Ariel's Underwater Palace is a fun playset with plenty of space for creative play and posing the three included mini dolls. We'll take a closer look at Ariel, her sister Arista, and her dad King Triton as we progress through each section of the build process.
Out of the box, we get five numbered bags of parts, plus two 8 x 16 medium azure plates, a golden slide, and one instruction book. Surprisingly, there is no sticker sheet!
Bag one starts with Ariel and Sebastian. Both are new.
Ariel has a new torso and tail. She is wearing a medium lavender bikini shell bra that ties in the back with a bow. The torso also features a metallic light blue belt that shows off her bellybutton, which we have not seen on her mini doll before. The new mermaid tail is dark turquoise with silver scales. It is dual-molded with satin trans-light blue for her flukes. It's a very pretty design with a bit of shimmer/sparkle.
Here's a comparison of our new Ariel with the Ariel that came in set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace in 2015. You can see that she has gotten a lot fancier over the last seven years. I like the changes, especially the dual molded tail flukes. I wasn't sure about the change from bright green to dark turquoise, so I rewatched the movie. In the movie the color of her tail fluctuates with the lighting, and the dark turquoise isn't a bad choice. I think I can get used to the change.
At first glance, you might not realize that Sebastian has also been updated. He is still using the same mold, but his eye printing has been made larger. It's a small change, but the bolder printing fits the Disney Princess style better. Giving him a proper conductor's baton with the wand piece is perfect.
Sebastian arrives in style to his latest performance. The baby dolphin is just the right size to pull his small shell carriage.
The light aqua baby dolphin is not new, but I love getting another one. It's just so cute. The base of the carriage is a coral clam/scallop shell. This was a new color in 2020 with set 43176 Ariel's Storybook Adventures. It has since been used in just two other sets.
With Ariel and Sebastian ready to go, it's time to start building the Underwater Palace. The build is semi-modular, and we begin with the center main gates. I like the pearl handles for the gate, as well as the "torches" on either side. I imagine they glow with bioluminescence.
There are a few notable new or rare pieces in this build section, including those lovely printed cylinders. Let's take a closer look at the pieces and build details.
The 1 x 6 x 7 door frames with top arch and notches are fairly rare in dark turquoise. They were first used last year (2021) in two Friends sets. This is only the third set to use them.
To create the columned towers on either side of the gate, we get two light aqua 2 x 4 x 5 half cylinders with 1 x 2 cutouts. While light aqua is a new color for this piece, we don't get plain cylinders. These two cylinders come with an exclusive print featuring medium azure stars, filigree, and columns, with gold sparkles and metallic light blue bubbles.
I appreciate getting prints instead of trying to wrap a sticker around these cylinders, but I hope we will get this piece unprinted in future sets. For this set, these are great prints.
Next we use the first of several pieces newly recolored in bright light yellow. Two 1 x 3 x 3 arches extend out from the front gate.
We also get a light aqua 1 x 14 modified brick with groove. This was a new color last year in set 41449 Andrea's Family House (2021), and this is only its second use.
The interior of the center gate section is rather plain, but has a few jumper plates available for furniture, which will be built and added later. The leftover pieces are what we would expect.
Bag two starts with Arista, one of Ariel's six older sisters.
Her mini doll is entirely new. Her skin tone, like Ariel's, is light nougat. She has bright light blue eyes and coral lips with a closed mouth smile. Her hair is bright light yellow. The hard plastic hair piece with long wavy ponytail has only been available as a Build-a-Mini (BAM) option previously.
Arista wears a red bikini shell bra that ties with a bow in the back. Her belt is metallic pink and shows her bellybutton just like the new Ariel torso. Arista's mermaid tail is also red with silver scales, and dual molded satin trans-dark pink flukes.
Here we see her with her sister Alana from set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace (2015). I'm happy we get another one of Ariel's sisters. Of course, now I want an update for Alana, plus all the other sisters. While Alana is very plain next to Arista, at least she gets to wear a crown. Arista's hair piece lacks a mini peg hole for accessories.
