My Review of Journey Girl Meredith Paris Edition 2013

PRODUCT DETAILS
Doll size:  18 inches (46 cm)
Age recommendation:  6+ (not recommended for children under 3 due to choking hazard)
Put out by:  Geoffrey, LLC (subsidiary of Toys R Us)
Year:  2013
Made in China
UPC:  803516289453
Price:  If you can find it at Toys R Us, $32.99.  However, these dolls can go high due to scarcity (particularly Meredith)
Hair Color:  Blonde
Eye Color:  Blue, long eyelashes, eyes don't close
Movement:  Classic baby doll--head turns side to side,
 arms move front and back (not up and down like 
flapping wings), elbows don't bend, legs move back and forth,
 don't bend at knees, don't bend at ankles.
Type of doll:  Vinyl head, chest plate, arms, legs...but it
 has a soft cloth lower torso.
What box contains:  1 eighteen inch doll that is dressed
 in a magenta jacket (made of bicycle pant material), a
 short sleeved gray t-shirt that says "I heart Paris", blue
 pants (looks like cotton but ribbed like denim), plastic 
white and magenta sneakers, no socks.  The doll also
 comes with a gray beanie hat.
Doll biography:  Meredith is an awesome athlete whose
 energy and spirit inspires all her teammates.
Written on back of box:  Welcome to Paris! Best friends 
Chavonne, Kyla, Meredith, Kelsey, Dana, and Callie 
have just landed in Paris, the City of Light, and they are
 ready for adventure.  The Paris agenda includes: touring
 the Eiffel Tower, shopping on the famous Avenue des
 Champs-Elysees, and taking a scenic cruise along Seine
 River.  Along the way, they will stop at charming 
sidewalk cafes and visit the city's grand monuments and
 museums.  Their Paris journey is just the beginning, but
 their friendship will last forever.  Take a Journey Girl on
 your next trip and share the adventure!

________________________________
Initially, when I first
 was introduced to
 the Journey Girl
 dolls, I was only
 interested in Dana
 and Kelsey.  This
 was rather fortunate,
 for my local Toys R
 Us didn't really carry
 a lot of these dolls.
 Usually, at the most,
there would be eight 
boxes on the shelf.
  Usually they only
 carried Dana, Callie,
 and Taryn.  I had to
order Kelsey online.

My obsession grew,
though, when I saw
just how nicely made
these dolls were in
comparison to
other 18 inch dolls.  American Girl dolls have reigned at the
top of the 18 inch doll world, and yet many people complain
that American Girl dolls often lose their heads or legs.  For
myself, I didn't like that they all essentially looked alike.

Journey Girls, if you look closely, actually have similar 
features.  The heads are the same shape...same eye shape...
same nose shape...same lip shape.  Yet, the differences in
hair color, eye color, skin coloring, and lip color make
the dolls more individual in appearance.  Each doll also
has her own special personality and interests which
helps set her apart from the others.  For instance, Meredith
is the jock of the group.

The bracelet on the left didn't come with the doll.

So recently I decided to complete the collection.  However, I despaired that I would ever be able to get Meredith.  One of the reasons I had been so eager to grab up Jordana
when she was released was because she could be my
substitute blonde doll.  I had actually even wondered if Meredith had ever been released, for she didn't seem to be available anywhere.  However, I did see some dolls modeling clothes on ebay, so I assumed they were available somewhere.  However, they were hard to find.  Even if I did find her, I had the sober
realization that I would probably have to pay a fortune for her.  Outraged buyers
 often complain about how high these dolls can go, and
 they always point out that you can get them at Toys R
 Us for $32.99.  True...as long as your Toys R Us 
carries them.  That is the trick, though.  Those of us who 
shop for these dolls know the disappointment of going to Toysrus.com--only to see that the doll is not available 
online.  The dolls are available in store only, but you drive
 to your store and find out they aren't available at your 
store.  Outraged buyers often say that for the price you
 sometimes pay for some of these dolls, you might as well
 buy an American Girl.  If you like American Girl, then yes,
 you might as well.  If you don't like American Girl, though,
 it isn't a substitute.

