Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The problem with many Lego reviews are that they are made by people who don't actually play with them so the scores are reflecting a childs reaction to the box or how it looks rather than the actual product itself. And that simply isn't a good guideline for someone who intends to spend $70. So I'll try to give a more honest review because a set like this definitely requires some thought. MiniDolls: 5 Stars Great mini dolls. Both look like they're supposed to and everything. For the pricetag I wish it came with at least one more but still its a great looking set. Build: 3 Stars Half of the fun of Lego's is the actual building process. I build a lot of Legos with my daughters and having a child make a "bunch-o-bricks" turn into a recognizable object is magical to their eyes. But this set lacked that excitement because so many of the pieces were already there. I don't blame Lego for this because you are building a castle and some of these pieces can't be created on your own. But still... the castle spires, the castle walls etc were all obvious from the start so it felt more like arranging cardboard boxes than constructing a building. Looks: 4 Stars Upon building this there is a very quick realization that this castle is tiny. If making a theme park comparison, this is shaped more like the short and undersized "Sleeping Beauty Castle" in Disneyland than it is the towering Cinderella Castle in Disney Worlds Magic Kingdom. There's simply no awe in looking at it. That said, I still think it looks great and even at this tiny size it makes a fantastic display. Play Value: 1 Star Now here is where the castle suffers most. The play value is non-existent. The room choices are questionable (Bedroom, Makeup Room, Cat Tower, Bathroom) and are also unusably tiny. But even worse is the fact that the castle is so brittle. Everything you touch just falls off. Flowers, flags, jewels, walls etc. Its just not a solid build. I've seen my girls try to play in their castle but because of the small and brittle rooms then they end up playing in the "Castle yard" (the floor) instead. Conclusion: As tough as I am on this set, overall I do like it because it really does look good. Unfortunately it has become more of a display piece on the mantle rather than a playset. And, as the parent that has to fix their mess when things fall apart, I dread the days that they actually want to use it because it means 30 minutes of rebuilding when they're done.