The world of Disney has been the source of some great LEGO® sets. With many of the Disney Princesses being the focus of some often overlooked sets. In particular, the underwater world of the Little Mermaid has featured in some interesting sets. This classic Disney film is part of the 90s animation renaissance and is inspired by the Danish fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen. Before Ariel heads to land the film opens under the sea and in the kingdom of Atlantica. Which is what has inspired this latest Little Mermaid set. So here’s a look at LEGO Disney Ariel’s Underwater Palace.
Product Details
Adventures beneath the sea await Disney’s The Little Mermaid fans aged 6 and up in this LEGO® ǀ Disney Ariel’s Underwater Palace (43207) set, featuring a buildable toy palace, 3 mini-doll figures and 6 LEGO animal figures, plus interactive digital building instructions to help make construction extra fun. Available in the free LEGO Building Instructions app, the intuitive tools help kids visualize the model as they build.
Hands-on play, learning and growth
This detailed Disney palace set is packed with features and accessories to spark imagination and creativity while kids role-play and relive favorite movie scenes or create their own. This set encourages both solo and group play, with the different ages of the characters letting kids act out stories as a family.
Iconic characters
This set gets kids playing fast with Disney’s Ariel, Arista and King Triton mini-doll figures, plus Sebastian, Flounder and 4 dolphin LEGO figures, and makes an impressive gift for any Disney Princess fan.
- Set Name: Ariel’s Underwater Palace
- Set Number: 43207
- Pieces: 498
- RRP: £74.99/$79.99/79.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 5
- Stickers: N/A
- Minifigures: Ariel, Arista & King Triton plus Sebastian & Flounder
- Instructions: Booklet x 1 + LEGO Building Instructions App + Instructions Plus
- Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
Not only is it the largest Little Mermaid set, in terms of piece count, but it’s also a remake of sorts. A very similar set was released back in 2015 and recreates King Triton’s ornate watery palace. Both that set and this new one have largely taken great liberties with the location featured in The Little Mermaid film. The Merpeople live in a vast underwater kingdom. The LEGO version is on a much smaller scale but has enough details to instantly convey it’s an underwater palace.
As well as the palace the set also features a couple of dolphin-drawn chariots. With a tiny version pulled by a baby dolphin, which is very different to how it’s portrayed in the film but it’s the larger one which is most impressive. The bigger chariot features three of the larger dolphin figures, which are attached to a shell-based seating area. Due to the mini-dolls having a different style of legs, which are even more different in this set, they only have a single connection point. So the chariot carriage has a simple way to place King Triton, so he’s seated in it nicely.
The Palace is made up of different sections which combine together to create the structure. It could be described as modular but it’s not really meant to be taken apart in order to play with it or combine it in different configurations. So the central structure is three sections and then a further two sections are clipped on either side of it. What I really like about the set is the use of parts. There are some great pieces to be found in the set. Pearlescence minifigure heads top the palace walls, clamshell elements are used as decoration and for furnishings and coral pieces dot the seabed. What I really like about the exterior of the palace is the lack of symmetry. It gives it an organic feel, especially with the arches and the inverted curves slopes which top them.
The outside of the palace also features a golden slide and Sebastian’s organ. Just below this are a trio of splat gears. On one of these is a great little octopus creature, using printed pieces for its face. On the subject of printed pieces, there isn’t a sticker in sight. One of the best pieces to feature print is the curved wall panels used in between the yellow arches. Although the palace is open plan, it does have an interior of sorts. Right at the top of the palace is the royal throne, below are small rooms with different functions and accessories such as a dinner table, bed and oddly a bath. There’s also Ariel’s ‘treasure’ stash featuring her human trinkets from land.
There are three mini-dolls included in the set. Now I know mini-dolls have their critics and fully understand why. Minifigures are rather iconic but mini-dolls do have their good points and their design works well for most of the characters. All three of the characters included in the set feature a merperson tail. One thing I like about these is the transparent sections used to trim the fin sections. Both Ariel and Alana are fairly similar to other mini-dolls, but apart from Ariel’s hair, which has been used in almost all previous versions of the character.
Everything else used to create not only Ariel but the other characters are all new pieces. Mainly this is due to either being recoloured elements or having tweaked print detail. King Triton is a unique mini-dolls as it includes a special piece to create his bearded appearance. A standard mini-doll head is still used but it’s topped with other elements featuring the face, beard, hair and crown. It does go a long way to capturing the character’s look, although the mini-doll body is a little weedy. The mini-dolls are joined by two creature characters. These both use unique parts but are the same as those used in past sets. Sebastian and Flounder are both important parts of the movie so it’s nice to have them both in the same set.
Review Round-up
The Disney range continues to offer a unique selection of sets. Those featuring Disney Princess characters aren’t for everybody. But I was drawn to the interesting array of elements and the unique characters, in particular King Triton. It’s not very often the look of the Mini-doll is mixed up. The underwater kingdom featured in the classic animated film was quite muted so I’m glad it’s been jazzed up a bit for the LEGO version.
For
+ King Triton is a great mini-doll
+ Use of elements and colours provides a visually interesting set
+ No stickers
Against
– More elements but feels slightly less detailed than the 2015 version
Shop Now: UKIrelandUSCanadaGermanyDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
This set was requested and provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Disney. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
