Littlefees as we are hopefully going to Tiny Town in Denver area so want to get them in those pics. So as long as we can go by car, Shigure will be my travle buddy. If by plane then I take Yotsuba my LTF Ante.

 

I've brought my girls on a number of trips now. So far, they've been on two cruises and a number of land trips.

I've noticed that I prefer to bring my Tiny since she takes up less space and I carry quite a bit of stuff with me when I travel. Of course, in an ideal situation, I would like to bring my two MSDs along on my trips. But juggling a camera bag and my backpack is already a hassle.

Of course this is entirely my personal experiences so please don't let what I say dissuade you from bringing your dolls on vacation. If you have the means to, bring your dolls out. They deserve it and the photo opportunities cannot be beat.

 

Oh man, these are so great
I haven't had any really amusing stories about my dollies and airports yet, but I did get to take a friend's B&G Sky to Hawaii with me before I got my own, and the security just said he looked weird under the xray and sent him through a couple times. But when I got on the plane and had him sitting on my lap, and one of the flight attendants chatted with me about him for a bit XD

 

I always bring my dolls with me on vacation...I also live them in the hotel if needed..It has been a fun experience so far

 

I'm planning to buy a doll which should come home within a month (secondhand) and this summer Im probably going to Korea and im planning to take it with me. Ive heard the bad stories but I'll be going alone to live with relatives ive never met so i think i need some home comfort...

 

Oh wow thanks for all the I information. I'm was debating about what should do with the doll I have. I'm going to cruise in few week and wondering if I should bring my doll or not. Thank you ^^

 

We went to a family vacation to Vegas and I took Zhile with me. I liked it. Of course he stayed in the hotel the entire time. But I wanted to bring him so that I could take photos of him on the plane. I needed the shot for a story I'm making.

 

I was going to bring Tovarious to Montreal with ne and my husband when we went for 4 days, but I ended up thinking better of it. I already had my digital camera and my camcorder to haul around everywhere, and I didn't want to bring him and then leave him in the hotel the whole time. Plus we went in January. Really crappy time to be in big cities in Quebec. There would have been next to nowhere nice to take pictures as everything was covered in dirty snow and ice. In the end I was glad I didn't bring him. As I said he just would have ended up in the hotel the whole time and then I'd have to worry about him getting accidentally damaged by house keeping or damaged in my carry-on or suitcase. I already had a new camcorder that I wasn't letting leave my sight, ever, so hauling him around, too, would have been difficult. If we were going in the spring or something I might have taken him along.

 

I've never had to pay duty on anything going back and forth to Canada. There's no reason they should stop you. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you worry about it you're going to act nervous and if customs sees you nervously clutching a doll with your eyes darting all over the place then they might think you're trying to smuggle drugs or something and that would cause a bit of a delay. So just relax. There's no conceivable way they'll say you have to pay duty on them.

 

For me, it would depend on the type of vacation. In my experience, there are two types of vacation: "Hang and chill" vacations, and "Let's go see stuff!" vacations.

With "hang and chill" types, there's usually no pressure to be in a certain place at a certain time, and little worry of "missing out" on things, so taking the time to bring a doll and taking my time on some idyllic photoshoots would be practical and enjoyable. In fact, I'm planning on bringing my girl on just such a vacation to Sedona for a couple days in June. Granted, we're driving, but if I knew this was the type of vacation I was taking I'd strongly consider bringing her on an airplane too.

On the other hand, you've got the "Let's go see stuff!" vacations--the more traditional touring ones. These are the kind where you're running around like GIR after a shot of espresso, trying to go to as many places as you can before your time runs out. Theme park vacations are often a little like this, as were my trips to Italy/Austria and Vegas. (The Italy-Austria trip was an organized EF tour put together to function partially as an art history class, so it was VERY busy.) With these types, I'd definitely leave my doll at home. I just wouldn't have the time to really enjoy having her there, so keeping her safe would just be an additional stress. The only exception I could make for this type of vacation would be for a convention, partially because they occur in a relatively confined space (fewer transport hassles), and partially because it's one of the few places to get together with other doll owners.

 

I brought my doll on holiday with me a few times, but each time... I never ended up playing with them! I ended up being too busy, so they sat secure wrapped in some clothes hidden in the drawer.

 

Has anyone had any issues getting their dolls through TSA lately, since they've gone all backscatter x-ray/invasive search happy?
I may be getting on a plane for Japan this year and I'm not leaving my crew behind, although it'll be real fun trying to bring my EID boy.
Keep the stories coming!

 

I traveled on a plane last month. The most interesting part was the lady at the scanner blinking in bewilderment at the screen and saying "Look, it's a human!"

 

I went to Boston a few years ago to staff Anime Boston. I took my CP LUTS Chiwoo Rowan with me. Leaving Maryland I got a few odd stares as he went through the Xray machine and after the third time they scanned him cleared my throat and said "It's a doll". They scanned him one more time for good measure and I went about my business. Upon returning home however I was one of the few lucky ones to be selected and searched.

They grabbed my doll bag, unzipped it and the lady harshly dropped Rowan face first on the table. I about screamed. They manhandled him tossing him here and there and finally SHOVED him back into his bag. It was about 4am when this went down so I was tired and emotional and when all was said and done I had a good cry while I checked Rowan over. Luckily he only had a smudge here and there and no permanent damage.

 

That's a bummer about your doll's treatment. I bet she was kind of raw and tired, too, otherwise I don't think she would've been that harsh.

 

That is hilarious, I'm laughing my butt off over here!

 

I took Xania with me when I went to Florida last year for Thanksgiving. On the way down, I put her through the machine, and when she came out they had to inspect her. The x-ray picked up something in her head that they were unsure about. I'm pretty sure it was the magnets. I tried to explain to them how her headcap came off, but they jumped like I'd pulled a gun when I reached for her. Thankfully, the lady handling her was accepting of the fact that she was fragile and expensive, so I was merely concerned. Other than some rough handling of her wig, we got through it intact.

Flying out of Orlando was much better. I swear that Disney owns that airport, and not just because of the massive gift shop in the lobby (sadly, on the wrong side of it for me to do much shopping). The airport staff all seemed far more concerned about making sure that our vacations ended well. They absolutely adored her, and were more than happy to let me handle her gently to show them about the magnets in her head.