With Arista ready to help, we start building the second floor of the main palace. The two medium azure 5 x 2 x 1 1/3 brackets were a new color last year with set 43197 The Ice Castle (2021). They have also been used in set 41707 Tree-Planting Vehicle (2022).
The brackets will support a roof that extends over the front gate. These two pearl gold 5 x 5 x 1 round corner bricks are the start of that roof section. These pieces are only otherwise available in set 43195 Belle and Rapunzel's Royal Stables (2021).
As we build up the walls of the second floor, we add another of those beautiful printed light aqua half cylinders, and a bright light yellow 2 x 6 x 6 panel with Gothic arch. The panel is another of the newly recolored bright light yellow pieces so far exclusive to this set.
Working on the interior of the second floor, we add some support pillars and arches. Both the 1 x 1 x 6 solid pillars and the 1 x 3 arches are new in bright light yellow.
The dark turquoise 1 x 1 x 5 bricks are fairly rare. They were used in the two Disney Princess Aladdin sets in 2019 and then not again until this year. They are also used in Friends set 41709 Vacation Beach House.
Another dark turquoise door frame is added, before moving to the roof of the half cylinder tower.
The roof over the cylindrical tower uses two fairly new pieces. The 4 x 4 inverted dish in coral was a new color in 2021 with sets 41692 Vet Clinic Rescue Helicopter and 43106 Unicorn DJ BeatBox. The 2 x 2 dome top round brick in satin trans-dark pink was also new in 2021 and has been used in six other sets.
Next, we create a center platform where a third story tower will be added later. This platform uses a 6 x 6 round corner plate in lavender. This was new in 2020 but has only been used in three other sets.
On top of that, we add four 2 x 2 modified facet tiles in medium azure. These were introduced in 2021 and have been used in just two other sets.
The 2 x 4 oval tile in pearl gold is new in 2022, but not exclusive to this set. It has been used in three other sets including set 43208 Jasmine and Mulan’s Adventure.
Before we can add the second story to the first floor, we add some lovely finials to the bright light yellow columns using yet another newly recolored part in bright light yellow - the 1 x 2 inverted arch. These create an elegant swoop into the gold finials.
We are now ready to add the second floor above the first floor, but we're not quite finished with this section. Four clam/scallop shells in coral are used to create two thrones, which are added to the front of the second floor after it is places onto the first floor.
The second floor is now complete. Arista and Ariel swim up to the coral thrones to relax, while we continue building the palace. There are just two spare parts left.
Bag three will build the left tower (as viewed from the front/exterior of the palace). This is the music tower, and we start with a 10 x 10 rounded end plate in medium azure. This is a new color, which is so far exclusive to this set.
To this tower we add more newly recolored and rare bright light yellow pieces. The 1 x 6 x 7 door frame with rounded pillars and top arch was recolored to bright light yellow in 2020, but has only been in two other sets: 43182 Mulan's Training Grounds (2020) and 43191 Ariel's Celebration Boat (2021). We also add more 1 x 1 x 6 support pillars and 1 x 3 arches in bright light yellow.
The platform at the top of the music tower is created with a 4 x 6 plate in dark turquoise. This is a new color for 2022 but is not exclusive to this set. It is also used in set 31127 Street Racer (2022).
Before we finish off the tower, we create a little pipe organ. While this build doesn't use any new pieces, I think it's a great design. So compact and yet immediately recognizable. Another great use of the candle stick pieces.
We also add some sheet music beside the organ. Both the 1 x 2 piano key tiles and the 2 x 2 sheet music tile are printed and have been around since 2020.
With the organ in place, we finish off the top of the music tower with more 1 x 2 inverted arches in bright light yellow and four satin trans-clear minifgiure heads. Both are new colors and so far exclusive to this set.
With the tower complete, it's time to add a couple musicians. Flounder hasn't changed from any of the other Little Mermaid sets. He's sitting on a stool and playing the saxophone.
