www.wakaticket.com –

Name: Barbie Dream Fest.

Age: Barbie has been around since 1959, so technically of pensionable age, even if she doesn’t look it. Barbie Dream Fest took place last weekend, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Come on, Barbie, let’s go party? That was the idea. A glittery fun-filled weekend full of immersive experiences and installations, described as “the ultimate Barbie fan event”.

By whom? By the organisers, Mischief Management, who had licensed the Barbie brand.

Hmmm, I think I know where this one may be going: maybe some of the attenders described it differently? Guess what, you’re right. Online posts showed vast concrete-floored spaces sparsely furnished with pink and white traffic cones and flimsy cardboard-looking sets.

And what were they saying about it? One angry Reddit user wrote: “Flabbergasted, I went to guest services and I just asked, ‘I’m sorry, is this it?’ The lady looked disappointed and said, ‘Yeah, we’ve gotten that question a lot.’”

They weren’t alone then? That post, titled “Barbie Nightmare Fest”, got dozens of comments from other disappointed attenders. The lifesize Barbie dream house was described as “a cheap backdrop with a picnic table on some fake turf/grass”.

But there was an 80s roller disco – that sounds cool, no? Grab your skates and get ready to boogie! A “20 x 40-foot square of concrete in the middle of the marketplace with no decorations or anything to make it special”.

And how much were tickets? $72 (£54) for a one-day pass …

Not too outrageous … Going up to $452.50 for a Dream Pass Ticket, for the “ultimate experience”.

And what did the ultimate experience include? A swag bag. Or “a disposable plastic pouch”.

Containing? A plastic hairbrush and some hand sanitiser – “$1 hand sanitiser that says Barbie on it”.

Yeah, OK, that is outrageous. And it all seems somehow familiar … That may be because you’re remembering 2024’s virally catastrophic Willy Wonka Experience in Glasgow.

Yes! The sad Oompa Loompa! Or possibly Fyre, the 2017 non-festival for rich kids on an island in the Bahamas.

Subject of not one but two documentaries. Or Lapland New Forest. Or any of the other massive fails that are obviously awful and sad for the people who fork out to attend but periodically add fun and, yes, maybe even a little glitter to the news cycle.

Do say: “Life in plastic, not fantastic.”

Don’t say: “You’ve seen Barbie’s dream house – now see her warehouse!”