Volks Dolpa - Dolls Party in LA 2015 - LAX Marriot (9/5/2015)

Like many, in the excitement of actual movement on the Dolpa front, I put the name of my first Volks boy even though I am not certain he is the one I will bring. Sculpt information probably would have been much more relevant for them to identify the kinds of dolls we would be looking for. Also, to answer the question about where to send emails about what you may be looking for, I sent them to Volks USA email, which can be found in their information. I will be honest though…I kind of have this feeling that they may know or have an idea of they will be giving us, and I am not letting myself get my hopes up about more than just the experience of the Dolpa itself.

I am really hoping to get into the tea party, and even with not getting my hopes up I do still want to get a doll to remember the event by, hopefully there is something there for all of us!

 

Okay.
So.
I have been dying a little bit inside about this event. LA is so far away from the East Coast and tickets ain't cheap....and I'm already committed to taking a stop motion film up to Doll North (Toronto) in May, which is ALSO so far away from where I live.
I thought I would get over it.
But.
I can't stand it.
I have to be there.
Even though I have never owned a Volks, never even handled a Volks,
I just...have to be there.

And I realized a wonderful thing last night--those dolls I've been debating about keeping or no for the last year or so? I can let them go. I can pay for my plane ticket AND an "inexpensive" Volks companion to bring along with me.

I am crazy for even considering this.

 

Well that answers my little question about that part of the registration form.


I can't wait for September! The last time there was a Dolpa I'd have access to get to, I had to miss it, because I was in my first year of college out of state. I'll play sick at work if I have to, just so I can go.

Wow MissEmily, if you decide to go through with it, I wish you the best of luck! Wild horses couldn't keep me away from another local(ish) Dolpa.

 

Isn't anyone else dying to see who gets released for the Delta question I'm sure praying it is Alice and Lorina, the SDGR versions!

 

Yes!!! I really hope it's SDGR Alice and Lorina

 

I gave my doll's name on the form, but then put the sculpt in parentheses afterwards, because I wasn't sure which information they were looking for.

 

They emailed me back. They want the name you gave your doll so that owner and doll can both be invited.

Dear Holly,

Thank you for your email.

The name we requested on the form was for the name of your doll. The reason why we requested the name of your Dollfie is so that we can invite both owner and doll.

We hope this clears any misunderstanding.

 

Hazzah so I did this right. Glad to know I did something right. XD

Thank you for the clarification SilverHolly!

 

I left the doll's name field blank, because I have no earthly idea which doll I'm going to be bringing.... September is a long way away!

 

Does anyone know if there will be an after event?

 

Has anyone gotten their confirmation e-mail for submitting the Tea Party reservation form? I'm still waiting for one~

 

No, I haven't gotten a confirmation email yet either. Clochette, I think any of the Rozen Maidens as one-offs would be welcomed, but I know myself I would kill for a Suiseiseki, especially one painted by Ciera or Aone. And Renee!!!! There just aren't enough of that gorgeous girl around!!! And maybe a Mamu? I think I cover all of the size bases, lol.

 

I haven't received one either. i thought that maybe they would just send it, after the entry period was over.

 

Uhm, so I think this trip has just been blessed by the BJDieties! That or Senko is the best luck-wisher that ever lived....

But since posting my hair-brained scheme, I am now within $200 of making this trip happen (WHAT???)

Of course it has involved saying goodbye to lots of dollies. Lots. But. I think it's safe to say that this chica is headed straight for Dolpa and Volks ownership!

*runs around like an absolute crazy lady*

 

[MENTION=57662]MissEmily[/MENTION] It will be so great to see you again! I'm glad you decided to take the plunge!

 

That's fantastic MissEmily! I've been trying all day to get someone to go with me, but it looks like I'll be going to my first Dolpa alone. It will be great to meet some other bjd people. I haven't been around any since SDCC last year, and 2007 before that!

 

You can hang out with me and my friends if you would like senko! No need to be shy - we are all friends in the doll world. . Just shoot me a pm and we'll figure out where to meet.

 

I'm so excited to see both you and [MENTION=2110]idrisfynn[/MENTION] again! (Can't figure out how to link to you...the space in the name is throwing an error?)

No noooooo!!!!!

Dollie people don't bite But their dollies might.....


FIRST:
Volks Companion has been secured!
SD10 Suwarikko + DWC01 head. Coming from different places and will probably need crazy blushing to match....but!
SO EXCITED FIRST VOLKS DOLLIE EVER!!

SECOND:
I swear someone mentioned an after party. Searched the thread and can't find who....but YES. Please! I'll be staying at my sister's far away, so I don't have a space to volunteer--but Dolpa is soooo short. We must have after party. I'm half tempted to call the hotel and find out if they've got a small room...but we'd have to pay for that since it's not part of the official thing.

