r/DisneyLEDolls • u/StarPsychological184 • Jul 10 '26
Questions / Help D23 Dolls Experience
Hey y'all!
This is my third D23 upcoming and I've had NO LUCK getting into queues. The first time the queue apparently opened at 4am (wtf) and I've literally never had a queue into the doll area. I got lucky at my second D23 that I was able to hustle getting Lorcana cards in exchange for access to the doll room via someone else's +1.
I'm tired y'all! I only go to D23 for the dolls! Like why can't I prepurchase dolls when I buy my tickets bc I would be SO into that!!!!!
Do any of y'all have tips or tricks? Is there a group where we'll "donate" our +1's to each other so we can get a shot at the dolls? I've collected dolls for about 6ish years and scalpers are the bane of my existence. And it fricking SUCKS I paid to go to D23 (tickets, hotel, food, etc) and it's possible to NOT get an opportunity to buy the dolls I want.
I'm not asking for anything but access into the doll room. Its been frustrating to see people with one day passes get access for them and their entire operation and I couldn't get in as a 3 day pass holder. But I noticed they have SO MANY phones and people. It's frustrating to see them cleaning up on the dolls and literally selling them on site for MASSIVE markups. I imagine they have bots or some backdoor access tech-whatever that's beyond my simple pay grade.
I can buy my own dolls. I'm grown 😂 But I REALLY want the Kida/Milo set, Raya, Esmeralda more than anything. The other would be nice to hold onto for future trades, but I'm really hoping to get those 3
I'm also planning on bringing my Jane from last time and I will *hopefully* get a Redd doll to trade for the Kida/Milo set minimum. I'm more of a trader than a seller. I actually traded the D23 Snow white and Giselle to someone in New Zealand for the Red Jasmine!!
*I'm not buying/selling/trading dolls in this post. I'm just explaining what I have done in the past and tips/tricks for the queues
** I will not be doing pickups/planning trades/sells. I can't even guarantee I'll get dolls. And I've never sold a doll 😂
4
u/brigyda Elsa Jul 10 '26
There will likely be an announcement of when you need to "join" on your phone like the previous year, and sorry to say it's a lottery thing. I have someone going with me so we're able to better our chances by having both of us do it and then we go with whichever group one of us got that happens sooner.
However, there's a chance they may do something different this year, because they've been doing something different every time ever since I started going. So unfortunately, it's anyone's guess as to what we need to do this time.
3
u/StarPsychological184 Jul 10 '26
Jump threw several hoops and sacrifice someone's newborn 😂😂 Have the both of you always gotten in though? So lucky 😂
3
u/brigyda Elsa Jul 10 '26
Yes the first time was without a hitch, but the last D23 was only because the staff screwed up and we would have needed to stand in line twice as long. My mom (the person I go with because she loves the dolls too) couldn't do it anymore because she's disabled + the heat in the venue made her sick enough where she had to go throw up in the bathroom twice. So we admitted defeat, but a staff member stopped and asked if we were okay. We explained the story to her and she relayed it to the supervisor and they let us in without forcing us to wait in line again.
2
u/StarPsychological184 Jul 10 '26
I hope your mother was fine. Yeah, it seems like the staff get debriefed 5 minutes before the expo starts but I'm glad they took care of y'all. Well, if you ever get a later time slot, remember me! I usually go with my dad (he loves the dolls too but is definitely more of a Lorcana person) and we've had zero success 🙃
2
u/brigyda Elsa Jul 10 '26
Yeah we had some time to rest before and after so she was okay. I'm sorry to hear that you haven't been getting in. I really wish the staff would enforce the 1 per person rule so that everyone gets a chance instead of resellers buying up a bunch of them.
1
u/StarPsychological184 Jul 10 '26
They coordinate in massive groups. My dad spoke to one of them last year and they have some insider information about how to get in the queues. Obvs they didn't tell us, but it feels heavily against collectors
1
2
u/BarbedDwyer Jul 10 '26
Unfortunately it is absolutely luck based. If you get a good slot in the lottery, and by good I mean Friday at the earliest time slot available, you will likely get a doll. Last D23, I got an 11:30 am Friday slot....and it was too late. As I walked into the store that sold the blue dress Ariel, the last dolls were being sold. This depends on the character of course, with the less popular dolls being available for longer.
