US Dolpa! 9/5/15 in Los Angeles!

I was actually planning to be there but if I can't know in advance if I'll get in or not I won't bother with the ~6 hour drive. My time might not be important to Volks but it's important to me.

I don't think the lottery is for entry, I think the lottery is for the ORDER in which you enter. I think they don't want all the attendees entering at the same time, so they'll let people in in small groups, and the lottery decides what group you're a part of. This is probably to keep people from overwhelming the vendors and the doll doctor. It does mean that, if you're at the end of the line, all the "good stuff" might be sold out by the time you get to enter.

I don't think the lottery is for entry, I think the lottery is for the ORDER in which you enter. I think they don't want all the attendees entering at the same time, so they'll let people in in small groups, and the lottery decides what group you're a part of. This is probably to keep people from overwhelming the vendors and the doll doctor. It does mean that, if you're at the end of the line, all the "good stuff" might be sold out by the time you get to enter.

 

This is what they did at the last day of the VolksUSA old store.

That's not so bad then, my assumption was that when there's a lottery there's going to be losers but yes it's equally possible that the losers will just have to go in last instead of not being let in at all. Thanks for the clarification!

I think I read they do a similar lottery at the Japan Dolpa for entry into the vendor line. Basically you line up then they hold a lottery and based on the results your place in line will change. There was more detail on this in the 'Advice for Attending a Dolpa' thread. It sounded like they generate a number using some lottery mechanism. If that number is say 120 then they count down the line to 120, and everyone ≤ 120 moves to the back of the line. and everyone ≥ 121 moves forward.

 

This is assuming Volks USA does the same thing as Volks Japan - which I would hope - after all this is a Japanese cultural experience.

 

They won't let you into the line before 9 am, so no camping out in front of the entrance at 4 am like you do for Rolling Stones tickets.

 

If I understand the schedule correctly they will close the doors on the vendor room at 5:00 pm, the doctor room at 3:00 pm, and reception for the tea party will close at 3:30 pm. The only thing you have to have a reservation for so far is the tea party, which will include an auction and gift give away, and costs $50.

 

The Doctor event is for Super Dollfie only.

 

They also seem to indicate that there will be more events announced later. It's a bit unclear to me if this is related to the Dollfie Doctor event since it appears to be listed under that section, but it's hard for me to see how the Dollfie Doctor could have sub events. Granted I know nothing about Dollfie Doctors.

I may skip haha.

 

I get that this isn't a "you don't get in" that is, assuming that not enough people to fill up their room. We don't know what size they have, nor what sort of space will be taken (I don't know if that affects the capacity limit). I still feel more uncomfortable about it.

 

BUT! I kinda don't feel like standing in line with most likely way more than 100 people to just see if I can get something I probably won't buy cause I already planned to skip buying anything major at the event. When honestly if they wanted to set an order they could easily do it via online registration. The lack of inefficiency tugs at me, and it seems like I'd be spending most of the event in a line, and less attending the actual event. I don't trust RNG either, so I'm not gonna hope that luck puts me at the front of the line.

 

*sighs* I have other plans for LA othe then this event. I have no problem not flying in on Friday and staying in an extra hotel. I was excited but the excitement kinda died when I really don't so far have anything to look forward to other then a line. (Don't care about dolly doctor or tea party.) lol

Ok, if I am reading the capacity chart for the hotel's event rooms correctly the capacity on the rooms listed in the event information for the vendor display can be as low as 30 people or as high as 120.

 

120 is listed under "reception" which I think means standing room no tables, and 30 is for "conference" which seems more likely to be the configuration. Of course creative configuration of the room might allow more people to fit inside along with product filled tables, but the maximum people will undoubtedly be in accordance with Fire & Safety codes.

 

If the two rooms can be conjoined by removing partitions then figure somewhere between 60 and 240 people will be able to be inside them at one time.

 

The Tea Party room has a capacity of 240 people in it's "Banquet" configuration.

 

I don't book or setup events for my employer so I want to qualify what I have said by saying I could be misreading the hotel's chart. Never tried puzzling that one out before.

thats still really badly planned. id figure the first come first served concept would be perfect. if you come from the other side of the country you have to plan and arrange stuff. volks usa get a -1 from me

Perhaps, I believe they said they wanted a huge room but couldn't swing it.

 

To me it really depends on how much it's costing Volks to put this on, and how large a return their US market is likely to bring in. Japan pop culture fandom is kind of a niche here in the USA. At least that's what I keep hearing from my friends who regularly go to anime cons.

 

I can also see how these local Dolpa events in Japan are much more accessible to people outside the city the event is being held in. Their entire country is physically smaller than California. It's much easier for me to see myself driving, or taking the bus or train from San Jose to LA than it is for me to see someone flying to LA from New York or Chicago for a tea party. If this was in New York city I am not sure I could justify going.

 

I can definitely understand not flying across the country for this, but I will say this: the more people who show up the more they can justify investing in these events in the future.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Guest

Professional meeting planner here: according to the hotel's sales sheet, Atlanta & Boston are divided by an air wall, so they could be kept as separate rooms or joined into a single, larger room.

 

The "conference" setup is a misleading title. The conference configuration is made for a large meeting, where everyone sits around one giant table. This is what you use for a board of directors meeting, or another business meeting between equals, but definitely not for an event like a Dolpa!

 

My gut is that they'd do a modified U-shape for the vendor area and the beauty salon. This would probably allow 15 to 20 tables in the room, if they took down the air wall and combined the space. If Volks lets people inside in batches, it'd probably be in batches of 30 to 60 attendees at a time.

