Dollism Plus US Sep 19-21, 2014, presented by Dollheart, Den of Angels & Mint on Card

brighnasa, Sorry I missed the earlier post, thanks for the info

 

Arekushia, with 43 pages of posts, it would be hard to read everything! Perhaps the universal stuff could be added to the first post or in the news thread.

 

I'm trying to book my room now, and they are telling me for a single room for 4 people it's $169 a night, but it's supposed to be $149


edit; Problem has been fixed, their computer was just slow to update Got my room booked, very excited!

 

I just received an updated confirmation email with my room rate adjusted. I think the Hyatt is going back through their reservations and correcting the overcharges.

 

It's a relief to hear that.

 

I got an update too, but only for the two nights I'd booked via the website. I was able to modify my reservation online - the webpage is still extremely glitchy - but it still would not show any rooms as available on the preceeding Tuesday and Wednesday that are noted as being part of the event. Will call to get that sorted out and make sure they aren't still holding the other rooms I booked yesterday over the phone. I'd hate to inadvertently deprive someone of a hypoallergenic room!

 

YAY! Registered and made my reservations soooo happy.

 

Just got an updated email here too.

 

Once the vendors are announced, you'll see that there are definitely smaller artists in the mix. Booths can be split up to three ways, and if you sell small items you can still fit a few grand of merchandise into that space. Finding time to make that much merchandise is the tricky bit!

 

Booked my room! I am so excited! I plan to arrive a few days before the convention and stay a few days after, there is so much to see. I called in to book and it was very easy. Now I just need to register and get my flight all done!

 

Is there any info on a possible cap to the attendance? I'm just wondering what to expect. I haven't got my con membership yet...

---

A friend managed to get extra nights on her hotel reservation, so it looks like the "sold out" problem has been fixed, at least. Yay.

 

The vendor info I received mentioned attendance interest at 600-700 people. Of course, that's just a preliminary number based on a survey, but at least the expectation is there. I very much hope that so many people are able to attend!

 

I wonder if rooms will be available months from now...seeing as how I don't know if I can go. My job cut me to part time and I don't know anyone personally who is going, so I dunno if anyone wants to room with a stranger you only know online! I see April is looking and I'd be honored to room with you, but I need to see if I can save! I really want to come to this.

 

The gents just told me that I can update the vendor list to say that Soom is coming.

Re: smaller artists, we are doing our best to accommodate smaller artists by letting booths be split. The booths are large, so split the size is likely similar to an artist alley table. The focus is really on BJD, so we're hoping to have the "official" vendor stuff all high quality and tightly related to BJD and related artistry. The individual sales (for tiny tiny artists and more secondhand stuff) should be nicely covered by room sales, which are free to anyone staying in the hotel. We're trying to make a place for everyone, but there are limits to what we can do.

I am so excited to meet people and see old friends. I can't even tell you how excited I am to see some people that I haven't seen since the last NY Dolpa!

I'm hoping to get some of the programming up by the end of the week - it's fun coming up with contests and I think people will be very happy with the range of offerings.

if you have any other hotel-related issues, please let me know so I can take care of it for you.

 

How long will the badges be available? I get paid on the 20th, well the 21st since the bank is closed that Monday, and worked out a budget, I hope. I've also PMed April to see if she needs a roommate so hoping I can work this out!

 

THANK YOU! and i can infact state for me it has been fixed

 

Yes I'd like to know how long the badges will be available as well. I'm also trying to see if I can come and I hope that registration will be open long enough for us who are still deciding to work out a plan Thank you!!

 

Also wondering how long we have to register for the badges.

Also, SOOM is coming?! Oh gosh, that makes me so incredibly excited ;-;

 

Soom is coming?! Oh dear, if I do get to come, and my Chrom comes, I dunno what I'll do! I have quite a few Sooms!

 

I got a refund for the price difference on my room as well. I'm having trouble adding extra days though. It says there are fewer rooms than my selection, but I was able to add Sunday? I hope it sticks. Curse me and horrible sleep schedule. I wasn't able to jump in when things had been freshly updated. I'm not very savvy at this kind of thing.

 

FunnyLori I just updated my room a few minutes ago and was able to extend a day in both directions (originally I just had Friday-Sunday). Weird that it's already not working!

 

I got that weird room selection glitch too, so I just called. They worked it out over the phone no problem.

