Mysteries: Beach Detectives Doll & Playset

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] This Barbie® Mysteries Beach Detectives set is so much fun for the kids! It has lots of accessories—15 in all. The cotton candy sticks fit perfectly in Barbie’s hands and won’t fall out, which is good. The three rows of carnival tickets (each with its own color) are super flexible and durable; these won’t wear over time or rip. This is a nice set that easily prompts kids to interact and imagine.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] The interaction with this toy starts with the unboxing, and it kind of sets the stage for rest of the experience. At first blush the packaging is easy to work with - some stickers holding the cardboard box shut and plastic packing that is easy to remove without getting hurt. But many items in this set - including the Barbie doll - are attached to the cardboard backing with plastic ties. Most annoying, one of the plastic ties is affixed directly into the doll's head. To remove the doll from the packaging you need to cut the tie from the box and then somehow cut the remainder tie out of the doll's head without accidentally cutting its hair. It would be far simpler in the future if simple twist ties were used to affix everything. The Barbie doll is of the usual Barbie doll quality. Nothing has changed here, and we have been pleased with the doll. The outfit and shoes are nice and seem appropriate for the activity the set presents. No brush is included, so you are on your own to handle the hair as it gets messy/tangled/etc. The play set is quick and easy to assemble, aside from some small stickers. Build quality is a bit of a mix. The cart, cotton candy spinner, and drop game are built pretty well. But on the opposite side, the cotton candy pole is pretty flimsy and the tickets are just paper. The tickets are a little strip of paper and the way they fit into the cart requires the whole strip to be present for it to work. You have to play somewhat carefully with them and use them as a whole. If you were to separate a ticket from the strip, it won't work with the set anymore. Similarly, if the tickets get all mangled they may not fit in the slot on the set anymore. The kids have been having fun playing with Barbie and bringing their other dolls to the set. The drop game is neat, and everyone loves to spin the cotton candy spinner, but with extended play they feel it is a bit lacking. Another carnival game, or some other kind of side activity, would have really solidified things and increased replay-ability. As the Barbie Mysteries Beach Detectives series has not yet launched on Netflix, we have no idea how this set ties into the series. Nothing about this set plays to a detective theme at all, so we're hopeful that the set is a reference to an interesting setting on the show. All in all, a middle of the road Barbie set. If the build quality was a little better, and there was another activity to do, we think it would be a much more straightforward hit. This could also end up being a lot of fun for someone who is into the Netflix series, but we just don't know how that part plays out yet.