 

Quick rundown:

Theatre - chairs in rows, no tables

Schoolroom - tables in rows, with chairs behind each table

Conference - one giant table in the middle of the room, chairs around the table

U-shape - tables arranged in a U-shape around the edge of the room, chairs around the outer edge of the tables, empty space in the middle of the room

Reception - no chairs, scattered high-top tables throughout the room

Banquet - round tables with 6-8 chairs per table (sometimes 10)

 

ETA: They probably couldn't get a larger room because they couldn't guarantee a large room block. Most hotels reserve their prime meeting space for large corporate groups that can guarantee a minimum number of overnight rooms. Rooms are the most profitable item for a hotel. If you can't guarantee rooms, then you need to guarantee a very high food and beverage order in order for a hotel to want to rent space to you. And if you can't guarantee that, the hotel is going to give you very little space and they will charge a lot for it.

After some talkin' it through I guess I won't ditch. Yet. XD

 

But I must say. The gamer side of me is cringing about the amount of RNG I'm facing for just a simple event haha. Seriously! I figured the most RNG I'd see way before the actual event, and maybe magically if I could afford a doll which the probability of that is pretty much none. I'm paying for more than just this trip after all. XD

 

@Cauldroness

 

Oh, that actually a pretty good breakdown of it all. Thank you~

Those numbers make a lot of sense, and I had a feeling that they would choose rooms that could be conjoined. It just wasn't obvious from the room map I looked at. I'm in public sector IT and a "conference" in a hotel venue has a totally different meaning to me. It never occurred to me that conference might literally mean conference room, but in retrospect it makes total sense for it to be a meeting room.

 

I don't know how much room the Dollfie Doctor would take, but 15 + tables - hopefully totally loaded with vendor goods - sounds totally worth my time to try and get into. Especially if there is a chance at limited run designer goods from a quality designer like Volks, Tatabjd, or Infinite Love. Some of those limited designs sell out so fast they're sold out before I even know they exist.

 

I don't know if that's a pipe dream at a US based event or not.

 

Not to mention there is the opportunity to meet the people from across the Pacific with whom I've been doing business.

 

@Gunter if you want bad RNG try playing a Sqeenix MMO.

Edited April 13, 2015 by Guest

but i always eat outside of te hotel

 

@Gunter if you want bad RNG trying playing a Sqeenix MMO.

 

 

NTY. I play Tera, and that's a bad enough RNG as it is. Dun need anymore in my life kthx.

 

I'm kinda a quiet person IRL, so I'mma hide behind the shadows!~ :> NO MEETING ME HAHAHAHAHA

 

@Gunter if you want bad RNG trying playing a Sqeenix MMO.

 

 

NTY. I play Tera, and that's a bad enough RNG as it is. Dun need anymore in my life kthx.

 

I'm kinda a quiet person IRL, so I'mma hide behind the shadows!~ :> NO MEETING ME HAHAHAHAHA

 

ifigo I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN. We will have so much fun. <:

ifigo I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN. We will have so much fun. <:

 

Time to plot on buying another DD to bring with me just for this event so no one can spot me by August.

Time to plot on buying another DD to bring with me just for this event so no one can spot me by August.

 

Noooooo. D: How did you know that's how I was planning to find you? Foiled again.

I want to go sooo bad, but it looks like just the airfare for me is going to be $480+ to get there I want to finally meet some dollfie owners,

Does anyone know if it's mandatory you have to bring a Volks dollfie? I can't find it anywhere and it didn't seem required when reserving. I know normally it is required but I won't have snow Miku till next year sometime. I really want to go! :3 If not, I may have to wait till next year...

No, you don't have to bring a Volks doll, but you can't bring any other type of doll, either. It'll be fine if you don't bring any doll at all!

Yay! I follow people on youtube and one of them was selling all her dolls to buy a volks doll so she could go to the LA Party. I was like, ahhh! I may have one by the time September gets here but I think it will be in a lottery, so I couldn't say for sure. Plus, I usually lose contests and that sort, so I would be totally surprised if I won. Excited - about the LA Party.

I actually think it is kinda a hassle to carry a doll the entire time. Sounds cute in theory, is painful in practice. XD I'll have August out for the tea party (assuming I get in) and maybe later on in the event after the initial craziness of getting in. I've gone to too many events with my dolls in tow and found that all I had after was a rather sore arm. She'll probably be ON ME, just not out. Seeing how I've got everything planned I am leaving that hotel that very same day so we can go to another one walking distance from Disneyland/Downtown Disney. Means all my luggage (well, one bag out of two bags) will be held by the hotel during the event. I don't really wanna leave her there.

I actually think it is kinda a hassle to carry a doll the entire time. Sounds cute in theory, is painful in practice. XD I'll have August out for the tea party (assuming I get in) and maybe later on in the event after the initial craziness of getting in. I've gone to too many events with my dolls in tow and found that all I had after was a rather sore arm. She'll probably be ON ME, just not out. Seeing how I've got everything planned I am leaving that hotel that very same day so we can go to another one walking distance from Disneyland/Downtown Disney. Means all my luggage (well, one bag out of two bags) will be held by the hotel during the event. I don't really wanna leave her there.

so anybody thats a bit crafty and has a sewing machine. there is a hole in the market. you can make the doll carrier bag in the style of a outward facing baby harness or so. it will be a hit trust me

so anybody thats a bit crafty and has a sewing machine. there is a hole in the market. you can make the doll carrier bag in the style of a outward facing baby harness or so. it will be a hit trust me

 

Bah! You think too small. What is really needed is a carrier like a war elephant that you can mount on your head so your DDs can ride you into battle.

 

I think I like the idea of you "piggybacking" them more. Sounds cute and doesn't require a balancing act! XD