 

The vendor list is looking so great already! It'll be interesting to see what other wonderful companies will decide to attend as well. My partner and I are looking forward to some cool limited dolls.

Two quick questions~ We've never been to a convention for dolls like this before. What do doll companies generally bring with them? Is it mostly display with a little bit of stock or do they bring a bunch to sell and have a small display area?

And my friend and I have been fighting over this one for a while now. Would you feel comfortable leaving dolls in a locked hotel room? Staff are able to access it, but if you leave them in the luggage or stash them away, would it be safe? We have a variety of dolls to bring to find clothes and other supplies for, but would hate to have to lug them around the vendor area, especially if it gets very crowded. Anyone have suggestions on keeping the dolls safe?

 

I went to one back in Kentucky a few years ago. The girls across from me just put out the Do Not Disturb sign and the maids did not enter their room. Staff never bothered those rooms.

As for companies, I know MoC had dolls for sale but I don't remember what else. One girl had like 3 tables covered with clothes! When I sold the following year, I covered my table with clothes I had made and sold almost all of it. The hoodies were the biggest sellers.

 

When Attending IDEX This past year Whichever dolls my roommate and I weren't carrying around with us stayed in our room, and were never disturbed at all, but I definitely do understand the concern.

Anyone bringing Husbands?

 

Thanks! I'll see if the hotel has a policy for politely asking the cleaning staff not to enter the room.

I was able to extend our stay to include Thursday (Its now Thu-Sun). But it only lets you book a King room and not a double. The doubles seem booked for Thursday according to the website, but calling should clear this up in the morning!

 

When Soom did ComiCon they took orders for the dolls. The dolls they had on display there were the ones that were current at the time on their website. They did have some outfits and some eyeballs to sell on a 'first come first serve' basis.

They did make one 'ComiCon special' doll, Alex, the year that I saw them.

 

Thanks guys! I edited my post above so I don't get merged again. ^^;; (sorry about that, can never remember the protocol)

We never had a problem with our dolls and stuff in the room at Gogadoll, without a sign. Anything that was on the bed before it was made was put back in exactly the same spot after it was made. I was really impressed! I'm not saying things can't happen, but the staff should be very professional and leave any room with a do not disturb sign alone. Things can happen though, doors might not get fully shut, not everybody is honest unfortunately, so use common sense. Don't leave things out in the open or in the room that you would be heartbroken to lose.

Since I'm flying in from the west coast, I'll only be bringing a couple of dolls. This is the fun part, deciding which ones to bring. Because one never knows what will be sold at these things, I always bring the hardest one to fit to try things on (learned that one the hard way!) and one bigger pretty one and one smaller pretty one for when my arms get tired from carrying the big one around.

My husband might be coming. He has his own dolls, but doesn't seem too interested in the convention. He'll probably run around town sight seeing all weekend.

 

Husband was definitely coming, as we were planning a bang-up room-sale thing...but I just now remembered...oh, yeah, I have kids....hmmm. Might have to rethink this approach...

 

Can someone clarify for me- Does the hotel charge at the time of booking or at checkout? (I know I could probably find out by calling but I have difficulty hearing on the phone so I prefer to do everything online.)

 

As far as I know, Sealion, the hotel does not charge at the time of booking/checkout. I used my discover card and they haven't charged anything to it since my booking yesterday.

 

And now rethinking this...I can't afford a room right now. I don't have a roommate to share...

 

That's what we need, a roommate thread. Would that fall under the meetups category or would we have to wait for a mod to post a sticky for it? I'd hate to post it in the wrong place!

 

Thanks for the info! That's a good amount of people for a first-time con. Of course "attendance interest" might not pan out. Or there might be an even bigger demand-- kind of hard to predict. But I'm glad they are thinking it might be that much. It seems as if there's time to get registered. And should be enough rooms blocked...

Soom! That's fantastic news! I bet that will help in making people decide to go. Will the companies that commit to come be posted somewhere? I think the first post in the NEWS thread just has possible companies.

Is there a place to go to find Exhibitor (Seller) information? I think I'm totally out of the loop, since I haven't seen much of any info... But it's a great thing to allow shared tables/booths. And the room sales sound fantastic, too. Often cons don't like that because they think it competes too much with the Exhibitor/Sellers room... but it's not as if anyone can stop private sales from happening, so might as well make it a feature!

