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

I have brought almost all of my dolls on vacation at one time or another. Loki and Amir have been to DC and ridden the metro and see the memorials. Amir went to Ocean City and enjoyed the beach. Amir and Mikko went on the overnight Christmas shopping trip with my mom last year. Loki, Amir and Mikko have been sight seeing and shopping in Gatlinburg. Almost ALL of my crew have been to Wichita to visit my bff and roleplay life partner.

never been out of the US, so never dealt with customs. Hotels have not been an issue, if I'm leaving the dolls in the room, I'll leave the "Do Not Disturb" sign out. Though usually, I just take them with me. When I go to Wichita, I stay with my bff and they are safe in her house.

The pros:
-get lots of photos you don't normally have a chance to take
-dollmeets in other cities
-you have a travel buddy.

The cons:
-if you have a LOT of them with you, there is no stopping to eat, shop, etc while on the road if it's 112 degrees outside (and hotter in the car) or if you just aren't comfortable leaving them in the car
-they get heavy while carrying them everywhere
-It's sometimes a hassle to set up photoshoots. If it's just holding them up or standing them for a pic next to a pretty view or landmark, it's not bad, but if you want a story or full set up, it's much more work
-grabby hands. most people say nothing or if they do, they politely ask what you have, where you got it, etc. bot every now and then, you do run into somebody who just wants to grab and look without asking.



So usually, I will take a doll with me, but unless there is reason to bring a lot (like visiting my bff and wanting to take lots of pix with her dolls), I prefer to just take one or two. They're easy to handle and protect and get great pix.


Another reason I take one, and this may sound strange, is that I worry while I'm gone...what if my house caught fire or there was a tornado? What if someone broke in and robbed the place? I hate to think like that, but having one with me makes me relax a little, since even if the worst DID happen, I'd at least still have one of my dolls.

funny...Amir DOES have a mini passport!

 

I took Moswen (MSD) and the Twins, Vuchel & Vashin (tiny) with me when I visited a friend in Colorado. I had no problems with Customs in either the US or Canada. I wanted to make a little passport for Moswen and see if I could get the Customs guy to stamp it, but ran out of time before I needed to leave on my trip *pouts*.

Most of the time Moswen and the Twins chilled at my friend's house. It would've been cool to take them around, but then I'd have been lugging around dolls (which would be tiring) and my friend is not a doll person.

If I can visit one of my other US friends, I'd definitely be bringing dolls as I'm the one that got her into BJD's *smirks*. We've discussed it and would probably try and arrange for my visit to coincide with a local meet. My only problem would be in choosing who to bring.

 

As i'm new to this passion (sept. 2011) i 'm thinking about it.
I'm leaving Saturday and i'll bring for sure 3 Pullip and my Noble Doll Raspberry.

I think it's a goddamn good idea to bring them with me, i find it refreshing to have the opportunity to shoot them in a different place and with a different light.

Plus, i've planned to draw them, so it'll be a good exercise!

 

I only take tinies on vacation, absolutely no problem~

 

Has anyone ever brought their dolls with them on vacation?
I have a doll (Bluefairy Pocket Fairy Yoko - a tiny) that is my traveling doll. I take her with me on vacations and trips.

Got stopped at customs?
I didn't get stopped at customs, but I did get stopped at security check numerous times. Though, to be fair, I was never stopped when traveling with just Yoko. The security issues arose when I was transporting my SD- and MSD-sized dolls from my mother's house, where they were stored during my college days, to my own place.

I was stopped at security, had the dolls removed from my carry-on, dusted for explosives residue and taken away to be re-scanned individually. Evidently, the security officers thought they may be housing explosives, or were explosive themselves - who knows. Both times this happened, my dolls were handled very carefully; since I had them wrapped in protective pillows, the officers used the pillows as cushions when checking them over and scanning them. It was mildly annoying having to pack them back up into my bag after the check, but the dolls were not hurt in any way. While it seems silly that my dolls were so thoroughly checked, I also understand that airport security does not see BJDs often - they are not your average Barbie that most people are familiar with; so, it makes sense why they wanted to take a closer look at these odd things.

Problems with leaving them in the hotel?
None. If I leave her at the hotel, I just put her in the room safe along with my jewelry, passport, etc. She's small enough to fit in there just fine. If I were traveling with a bigger doll, I'd probably bring a special carrier for her and keep her there while I'm away from my room.

I once traveled with an MSD-sized doll, and while it was fun taking pictures of her, I would not do it again. She was just too heavy to lug around, especially when the trip entails lots of sightseeing and walking around. My tiny Yoko is just the perfect size - she fits into my sunglasses case and I can throw her in my purse without worrying about space or extra weight.

Overall, I love taking Yoko with me - I may not always take her out of her sunglasses case, but she's always there when the perfect picture opportunity presents itself.

