Disney Princess Designer Collection DOLL Release Discussion v2.0

the release time has been set its on the disney blog and facebook

Dolls Crazy but Awesome!

First off I made a four hour drive to the Disney store closest to where I live. Me and my husband looked at it as a fun little adventure to get away. We got to the Disney Store Sunday and try to do some recon such as how many of each doll, what door open first etc... Then we stayed until closing and then left. We figured it was going to be crazy so we left around 4:30am today and we drove around the mall a little bit and finally parked and got out to head toward the entrance we did not see any one so we were hesitant to stay to start with but then we seen some other cars and people approaching. We lined up at the main entrance. We where the first in line at that entrance. Mall security came by to start with and told everyone which was only about eight people at the time that we could not be on mall property until 6:45am when the mall opens at 7:00am. Everyone knew that we would lose our spots if we left. So we decided to stick around unless security told us to leave again. They could see us on the camera and they came back so my guess is they really did not care that we where there and probably just told us to leave for liabilities issues. A worker cam out the door and one of the other people in line asked about the door. It winded up being open. I think it was somewhere around 6:30am. We went calmly and lined up in the section they had roped off for the line fore the dolls by the Disney Store. I meet Desiree there who had got in another entrance so me and my husband where second in the official line. They only let two people in at the time. Desiree was nice enough to let me and my husband go first since we was second in line so we could go in together. So we where able to be the first to get what we wanted and check out. Boy was it a challenging getting all the dolls back to the car. Thanks Desiree. We got our dolls. I got Pocahontas, Jasmine and Aurora for myself. Rapunzel and Tiana for my sister. And my husband got another Pocahontas and Jasmine for my mom. So we got all the dolls we came there for. We also was able to get the bags which I had not received yet because of ordering online. The people in line made time pass by faster most people where super friendly and we had conversation about merchandise, parks and cruises. It was also nice meeting a fellow board member. The cast members where really nice and well organized one card for each person so they could keep track of how many they had. I even had a "Unbirthday" Sunday. I love Disney magic. From what I could tell they where keeping to the rules of age limits and actually turned away a guest who was 17 and had no ID to prove it. It was fun, exciting and nerve racking at the same time. I could not sleep Sunday at all despite only getting three hours sleep the night before. I think it was midnight when I went to sleep and a literally would wake up every 30-40min or at least it seemed that way. I am glad I got my favorites though. The line was pretty mellow with no line cutting. It was a nice adventure that I am very thankful ended well with some new treasures for my collection. The cast members are again really friendly and think anytime I am in the Atlanta area I will be visiting this store.

PS How hard is for everyone else not buy to much at the Disney Store? I know it is for me.

jlynn6 said:

Some were collectors but I think about half of them were resellers, including a family of four that included a boy that was 10, who was pulled out of school to make a quick buck for this family that were diffiently not disney collectors (the whole time we were praying that he wouldn't be able to get the dolls and when he didn't get the cards the mom had a huge fit! But luckily the cast member handled it greatly and held her ground )

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I want to take a moment to say how glad I am that there was an age restriction on the purchase opportunity. Don't get me wrong - I think if a kid wants the dolls, they have every right to own and enjoy them, in or out of the box as they please. But this policy was clearly in place to stop the rampant bull**** we always see at LE releases, with resellers pulling their kids out of school to try and make a fast buck. Big thumbs up for an insightful decision by Disney (too bad they didn't make the insightful decision to tell mall security what was going on in most cases, but yeah - at least they got something right on the higher-protocol level).

-JD

Mad_For_Alice said:

We chose the wrong mall period.

We had been contacting both security as well as the Disney Store for WEEEEEKS.
Trying to figure out the plan, if there was one, what our best chance was to get the dolls while still abiding by the rules.
They told us all along, that there was no "official" line at any entrance (which I begged them to create) and that their recommendations were to try the entrances closest to the DS (near Nordstrom) where the previous customers had had the most luck.
This was the last thing we heard at mall closing at 7PM last night.
Our wait began immediately after.

THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS.
OUR WAIT BEGAN AT 7PM ON SUNDAY NIGHT.