I was considering bringing a stop motion film thing with the new girly--could be fun to show at an after party. But I won't have a room like I did at Dollism. Hmmm. Thinking thinking.

 

@justkatie179 I'd love to hang out with y'all. I'll look up close places to meet. (I may live in Cali but I'm not too familiar with the area near LAX)

@MissEmily I'm seconding that after party!

 

I emailed Volks today to ask if they got my tea party registration entry since I never did get a confirmation and they said they did get it and would look into the issue of not getting a confirmation. Seems like maybe there is just a problem with the confirmation emails not being sent. I'm relieved now. Now just wait to see if there will need to be a lottery. I want to be able to go so badly

 

Communication has never been Volks's strong suit. I sincerely hope they can at least get it up to notify us when they decide whether or not we actually get in. Just Yes or No.

 

They just posted this on Facebook:

 

I'm curious, what forms of payment are usually accepted at Dolpas? I.e. do they generally have card scanners or is only cash accepted?

 

I've always paid via credit card at the Volks events. I can't imagine people would be expected to carry that much cash on them, especially if purchasing a one-off.

 

For Volks items, credit and cash okay. For any other vendors (if there are any), usually cash only. Best to bring some cash just in case.

 

So, i know you can only bring volks dolls to volks events.

But what about clothing/wig/shoes/eyes?

 

Sounds about right. I think the 2007 LA Dolpa had around 300 people, which is a good amount... but that was way back then and there are MORE people now...! I guess we'll see how many people get in and how many don't...

I don't think it's REQUIRED to have a doll to do the Tea Party! (I don't remember reading that, anyway, although I did read through all the info quickly. It's never been that way at any past event... that I recall...!) And you can always borrow someone's doll if so.

 

I emailed Volks about that. They said you do not need a doll to attend the Tea Party.

 

As much as I would have liked to go, won't be able to. I normally attend events with my mom and daughter and they do not allow people under 16, even with adult supervision (as far as I am aware). I messaged them to ask and posted on their Facebook and got slammed by a truckload of rude condensending people. :/ Pretty bummed as I would have liked to go, but since my mom is the only one who watches my daughter, we wouldn't be able to go together.

 

Dolpa unfortunately is a very bad idea for children - too many extremely expensive items for sale/on display that could be grabbed for and damaged long before a child could be restrained. Our hobby is definitely an more of an adult activity. Can you try to find another babysitter Staria?

 

How old is your daughter, Starla? Carrying-around-in-backpack/sling age, or independently mobile?

While I *totally* understand the rule (just one tug on a tablecloth could bring a $10K table of display dolls crashing down), I wonder when they instituted it?

Kira came with me to my first and second NY Dolpa, and she would have been 14 and 15 at the time. (She's also impeccably-behaved and mature, so I don't know if she stood out as being under 16 -- but there wasn't a rule about age at the time.)

Hope you can find an alternate sitter, Starla!

-- A

 

Oh I know having a doll isn't required. I just didn't want to get in and then be the odd one without a doll... XD;;
I don't have anyone to borrow a doll from as well.
I'll be content just meeting people that own dolls at the main event~! >w< I have yet to meet anyone offline in the three years that I've collected.

 

Did they lower the age requirement recently? I just checked and the minimum age to enter is 15. I thought it used to be 16...

Hopefully this will help some people.

 

Yesterday:

 

I've made hotel reservations, applied for the Tea Party (didn't get any kind of confirmation for that, but apparently a lot of people aren't getting them?), and just need to figure out flight plans (dates and which airport I should go to) so I can book my flights.

 

Regarding confirmation emails for Tea Party reservations, Volks posted this on their Facebook page on April 17:

It seems like a lot of customers were having issues with receiving confirmation emails when making reservations for the Dolls Party in Los Angeles 2015.
The problem has been resolved and confirmation emails will be sent out to all new reservations. Don't worry, we have everyone information reservations from before!

We are sorry for any inconvenience that this has may caused. Thank you very much for your understanding.

 

They do realize that this doesn't make sense, right? If there was a problem and they didn't get a reservation, they wouldn't know it because they didn't get it. :/

 

: This is ridiculous. I just re-submitted my application and got a confirmation right away-- now I don't even wanna think about what happened to the first one.

 

But in that case you can win 2 places for tea party on your own name. And you will be charged twice for this
I think Volks don't mind that they now need to revise the participants list for duplicated forms.
What to do? I'm concerning.

 

I don't think they'd enter me as two people, no. They know they messed up the first round. I also emailed them, to let them know I was reentering because my first entry was never acknowledged.