Hey, Rynn007. PM'd you. I hooked up with someone already--but I'm sure you'll find someone!

I'm not at all official... but I've been to other doll cons. I think it depends on the company as to what they bring. Soom's been to the New York Comic Con and they had some dolls for sale and a special doll for sale for that convention. Displaying is often as important as bringing things, because the stock they do bring might not be what people are looking for, but if they show things, people might think about ordering or pre-ordering... Hauling along a ton of resin is very expensive, too. So it will depend on what the company wants to feature, what they have in-stock, if they wish to advertise a special doll that can be bought only there, or pre-ordered, and if they have things they think they can easily sell and won't be costing an ton to ship over.

Volks usually does a mix of display, one-offs and special dolls for sale, and clothes and other items (at least at the very few events I've seen them at).

DollHeart should have a ton of clothes, shoes, wigs for sale.

Individual vendors usually have a mix of display and items for sale, too.

That said--I have NO idea how it will be in reality! I could be wrong!

I've had dolls in hotel rooms. My tip would be--keep them wrapped up in your suitcases if you are worried, or at least make them somewhat inconspicuous. But they are kind of big and obvious, so they might not tempt any thieves as much as money and jewelry would. Maybe keep smaller things in cases and drawers and closets. I've never had a problem with dolls sitting about in a hotel room--but I did think about possible problems. I've kept my dolls wrapped and I've had them just sitting around... so far, so good.

I worry a bit more about dolls in luggage that might be lost when flying... (I try to keep them in carry-ons, but the really big dolls, or multiple big dolls, won't fit in carry-ons... so I've had to check dolls before. Again, so far, so good.)

---
Room-mate thread would be good. Maybe have one along with the Carpool thread?

Hotels usually don't ask for money up front for reservations--although they might ask for a credit card, but won't charge if you cancel unless it's a day or two before arrival, they might charge something then for holding a room. They usually have a policy stated somewhere on their website.

 

I know some hotels offer safes you can rent but I'm not sure how much and what hotels offer them.
I'd also like to see if there are any adjacent hotels nearby just in case capacity fills up and only very pricey
rooms are left. If anyone knows I'd appreciate it

 

Started a Roommate thread here: http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?608708

 

If My Hubby doesn't want to attend convention, maybe he and yours can tool around town together FunnyLori.

So happy to see Val Zeitler will be there!

 

Thanks for the great information, April and AnnoDomini! Hopefully in seeing this she'll get off my back about wanting to tote around a small wagon with all our dolls in it -.-.

And Soom isn't up there yet, but there's a confirmed list of vendors on the Dollism website where you register, April. ​Very excited to see Ringdoll on that list! I've got a RD boy to clothe...

EDIT: Thanks for the Roomie thread, St. James!

 

I have no fear of leaving dolls exposed in a hotel room. My first job was as hospitality housekeeping and the LAST thing the hotel staff want to do is mess with a patron's belongings.
A word, though, if you don't want housekeeping in your room, you need to call the desk and request no service. A "do not disturb" sign is not enough! The desk will call your room and make the housekeeper enter to clean if you don't answer, unless you have requested otherwise.

 

I've booked from Friday to Monday. Will the con start early Friday? It's mentioned that registration starts at 5pm on Friday but I don't know if it will open and have events earlier. I'm wondering if I should also book Thursday too. My hubby and most likely two of his friends will be join me. They aren't doll people but they can keep each other occupied and they don't mind seeing the dolls and have followed me to several doll meetups.

I can't wait to meet everyone!!!

 

Yay! I was able to extend to Thursday-Monday and switch to a King room with no trouble. I thought it better to leave the doubles to folk traveling with friends or with roommates. The dolls don't really need a bed of their own.

I always put cash in a safe, but otherwise I leave my many convention purchases on the desk or chairs. It never hurts to be careful, but I think dolls would be safer in the room than being carried when shopping. Too easy to leave them behind!

 

I'm going and taking my daughter. But I just saw your petition for getting a Feeple DES, how many times can we sign that? LOL I've been needing TWO new DES in Feeple ever since Fairyland came around and eLuts stopped making them

Yes, my husband and kids and my oldest daughter are coming with her dolls. The little ones are going to swim for the days we are their while we go shopping

 

I saw the question, but I don't remember where so I can't quote it to reply...