 

I had to go visit family in HK, at first I had my boys in a different luggage but I had problems when they scan them.They ended up unzipping my bad for a check and basically played with my dolls and asked how much were they and when I told them, the reaction was fun to watch for a mili second.So i ended up carrying them which gave me more unwanted attention but less tsa problems.
So I wouldn't recommend bring them with you UNLESS your going to take pictures or better yet just take a mini with you.

 

I took Lycopê, my first MSD, from France to Italy and took great pictures of her at Pompei and other sites, and she became a kindof star as many tourists took pictures of her too ! She was in a backpack and I had her with me nearly always.
This summer my son took his tiny with him to Brittany and we have pictures of her in Brocéliande and other beautiful landscapes.
It isn't wise with big, heavy or very expensive dolls, but for smaller ones to travel with one ot two is a lot of fun and we have more opportunities to enjoy them, as we have more free time in vacation.

 

I haven`t taken them anywhere yet... I am afraid they might amage or something... I might take them somewhere someday XD.

 

I guess it depends on where you are going and what your plans are!
If you're planning to go somewhere where you'll be doing a lot of running around (Like Disney) or outside of your country then it could get a bit complicated. But if you're driving a few hours to a location just to get away and relax, then taking your doll would be simple and you can get some nice photography done.

People have traveled with dolls all over the world, and there is a thread on flying with your dolls.
Most of the time it isn't a problem, they just have to search your doll. I wouldn't want to go through all of that, but if you're going on your dream vacation I can see why you would want to take your doll.
Especially to photograph them at amazing locations!

 

I was wondering about this myself, recently. I'm going on a short vacation with family some time next month and was debating whether to take my doll along for cute pictures and stuff, but yeah, I'm mainly concerned about leaving her in the hotel room...

On the plus side, we're visiting a small town and the "hotel" will probably just be more of a small bed and breakfast. Also, we're traveling within the country so there will be less security to deal with, no customs line ups, just a few hours' flight, and so on. I really don't think it'll be a problem, but I can't help thinking about the worst case scenario! Times like this I do wish I had a tiny/yo-sized dollie.

Incidentally, just for reference, I've never had a problem bringing a purse AND a larger carry-on bag on to any flight. That seems to be the standard whenever I fly. My experience is limited to about four different airlines and five different countries though, so your mileage may vary...

 

I met up with a friend who brought along her pet ari doll, and that seemed like a perfect little travel size companion Fun for some quick photoshoots, and easy enough to pack and transport safely. I think I'd be wary taking any larger dolls, though.

 

Ah, well that's a little scary!

 

I haven't traveled by plane since I got my first BJD so I have yet to experience any of this, but I am a bit nervous about how TSA would react. Since I doubt I would be getting a doll out on the plan anyway, I'd probably put it in my luggage with my clothes and everything.

 

Seeing your guy's experience with bringing BJDs on the plane, I think I want to bring one of my girls in on carry-on. At least it'll be something to do besides iPod and ereader. >.<

 

I would strongly advise against that. I have had things go "missing" from my luggage, and as well, my luggage was rifiled and bath beads opened and tossed around the inside.

 

I once took 5 dolls with me on a plane when I was moving to a different state. I had 2 in my luts SD bag, 2 in a small suitcase that I put under my seat (they were wrapped in clothes) and 1 in my backpack though he was too big to fit inside all the way so his head was sticking out with the zipper zipped all the way up to his neck XD I had to have my mom carry on one of the bags since you were only allowed 2 carry-ons back then (now it's 1 I think). The TSAs didn't even look in the bags though they did comment on the one sticking out that it was the prettiest doll they had seen come through there ^_^

 

I've taken lots of my dolls on multiple trips within the US and back and forth to Japan. I've never had anyone need to see my dolls or take them out. When I had several heads once they did ask, are those doll heads. I said yes, then it was ok and keep moving. The dolls I took were as small as realpukis and as large as SD13. I always took them in my carry on bag and did not carry any liquid doll supplies.

 

These stories are fantastic! I'll have to keep them in mind when i next travel with my boy~

 

Actually when I went to Ireland last year no one seemed phased by the dolls in my suitcase of in my carry on. However I did have some hilarious security comments during the stop over in Amsterdam. They asked me if I had anything else to declare except for the obvious bodies in my bag, LOL. Then I spent the next couple hours chatting while they oggled Leviathan. He's apparently really popular in Amsterdam. Leviathan seemed to be safest in the carry on. He's got 27 piercings and I can only imagine what they must have been thinking as he went through the scanner.

 

I flew last month with a bunch of medical supplies and my pukifees. And every bag we had with us was pulled apart by TSA. My poor dolls got their lashes messed up and lost a shoe. Then they just tossed it all in the bins for me to repack. But it only happened once out of 4 check points.