I could not believe my good luck
when I found her on ebay for
$47.00 (plus $17.99) shipping.
She came with an accessory
pack too that was actually meant
for Dana that had a checkered
beret, a checkered purse with
red bow, black gloves, pearls,
and the shoes my Red Sweater
Dana wears.  It was too good to
pass up! Ah...why are good
sales never at a time when you
are flushed with money?  They
always come when you have
to make sure that you aren't
breaking into your grocery account.  I did have to break
into my "for disasters that may come" account.  I clicked
the Buy It Now button and offered up a prayer that
nothing would break now.  I expected something would,
a harsh punishment from the frugal gods that didn't
approve of my splurging on a dolly.  The only thing that
makes me feel better is that at least when I splurge, a
doll can satisfy me...and I don't have high cost
interests like big screen TVs.

This Meredith is the most recent edition, part of the 2013 Paris Collection.  There are some interesting changes to note.  The pictures on the boxes are different.

I don't know when they changed the name of the African American doll Taryn to Chavonne (or if this is the case), but this box definitely refers to her now by Chavonne.  I did wonder whether Taryn and Chavonne are two different people, particularly as the picture on the box representing the real Chavonne looks different than the girl who was supposed to be the real Taryn.  It is possible that this is the explanation.  After all, Jordana 
has been released, and yet she is omitted any reference 
on the box.  Maybe Taryn couldn't go to Paris.  
However, no such explanation has been given, and it is 
also possible that the name was changed...as well as the
 girl was changed.  Though Journey Girls may be based
 loosely on real girls, it seems rather unlikely that the girls
 shown are the real girls if they can be replaced.

The picture for the real Kyla has
 also changed.  Though she is still
 referred to as Kyla, I have 
wondered if this doll didn't have a
 name change since I've seen her 
listed as Alayna.  As for the other 
girls, the pictures of them appear to
 be the same--but they appear much
 younger in these pictures than in
 older productions.  In the older
 productions, the girls looked around fourteen.  They now look like they 
are ten or eleven years old.  Is the company making these 
changes to appeal to a certain age group?  It is possible.

However, the quality of the doll is still good.  So far, I've
been relieved to see that the company hasn't went the way of so many others and started using cheaper materials to create
these dolls.  They are quite a bargain if you are fortunate
to pay Toys R Us's price.  However, if you have to pay
more, they are worth it.

My mother used to complain about how her mother always
dissed her dolls.  Her mother would say, "Look at that bad
old Mary! She has her clothes off!" The problem was that
bad old Mary only had one outfit, and that outfit was being
laundered.  Mary wasn't naked because she was morally
loose.  She just didn't have any other clothes.

My mother, though, has inherited this quality.  When I
 showed her Meredith, she said, "She looks like a thug.  I
 can picture her running with a gang and whacking old
 ladies on the head with a crowbar."  Meredith looked 
appalled and offended.  Jordana hasn't been too happy
 lately either since my mom decided that she and Dana are
 lesbian lovers.  I hope you don't think I'm being
 homophobic.  I'm not.  It is just that I consider my Journey
 Girls to be...well, little girls still.  However, my mom seems
determined to make all my dolls evil and/or sexually loose.

I've given a description of Meredith in the product details
listed on top of this page.  It seems to me that her hair is a
little thicker than most of the other dolls.  It was a little dry
on the ends, but it is nice.  Originally, they had two rubber
bands in it, but I remove these.  I don't like the plastic
rubber bands, for they can melt and adhere to the hair.  I
keep meaning to buy cloth rubber bands.  Meredith's shoes
are also rather hard to remove and to put back on.  The 
jacket is secured to the t-shirt with a plastic tie, but you can
cut this if you want to remove it.

Jordana (left) and Meredith have a strong resemblance

How Jordana fits into the Journey Girl world is still unclear.  She is in Paris too and was introduced this year.  Yet, she is still to be seen with the other girls.  There is, though, a strong resemblance between Jordana and Meredith that you could suppose the two are sisters (though this has never been suggested).  Had I not been able to get Meredith, Jordana would have been a decent substitution.  What are the differences?  Meredith is a tow-head blonde, where Jordana has blondish brown hair.  Meredith has blue eyes, and Jordana has hazel eyes.  Jordana has lighter pink lips that are kind of shiny (as if she is wearing lipstick), whereas Meredith has  flat plum-pink lips.

I'll post a Youtube video later so you all can get a closer look at Meredith.  Stay tuned, folks! I was really naughty this Christmas, and more Journey Girl reviews are on the way.