Joining him in the band, is an "octopus." To create the cephalopod head, we get a 2 x 2 top dome round brick and a 2 x 2 bottom dome round brick. These are both newly recolored in magenta, and the top brick has printing to create the creature's face. A new dark pink technic knob cog wheel will hold the four short magenta cattle horns (not new) to create the arms. Maybe the octopus doesn't have eight legs, but it's still cute.
Both Flounder and the octopus can dance back and forth while they play thanks to the medium azure splat gears.
The music tower is now complete. There is a little space under the music platform to add some furniture later. As expected, we have a few spare pieces left. The tower is ready to attach to the center section of the palace.
The music tower attaches to the left side of the palace with clips and bars. One bar is on the bottom module and the other is on the top module of the center section.
Once the tower is clipped into place, the center section cannot be unstacked without removing the tower. This limits the palace in terms of modularity, but it does allow the tower to attach securely and be rotated at a slight angle to the center section.
Bag four starts with King Triton.
King Triton is an all new mini doll. His facial details are all part of his hair piece/mask. Like his daughters, he has light nougat skin. He has dark azure eyes and white hair, mustache, and beard. His hair piece includes a pearl gold crown.
King Triton's torso shows muscle contours, a metallic light blue belt pattern, and gold bracelets on his arms. His merman tail is dark azure with dual molded satin trans-light blue flukes. The complete mini doll does a great job of portraying the King of Atlantica.
If we remove King Triton's hair piece/mask, you can see his torso muscles in more detail. I keep thinking this would be a great torso for a future Genie mini doll.
The hair piece/mask goes over a plain, light nougat mini doll head. I was very surprised that there isn't any facial printing. No eyes or mouth, but the nose is part of the mold. If you look closely at interior of the hair piece, there is a little grove in the front so his nose can easily slide into the mask.
When King Triton travels, he rides a dolphin pulled troika.
The basic carriage is small, but uses a couple of pieces worth highlighting. We get another coral clam/scallop shell. We also get a 2 x 2 x 2/3 curved slope which is newly recolored in coral for 2022. It is also used in set 41695 Pet Clinic. A 1 x 2 modified brick with stud on one side is used to hold King Triton in the center of the clam carriage. This piece is new for 2022, but has been used in three other sets.
Pulling King Triton's troika are three new dolphins. This is not a new dolphin mold, but the eye printing has been updated for 2022. This updated dolphin is also used in set 41709 Vacation Beach House (2022). You can see in the photo above that it is a subtle change; the printing is just a little bigger and bolder. In the image above, the dolphin on the left is from set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace (2015), while the dolphin on the right is one of King Triton's updated dolphins. I like the addition of the water spout.
With the dolphins harnessed to the troika, King Triton is ready to survey his underwater kingdom. Let's follow him to the palace where the second side tower is waiting to built.
Bag one starts with Ariel and Sebastian. Both are new.
Ariel has a new torso and tail. She is wearing a medium lavender bikini shell bra that ties in the back with a bow. The torso also features a metallic light blue belt that shows off her bellybutton, which we have not seen on her mini doll before. The new mermaid tail is dark turquoise with silver scales. It is dual-molded with satin trans-light blue for her flukes. It's a very pretty design with a bit of shimmer/sparkle.
Here's a comparison of our new Ariel with the Ariel that came in set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace in 2015. You can see that she has gotten a lot fancier over the last seven years. I like the changes, especially the dual molded tail flukes. I wasn't sure about the change from bright green to dark turquoise, so I rewatched the movie. In the movie the color of her tail fluctuates with the lighting, and the dark turquoise isn't a bad choice. I think I can get used to the change.
At first glance, you might not realize that Sebastian has also been updated. He is still using the same mold, but his eye printing has been made larger. It's a small change, but the bolder printing fits the Disney Princess style better. Giving him a proper conductor's baton with the wand piece is perfect.
Sebastian arrives in style to his latest performance. The baby dolphin is just the right size to pull his small shell carriage.
The light aqua baby dolphin is not new, but I love getting another one. It's just so cute. The base of the carriage is a coral clam/scallop shell. This was a new color in 2020 with set 43176 Ariel's Storybook Adventures. It has since been used in just two other sets.
