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This year's National Barbie®
Convention 2003 encompasses a huge theme...the entire world of
Barbie. It highlights every year of Barbie®
doll's history from 1959-present. This years collectors convention
was hosted by The Western Pennsylvania Doll Club from June 24-28, 2003
at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida (Lake Buena Vista,
FL). Official website: here,
but the site here
has better pictures of the hotel and grounds!
Encompassing EVERYTHING Barbie®, the convention is appropriately called "World Of Barbiesm", with the website located at http://www.barbieconvention.com. The beneficiary charity is the Latrobe Area Hospital (Latrobe, PA). The goal is to purchase a Digital Mammography unit for the hospital.
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| Monday | June 23, 2003 |
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Arrival
I arrived in Orlando on Sunday June 22 to visit my sister Missy and niece Alex. It was really great to have someone pick me up from the airport! We stayed in a hotel close to the airport, and I took her out for her 40th birthday. Since check-in time wasn't until 3pm on Monday the following day, we took advantage of shopping at the Florida Mall on Monday, where I bought her some birthday presents, and I visited the Kenneth Cole Reaction store. Then it was time to go to Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, to check in. Disney's Coronado Springs Resort is like nothing I have ever experienced! It is just beautiful to say the least. My roommates Dwane Adle and Jack Wootten were visiting Universal Studios, so I didn't see them right away. The resort featured a themed swimming pool, smaller pools, trendy bars and restaurants. Our room was located in Casitas 3, which overlooked the end of the lake. It was a bit rainy when I arrived (with more rain promised for the week). Thankfully, the weekly forecast was wrong, and the weather remained sunny and warm for the duration of the convention. This gave ample time to work on my tan in-between convention events!
Room Shopping I was still with Missy, so I showed her what "Room Shopping" was all about. Like anyone not familiar with Barbie® conventions, the thought of entering someone else's room to buy stuff was foreign to her. But it did give me a chance to see what was out there, and I bought several Mod Era Ken® doll outfits from Sandi Holder's room (Sandi Holder's Doll Attic) and from Alice of Diamonds & Dolls. Alice had some awesome Mattel dealer catalogues which usually retail for around $30 apiece for $5 each. I bought twelve of them from different years for research purposes for my Man Behind The Doll section of the site. I dreaded trying to figure out how to get them home (they were heavy magazine type books), but I couldn't resist! Eventually I put them in my carry-on when I left for home, which slowed me down in the airport, but all for the love of research I guess....Then we visited Joe Blitman's room to drool a bit. Joe had some great sales in progress, and he still had the perfectly mint Talking Brad I looked at at last year's convention, which I didn't get again this year. Maybe the third time will be a charm. Joe probably thinks I'm a bit odd, since I professed my opinion that Brad® is my favorite Ken® doll friend. There was much more Room Shopping activity throughout the week, and I actually purchased a TNT Barbie® doll this year dressed in Movie Date #933 (gasp). She will definitely compliment my Ken® dolls!
Early Registration Later in the day, I said goodbye to my sister, and got into "convention mode". It was time to register for the convention. I saw that the registration area was open when I walked past it around 4pm. Later, after receiving my convention packet, I learned that registration had been going on as early as Saturday June 21. There seemed to be some confusion about the registration time on Monday, as many people were relying on the time posted on the website. I saw (after receiving my packet), the event schedule listed the times from 10am-12pm and again from 3pm-5pm. A lot of people showed up after 5pm trying to register. The line got pretty long, so some one from the host club was called to re-open. The registration packet was enclosed in a World of Barbie tote bag that included the updated event schedule, name tag (with my name spelled wrong) and a "Family Album". I finally met up with Dwane Adle and Jack Wootten around 6p. They were a part of the people waiting to register early. After they registered, Dwane took us over to a different Disney resort where he was staying with his partner Andy. We swam in the pool and then went into Kissimmee to eat pretty late. Then they dropped Jack and I back at Coronado Springs for the evening.