Around 3AM we spotted 2 people by the door from our car and we jumped out to join them in what we THOUGHT would be a line.
We were 3 & 4.
Essentially guaranteed the dolls to complete our set.

Come 4AM a security vehicle pulls up next to our little tight-knit, gung-ho ecstatic community and tells us that we are to abandon our line and join the now "official" line on the other side of the mall.

Needless to say,
we were no longer 3 & 4 in line.
We were 24 & 25.
& only ended up being able to purchase Jasmine.
& I was lucky enough to be able to trade for Aurora.

In all honesty, I am very upset with the mall security.
And as much as I understand that my birth certificate was never stamped with the large brand "FAIR",
I really feel a little robbed.
The first people in line had only been there since 12.
We were there a total 5 hours before them, and a whopping 13 hours total to only get one doll.
If I am torn to shreds over these feelings, then so be it.
But I am definetly NOT EVER going to recommend Glendale Galleria for an event such as this to anyone for any reason ever.

On a side note:
Congrats to all who acquired the dolls!
I am happy to hear quite a few had an enjoyable time and that the dolls went to loving homes

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We had the EXACT same experience.. word for word.. except that they allowed us to wait at the front of the store inside the mall for hours before moving us to "the official line" where someone had been composing a "list" for hours while we were inside. I was at their gate camping for hours. I thought I'd made it. We'd called for weeks, plotted it out, arrived at 7pm closing the night before.. were told there is no line, enter at several specified doors. We did so. Security took it upon themselves to shuffle people that had been there the day before BEHIND people who had arrived at 4am. It was not right at all.

The only difference is the end to my story. We were moved to about 40th in line so we had to join someone in line earlier. There was just no other way. We all know Disney won't make right on what they told us the process would be. I still don't have my Mulan doll and I had a card for one but one had to be shipped back? This isn't my first time at the get-screwed-over-rodeo.. People were really nasty and we got no where close to where we were supposed to be in line. At that point they should have opened the doors and it's free for all as they had said for weeks.. or done a lottery. No one's ever guaranteed as it is anyhow.. I got there at 7pm at mall closing the day before and I still got screwed. I got the last Aurora.. had I been one more person back I would not have gotten her and she was most important to me. There were 28 full sets.. I was #28. Unbelievable. I'd say I can't believe this is over dolls.. but I believe it.. I've been in love with dolls and these princesses for years..

Security told us we couldn't make any noise.. I wanted to belt out some Disney songs and see how he felt about that. What a grump! and what terrible security. What a terrible mall.

Woodfield?!?!?!

jlynn6 said:

Woodfield, in Illinois. Yes, I am also going to try and get the dolls online, my checkout hardly ever works, but fingers crossed

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You live super close to me!!! I went to Harlem Irving Plaza in Norridge, IL. Some of the collectors there said Woodfield was insane...and that was my second choice mall. It was actually fairly calm by us we all waited in line outside and when we got in (the door we were all at opened first) their were 3 people randomly already waiting there. People were pissed and because of them I almost didn't get my Aurora, but I paid someone an extra $20 for their ticket. Needless to say I'm okay with that and felt better about it. But yeah, tickets were passed out at 730 and we started paying at 815 (store is suppose to open at 10am) so that was really cool because I got to work only a half hour later (I told them I'd be in at 10 and coming in at 9 was a blessing, but I was super exhausted).

They're really good about releases at the HIP definitely recommend it for you, for any future releases. PM if you're looking for a specific doll...people that were in the line were looking to trade dolls and we swapped info.

Congrats to everyone who got their dolls today and I wish everyone the best of luck tomorrow for their online purchases.

Tr8dWitMe said:

the mall security was telling everyone that was walking by that asked what the line was for, he replied that Michelle Obama was making an appearance at the Disney Store.

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Priceless!!!!!

