Screenshot via Reddit
Audio By Carbonatix
A three-day festival dedicated to all things Barbie in Fort Lauderdale has drawn sharp criticism online for failing to meet expectations.
The first-ever Barbie Dream Fest, billed as the ultimate fan event for the world’s most famous doll, kicked off Friday, March 27, at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale and runs through Sunday, March 29. But as early as Friday evening, word began to spread on the Barbie subreddit, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok that the festival was a bust.
Attendees’ photos showed that what was advertised as an ’80s roller disco was a small, barricaded pen inside the sparsely decorated convention center with signage reading, “Roller Disco.” Another activation that disappointed crowds? The festival’s Barbie Dream House, which had been called a “larger-than-life version of Barbie’s iconic front yard.” The accompanying graphic on the festival’s website depicts a Barbie Dream House resembling the set seen in 2023’s Barbie film. In actuality, the activation appears to be a cardboard backdrop on a wall next to a pink vintage VW van.
Festival organizers declined to comment via a press rep when contacted by New Times Saturday afternoon as online chatter continued to spread.
“The first thing I noticed — there’s a lot of empty space,” said TikTok user @alittlebitbarbie in a POV video of the festival. “There’s so much open, empty space.” The user also criticized the festival’s marketplace for selling products that were not at all affiliated with the Barbie brand.
Another TikTok user, @kiersdolls, claimed she drove four hours to attend (during an apocalyptic weekend for traffic in South Florida, no less). “I can’t believe I paid like $69 to do this,” she said. Tickets to the three-day festival ranged from $33 to $438.
While some users said the event was entertaining enough for little kids, one user claimed the moms needed some cheering up. “At one point I was comforting mothers who bought 3 day passes & flew from different states, booked hotels + rental cars,” wrote one X user.
One bit of programming that still got props? The lineup of special guests. WNBA star Angel Reese — dressed in a hot-pink tank and skirt set — participated in a panel on Friday, and Serena Williams was scheduled to speak and accept the inaugural Barbie Dream Fest Icon Award Saturday afternoon.
Still, at least one special guest dropped out of Barbie Dream Fest on Saturday, apparently for reasons unrelated to the festival’s negative reception. Emily Calandrelli, an aerospace engineer best known as the 100th woman in space, announced on Instagram that she’d canceled her appearance after experiencing a pregnancy complication.
“I want to apologize to everyone who was coming to see me at the Barbie event in Florida,” she wrote in an Instagram story. “I don’t feel comfortable traveling to Florida — a state where emergency pregnancy care is governed by restrictive legal standards that can force providers to weigh fetal interests and legal exposure before acting.”
The festival’s post announcing the cancellation was met with comments criticizing the event.
“…did she see the organization and just dip? I too would be ‘sick’ after seeing your event,” wrote one user.
“Event so awful not even the special guests want to go,” wrote another.
Another complained they’d spent “thousands” to attend the event: “What a huge let down. I [got] 5 dream passes for my family and spent thousands to fly in from Ky . I’m so disappointed.”
Barbie Dream Fest is organized by Mischief Management (a poor name choice, perhaps), which has been criticized for mismanagement of other fan events, including Romance Con, which caters to romance readers, and Obsessed Fest, geared toward true crime junkies.