With Ariel and Sebastian ready to go, it's time to start building the Underwater Palace. The build is semi-modular, and we begin with the center main gates. I like the pearl handles for the gate, as well as the "torches" on either side. I imagine they glow with bioluminescence.
There are a few notable new or rare pieces in this build section, including those lovely printed cylinders. Let's take a closer look at the pieces and build details.
The 1 x 6 x 7 door frames with top arch and notches are fairly rare in dark turquoise. They were first used last year (2021) in two Friends sets. This is only the third set to use them.
To create the columned towers on either side of the gate, we get two light aqua 2 x 4 x 5 half cylinders with 1 x 2 cutouts. While light aqua is a new color for this piece, we don't get plain cylinders. These two cylinders come with an exclusive print featuring medium azure stars, filigree, and columns, with gold sparkles and metallic light blue bubbles.
I appreciate getting prints instead of trying to wrap a sticker around these cylinders, but I hope we will get this piece unprinted in future sets. For this set, these are great prints.
Next we use the first of several pieces newly recolored in bright light yellow. Two 1 x 3 x 3 arches extend out from the front gate.
We also get a light aqua 1 x 14 modified brick with groove. This was a new color last year in set 41449 Andrea's Family House (2021), and this is only its second use.
The interior of the center gate section is rather plain, but has a few jumper plates available for furniture, which will be built and added later. The leftover pieces are what we would expect.
Bag two starts with Arista, one of Ariel's six older sisters.
Her mini doll is entirely new. Her skin tone, like Ariel's, is light nougat. She has bright light blue eyes and coral lips with a closed mouth smile. Her hair is bright light yellow. The hard plastic hair piece with long wavy ponytail has only been available as a Build-a-Mini (BAM) option previously.
Arista wears a red bikini shell bra that ties with a bow in the back. Her belt is metallic pink and shows her bellybutton just like the new Ariel torso. Arista's mermaid tail is also red with silver scales, and dual molded satin trans-dark pink flukes.
Here we see her with her sister Alana from set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace (2015). I'm happy we get another one of Ariel's sisters. Of course, now I want an update for Alana, plus all the other sisters. While Alana is very plain next to Arista, at least she gets to wear a crown. Arista's hair piece lacks a mini peg hole for accessories.
With Arista ready to help, we start building the second floor of the main palace. The two medium azure 5 x 2 x 1 1/3 brackets were a new color last year with set 43197 The Ice Castle (2021). They have also been used in set 41707 Tree-Planting Vehicle (2022).
The brackets will support a roof that extends over the front gate. These two pearl gold 5 x 5 x 1 round corner bricks are the start of that roof section. These pieces are only otherwise available in set 43195 Belle and Rapunzel's Royal Stables (2021).
As we build up the walls of the second floor, we add another of those beautiful printed light aqua half cylinders, and a bright light yellow 2 x 6 x 6 panel with Gothic arch. The panel is another of the newly recolored bright light yellow pieces so far exclusive to this set.
Working on the interior of the second floor, we add some support pillars and arches. Both the 1 x 1 x 6 solid pillars and the 1 x 3 arches are new in bright light yellow.
The dark turquoise 1 x 1 x 5 bricks are fairly rare. They were used in the two Disney Princess Aladdin sets in 2019 and then not again until this year. They are also used in Friends set 41709 Vacation Beach House.
Another dark turquoise door frame is added, before moving to the roof of the half cylinder tower.
The roof over the cylindrical tower uses two fairly new pieces. The 4 x 4 inverted dish in coral was a new color in 2021 with sets 41692 Vet Clinic Rescue Helicopter and 43106 Unicorn DJ BeatBox. The 2 x 2 dome top round brick in satin trans-dark pink was also new in 2021 and has been used in six other sets.
Next, we create a center platform where a third story tower will be added later. This platform uses a 6 x 6 round corner plate in lavender. This was new in 2020 but has only been used in three other sets.
On top of that, we add four 2 x 2 modified facet tiles in medium azure. These were introduced in 2021 and have been used in just two other sets.