^ that's funny! I guess we should had went there! It was sorta crazy not horrible just that problem with picking the wrong door. Your lucky that you got out of there so quickly, we didn't get the cards till 9:30 and by that time there was about 50 people in line, I think a few were mall walkers that wanted to see what was going on it was good that everyone that got there before seven ended up getting a doll. I would really consider going to that mall instead if I was to ever do something like this again, woodfields just to big! Ill wait to see if I'm able to get any dolls tommorrow but I will pm you if I think I could maybe make a trade. Thanks

jlynn6 said:

^ that's funny! I guess we should had went there! It was sorta crazy not horrible just that problem with picking the wrong door. Your lucky that you got out of there so quickly, we didn't get the cards till 9:30 and by that time there was about 50 people in line, I think a few were mall walkers that wanted to see what was going on it was good that everyone that got there before seven ended up getting a doll. I would really consider going to that mall instead if I was to ever do something like this again, woodfields just to big! Ill wait to see if I'm able to get any dolls tommorrow but I will pm you if I think I could maybe make a trade. Thanks

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For sure! I love me some Woodfield, but it is definitely too big! Yeah, I think they like to get us out of there early. It gets to chaotic and doesn't allow the CM's to watch the store well (at least that's how it was for previous releases, but this time was thoroughly more organized). Yeah, there was like 22 Raps, 20ish Jas, Tiana and Poca had I think 13/14 and Aurora had 10. So overall a good amount for that area.

3 Hours to Go (UK), 11 Hours To Go (US)

Wow, just finished catching up on this thread. Some crazy stories about the line up for dolls in the US earlier today! I'm glad I didn't decide to take off work today and try for a mall. I will take my chances online tomorrow morning.

So it's 3 hours to go before the dolls go for sale online in the UK Disney Store, and only 11 hours to go on the US Disney Store.

Good luck to everyone who is trying to get the dolls online! Hopefully we will hear good news from Rose soon!

As has been already posted in another thread, the US site has removed the four remaining items in the Disney Princess Designer Collection page, even though they are in fact not sold out. This is probably to prepare for the release of the five dolls.

i will be trying for mine from the UK site a friend over there is happy to ship them to me Freaking out though rofl

Stitch2814 said:

I am entitled to my opinion and I stick by it. In regards to those 2 situations then I guess my comments dont imply as those were just sneaky people but please dont start hating on me just because I have my opinion. And my post was NOT regarded towards moondance or the other post you mentioned as more a general point of view for those who dont like the fact that they didnt get there doll.

And if you want someone to blame then point fingers at people who took the family and bought more than the 1 of each doll.

and please dont assume Im just commenting for fun, I travelled 4 hours to Dublin (8 hours in total) to get my Rapunzel and a friends Aurora doll and I have to say I just walked in, picked the dolls up and paid.

Its only in the US the dolls are being crazy for with lines, tickets etc and in my opinion all this is your own fault and have only yourself to blame no one else.

Flame me all you want for what I say but it will do no good as wont change my mind.

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It was just as bad in London...

I wish I'd never read any of the doll threads. The only dolls I have are Bella &Edward from Twilight. After seeing pics, I wish I'd bought Cinderella, but I was "ok"with not having her. Then I read all the posts...see the pics... & I think I MUST have them!!!

Is the madness contagious? What is the matter with me? I will try to get online at work.. If I don't, I will survive, but I won't like it!

Curse you all for infecting me! :anxious: :angel:

I'm new to the forums so hi to everyone, been ghosting for a little while but the shared experience of this doll release has gotten me motivated enough to actually register :hs:. I preface this whole story by saying the experience at the Disney Store itself was awesome and I was lucky enough to get the very last Jasmine in the store so at least I got one doll. I am looking to trade her but I will post that in the other forum if anyone is interested.

For me, I had a similar experience to many of you, minus the getting there early. I went to my mall the day before and checked with the concierge desk and security to see when the mall doors would open and was told that it would be 9am. Honestly having never done something like this in a mall with a store that does not have its own exterior entrance I didn't even think lining up early would be an option because there are eight different entrances to the mall and I just assumed there would be no way to figure out who got there at what time, etc. and so a lot of my own experience stems from my own misconceptions of the situation. Don't get me wrong I've done Black Friday and Disney limited edition events before so I know all about lining up at 12am and standing around with a bunch of others to wait but that has always been at a store with its own dedicated entrance so....

