Fans who forked over hundreds of dollars to attend a Barbie festival were left furious over the ‘nightmare’ and ‘disastrous’ event, comparing it to the infamous Willy Wonka Experience and Fyre Festival.

The Barbie Dream Fest took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the weekend and was described as the ‘ultimate Barbie fan event’ where ‘fashion meets fun.’

According to its Instagram page, festivities were set to include an ‘interactive Barbie DreamHouse, an 80s disco roller rink, a “Totally Hair” glam bar, a bike course, inspiring panels, yoga, hands-on crafts, an ultimate Barbie fashion show, doll exhibitors and exclusive merch,’ as well as special guest appearances from stars like Serena Williams, Angel Reese and more.

Hordes of excited fans rushed to purchase tickets – which ranged in price from $72 for a single-day ticket to $452 for a VIP multi-day pass – but when they arrived, they discovered that it was far from what they expected.

Attendees have been flooding Reddit, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) with their disappointment, describing it as a ‘chaotic’ experience with canceled panels and no direction from staff.

One fan wrote on Reddit that they were ‘really excited’ when the event was first announced and bought a three-day pass for $300. They said they also spent hundreds on a hotel room, bringing the total to over $1,000 for the weekend.

‘Immediately, I was disappointed as getting to the convention center was chaotic,’ they wrote.

‘There were no signs [explaining] how to get into the convention center… I got lost and I was very frustrated.’

The Barbie Dream Fest took place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, over the weekend and was described as the ‘ultimate Barbie fan event’ where ‘fashion meets fun’

But fans who forked over hundreds of dollars to attend the Barbie-themed festival were left furious over the ‘nightmare’ and ‘disastrous’ experience

They also revealed that the ‘complimentary swag bag’ that was promised was just a ‘little package of hand sanitizer that said Barbie on it.’

‘I looked at it and I was astonished that they could advertise it as a swag bag,’ they continued.

‘It was just a Dollar Tree hand sanitizer with the word Barbie on it. No special Barbie, not pins or stickers, nothing.’

The Reddit user went on to describe the ‘disorganized’ event, explaining that there were ‘no signs telling you where to go’ and no schedule available. 

‘You had to look online [to see when the panels were] and hope that it was accurate, but then things got canceled or moved, and you didn’t know where they were going,’ they wrote.

They also slammed the lack of activities and vendors, stating: ‘There was maybe 10 vendors in the entire exhibit hall and only four of them had anything that was actually Barbie related. 

‘I walked around the entire exhibit hall in maybe 10 minutes and that was with seeing all the stuff the vendors had to offer. And then it was done.

‘How on earth could they justify the price of this event and that was all they had to offer?

One Reddit user described the event as ‘disorganized,’ explaining that there were ‘no signs telling you were to go’ and no schedule available and slammed the lack of vendors

Someone else claimed that the advertised roller rink, seen here, was just a ’20×40 foot square of concrete in the middle of the marketplace with no decorations’

Attendees have been flooding Reddit, TikTok and X with their disappointment. Pictured is the ‘bike course’

‘Mattel was even promoting this event! That’s the best they could do?! Pathetic. If you were debating going, don’t!’

Someone else claimed on Reddit that the roller rink was just a ’20×40 foot square of concrete in the middle of the marketplace with no decorations’ while the promised life-size Barbie DreamHouse was actually a ‘cheap backdrop with a picnic table on some fake turf.’ 

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‘I’ve spent over $1,000 traveling down here, booking an Airbnb, and getting tickets,’ they added. 

‘Totally not worth it. I used to coordinate events in college with TINY budgets and they were way better.

‘Who coordinated this? They need to be fired. I expected way better from an official Barbie/Mattel event.’

Another outraged attendee commented: ‘I’m there too. I was going to stay through Sunday, I changed my flight to leave tomorrow morning.

‘It’s so sad how terrible it is there. I don’t want to come back tomorrow. I paid $300 for a Pink Pass and feel so ripped off.’

‘Barbie Dream Fest… more like Barbie Fyre fest, SAVE YOUR MONEY,’ someone else captioned a post about the experience on Reddit.

They revealed they had paid $250 and branded it as a ‘disaster.’ 

‘Our “swag bag” was a hand sanitizer. I paid $250 for this. It’s not even just an expectations vs reality situation – it’s straight up lying,’ they raged.

‘We got Fyre-fested,’ a different Barbie fan wrote on Reddit. ‘Anyone else spent good money and PTO for this?’

Festivities were set to include an ‘interactive Barbie DreamHouse, a disco roller rink, a ‘Totally Hair’ glam bar, a bike course, a Barbie fashion show, doll exhibitors and exclusive merch’

Reddit users revealed that the ‘complementary swag bag’ that was promised was just a ‘little package of hand sanitizer that said Barbie on it’

One attendee named Jessica Nova documented the event on TikTok, and her video went viral.

‘We paid $250 per pass. Barbie Dream Fest is a nightmare,’ she wrote in a text overlay as she showed off the minimal roller rink and uninspiring Barbie DreamHouse backdrop.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Barbie Dream Fest and Mischief Management, a company who ‘produces fandom conventions’ and helped create the event, for comment.

In a statement to the New York Post, 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.’