The 2 x 4 oval tile in pearl gold is new in 2022, but not exclusive to this set. It has been used in three other sets including set 43208 Jasmine and Mulan’s Adventure.
Before we can add the second story to the first floor, we add some lovely finials to the bright light yellow columns using yet another newly recolored part in bright light yellow - the 1 x 2 inverted arch. These create an elegant swoop into the gold finials.
We are now ready to add the second floor above the first floor, but we're not quite finished with this section. Four clam/scallop shells in coral are used to create two thrones, which are added to the front of the second floor after it is places onto the first floor.
The second floor is now complete. Arista and Ariel swim up to the coral thrones to relax, while we continue building the palace. There are just two spare parts left.
Bag three will build the left tower (as viewed from the front/exterior of the palace). This is the music tower, and we start with a 10 x 10 rounded end plate in medium azure. This is a new color, which is so far exclusive to this set.
To this tower we add more newly recolored and rare bright light yellow pieces. The 1 x 6 x 7 door frame with rounded pillars and top arch was recolored to bright light yellow in 2020, but has only been in two other sets: 43182 Mulan's Training Grounds (2020) and 43191 Ariel's Celebration Boat (2021). We also add more 1 x 1 x 6 support pillars and 1 x 3 arches in bright light yellow.
The platform at the top of the music tower is created with a 4 x 6 plate in dark turquoise. This is a new color for 2022 but is not exclusive to this set. It is also used in set 31127 Street Racer (2022).
Before we finish off the tower, we create a little pipe organ. While this build doesn't use any new pieces, I think it's a great design. So compact and yet immediately recognizable. Another great use of the candle stick pieces.
We also add some sheet music beside the organ. Both the 1 x 2 piano key tiles and the 2 x 2 sheet music tile are printed and have been around since 2020.
With the organ in place, we finish off the top of the music tower with more 1 x 2 inverted arches in bright light yellow and four satin trans-clear minifgiure heads. Both are new colors and so far exclusive to this set.
With the tower complete, it's time to add a couple musicians. Flounder hasn't changed from any of the other Little Mermaid sets. He's sitting on a stool and playing the saxophone.
Joining him in the band, is an "octopus." To create the cephalopod head, we get a 2 x 2 top dome round brick and a 2 x 2 bottom dome round brick. These are both newly recolored in magenta, and the top brick has printing to create the creature's face. A new dark pink technic knob cog wheel will hold the four short magenta cattle horns (not new) to create the arms. Maybe the octopus doesn't have eight legs, but it's still cute.
Both Flounder and the octopus can dance back and forth while they play thanks to the medium azure splat gears.
The music tower is now complete. There is a little space under the music platform to add some furniture later. As expected, we have a few spare pieces left. The tower is ready to attach to the center section of the palace.
The music tower attaches to the left side of the palace with clips and bars. One bar is on the bottom module and the other is on the top module of the center section.
Once the tower is clipped into place, the center section cannot be unstacked without removing the tower. This limits the palace in terms of modularity, but it does allow the tower to attach securely and be rotated at a slight angle to the center section.
Bag four starts with King Triton.
King Triton is an all new mini doll. His facial details are all part of his hair piece/mask. Like his daughters, he has light nougat skin. He has dark azure eyes and white hair, mustache, and beard. His hair piece includes a pearl gold crown.
King Triton's torso shows muscle contours, a metallic light blue belt pattern, and gold bracelets on his arms. His merman tail is dark azure with dual molded satin trans-light blue flukes. The complete mini doll does a great job of portraying the King of Atlantica.
If we remove King Triton's hair piece/mask, you can see his torso muscles in more detail. I keep thinking this would be a great torso for a future Genie mini doll.
The hair piece/mask goes over a plain, light nougat mini doll head. I was very surprised that there isn't any facial printing. No eyes or mouth, but the nose is part of the mold. If you look closely at interior of the hair piece, there is a little grove in the front so his nose can easily slide into the mask.
When King Triton travels, he rides a dolphin pulled troika.
