New Journey Girl Mikaella
I apologize in advance for the length of this post. There is a lot to say about the new doll.
Since last years release of Jordanna, I have been hoping for
a holiday rerelease of her. Well, there
is a holiday special edition release….but it’s not Jordanna. Journey Girls released a whole new girl named
Mikaella. Actually, they released two
new girls, both named Mikaella.
So let’s meet the new girl.
Mikaella enjoys cooking and fashion. She comes in a beautiful purple,
satin, tiered dress, with matching plastic purple shoes, mesh black gloves, a
faux fur shrug, a matching purple cloth headband with a flower accent, a very
nice purple hand purse, a “diamond” necklace, and a pretty pearl bracelet. She either has vibrant blue eyes and dark
blonde hair, or deep brown eyes, dark brown hair, and a darker complexion
(similar to Callie’s complexion).
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Mikaella with her purse |
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Mikaella posing |
Like the new Kyla, either Mikaella also has the new face
sculpt. I like Mikaella’s face. I like
that she has a little bit more of a smile than the older Journey Girls
did. It’s nice to have the variety in
the faces. I also like her eyes. They seem wider open to me. Both eye colors are different than any of the
other girls. The blue is deeper than
Meredith’s or Dana’s eye color, and the brown is darker than Kyla’s and
Chavone’s eye color. I also like the
little bit of smile that she has. It’s
very cute.
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Mikaella and Kyla have the same face sculpt. You can also see the difference in skin tone and eye color compared to Mikaella in the photo below. |
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Mikaella has dark brown eyes or vibrant blue eyes. |
Mikaella’s body is also like Kyla’s. That means that her torso is filled better
than past Journey Girls. There is no
bending in the fabric torso, making it easier for her to stand on her own. Her joints seem to be different also. Kyla’s joints click into place. Mikaella’s don’t click, but they are
tighter. No issues with loose
joints. She has the same flexibility
issues that all of the past Journey Girls have had (so the arms don’t raise
straight out to the side). They raise
enough that you can get her clothes on and off easily, but I’d just like to see
more flexibility in the shoulder joint.
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Mikaella doing the splits to sit. |
The Journey Girls have always had an issue with sitting
(which most 18” dolls do). Their legs splay
out to the sides. Mikaella’s legs go out
further than the older Journey Girls.
She is not only sitting with her legs apart, she is now doing the
splits! It looks ridiculous. It also makes Mikaella wobblier when she is
sitting. In the past if there was
something that the girls could sit against, their legs did not have to spread
out as much. The new joint in the hip
makes this almost impossible. Even while
holding Mikaella in the seated position, her legs spread out. Hopefully in the future Toys R Us fixes this
issue. Mikaella’s legs are actually
sculpted differently than the older Journey Girls, with a bit more hip flair in
the new leg. The legs also look skinner,
but that could just be the flair.
Naked doll warning
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Mikaella's legs are different than earlier Journey Girls. |
I had a hard time getting Mikaella to pose for pictures,
especially with her shoes off. It was
difficult to get her balanced just right.
I had the same issue with the new Kyla doll. Kyla has longer boots that make it a little
easier for her to stand. The issue is the
Journey Girls have skinnier legs, smaller feet (they are the same size as the
old Journey Girls) and a larger head than other 18” dolls. It makes for a very high center of
gravity. Once Mikaella is up, she is
pretty stable, but finding that spot took more time than it should have.
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The tiers on the dress look a little goofy from the back, but look wonderful from the front. |
Mikaella’s dress is beautiful. It is a very different style than Jordanna’s
dress from last year. The purple is a
beautiful color that looks great on both dolls, although I do like brunette
Mikaella just a little more in it. The
tiers look wonderful from the front of the dress, but look somewhat strange
from the side. Especially the doll’s
left side. The tiers slop downward,
leaving a large area of fabric open on that side. I wouldn’t say it looks bad, just something
that I was aware of. The bodice of the
dress matches the edge of the tiers. It
is lighter colored purple cotton with a purple stitch pattern in it. At first I was disappointed that it was not
lace, but the more I see it the more I like that it is not lace. Especially since the bodice would probably
not be able to be lace.