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| Tuesday | June 24, 2003 | ||||||||||
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Following the Souvenir Shop, it was time for me to attend my first Steering Committee Meeting that was held from 9a-12p. I represented the Fan of the Man club as the voting club member along with Jack Wootten who is the first alternate. We both learned a lot, and if you're a FOTM club member, I'll be passing lots of information along to the club. There seemed to be a bit of confusion of what we were supposed to have with us, but Julie and Maria provided copies of the contracts we eventually approved. Most of the morning was spent discussing the changes involving the 2004 convention, and then we looked over and discussed the Mattel convention contract. During this time, Registration was
taking place from 10:00a-10:30a
(A-K) After the Steering Committee Meeting, a group of us went to lunch at the Pepper Market, which was a restaurant in the resort. You could pick different areas to get food from which included a grill, salad, bakery, pizza, Mexican and kid stations. Each station included overly priced items that made Disney World famous. The only real deal was the refillable mug that cost $10.50, but you could refill it the entire time you were there. The German chocolate cake was to die for! Dwane and Andy moved into the room with Jack and I, and after that, the rest of the day was free until 8p. A group of us went to the big pool. It was a blast! We had tropical drinks and went down the water slide (with the rest of the kids) there. After a relaxing 3-4 hours, on the way back we ran into Jason Pickering and Brian Fox (two of our tablemates). I'm sure we made a great impression after being in the pool so long with towels everywhere and "swimmers hair". I don't know why I was so worried about it then, because eventually Jason and Brian joined our swim team on Wednesday. Let's just say we all swam a lot, almost every chance we could, and we would recruit other table mates for our team.
Later in the evening the workshops began. This was the only day for workshops, and I didn't attend any this year, but here was the schedule.
The last event held today was a Thank You Luau Dinner at 8:00p. It was a dinner for Sponsors and helpers of the convention. Jack and Dwane both attended while I did some more room shopping.
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| Wednesday | June 25, 2003 |
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At Disney World
We were up early to get our day started. Jack, Andy, Dwane and I decided to go to Disney's MGM Studios park. Other conventioneers attended Disney's Animal Kingdom, Epcot Center or Disney World. The weather was ideal (no rain), but it turned out to be a tad bit muggy. We arrived at the park and it was pretty exciting for me, because I have never had the Disney park experience. My three park partners were experienced pros, so they knew what to do to get on the rides the quickest. We did almost everything there was to do. Two shows were experiencing technical difficulties. The park was awesome, and I was in awe of the streets that looked like Vintage versions of Sunset Blvd. and Hollywood Blvd. I was mostly impressed with the New York Street. The first ride we went on was the Rock 'n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. It was a "road trip" through Hollywood coaster style. This was my favorite ride, and we went on it again later in the day. Then it was on to "The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror". This ride was the most visually attractive ride for me. It really felt like you were in a 1920's hotel. The runaway elevator dropped you 13 stories over and over again. I think I was expecting it to be a little scarier, so I was pretty disappointed when the very short ride was over. Other rides or shows we attended: Beauty and the Beast-Live on Stage-We were in the nose bleed section of the Theater of the Stars (open air theater), but the show was truly enjoying! This was the best live actor show we saw. Voyage of the Mermaid-A live theater (indoors) version of the story of "The Little Mermaid'. It was cute, but I thought the actress portraying Ariel wasn't having an exceptional singing day. The Disney-MGM Studios Back lot Tour-I had to drag my park partners on this one, because it has a reputation of being boring, which it was, but I have to say I loved it! It had a demonstration of movie-making magic in a special effects water tank show plus a ride through "Catastrophe Canyon". My favorite part of the ride was through the fake neighborhood street. The houses on the street looked like real houses from the front, but when you saw the back you could see that they were fake. The true reason I wanted to go on this ride was to see the house front used for the "Golden Girls" television show. Star Tours-By far the most uneventful ride was this flight simulator ride. But all the Stars Wars fans probably like the visual effects. Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3-D-A movie theater (indoors) movie showed a very entertaining 3-D Muppet tour of Muppet Labs. It featured Audio-Animatronics characters and exciting 3-D effects. We all liked this one! We had a great time. Although I was a bit disappointed by the rides and shows, I was really in awe of the visual sensation of the sets and streets. Just seeing them made it worth the entire day (As you will see in the pictures link).