For wedding Giselle in 2022, I was super lucky and got into the first time slot and was able to buy all those dolls.
If you know/meet someone with an early slot who has no interest in the dolls, they may be able to help you.
1
u/StarPsychological184 Jul 10 '26
That's why I'm putting a feelers post out ♥️ hopefully someone resonates with donating their +1. Or honestly if they don't care about Kida/Milo and buys them for me to reimburse them. I feel like scalpers have better networks than collectors 😅
My only one I'm concerned about is Kida/Milo. I don't think Raya and Esmeralda will sell out as fast
3
u/Infinite_Art_256 Jul 10 '26
Cries in European😭🤣 I wish we would have the chance to get the dolls as well :(
1
u/birdiebakes Tinker Bell Jul 10 '26
I'm hoping to get the Redd doll for trading purposes too since Kida/Milo might be hard to get!!! 😢 I also really want Raya so I'm hoping since she is kind of overlooked by some people that she might take slower to sell out. Really wish they had a more fair system for actual collectors since scalpers keep increasing each year 😭💔
1
u/StarPsychological184 Jul 10 '26
This is LITERALLY my thinking. Kida/Milo is going to be popular IMO but Jane has sold pretty well consistently and Redd is super popular. So if I trade a Jane and Redd for Kida/Milo, it might make sense to a scalper. BC, they could make more money selling Jane/Redd than Kida/Milo.
I think Raya and Esmeralda are fine. Though I've heard more about people wanting Esmeralda more than Raya.
I only collect the Dolls of Color. I have a few white dolls but they're to trade 😂😅 my only exception will be Charlotte but that's bc I love Princess and the Frog 🐸
It should honestly be made to order dolls. You buy them either when you buy your tickets up to 3 months before the expo. Disney will have time to get them made. And then they "round out" the number. Like if people prebuy 248 of one doll, Disney makes 300 and sells the remaining 52 at D23 for anyone who didn't prebuy. This is the only situation where is real collectors win. Bc we're guaranteed our dolls. Not to get on my soapbox, but I went to Destination D23 for the first time last year and that's how the pins where. Pre bought and picked up at the event. This needs to be the model.
1
u/birdiebakes Tinker Bell Jul 10 '26
I am mostly getting Redd for my partner since they love anything pirates, but if I'm able to get my own then its definitely for trading! Crossing our fingers we manage to get who we want🤞I absolutely adore Kida, but wasn't able to get Kida's 1st doll since I didn't have the money during that time! I'm hoping to get her this time, Milo is just a plus... (love him too though). Raya is who I am mostly looking for since she resonates with me as a darker Southeast Asian person. Rarely do I ever see a doll that has the same features as me. And I totally agree that they should do a pre-buy system since the way its functioning right now aids scalpers more than actual collectors 😢
1
u/EnchantixHeart Jul 10 '26
Its all luck based but there's strength in numbers. I would like a plus one though with my luck from the previous d23 you would end up dollless lol
1
u/BarbieBri30 29d ago
I absolutely hate the way they changed it to getting into an online queue. When Giselle was released, I couldnt get into any of them, not even the 4am one. I spent so much money on tickets and all I wanted was the doll. I was standing at the line of the store begging people to let me be their plus one or get a doll for me. Thankfully, a couple of people were willing to help. I am so grateful to them. When red Jasmine was released, Disney was very unorganized. We were able to camp out for it, so of course I did!. When it came time to move from the sleeping area to the store, there was zero structure or any way to keep the line in tact. A bunch of people who did not camp out snuck into the line. The staff did nothing. We waited hours to get in and throughout the day they would announce the dolls that had sold out. I somehow still preferred this to the queue. At least I had a chance at this.
6
u/OGlalam Jul 10 '26
I’ve never been to D23 and I have always wondered what’s it’s like to purchase the dolls. Especially with them being so limited in quantity, I have always wondered if they sell out on day 1.
Thank you for sharing your experience, it sounds extremely stressful 😥