Customer Reviews

The Magical Cloud Kingdom Adventure Playset

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This was one of my daughter's top present choices for her sixth birthday. Her grandmother bought it for her, and fortunately, she didn't pay the full recommended retail ($69), which was excessive, given the quality. Even the "sale" (clearance?) price of $49 is way too much. But when your little girl is pining for a toy, it's hard to say no.

The cons:

*The kingdom must be assembled, which is no small task. There are dozens of pieces, and the instructions are terrible. In an effort to not offend or exclude anyone, the instructions are pictures only. Pictures are good to have, but they are not always self-explanatory. I thought for a few moments that I was missing several pieces until I finally realized that the illustrations were showing the same pieces more than once. With that figured out, the assembly went more quickly, but it was still a slow process.

*The cloud backdrop, as others have noted, is made of flimsy cardboard. Ours was bent and creased already, straight out of the box. And yes, it falls off if you look at it too hard. You can rig up something to keep it on (I'm thinking of using small pieces of pink erasers as "stoppers"), but a toy that costs this much should have been better designed.

*The tiny accessory pieces are easy to lose (many are translucent, so they are hard to spot on the floor), and the set didn't come with any sort of a storage box.

*The assembled set is quite large (3x2 feet, according to the box), and not sturdy enough to pick up and move. It's such a hassle to put together, you won't want to do that again (and the flimsy pieces likely wouldn't stand up to it, anyway), so you may find that you're stuck with having to relinquish a significant amount of permanent space to the toy.

*One of the flimsy doll stands broke the first night we had it.

*The Aidan and Annika dolls (not included) seem oversized to the playset, making them appear like out-of-place giants.

*The set only comes with two winged horses for the wand of light pillar, but there are hooks for three. I'm sure more are available for purchase, but the empty hook made my little girl feel sad; she was absolutely convinced we were missing one.

The pros:

*The colors of the toy are, as in the movie, exquisite.

*The multiple levels and staircases are fun.

*The set comes with dozens of small accessories, which kids love.

*There are some minor action movements to the set (the dance floor turns to make Aidan and Annika "dance", the "wand of light" pillar lights up and twirls around with two included winged horses, a "magic" mirror flips to reveal Brieta's true identity, a vanity drawer actually opens and can store some of the accessories).

*The scale of the stairs and levels are just right for using with Polly Pocket dolls.

*Despite all grownup reservations, most any young girl will be delighted with this toy.

For my daughter's birthday, we covered the table with a plastic Magic of Pegasus tablecloth, which I washed off and folded up to place under the cloud kingdom set. Not only did this provides a pretty and matching extension to the set (it's like adding a new level), it allows us to easily slide the assembled set around.

Overall I can recommend this toy only on the merit of how much my little girl loves it, but shame on Mattel for not doing a better job of designing it.

This is a fun cloud set up that my 5 year old daughter loves to play with. She loves the fact that the 2 Barbies can dance and spin. However, that said, it is huge. It does not fold up for storage. The only way to store it is to take it apart and reassemble it over and over again. It is also not as sturdy as it needs to be for serious Barbie play. The dance floor is only supported in the front and held up in the back by the staircases. If Barbie eats a big meal and gets a little heavy... down crashes the floor and then needs to be reassembled by an adult or older child. Reassembly is easy enough, but it is a pain to keep doing it.

In concept, this is a great toy. In design, however, it has many flaws. The backdrop piece just does not stay attached! (I actually fun-tacked it to the wall behind where Cloud Kingdom sits in my daughter's playroom.) The Clouds pieces, while very pretty, are just not solid enough to hold up. And be sure to make plenty of space for this toy because it takes up 3 feet of room and does not fold away for storage. My 4-year-old does not seem to mind any of this, though. It really does inspire her imaginative play as she flies her pegasi through the sky!

Assembled, this toy is very pretty. Especially when all of the dolls (sold separately) are posed on it. It's VERY cute! However,the design/quality is very poor. Mattel needs to keep in mind that parents sometimes need to relocate or store a toy, and this playset cannot be moved without falling completely apart. It falls apart when it's played with too. Also, the backdrop is made out of cardboard. CARDBOARD! It doesn't attach firmly and keeps falling off. I don't think Mattel bothers to test market their toys with actual children anymore. If they did, they would know this needed more work before release. I guess it's cheaper to rush a toy to market before Christmas than to perfect and produce a quality product. If I had been able to examine one of these playsets before purchasing, I wouldn't have purchased it.

This was very cheaply made. I was disappointed in it's quality. Also, it comes apart constantly. All my daughter has to do is barely touch it and it comes all apart. I am going to try to glue the pieces in place so she can at least play with it. We have many Barbie toys and this is by far the worst I have ever purchased. Not to mention that is was expensive! I expected much, much better quality from a Barbie product.

this toy came with cracked plastic pieces, the "cardboard" backround doesn't stay on. the attachments for that also broke before my daughter even got to see it for christmas morning.overall i think its very cheaply made, but the accesories and dolls are fine.

My daughter just about flipped when she received this toy as a birthday gift! So immediately after the party, my husband went aboutputting it together. My five year old played with this for all of about 30 seconds before a piece came off. We've had it for about two weeks now, and EVERY time you touch this thing, some peice comes off. No one plays with it. It's just too much of a hassle to keep together. My advice - but something else.

My daughter really wanted the Cloud Kingdom for Christmas. As soon as I saw the quality of it, I should have returned it but I knew it would break her heart. It takes up a lot of room and does not fold for storage like most Barbie houses. My daughter is very frustrated with it because the pieces do not stay together, so she hardly plays with it. This toy is definately not worth the money. I wish had read the reviews on this toy so could have bought her something that she could actually enjoy.

My little sister and I love Barbie,My Scene,and Bratz.And ever since this came out,my sister wanted it.It's really expensive though.I mean,65 dollars?But luckly,we got ours at Wal-Mart.But as soon as my parents got it,it went on sale!

Fun

This toy was very fun.For both me and my sister.It comes with a vanity,bed(for kelly)A table,two chairs,and some pieces of cake and makeup.One thing you should know is that it is quite expensive for both the dolls and the cloud kingdom.All my sister got was the kingdom,Rayla the cloud Queen,and Brietta the Pegusus.But we play with our Bratz andMy scene.It can be for any type.

Durability

Ok.Everything is nice except for two things:

1.)The bacpart(Cardboard)is not a very good quality

2.)When you are done playing,take the3 pieces apart gently

LGP3LNC

My 5 year old daughter loves Barbie and all the Pegasus toys but Could Kingdom provides no stimulation for her and she is disappointed and bored with it. It hasnt captured her attention for more than 5 minutes and she loves to use her imagination. It takes so long to put it together and is not durable. It is expensive for what is provided and there should be more magical lights and buttons to press to make it interesting but its basic a bunch of plastic clouds that take up a lot of space.