After Disney's MGM Studios park, we did a bit of cooling off in the pool, they we drove into Orlando and had a late supper. Then it was off to bed as we all knew the convention was going into full swing the next day!
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| Thursday | June 26, 2003 | |||
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a "day off" at Disney, my day started with a Steering
Committee Meeting from 8:00a-10:00a. The Souvenir Shop/Raffle
Room was also OPEN
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8:00a-10:00a. Late
Registration was scheduled from 9:00a-9:30a and Open Registration- 9:30a-10:00a.
Right after my meeting, it was time for the very first official event of
the convention, the Fashion
Show/Reception at 10:30a.
Fashion Show/Reception The event was open seating around a stage in the center of the room. I liked the fact that it wasn't tied to a meal event. Refreshments were provided. I was really focusing on the show to gain knowledge for next year's convention, where I will be the Co-Chair of this event. In my opinion, the fashions that conventioneers made and modeled for this event were the best I have ever seen! Unfortunately, I was sitting quite a bit away from the stage, and the pictures I took were not very good. Next year I hope we can let the models have a photo opportunity after the show is over, to truly showcase the details of the outfits! After the show was over, there was an opportunity to take a few close-up shots of my favorite models. Then it was time for lunch on our own, with everyone gearing up (and planning their shopping strategies) around the Souvenir Shop/Raffle Room/Sales Room which were open from 2:30p-5:30p. I lingered around the pool a little too long and arrived at the Sales Room later, probably because I didn't want to fight the initial first day crowd. I shopped till closing time, and as you will see below (in the Sales Room coverage link) I found some cool items to add to my collection!
Black & White Dinner At 7:00p When the doors opened to let conventioneers in, it was a flood of black & white, and it was really cool to see that most all the conventioneers followed the dress code. Jack and Dwane were the first to arrive at the Ken® Collector table, and like tradition, Jack ended up waving the #74 (our table #) holder up in the air so our other Ken® Collector friends could find the table easier. Next came first-timers Brian and Jason, who probably thought Jack, Dwane and I looked a little better from the first time they met us after we went to the pool. It was nice to finally meet Jason, who serves as Secretary for the club I belong to, Fan of the Man. His partner Brian fit right in, and would eventually be my main source of laughter throughout each meal function. Both Brian and Jason are the type of people you'll want to invite everywhere! Next I welcomed Dale and Arnaldo who both seemed a bit shy, but then who wouldn't be at their first convention. Believe me, both Dale and Arnaldo warmed up as we started to talk. Dale talked about the Barbie club he belongs to, but he also is a member of Fan of the Man, so we talked about that. When I asked Arnaldo about his restoration experiences, he really opened up. Both of these guys are perfect gentlemen, and it was such a joy sharing the convention experience with them. At this meal function they were novices, but by the last they were professionals! We all started to wonder "were are the women?", and then (like magic) Sandi Holder showed up bearing gifts. She brought everyone a plush Minnie Mouse, which I thought was awesome, and some Mickey ears to attach to your car antenna. Thanks Sandi! Next came Valerie and Lisa, which made our table complete. It's fun to have more guys than girls at your table, because us guys like to treat the girls extra special. And who wouldn't with the bevy of beautiful babes we had sitting with us. It is always so much fun catching up with Valerie and Lisa after a year. I'm starting to worry that Lisa might get married soon...maybe I should have proposed this year...
