Your Dolls and Security Officers-ever a problem?

Ooh~! I haven't taken a doll, BUT~
I did take a GIANT octopus plushy once n.n
The security just sort of teased me about it, and some other passengers were a little snobby about it. Other then that-- Oh and some old lady kept punching my seat 0_o;. . . Every thing was fine n.n;;;
I'm sure its no different then a doll, because my giant octopus plushie is bigger then my SD boy.

Ultimately, the plush had to go through the big metal scanning things like coats and boots, so you'd probably have to explain how the doll is put together. Then its up to if the people working there think an 'S' hook sounds dangerous or not. hehe~

PS: I was in America when this took place n.n

 

I had a security guard stop me from taking photos of the ceiling of the arts centre here in Singapore because he claimed the "ceiling was copyrighted". I later asked my mother, who's an architect, about the matter and she said that there was no way the ceiling was copyrighted.

I haven't taken Ealasaid to many malls yet. I did take her to the Roof Terrance of the above mentioned arts centre but no one stopped one. I only got stared at.

 

LOL! I wouldn't be surprised if they thought the S-hook was dangerous! After all, I could poke the flight attendant with it! My friend wasn't allowed to take her drum sticks on board a plane once, and one other time they confiscated my lip gloss due to liquid bomb threats! I think security has eased up a bit since then as those instances occured about two years ago when airport security in the UK went mad.

Congrats on getting your octopus on board without them charging you for an extra seat! ^_^

 

I had a similar experience to yours with the octopus plushie, RoboDash! I went to Spain with my family, won a huge Muppets Animal plushie in the theme park there (PortAventura, if anyone knows it?) and had to sit with him on my knee on the plane all the way back to Manchester. It was quite fun, all the passengers were trying to get a look at him

I would imagine taking a BJD on a plane would get everyone's interest!

 

OMG! I've been to PortAdventura in Spain! It was awesome. I was staying in Salut (I hope I spelled that right) which was just a bus ride away from the theme park.

This is all very reasuring! If you guys can get giant stuffed toys on planes, then I should have no problem getting my BJD on board! (I hope)

 

I haven't ever even encountered anything like what the OP had mentioned. Our malls are very laid back. I've never seen/heard them say anything to anybody. Unless there was someone just holding up a walkway or shoplifting, but that's to be expected. I have had my boy at the mall many times. We've always been greeted very nicely. I take him to buy paints a lot. ^0^

 

I'm actually a bit tempted to take my boys to the mall (once they have bodies) to see how security would react. lol

 

They're a good ice-breaker, that's for sure.

I've taken dolls on cross-country trips a few times now (My Shiwoo, Harumatsu, always travels with me as my hand-held "personal" item-) and I've ended up having some really fun and interesting conversations with airline stewards, ticket agents, van drivers, my fellow passengers, random people waiting in airport terminals and even those dreaded airport security people because of them. No one has ever given me a hard time about them, and the security officers have been more curious or amused than at all worried over their s-hooks or anything like that.

I've also had members of my crew with me all sorts of other places... concerts, parks, exhibits and such... without any trouble. Teacup's even been to the mall. I wasn't taking pictures in many of those places, so I can't say much on the legality of that, but just carrying a doll around? It's never been a problem.

(Do note, though, that I'm a 38 year-old suburban Soccer-Mom type, not a teenager in a baggy black coat and spikes... So that may very well have something to do with security not giving me a second thought.)

 

The only time we've had mall-security problem at one of our meetups (the chichi Westfield Center) was when the officer came over to ask if we were SELLING the dolls. I don't know if he was investigating on his own energy, or if somebody'd anonymously reported that there was unauthorized retail sales going on in their lounge... But the misunderstanding was quickly cleared up once he came over to ask us about it. Being articulate also helps a lot.

Now that I think about it, this impression may have ben triggered by SaiBySai's cute idea for nametags that day; some of the dolls were wearing yellow Best-Buy-tag-shaped labels with their names on it. ^^ Note to self: Mall security takes unauthorized selling seriously. This mall has reason to, because the immediate neighborhood is full of bootleg-tables AND legitimate street-vendors; this mall takes no chances inside its own doors.

Re architectural copyright: Unfortunately it's no joke! Many train/subway/bus-stations will stop you photographing them, too. Things like ceilings are often designed by high-end architects who do indeed copyright their work. In a museum or art-gallery, you're not allowed to photograph the works, or even the posters on the walls, and if THEIR ceiling was designed by someone famous, they may nail you for that too.

Oh, definitely. That treatment hasn't changed in the past 20 years, so you'd better get used to it. Cheerleaders can be vivisecting puppies right there in the food-court, & the guards will still come hassle the spooky chicks.

Tip: I would just avoid meetups at the mall on Friday nights! They tighten up the bullshit on weekends because there are a lot of teens to control, and there's no room for lenience. Try having your meetups on weeknights or Sunday nights, maybe, when the mall isn't so swamped.

Better tip: Ditch the mall altogether. It's nothing but a soulless fluorescent hall of capitalist brainwashing anyway. Go have your meetup in the park instead.