 

That's exactly what I did! Hopefully Volks had thought to check the entries before they send out confirmation emails. After I hit send of the re-entry, I was nervous that they would cancel me entirely because I've entered twice and maybe they thought I was trying to get an extra chance at the lottery? Hopefully the email clears it up. And sounds like a few of us have done the same thing.

Has anyone thought of who they are bringing? I think I want to bring my SD17 Genji (Takehiko). Anyone else want to bring their Genji for a reunion?

 

They do the "cancel all duplicate entries" thing for doll lotteries, but the rules for this tea party entry don't say anything of the sort. And I doubt they'd try to suddenly pull that trick after they effed up the emails so badly. They know they're getting a ton of duplicate entries already.

I always love seeing Takehiko! I wanted to bring Yuki, but he has non-Volks feet-- I just know they'd stop to get a closer look at how this guy could possibly be wearing such high heels without offbrand feet. And there's no way Yuki is going out in public with flat feet on. ^^ So, no, right now I have no earthly idea who to bring, but-- a Genji reunion is always a nice idea! Shinji is always fun at parties.

 

And I love seeing Shinji! Are you bringing Jimmy too? I don't think he counts as a full doll.

Yuki would be awesome to see but yes, I can understand why you hesitate to bring him. And I can understand Yuki not wanting to go be flat footed in public. Poor Yuki! You will just have to stay home and be attended to by your handsome pets!

 

Of course Jimmy will be there-- it just wouldn't be a Dolpa without the Jimster. Dude is always the life of the party.

Yeah, the Iplehouse pets would be strictly off-limits for travellin' anyway (even if Volks did allow them, they're too damn heavy to schlep ^^). I suppose it's possible to break character and put Yuki's flat feet on for such an occasion, but it wouldn't be fully him. Heh. So maybe Shinji. Or, maybe Adrian or Kentaro or one of the old-timers. I will probably decide the night before travelling to LA.

 

I re-submitted my tea party form and I ended up getting 2 confirmation emails. So did my husband. This is so bizarre...

 

The BF and I did our teaparty submissions on Sunday April 12. After waiting 3 days and no e-mail confirmation, I e-mailed Volks and got a prompt response; they said they did receive our submissions and confirmed our entries, so... I will consider that all is well for the time being. Their new online system sure has a lot of bugs and glitches, doesn't it?

@JennyNemesis, please bring Shinji! I want to see a Genji in person! The closest I've gotten is buying a Genji body in its box, which my Date commandeered -- he didn't want to be shorter than his brother-in-law (my Hijikata).

 

I was planning on bringing a Volks resin with pretty obvious fantasy body modifications (sculpted by me, not using any other company's parts). Do you all think that could be a problem? I don't want to disrespect our hosts! I used to attend the LA tea parties, and I don't think it would have been a problem then, but times do change. Thanks for your input!

 

[MENTION=8864]ghostdollie[/MENTION] If Volks has a problem with your hand sculpted modifications, then they need to officially ditch their "we seek creativity" motto. I'm sure that won't be a problem.

I guess I'll write for a confirmation rather than entering again. This event is starting off just like every Volks event, isn't it?

 

Thank you, St. James. That's kind of my take on it, too. Back in the day, Volks had a garage-kit feel to it!

 

I would love to see a Hijikata and Genji in person.

I only have the one volks boy so it'll be me and Mr. Nobody, my Date Masamune.

 

Hmmm... You know, if they'd just send out confirmations, that would put my mind at rest. But I just did the first one, and no confirmation yet.

Has anyone signed up and then asked Volks about it whether it was confirmed and found out that it wasn't??? Just wondering what I should do-- contact Volks and ask if they got my reservation, or re-do it? ...geesh.

 

Omigawd, if you are both bringing your Masamunes, I would be happy to bring Shinji! I would really love to take Yuki out to be photographed with other different Masamunes together (but getting him to wear flat feet, uhhh...). He is just the most amazing sculpt.

I am also looking forward to seeing some Hijikatas. There are just about every other Volks sculpt in the world here in SF, but I don't know anyone locally with a Hijikata so I never get to see him. And he makes me all melty.

Yeah... you'd never guess that it's 10 years later.

 

Just to have peace of mind about the whole thing I sent Volks an e-mail last night asking them to verify that my reservation was received. They promptly replied back today that they did indeed receive it. I'm sure they are having many people do this, but hey gotta do what you gotta do :-P

 

I would love to see Hijikata, Genji, and Masamune. Those are some of my favorite sculpts.

I guess I will write to Volks to see if they received my Tea Party reservation. My understanding is that they did receive all the first reservations even though the confirmations were not sent out.

 

I am trying to decide if maybe I want to lug my three msd boys in a roller case set up so they can be seen without much trouble, but who knows. I just can't decide between them all >,<;;; All my little idols want to shine and they are all getting geared up recently, so it is hard to say no!