After a thoroughly enjoyable time together, a few announcements were made. Numbers 1-10 were assigned to each table member and a drawing was held for the centerpiece doll. Who would win the mermaid Kira™ doll? Who would pack this doll in their suitcase to take home. When the # was called, it was Brian who won, and I think everyone (including me) wondered where he was planning to pack the mermaid Kira™ doll sitting on a 5 pound rock and painted plywood base. We love you Brian! With that, the Black & White dinner event was over, and so was my day!
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| Friday | June 27, 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Steering
Committee Meeting- 8:00a-10:00a
Raffle Room- OPEN - 9:00a-10:30a Souvenir Shop- OPEN - 9:00a-11:30a The Magic Of It All Luncheon/Raffle Giveaway- 12:00p-1:30p Mattel Program The Raffle Giveaway was cut short to start the Mattel Program. We assumed that it was going to be highlighting the 1 Modern Circle™ doll line after we ate that delicious 1 Modern Circle™ dessert provided by Mattel. The program started pretty much on time at 1:30p and lasted till 2:30p. Liz Grampp from Barbie® Collectibles™ was our mistress of ceremonies and she welcomed the conventioneers in a very genuine way that made me feel as though this program was going to be very special. She introduced Valerie Case and Lisa Steadman (our tablemates) to the stage, and we of course cheered them loudly because we love Valerie and Lisa so very much. They introduced the new bulletin board to the audience and Valerie spoke briefly about their vision for the new bulletin board. They encouraged us to use it and provide feedback. After they were finished, our table again cheered them wildly, to the point where other tables wondered what was going on. Oh well, we love our Barbie® Collectibles™ girls THAT much and we wanted to show how proud we are for what they do and for the constant friendship they provide all year long. Next, Liz presented Mattel designer Robert Best and announced that he would be doing a signing after the conclusion of the program. Robert drew a ticket and announced one conventioneer as the winner of every doll in the 2003 Barbie Collectibles™ line. Next, Liz delivered a speech about the changing look of Barbie® over the years. The speech was mingled with Vintage commercials. One commercial even showcased Ken® from 1961, and hats off to Liz for remembering us Ken® collectors in the audience. I've see the commercial before, but seeing it on the big screen made me feel like I was seeing it for the first time. Liz's speech was not only informative, it was captivating It's just delightful to hear a speech from someone who is so proud to be a collector like the rest of us. After the conclusion of the speech, four 1 Modern Circle™ models came out to the stage (you could take photos with the models after the program ended) and Liz asked the table Host/Hostesses to pass out what was underneath our tables. We were presented with a 1 Modern Circle™ Barbie® doll make specifically for conventioneers of the 2003 National Barbie® Convention. Differences from the normal 1 Modern Circle™ Barbie® doll included hair color, outfit and the screen of her laptop has a sticker with the World of Barbie sm National Barbie® Convention logo. The doll came in a 1 Modern Circle™ printed clear bag that included a 1 Modern Circle™ logo coffee mug and appointment book. Of course we were all thrilled, and for me, it was one of the most exciting souvenirs of the entire convention! It was back to the room after the last of the remaining Raffle item tickets were drawn. I forgot to go take pictures with the 1 Modern Circle™ models, something I really regret. Guess I was too concerned about squeezing some pool time in before I went back to view the Competition entries.
Competition Above: Detail of
the Competition Awards. I entered Competition this year in two
categories. F. Ken/Allan I ended up getting second place for the MIB
category for my Gold Medal Ken (Swimmer) 1974. Considered by
collectors as one of the rarest Ken dolls to locate, this doll was created
by Mattel Europe to commemorate the upcoming 1976 Olympics held in the
U.S. In the United States, only a Gold Medal Skier Ken
was available, but in Europe this Gold Medal Ken wearing a red, white,
& blue bikini swimsuit was available to U.S. citizens there. I also entered a Painted Hair Shortie Ken
dressed in 1964 Campus Hero #0770. He placed
third. Dolls were judged on rarity, condition and originality.