Moving along, I got there at 8:45am and found that the doors had actually opened at 8am and this is what I was most upset about the entire day, the fact that I had gone and verified the time twice with the mall and was told the wrong information both times. Talking to other people in line some of them were told the 8am time and a few people who had called the store directly said they were told 9am so that part was not very well communicated. I don't know that it would have changed anything in terms of where I was in the line but I would have definitely been there an hour earlier had I known.

Once I got to the store there were about 25 people in line already, I wasn't sure that I would be able to get a doll but decided since it was just an hour it was worth it to wait and thankfully I had two friends who had come just to keep me company, not to buy any dolls. The people around me in line were really nice, there was one Ebay reseller, a girl there specifically to get the Rapunzel doll (unfortunately they ran out right before her) and two grandparents trying to buy the dolls for their twin granddaughters. One of the store employees was standing out with all of us chatting and generally trying to keep the mood upbeat. She was great and like a few others said, she warned all of us in line that not everyone would get every doll but that everyone in line at that point would get a doll. They passed out the tickets and everyone waited around to go in and buy their dolls. They only let two people in the store at a time because apparently there was an incident during the Snow White release at one of the store's where some dolls were stolen.

The only misstep I saw from the Disney Store itself was that they miscounted the vouchers for dolls. They had one extra Rapunzel and Jasmine voucher that they handed out and did not have an actual doll for. Those two people were upset about that, which I understand because while I was the last person to get a doll, before I got it I was told that they were out. Thankfully my friends talked me into waiting around for a few minutes because somehow they found one more. For Disney Store in general, I know this was an attempt to solve the problems highlighted by the other dolls but I think it was poor planning to have the three dolls with what, I think, was the smallest edition sizes all released at the same time but I'm sure there wasn't much they could do about that. No matter how they released them people would have problems with the process although I personally think they should have just released the final dolls in the stores and skipped the online sale, especially with the small edition sizes or limited each person to two or three dolls total, but that's just my two cents.

As for resellers I would say that only one or two of the people in my line who got all five dolls actually intended to keep any of them. While it was disappointing for me as someone who actually wanted the Aurora doll I can't be upset with them because, had I gotten all five, I was only going to keep the two I really wanted and planned to sell the rest online to cover the cost. Plus they invested the time to be there early, from what I understand some of them were there at 2am, and I can't say I would have made the effort to get there before 7. I did ask if anyone would trade my Jasmine doll for the Aurora but got no takers.

I plan on trying again online in a few hours and wish everyone the best of luck getting at least one doll you want. Hopefully it is a smoother experience in general and at least we know everyone has the same opportunity to get the dolls.

Happy Clicking,
Wdwaurora

Rose_Valentine said:

lol Yes this thread have SO passionate users D) and i think we infecting you too! Welcome in "Designer Dolls Freakness"!!! :hsd:

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Yesterday Moondance told to me she was able to get all 5 dolls for her (YAAAAY i am so happy for her!!!!) and the Rapunzel for me!
She show me yesterday,before she going to sleep (poor,i just imagine all of you do the lines ) her in Skype and i say "is yours?" and she "Not. She is YOURS" lol :shock: ....... yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay

(i dance:wiggle:,run in my house:eek2:,go out and scream to all my happyness :rofl:,kiss random people :shock:,singing with the birds and animals and flowers and say "Urrà" :hsd:
and hugs ALL :hug

Ok. Now im fine.

Many many many Thanks to my Moon :love:

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Today is the LAST day for all want her doll/Dolls.

Shiva and the others who aren't able to get the dolls ... i pray for you all . :hug:..you will have the dolls you want! Have faith and someday...your dolls will arrive!

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I am so happy for you, Rose, that our dear friend Moondance was able to make your dream come true, but also that her wish to get the final 5 also came true, too! I know that you feel as happy as I did when I received my Snow White doll! But we are not out of the woods, yet... By tomorrow afternoon, this will really be over, for better or for worse! Good luck to all of us trying online!