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Mikaella is showing the tulle under her dress. I am disappointed that Toys R Us decided not to give her underwear. |
There is tulle underneath to help give the dress some
volume. I would have liked more tulle to
really help fluff the dress out.
Jordanna’s dress stayed out more because it was a thicker material. Mikaella’s dress is not as thick, which makes
it flow better, but it also makes it lay flat.
I also like the shear neckline. The flower accent on her waist is just the
right size and helps bring her headband into the outfit better. The fur shrug is okay. It does add some elegance, but I like
Mikaella without it just as much as with it on.
I love that Mikaella comes with gloves.
They add elegance to the outfit.
I am not sure about the mesh look to them though. I liked Jordanna’s satin white gloves. I would have loved to see Mikaella have satin
black gloves. These are okay though.
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Mikaella's necklace |
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Mikaella's bracelet is beautiful. |
Mikaella’s necklace is very pretty. The diamond is on stretchy silver elastic,
much like Jordanna’s was. It has no
clasp to undo the necklace though, so you have to just stretch it to get it
over Mikaella’s head. I liked the clasp
on Jordanna’s necklace better than just stretching the elastic. Mikaella’s pearl bracelet is amazing compared
to Jordanna’s bracelet last year. The
pearls are on a stretch cord that can expand to get the bracelet of her
wrist. This is much easier than the
rubber buttons that Jordanna’s bracelet had.
It also has a small silver band that is filled with jewels. Very pretty.
I am a bit perplexed as to why Toys R Us released two girls
with the same name and the same outfit at the same time. Why not name them differently? Why not just release the brunette, since we
had a blonde last year? One of my
Mikaella’s will be renamed…maybe Alana after the 1st Kyla
released.
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Both Mikaellas side by side. |
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There is really no difference in Mikaella other than skin color and hair color. |
Results
All ratings are out of 10
Poseability - 7 - Mikaella has the
same issues as all the other Journey Girls with her arms. They don’t go out very far to the sides. The bigger issue is her legs. Mikaella cannot sit down without doing a full
spread eagle, which just looks dumb. If
the leg issue could be fixed, Mikaella would be a lot better.
Quality - 9 - Mikaella is made really well. There is nothing on her that feels
cheap. All of her joints are solid, her
body is well made, and her hair is nice quality. Her outfit is top notch and is worth the $50
price tag by itself. There are dolls
that are $20 more that have better movement, but they are not as cute and their
outfits are very plain compared to Mikaella’s
Adorableness - 9 – I really like the new face sculpt, but I
still have a huge fondness for the old one too.
Mikaella as either the brunette or blonde are gorgeous, but I still like
Jordanna better. I think it may be
Jordanna’s dress that I like more.
Mikaella is stunning though and is a very cute doll.
Compatibility - 8 – Mikaella is like
all the Journey Girls, a little skinner than other 18” dolls. Because of that, other doll clothes are big
on her. They still fit well though. Unlike Jordanna, Mikaella does not have a
darker lipstick on. This makes her look
better in a range of different style of outfits. Jordanna looked better in formal wear. Mikaella will look good in anything!
Overall Score -
9 – Mikaella is truly
a special edition doll. She is
beautiful, made well, has a gorgeous outfit, and is a wonderful price. At $50 she is a steal! I would try to get her now. If last year was any indicator, she will be
hard to find near Christmas, and will disappear after the New Year. Mikaella does have a few issues; the main
one being her flexibility, especially with her legs. These will not hinder the ability for a
special little girl to play with her though.
Whether you are going to buy her just to display her or if she is a play
doll, you should not be disappointed with Mikaella.
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