Dealers donated gift certificates for the winners. Entry
fee: $4 per item. Each conventioneer is limited to one entry
per sub-category (listed below). The Competition schedule was as
follows: Competition
Drop Off- 8:30a-10:30a Competition
Judging- 10:30a-11:30a Competition
Viewing (Entrants/Judges/Dealers)- 3:00p-4:00p Competition
Viewing All- 5:00p-9:00p Competition
Room Pick Up- 9:00p-10:00p I dropped my items off
before attending the Steering Committee meeting and viewed the items
during the Competition
Viewing (Entrants/Judges/Dealers) from 3:00p-4:00p.
Unfortunately, I changed watches later in the day and was late picking up
my items because I was still on Iowa time. Jeff from Security called
me in the room to remind me. I was pretty embarrassed! Competition Categories A. Pink Boxed Ponytail
(#1, #2 or #3) B. #1 Barbie C. #2 Barbie D. #3 Barbie E. #4 Barbie F. Ponytail Barbie (#5
and later) G. Swirl Ponytail Barbie H. Bubble Cut Barbie I. American Girl Barbie
(no side-parts) J. Side-Part Barbie K. Color Magic Barbie
(doll must have Color Magic hair) L. Miss Barbie M. Standard or TNT Barbie N. Foreign Barbie A. Skipper B. Skipper's Friends
(Ricky, Skooter, Tiff etc.) C. Francie D. Francie's Friends
(Casey, Twiggy etc.) (Continued) E. Tutti, Todd &
Chris F. Ken/Allan G. Midge H. Eyelash Era Friends
(Stacey, Julia, Jamie etc.) A. Gift Sets B. Boxed Fashions A. Patent Leather
Products (lunch box, cases, wallets, purses etc.) B. Paper Products (paper
dolls, books etc.) C. Transportation
Vehicles D. Structures E. Other Licensed Mattel
Products A. Wedding Gown B. Evening Gown C. Anniversary A. The Presidents (Hall
of Presidents at Disney) B. Famous Couples from
Around the World (past or present) A. Disney Character
(Single Doll) B. Disney Movie Scene
(Diorama) C. Multiple Disney
Related Scenes (Diorama) A. Calendar Flicks
(Single or Multiple Dolls in Monthly Calendar Scenes) B. Barbie on Disney
Vacation A. Childhood Play
Memories B. Convention Memories Sales Room After Competition
Viewing, it was on to the Sales
Room, open from 4:00p-6:30p, which
by far was the most impressive Sales Room I have ever seen in my
convention experiences. It's just incredible walking in there and
seeing all the items that the dealer's have for sale. I found some
truly unique foreign Ken® dolls at one booth, and pretty much spent my
entire doll budget in one transaction there. But it was well worth
it for the extremely HTF Ken® dolls I found like Talking Ken Spanish (New Good Lookin') Orange/Aqua Outfit,
Funtime Ken and Cor Do Verão Ken (Brazil)
and New Wave Ken (Brazil) dolls. It was also nice to
see my Dealer friends like Sandi Holder from Sandi Holder's Doll Attic and
new Dealer friends like Norita and Dorinda who launched their new company
a few weeks ago. They were selling unique charms. If you
didn't find what you were looking for, you weren't looking hard enough,
because it was all right here in one room.
FAO Schwarz was also present offering 25%
off and free shipping. They also had the 1 Modern Circle™
dolls, but quickly sold out. Jack was lucky enough to get the 1 Modern
Circle™
Ken®, and was nice enough to debox him so we could all take a look at
him. The following day FAO got more 1 Modern Circle™
dolls from a store that was close to
the convention, but sold out again by the next day. The deal was
pretty good if you planned on buying the entire set of dolls, especially
with the free shipping. The Late Night Sales
Room was open again later from 8:00p-10:00p,
just in case you need to return to pick up something you were debating on
earlier. Today was enough for me, but I would return on Public Day.
