Barbie fans have been left outraged after Barbie Dream Fest turned out to be more of a nightmare.
In a disastrous event rivalling the likes of Glasgow’s Willy Wonka Experience in 2024, ticket holders who paid up to $450 for last weekend’s event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, discovered that instead of the life-sized DreamHouse and glittery installations that had been promised, they were met with empty concrete floors and swag bags filled with $1 hand sanitizer.
Pictures from the convention center during Barbie Dream Fest showed cardboard sets, pink traffic cones to set up a “bicycle course,” and limited vendors. The VIP tickets — which cost up to $452.50 — came with a “swag bag” that included a plastic hairbrush and dollar store brand hand sanitizer.
“This was honestly so insulting to arrive after paying almost $80 for it to be soooo underwhelming with the lack of effort in decorations and nothing entertaining to do for anyone,” one person wrote on the event’s Instagram page.
Barbie Dream Fest was put on by Mischief Management, which licensed the Barbie brand. The event was even promoted by Mattel’s official Barbie brand on Instagram. Standard single-day passes for the event — which featured brief appearances by Serena Williams and Angel Reese — cost $72.
There was no music playing inside the giant venue, and someone on Reddit described the “DreamHouse” as “a cheap backdrop with a picnic table on some fake turf/grass.”
One Reddit user who said they spent nearly $1,000 on tickets and travel for the convention wrote: “Immediately, I was disappointed as getting to the convention center was chaotic. There were no signs pointing on how to get into the convention center, and Google was telling me to go around the convention center to the back and the Fort Lauderdale police telling me to go to the cruise terminal. I got lost and I was very frustrated.”
They added that there was no schedule or map, and that several events were canceled or moved.
“Flabbergasted, I went to guest services and I just asked, ‘I’m sorry, is this it?” the Reddit user wrote. “The lady looked disappointed and said ‘Yeah, we’ve gotten that question a lot. But as far as vendors are concerned, this is it’ I was defeated.”
Mattel said in a statement, “Barbie Dream Fest was created by Mischief Management, which licensed the Barbie brand from Mattel. We are working with Mischief Management, who are managing attendee feedback and issuing full refunds to everyone who purchased tickets. We want every fan experience to be an excellent one.”
A spokesperson for Mischief Management said: “Mischief Management is incredibly grateful to everyone who joined Barbie Dream Fest. We appreciate the passion and engagement from the Barbie community. Bringing fans together —alongside Barbie role models, designers, partners, and global icons who embody the true spirit of Barbie — was at the heart of this event.
“Barbie Dream Fest was created as an intimate fan convention designed to foster meaningful connection, inspiration, and closer access to Barbie and her world. We will be providing full refunds to everyone who purchased tickets,” concluded the statement from the company.
Mischief Management is known for hosting BroadwayCon for theatre fans and EnchantiCon for fans of fantasy.
The fiasco is sparking several comparisons on social media to the Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow, Scotland, which went viral at the time over pictures of its cheap decor, AI-generated pictures and its singular Oompa Loompa.
“The Willy Wonka experience has a sequel and nobody asked for it,” a radio host on the Elvis Duran Show said. Another wrote, “You’re telling me it’s like the Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow, but in Barbie mode ?”
Another said, “It’s Glasgow Willy Wonka all over again, but this time in pink.”