The basic carriage is small, but uses a couple of pieces worth highlighting. We get another coral clam/scallop shell. We also get a 2 x 2 x 2/3 curved slope which is newly recolored in coral for 2022. It is also used in set 41695 Pet Clinic. A 1 x 2 modified brick with stud on one side is used to hold King Triton in the center of the clam carriage. This piece is new for 2022, but has been used in three other sets.
Pulling King Triton's troika are three new dolphins. This is not a new dolphin mold, but the eye printing has been updated for 2022. This updated dolphin is also used in set 41709 Vacation Beach House (2022). You can see in the photo above that it is a subtle change; the printing is just a little bigger and bolder. In the image above, the dolphin on the left is from set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace (2015), while the dolphin on the right is one of King Triton's updated dolphins. I like the addition of the water spout.
With the dolphins harnessed to the troika, King Triton is ready to survey his underwater kingdom. Let's follow him to the palace where the second side tower is waiting to built.
The right side tower will hold a slide, but it starts off very similar to the left side music tower with a second 10 x 10 rounded end plate in medium azure for the base. Then we build up the tower with another bright light yellow door frame and more pillars topped with arches and inverted arches for the finials.
Instead of a platform, we add a pearl gold slide. The 4 x 6 x 6 straight slide is new in pearl gold, and the 7 x 12 x 8 1/3 cured 180° slide has only been made in pearl gold for set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace in 2015.
Once the slide is in place, we top off the finials with more of the satin trans-clear minifigure heads to match the music tower.
We decorate the slide tower with some coral and add a bright light yellow star. This 4 x 4 x 2/3 star was new in bright light yellow laster year in four of the Friends Magical Funfair sets. It is also used in one other set this year. It makes a fun landing pad at the bottom of the slide.
We have just one small dot left as an extra.
The finished slide tower gets attached to the right side of the palace.
The final bag of parts starts off with several small furniture builds. Some of these use new or rare parts, while other do not. All are great additions to the playability of this palace.
First up, a bathtub. Why do mermaids need a bathtub? I don't know, but it's a nice build that you can use in other sets. It uses a 2 x 4 oval tile in pearl gold. This is a new piece for 2022, but has already been used in three other sets, including set 43208 Jasmine and Mulan’s Adventure (2022)
Next, we build a bed, which uses more of the coral clam/scallop shells.
The dressing table uses a 2 x 2 round tile in pearl gold with a sticker to create the mirror. As I said before, there is no sticker sheet in the set. This is the only sticker and it was pre-applied. The pearl gold tile is not a new piece, but the fact that it comes with a sticker makes it exclusive to this set.
Ariel also has a small treasure trove, including a dingle hopper. The dingle hopper, also known as a fork, is new for 2022 but has already been used in six other sets. This is probably the first time it's been stuck in a candelabra though.
Palace furnishing continues on the second floor with a dinner table. The table uses two 2 x 6 double round corner plates newly recolored in coral.
Our final piece of furniture is a table and lamp. The lamp shade is created with another new satin trans-dark pink 2 x 2 top dome brick. As mentioned before it has been used in six other sets.
Each piece of furniture is added to the palace on the available jumper plates. This jumper plate system makes it easy to add or remove furniture to either rearrange where it is located or to pull it out for easier play access.
With the furniture in place, it's time to build the last section of the palace - the third story tower. The exterior uses another of the new 2 x 6 x 6 Gothic arch panels in bright light yellow, while the interior side of the tower uses two 1 x 1 x 5 bricks and a 1 x 6 raised arch in dark turquoise. None of these dark turquoise pieces are new, but they are fairly rare having been used in only 3 other sets previously (not the same sets).
On top of the arches, we add two 3 x 3 x 1 round corner bricks in pearl gold, and a 2 x 4 x 2 half cylinder in light aqua. Both of these pieces are newly recolored for 2022 and so far exclusive to this set.
We top off the central tower with another 4 x 4 inverted dish in coral and 2 x 2 top dome brick in satin trans-dark pink. Pearl gold unicorn horns are added for ornamentation that mimics King Triton's crown.