All legitimate BJD are welcome - they don't need to be on-topic. Heck, you can even bring Blythe, dollfie, Monster High. We don't really care... and frankly, we want to see the dolls that you love most.
The only thing NOT allowed are recasts. We ask that people respect the organizers, community, and vendors by leaving any bootlegs at home.

 

I'm glad I reserved this morning, I don't know if I would have gotten a room if I'd waited until Friday. Just wondering, if we decide to participate in room-sales later on can it be added? Very excited about this.

 

Ok, I just changed my mind. I booked a room. There. Now to save up!

 

Booked at another hotel from that wednesday to friday, and the hyatt friday to sunday (me and the hubby are in school, so it'll be hard enough getting off wednesday to friday ugh, can't do monday most likely)

This is probably a silly question, but if we rent a car at the airport, are we allowed to take it into Canada? That's why we are getting there so early, to do some sight seeing

Can't wait to see everyone ^_^

 

If anyone is needing a roommate, PM me. I got a double room booked. And I got good news! My mother is going to help me save up!

 

You'd probably have to check with the specific rental company about crossing the border.

Other thing to remember - if you're going to Canada, you will need a passport. They take a couple months, so apply soon!

Rynn, it will be lovely to finally meet you.

 

Armeleia it'll be nice to meet you too! And do you know if the hotel does any tours?

 

There's a trolley that does a three mile loop with six stops along the falls, I saw that in the hotel info and plan to check it out!

 

Thanks Armeleia, going to work on our passports soon and to double check about the rental car information.

 

Thank you for that! Sounds like it'd be fun!

 

I've been checking on the trolley, it appears to run only within Niagara Falls State Park. I haven't found anything yet on how to get to the park from the hotel. I assume a lot of people are interested in visiting the falls, so please share if you have any info.

 

This year i'll probably sit out, at least for vending, and see how it does it's first year. But you guys are awesome at responding to feedback here! I do hope it does well, most doll cons are quite a trip for me here on the east coast so it's great to have something on this end of the country!

 

Ok! So, my friends and I decided to make things simpler on ourselves and add extra days on at the convention rate instead of finding another hotel, and it was a huge hassle! I ended up speaking to someone in the sales department, and they told me that while the convention has a hotel block guaranteed for the dates of the convention, and that we'll be able to extend the stay 3 days either before or after at the same convention rate, they don't automatically put rooms up at those rates for the extended days, because the event only specifically contracted days for the three days of the convention.

It seems that this is why the surrounding days have been marked as sold out, because they only make a few rooms available at a time on those days instead of being available along with the primary convention dates. I think basically you just need to call the actual hotel (not the 888 number) to ask them to add days at the convention rate if you want to stay longer than the event lasts, and they'll do it manually, as long as they have the room.

Anyway, now that I have our hotel all figured out (and we'll probably rent a car for sightseeing purposes and just use valet parking) I'm even more excited about going! Something about getting reservations finalized really helps solidify the fact that I'm going in my head. XD

 

The Buffalo tourism board is totally all over us, so if enough people want to go to the falls we can probably book a bus/tour thing at a group rate. If this is sounding like something we want to go, I can add a sign up to gauge interest and find out pricing. If you've never been to the falls, you should definitely go! And September should be pretty, particularly if the leaves are changing. And there's the maid of the mist boat torus and the observatory and nature trails there, many of which might be nice for dolly tourism photos.

Also, I just spoke to the hotel and they said they're sold out on the 16th and 17th now (the Tuesday and Wednesday before). I checked on the rest and it sounds like we've booked a bit over half of our block on Friday and Saturday and about a third on Sunday. I'm pretty sure the block will end up selling out, but if we know early enough we might be able to expand the block while there's still availability.

I'm so excited about the dolly party at the hotel with so many people staying there!! The hotel is putting us all close together, so it should be loads of fun - like a big old sleepover.

 

I think i missed that post, there is a doll party at the hotel?
Also when do you buy ticket to go to the event? Have never been to any con before >.<

 

^^ The Roomate thread is now stickied :>

 

Will people from DOA, Dollheart or Mint on Card be reaching out to various doll companies to invite them to attend?

 

We're in the process of doing that. Some companies have replied, some have not. The current confirmed vendors are up on the site.

Hatsuharu, there's no actual party, I was just talking about how cool it's going to be to be able to party with friends at the hotel.