I'm a 38-year-old woman in a baggy black coat and spikes, and nobody in airport security has ever hassled me over the dolls. You can't predict who they'll mess with & why! They've blown that magic bomb-seeking air up my skirt before, and given me the feel-up-pat-down before... but I suspect that's because, when I tie my hair back (in the Travel Ponytail), I look a bit like the former Prime Minister of Pakistan. -_- I keep waiting for them to grill me about the bizarre 2-foot humanoid silhouettes on the scanner screen, or to ask me to disassemble the dolls completely so they can check the head-cavity for drugs... but after 4-6 flights, nobody has ever said boo! *knocks wood*

 

People seem to be forgetting the one of the basic's of american law. There's federal, state, and city laws. Depending on what you're talking about, it falls into a different catigory. What might be legal in say, New York, might not be legal in say Texas, so where as one person says "no they can't do that" maybe where that person lives, but that might not apply to you.

I know when I was in high school you couldn't wear stud's or spikes in your clothes. They where considered a weapon and they could ask you to take them out or leave and change.

As for mall security I've learned over the years with the type of people I've always hung out with, we're quick to blame the police or the security for profiling us based on what we wore, but the simple truth was, we were branded as trouble makers because we hung out with trouble makers. Yes, there where worse people in the world than my friends but when one says that a cop stopped him for "no good reason" and "harrased him" it wasn't because of the way he was dressed. It was because there where ten teenages in a large group with strange colored hair, leather, peircings, and tattoos walking into a holister store for no apparent reason. Yes they where followed, duh. And low and behold when he was stopped he has a shirt tucked under his jacket.

The only time I've had any "problem" with my friends doll was walking into a Jo-Ann's fabrics. They made us put a sticker on him, not for the doll itself but for the jewlrey and accessories he was wearing. A lot of them where made using Jo-Ann fabrics items like special beads and the little decritive things they sell sometimes. I didn't concider it a bad thing at all.

 

True, that. My poor Kid Brother gets the evil eye and some pointed questions every time he takes a civilian flight, it seems like. Apparently, being a 20-something guy with a buzz-cut and a preference for wearing combat boots (Kid Brother's a Marine-) triggers all of airport securitys' "This guy just HAS to be a terrorist!"-instincts.

I am sort-of surprised I've never been asked to show anyone the inside of a head or body cavity, either... I wouldn't consider that an unreasonable request under the circumstances, but no. They've never wanted to do more than run 'em though the scanner along with all the other carry-on items.

 

I've been on few flights with my girl and it's never fun. They always check my bag for bombs. One lady opened my bag up and she surprisingly liked Ariana!

 

My area is pretty small, but I've never had a problem with security at the local mall.

For that matter? They've been very curious and interested. XD

 

OT, but our school is MAJORLY against the punk/goth/emo people... They once told a friend of mine she'd have to cut a non-detachable chain and the D-rings from her brand-new Tripp pants (she didnt, however)

EXACTLY! ...a girl from our school once beat a boy with a pencil- the teachers were too afraid to step in and stop her even. Poor boy was crying when she paused and they stepped in to grab her.

 

Hell, I've taken my dolls to the mall before, walmart, airport security... Hershey park >.>. Security guard there gave me a freaked out look and asked me "Are those dolls?" I just said, "Yes they are" and walked on through the gate.

then again, I'm not a 'mall/ddr kid' either, never have been. I don't think people mind me so much. I think that most of the teenagers that get hassled in the malls are the ones who use it as a hang out and never do anything. I know a local mall HATES the mall kids that hang out in the arcade.

 

nightsdarkness - Yeah, my friend Christina mentioned that you could do some serious damage with a candy cane and nobody would see it coming. Y'know how if you suck on the end it gets really sharp? Danger lurks in the strangest places...>.>

Another conversation reguarding the "no spikes/studs/chains" rule at our school was between me, Christina and Chopsticks. I mentioned that you could kill a person with your bare hands and that I wouldn't be suprised if hands were banned.

Though I have to say, s-hooks can be dangerous. If the elastic snaps those things can fly!

 

This past weekend when my friend was visiting, we went to the Kohl's I used to work at and wore Sombrero's and I brought along Luna. Nothing like two girls with large Sombrero's and a weird looking doll to attract attention! But, the LP lady didn't bother me- they all know I'm crazy, lol.

 

Maybe not as much as you think... A lot of people's first impression of you is drawn not only from how you act and carry yourself, but also from how you look, and that's important if you don't want undue attention paid to yourself or your doll.

If you're dressed like the folks who regularly given them trouble, security is going to be a little more wary of you and your intentions. If you're not, the odds of them paying particular attention to you are lower... It may save you some questions or hassle if you can "blend in" in spite of having the doll with you.

 

I haven't taken my doll out to a mall yet for I don't have one but my childhood friend's father is a cop and he likes my dolls...well not "likes" but doesn't mind them. He says he knew I would get into something weird but he never suspected giant dolls, lol. I asked him if he was patrolling a local area like a mall or restaurant and saw one of these dolls would he think them suspicious and ask the owner to leave; his respone was of course not he would never ask a person or persons to leave if they looked like they were enjoying themselves peacefully and were not disturbing anyone. He also went to add that a police officer has no right to abuse his power and make a person leave simply because they themselves do not like the doll, clothing, person, etc. etc. he can only force them to leave the area if other people have reported that person as suspicious or harmful, and then he might follow the person in question around to see if it's true.