So I've become a pro at assembling this product because the first one was damaged & I had to ship it back for another one. Amazon was great at exchanging the product! My recommendation, which SHOULD be in the assembly directions as item #1...put the batteries in to make sure all the gadgets work before you assemble any of it...that would have saved me a headache!!If you follow the stupid directions, you wont be advised to put batteries in until the end, which could be too late, like in my case. Oh yeah, this product cannot be disassembled without breaking it apart, just in case you think you can take it apart to store it, not gonna happen.The best news, my Girls love it!They think it's the coolest thing ever.I have to admit, it's quite grand in size; neither one has to compete for space when playing with it.If you're thinking of buying it, do it, especially while there's free shipping...but remember...Batteries go in first!
I ordered this item this past week for my daughter for Christmas.As always, it arrived right on time.The only trouble was the toy wasn't contained in the standard Amazon shipping box.So, my wife/daughter pull in from work/school and there is a beautiful Barbie Dreamhouse sitting on my front porch for all to see.
Reason I felt like sharing this info:
1) Had my wife not been witty and distracted my daughter, it would have blown the biggest Christmas surprise we plan on getting her.
2) The fact that it was exposed on my front porch (it is a large, bright, Barbie box) makes me feel lucky it wasn't stolen.All it would have taken was for the wrong person to ride by and it could have been easily taken.
Perhaps I am in the wrong for assuming the product would be covered by Amazon packaging.Either way, my advice to parents considering buying for Christmas, have it shipped to work or somewhere you can guarantee your child won't see and it won't be stolen.
Amazon, I still love you.Just want to keep others from making the poor assumption I made.
Buy Barbie 3-Story Dream Townhouse Now
()Overall review:
The Dream Townhouse is roomy, spacious, has beautiful color options beyond pink and white (a nice blue hottub and middle section, for example), takes up little floor space by climbing the wall and has the dealbreaker for most kids: the working elevator.But assemblers are advised to put in batteries and test all electronics (flushing toilet, crackling fireplace, etc.) before assembling. That is, sadly, a necessity for ALL modern Barbie electronic toys since quality does vary greatly.
Deciding on a new home for Barbie:
The Townhouse, Malibu Dreamhouse, Beach House, Glam Vacation House, Pink World House, Fashion Fairytale Palace, Lightup Castle, etc. all offer something different for Barbie.In particular, the Townhouse is a much better deal when compared to the Malibu Dreamhouse for about 25% more, Barbie gets an elevator, a lot more furniture, and a house that takes up more wall space than floor space.As well, the Townhouse suits Barbie scale much better than the Malibu Dreamhouse, which can feel a bit crowded.The Glam Vacation House and Pink World house don't have much in the way of ceilings or floors (mostly just walls), so girls don't really feel like they have a 'house'.My 9 year old never really liked the Pink House it took up too much room in her floor and since it didn't have much of a floor, furniture fell over constantly on carpet.As for the fairytale DVD movie houses, they are built specifically for a character and regular Barbies may seem/feel very out of place.The Dream Townhouse gives plenty of roominess for a variety of the more inexpensive Barbies such as the fashionistas, whose articulated arms and legs go well with the Townhouse.
Assembling The Dream Townhouse
As noted above, install batteries and check all electronics before assembling.Mattel does have an assembly video that you can access as well(2011 version Dream Townhouse) to get an idea of how to put it together.But honestly, it wasn't that hard.Mattel has been smart and designed it such that you match up shapes to pieces (and pieces all come in different widths so they won't snap into the wrong place).This was the same case with the Monster High School Playset and made sure that you assembled once and were done (IKEA has also gone this route, thankfully!).Assembly ideally takes 20-30 minutes at most, including taking out of the package.The graphics are set/already there, thankfully, so no annoying stickers to put together.
Durability:
The houses of the past tended to be put together in room-sized pieces and so broke down fairly easily due to lack of a solid base.The Dream Townhouse comes with one solid 2 floor wall piece with folding, permanently attached floors.This gives some durability to the house.Once the floors are dropped, it is held together by the thick columns on each level.The penthouse level then fits onto the second floor top.The elevator has a track and fortunately the new design means that sagging parts don't cause it to fall out as easily.The newer 'softer' less brittle plastics of today often mean that the floors 'give' a bit and this does cause the elevator to be a bit creaky and stiff (especially compared to the Dream houses with elevators from the 1970s). The softer plastics also seem to contribute to the variations in track sizes for the elevators often requiring a bit of 'modification' if your elevator doesn't work well or as designed. But that said, this is MUCH better quality than the previous Dream Townhouse.
Aesthetics:
It's great to see barbie adding in more colors than Pink or white (though there was an odd yellow fold out house in the 1990s).This townhouse has blue flooring in the middle and a large blue tub on top, and there are some purples thrown in for variety (plus, many shades of pinks dark to light add interest).Note that the color isn't as saturated as in the images on Amazon so it isn't as eye wincingly bright.The house is a good scale for Barbie and the dolls don't feel crowded (though Ken might be a bit tall for the middle level).As well, it makes a beautiful display for Barbies when not in play.
Alternatives:
This is the top of the line Barbie house and is priced accordingly.Keep in mind that there are other alternatives if you don't want/need the Barbie branding or would like a house not made of plastic.KidCraft has an excellent line of full wood with full color graphics doll houses that are priced comparably to this house.Those doll houses are also Barbie-scale and ideal for a larger doll collection that may include Moxie, Bratz, etc.
Summary:
In all, this is an improvement and provides more value for money than the other Barbie houses.Quality variation issues keep this from being a 5 star product (as well as the hefty price) the elevator doesn't always work well and the electronics especially may not all work.
Read Best Reviews of Barbie 3-Story Dream Townhouse Here
My daughter wanted this toy for her 4th birthday. She loves it and plays with it daily!It does come in the huge dream house box and was hard to hide from her. The elevator was tricky to put together because the pieces weren't made properly. My husband had so shave off some of the plastic and use super glue to get the elevator together. So far, its held up.Also, one of the chandeliers was missing.Overall good toy, but overpriced!Want Barbie 3-Story Dream Townhouse Discount?
This is way better that the Barbie beach house. I like the ones with more rooms and space for furniture. This is way better than the one I had as a kid. I like the working elevator.Save 24% Off
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