Raffle Room The Souvenir Shop/Raffle Room was open again from 3:30p-6:30p, and I still need to visit the Raffle Room. I decided to visit the Raffle Room later after I was finished in the Sales Room. I was impressed with the items in the Raffle Room, it seems to get better and better each year. Stand out items were a quilt, a David Howard painting of Barbie® and a retro chrome Barbie®-sized dinette set...but all of the items there were truly unique. You have to hand it to the gracious people who donate items to the Raffle Room. All of the monies raised from what they donate goes directly to the charity.
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| Saturday | June 28, 2003 | ||||
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I could hardly believe it...this was the last day of the convention! Today started with a Steering Committee Meeting from 8:00a-9:00a. At the same time, a Barbie Open Golf Tournament was beginning at 8:00a. After the meeting, I met with friends Madison, Michelle and Beth who were waiting in line for the Sales Room, which was open to the public from 9:30a-4:00p. Of course I had to make one more trip to the Sales Room to make sure I hadn't missed anything. I went in briefly, with my friends and then went back to the pool for the rest of the afternoon. After a VERY relaxing day and impromptu FOTM club meeting, it was time to get ready for the last official event of the convention, The World Of Barbie Dinner held at 7:30p. A little too sun-kissed, I felt casual clothing was in order instead of the traditionally dressier suit or tuxedo most conventioneers wear for the last event. The World Of Barbie Dinner
As we were seated, the buzz around the table was about Jack's Ken outfit, as he passed them out. I'm pretty amazed at Jack's talent not only on the outfit itself, but of the modified artwork that came with it. Then Sandi pulled out her gift, which was the coolest Ken® doll as Simon Cowell, designed by doll artist Tamara Bennett. It was love at first sight, and I think everyone at our table realized how special not only the gift was, but how special Sandi Holder is. I've known Sandi's a sweetheart for a few years, and I'm glad I got to share her with my new friends this year! And the gifts kept coming as Jason and Brian presented each table guest with a picture frame that had a city map of where we lived as a background, with a Ken doll graphic attached. My frame featured the graphic from Rally Day #788 and of course, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After dinner, the events started with the announcements of the winners of the Competition special awards and the Barbie® Open Golf Tournament Awards. Then Nancy introduced Mr. Clark, who was the charity speaker for the Latrobe Area Hospital Charitable Fund. After he was finished speaking, a check for $1000.00 from Mattel was presented to the charity by Liz Grampp. Next up was Carol Spencer who awarded Linda Dembek with the "Barbie's Best Friend Award", followed by a speech by Maria Sox (Steering Committee President) about the upcoming 2004 National Barbie® Collectors Convention, and the newly elected board members to the Steering Committee. Maria then introduced next year's 2004 National Barbie® Collectors Convention Co-Chairs, Julie Bronski and Norita Bergmann. It was time for the Live Auction. Before it began, a special auction was held for Western PA Doll Club member Kelly Ellison's OOAK Angel Barbie® dolls, so that she would not have to transport them back home with her. Following this, the Live Auction began. All proceeds from the Live Auction go directly to the Latrobe Area Hospital Charitable Fund. With the conclusion of the Live Auction, Host/Hostesses were asked to retrieve their Host/Hostesses Gift from under the table. I was thrilled to see it was a Ken® doll this year! The "Cast Member Ken®" doll is perhaps modeled after a Disney employee who is playing the character of Mickey Mouse. The doll came in either Caucasian or African American, and included a very cute Mickey Mouse costume. Finally it was time for the unveiling of the Convention Doll, designed by the Western PA Doll Club. The doll wasn't the traditional Barbie® doll, but instead a Midge® doll in celebration of her 40th Anniversary. This would mark the last event of this evening's, and the convention. It was extremely hard saying goodbye to everyone (especially Lisa), but we all promised to meet again next year!
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The 2004 National Barbie® Doll Collectors Convention "We Are Family" will be held at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare (http://www.ohare.hyatt.com) in Rosemont, IL. Official convention dates are August 4-7, 2004.
