• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, June 6, 2013

Now that Barbie’s grown bored with Malibu, Mattel has loaded up the moving van and sent her on a road trip in a 14 city pop-up tour.

The motorcade, which also included three of the doll's favorite cars and was escorted by Malibu Patrol, headed to Los Angeles for the kickoff of the tour, where a Mattel spokesperson says it was greeted by more than 1,000 moms and daughters.

The free events, also scheduled to be held in Dallas, Chicago, Minneapolis and New York, give girls a peek into all things Barbie, including a walk down the fashion runway, the opportunity to take a picture with virtual Barbie in a magic mirror, and to play with the Mega Bloks Barbie playset. 

Earlier this year, the company announced that Barbie would put her Malibu house, home to the fashion world for 41 years, on the market for $25 million, and hired designers to create three new dreams homes (in New York, Atlanta and India). Barbie is scheduled to make her choice by fall.

“We are always looking for new ways to keep Barbie top-of-mind for girls, moms and fans of all ages,” the spokesperson tells Marketing Daily in an email. “And, we know that – more than ever – Barbie fans want ‘in’ to her world. The ‘Barbie Is Moving’ North American tour is a playful way to connect fans with Barbie’s dream life. ”

While the brand’s real-life and digital innovations of recent years are primarily aimed at girls, “we know that women and moms have their own Barbie memories and stories, so we think the experience with the tour will tap into their favorite elements of the brand.” Those include two real-life dream houses kids can visit, in South Florida and Germany.

While there are no hints yet about where Barbie will ultimately decide to unpack her pink convertible, fans can track her progress at BarbieisMoving.com or join the social conversation with #BarbieIsMoving. (The tagline for the Twitter campaign: “The adventure lies in not knowing where our heels may take us next.”)

In its most recent quarterly results, the El Segundo, Calif.-based toy marketer says worldwide sales of the 54-year-old Barbie brand fell 2%.