Doll City U S A

Doll House: Hello, dollies. Doll City U.S.A. has moved to a new location at 2080 S. Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim, "within walking distance of Disneyland," said Dale Noble, who owns the business along with his mother, Norma. The 6,000-square-foot store houses more than 4,000 dolls ranging in price from $2 to $14,800. The new, smaller store doesn't have a warehouse, so more of Doll City's merchandise is on display, Noble said.

Doll House: Hello, dollies. Doll City U.S.A. has moved to a new location at 2080 S. Harbor Blvd. in Anaheim, "within walking distance of Disneyland," said Dale Noble, who owns the business along with his mother, Norma. The 6,000-square-foot store houses more than 4,000 dolls ranging in price from $2 to $14,800. The new, smaller store doesn't have a warehouse, so more of Doll City's merchandise is on display, Noble said.

BARBIE BACKLASH: 'Tis the season to buy toys for your tots, and the most refreshing retail success story comes from Doll City U.S.A. in Orange. . . . Although the shop is firmly ensconced in a county that celebrates the surgically enhanced body, Doll City's top seller these days is the "Happy to Be Me" doll, a more realistic model of the female anatomy than the Barbie doll. . . . Doll City sold 200 in their first week on the shelves. Other toy stores also carry them.

Until a few months ago, Cabbage Patch dolls were as hard to buy as happiness, but today these pudgy-faced little creatures are falling off shelves in discount stores and their overwhelming popularity is giving way to something new. Even though trying to predict the doll market is like trying to predict the automobile market (Remember the Edsel?), some toy-industry experts say the next doll to catch on is likely to be so realistic that it could be mistaken for a real baby.