With the central tower in place, the Underwater Palace is finished. Just one more piece of furniture needs to be built ...
King Triton's throne!
Ariel's Underwater Palace is complete. We have a few more spare pieces left, including an extra dingle hopper.
King Triton sits in his throne at the top of the palace surveying his underwater kingdom, while his daughters relax in their room below.
The box front shows Ariel's Underwater Palace from the exterior/front. Sebastian and King Triton ride in from opposite sides on their dolphin carriages. The palace is set on a sandy ocean bed, with corals growing around it. Sunlight streams in through the water, and air bubbles float up toward the surface.
An animation-style image of Ariel is in the lower right corner next to the Disney Princess logo. The magical swoosh from past boxes has been changed to include bricks that float off to the side of the box. It's a very eye catching design, and I appreciate the addition of the bricks to the magical swoosh of color.
On the back of the box, we are shown the back/interior of the palace. A call out box on the upper right shows the dancing action of the musicians. On the left are three more boxes showing Ariel and Arista dining, Ariel chatting with her sister while Arista relaxes, and Ariel adding the dingle hopper to her treasure trove.
Another magical brick swoosh mirrors the front image, but the animation-style Ariel has been replaced with a mini doll version.
The top of the box uses Sebastian for the actual size image. All three mini dolls, Flounder, Sebastian, one of the adult dolphins, and the baby dolphin are also pictured.
The front background image continues around to the right side of the box. Another magical brick swoosh, that matches the image on the back of the box, creates a border between the wrap-around front image and the box back.
Summary:
This is first and foremost a 6+ play set, and it delivers. The palace is large enough to have presence, and the design is charming. The colors are fun, vibrant, and perfect for capturing the underwater world of The Little Mermaid. I love getting another one of Ariel's sisters and King Triton. The dual molding upgrade of the mermaid tail pieces is excellent.
While the interior spaces are small, there is still room for posing the mini dolls. The furniture is easy to rearrange and can be removed to extend the play area beyond the actual building. It's a great set for imaginative play for kids who love mermaids in general, and Disney's Little Mermaid specifically.
I appreciate the modular style of build used as it breaks down the building into smaller assemblies that then get stacked or snapped together. It's a good technique for building a larger structure, but this is NOT truly a modular build once the sides are attached. There is really just one way to attach the modules, and I'm okay with that.
For AFOLs, there are a ton of great parts, especially if you want more bright light yellow and dark turquoise in your collection. The furniture builds are great for inspiration when furnishing custom MOCs, and can easily be moved into another building as built. The mini dolls are excellent. As I mentioned above, I want all Ariel's sisters. So many possibilities for colorful mermaid tails. Wouldn't a Daughters of Triton "battle pack" be awesome?
I enjoy seeing how LEGO design has changed and improved over the years as the parts selection has changed.
The image above is set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace from 2015. Throughout this review, I have used the mini dolls and animals from this set for comparisons with our new set. Ariel's Undersea Palace was targeted for ages 6 - 12 and it has 379 pieces. That's very comparable with Ariel's Underwater Palace, and the names are almost identical. This older set is great, but the new set takes the new parts available and improves it.
Here are the two sets side-by-side. I think my favorite change is the use of the inverted arches to swoop up into the gold finials. It's so elegant. That and the dual molded mermaid tails.
One thing that I like about the older set is that Ariel's treasure trove is removed from the main palace. It seems a little strange that her hoard is right there in the palace were her father can easily find it. It makes more sense as a side build.
If you missed out on the older set and always wanted it, the new set is even better. You won't be disappointed.
If you already have and enjoy the older set, I think you will appreciate the changes in new one. Plus, the two sets look great together. Imagine what you can build by combining them.
Happy building!
~prrbrix
Disclaimer:
This set was provided by The LEGO Group for the purpose of sharing set details with fans.
Opinions provided here solely reflect those of our reviewer.
Photographs are property of FriendsBricks and are not directed by TLG in any fashion.
A battle pack of mermaid daughters armed with dingle hoppers? XD
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