OH yay Rose im sooo happy for you thats fabulous i had the lovely Constance manage to get me a Tiana and A friend in the US got me a Jasmine lol so im on tonight hoping to get my Auroa, Poci and Raps which me luck

Shivatopia said:

I am so happy for you, Rose, that our dear friend Moondance was able to make your dream come true, but also that her wish to get the final 5 also came true, too! I know that you feel as happy as I did when I received my Snow White doll! But we are not out of the woods, yet... By tomorrow afternoon, this will really be over, for better or for worse! Good luck to all of us trying online!

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Shiva!!! You know how i feel now!! I'll think about you today for your 5 dolls! You will get hers!

love4dollz said:

OH yay Rose im sooo happy for you thats fabulous i had the lovely Constance manage to get me a Tiana and A friend in the US got me a Jasmine lol so im on tonight hoping to get my Auroa, Poci and Raps which me luck

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Yay!!!! You finally have your Jasmine! Isnt cool????? :hsd:

HEHE yes its great and Tiana who i really wanted to but i must have Rapy and Poci and i guess Auroa also lol
IM soo happy for you awww MOon is such a sweetheart

love4dollz said:

HEHE yes its great and Tiana who i really wanted to but i must have Rapy and Poci and i guess Auroa also lol
IM soo happy for you awww MOon is such a sweetheart

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She is a BIG SWEETHEART. She stand in line for her and me too. I am so happy for her and for all have their dolls.

I really say "Good luck" people to all now for online situation.

Yes good luck to us all!! <3

Rose_Valentine said:

She is a BIG SWEETHEART. She stand in line for her and me too. I am so happy for her and for all have their dolls.

I really say "Good luck" people to all now for online situation.

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I stood in line and got tickets for your Rapunzel and my aunt's Jasmine.

My boyfriend gave me his dolls, but my grandma gave him her Tiana, so now he's got to get his own online.
Constance got me a Pocahontas! <3 Thank you!

Hehe hey Moondance did you manage to get me a journal in the end??

Moondance said:

I stood in line and got tickets for your Rapunzel and my aunt's Jasmine.

My boyfriend gave me his dolls, but my grandma gave him her Tiana, so now he's got to get his own online.
Constance got me a Pocahontas! <3 Thank you!

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Robyn........ ... THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :hug:
I am so HAPPY ..and all is just for you!!!!

I just wanted to share my haul with you all:



Magic Tickets!!! (the grumpy cast member wouldn't let us keep them :down



Jasmine is absolutely gorgeous! One of my fave dolls in the collection!



Aurora is just stunning.. but I do cringe everytime I see her bangs!!



Beautiful Tiana with super cute Naveen puckering up!



Pocahontas is also beautiful, but wish they had brightened her up a bit like the rest of the princesses.



Rapunzel is so pretty!



Snow White's pictures that I haven't gotten around to posting on here. I love love love love her dress!

And while I was admiring my new set of dolls my awesome boyfriend (who endured the craziness with me this morning) surprises me with:



Mulan!!!!! He said that he tried to find Ariel for me, but could not afford the ridiculous prices on e-bay, so compensated with Mulan! He told me he'd still try to find her for me though. Swooooooooooon. Hooray for thoughtful boyfriends!

Anyway, good luck to all who are trying for the dolls online tomorrow! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you all! Stay positive!!

loves_disney said:

I just wanted to share my haul with you all:



Magic Tickets!!! (the grumpy cast member wouldn't let us keep them :down



Jasmine is absolutely gorgeous! One of my fave dolls in the collection!



Aurora is just stunning.. but I do cringe everytime I see her bangs!!



Beautiful Tiana with super cute Naveen puckering up!



Pocahontas is also beautiful, but wish they had brightened her up a bit like the rest of the princesses.



Rapunzel isso pretty!



Snow White's pictures that I haven't gotten around to posting on here. I love love love love her dress!

And while I was admiring my new set of dolls my awesome boyfriend (who endured the craziness with me this morning) surprises me with:



Mulan!!!!! He said that he tried to find Ariel for me, but could not afford the ridiculous prices on e-bay, so compensated with Mulan! He told me he'd still try to find her for me though. Swooooooooooon. Hooray for thoughtful boyfriends!

Anyway, good luck to all who are trying to the dolls online tomorrow! I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you all! Stay positive!!

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they are ALL gorgeous!!!! Congratulazioni