AFOLguy1970

Nice to see that $200 is not quite yet the new norm. Last year, the higher price in combination with a building that many people found uninspiring was rather disappointing. Also agree that putting an optometrist next to a book shop would be great.

I am still seeing it on the entry for Lego Modular Buildings in Wikipedia. Of course, if they made a police station, everyone would expect a donut shop. In a sense though, that seems a little bit too cliche and uncreative on the part of Lego to give us something that everyone would expect. Four jail cells seems a bit repetitive and no mention is made at all of the color or architectural style of the building. No car either would be surprising. Although I would not mind a modular police station, there is nothing mentioned that is particularly exciting.

I am fine with a book shop. It would likely involve another business/and or a residential area. If $200 is the new norm, there is no reason they could not go the way of the pet shop and have two detachable sections. The higher price would allow for that double wall that would be necessary in order to have two separate units. I too would hope a cafe/coffee shop is not included since we have no shortage of them at this time.

That red baseplate worked well also because the building used the rest of the space away from the sidewalks, thus not allowing for a red alley behind the building. As for a white baseplate, I am surprised it was somehow not incorporated in a Winter Village setting as it would be perfect for a snowy adventure. Last year, we had to wait until December for news of the modular. It was so late in fact, that they did not even feature it in the January calendar on the website to avoid spoiling it.

At first, I was a bit saddened that Addams Family house did not make it as I really would like some type of Victorian house build even if it involves a haunted twist. I am also very hopeful for the Haunted Mansion in the next round. It may may have a decent chance due to the following: (1) No Addams Family house means no direct competition due to a similar theme and scope. I dont think that the Hidden Side series would be similar enough to cannibalize sales either (2) Similar to Sesame Street, the Magic Kingdom Haunted House is near its 50th anniversary. I am sure Lego and Disney are both aware of the timing and understand the benefit of releasing on an anniversary (looking at you Apollo 11). Also, the Magic Kingdom is the most visited park, therefore more people are likely to be familiar with the Orlando version. (3) There is obviously a lot of interest out there for a Haunted Mansion build, and it would not surprise me if it was already under consideration despite the Ideas set going into review (4) It would be difficult for the design to get shot down in review and then have Lego/Disney introduce it within a couple of years. There would be an outcry that the Ideas set was "stolen" . I think this is exactly why Steamboat Willie was approved. Really hoping the same thing happens with the Haunted Mansion

This. PR looks great from all sides and has a lot of nice exterior detail on it. I am not worried about whether or not the next modular will be a restaurant, hotel, post office, etc. I just want it to look nice on the outside, because that is what I will be looking at 99.9% of the time. If $200 is the new norm, it must look good. It has been a while since raises have kept up with inflation at my workplace, therefore this set must deliver.

The only thing that would surprise me is if Haunted Mansion did not pass review AND Disney does not release one as a D2C. If they reject the Ideas submission, there could be a decent possibility that Lego will release the set in the Disneyland version. That would eliminate the suspicion that they are "stealing" the Ideas version. Needless to say, I would buy either version if it came out. If the mansion is not produced either way, that would be a missed opportunity by both Lego and Disney. If done right, I think its popularity would give even the castle a run for its money.

Wow at that Haunted Mansion. I am able to fight back the temptation to save for the Disney train, but if this ever saw the light of day, I am in. If they tweak it and add some famous characteristics of the ride, it would be amazing. It needs the floating crystal ball, the clock that strikes 13, the books in the library need to have a function that pops them in and out, and in the ballroom, the pictures of the two duelers need to be up there. Hopefully, this gets Disney's attention. I would assume the fact that it made it to review means it is eligible despite the fact that a Disney themed set already became an Ideas set. Unless they really mess this up or give it a Millennium Falcon price, I will buy this thing.

For me, it was a few years ago when Lord of the Rings/Hobbit sets were out, Jamie was doing the modulars, the holidays were doing these great promotions like brick boxes, the monthly mini build was fun for the kids (all you had to do was show up on the designated day), and you could redeem VIP points in store on the spot. I would not say that it is presently terrible, but I can recall a better time. There are certain things I am a bit concerned about that resembles some unpopular Disney decisions. Price hikes seem to be frequent and are above inflation, at least where I live. The VIP program has not changed for the better. A lot of the promotions seem dumbed down, and the Brick Friday event in November is watered down as well from what it once was. Hopefully some of the quality issues have been corrected, especially with the reddish brown elements. Not to say there cannot again be a time as good as it was when I came out of my dark age, but there are some things to be desired.

Only thing I would recommend to you and anyone in this case is if you know exactly what you are going to use that voucher for, call the store to make sure they have the item(s) and ask them to hold them for you until you can get there. If you show up with the voucher and the items are out of stock, the voucher has a limited time to be redeemed. I think someone said Lego upped it to 60 days once they realized this situation was possible. That means you would have to return to the Lego store yet again or purchase other items if you could not go back within the time frame.

Getting vouchers in the mall on your phone could be an issue if the mall has spotty or even no Wifi. Definitely a much more difficult process than merely having them deduct points at the register. I was perusing through the reward opportunities the other day and noticed that for the bargain total of 100 points, you could enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to Legoland. Yeah, good luck with that

It sounds like you like the attributes of The Diner more. The car can be hidden or used for something else, and the sign can easily be removed if you do not like those. Plus, the Diner is significantly less expensive.

I had the misfortune of having my sons with me on vacation when the switchover happened. My son had a spending budget of $20 when we found a Lego Store on our roadtrip. He had $15 in rewards before the switchover and silly me told him he effectively now had $35 to spend if he wanted to use the rewards. Of course he did and we brought $35 worth of stuff to the register. That is when we got the "surprise". First of all, their system was down, and they could not access any rewards balance. Then, I found out about the whole voucher thing, and I think my jaw hit the floor. We could not get Wifi in the mall, so I had to call my wife to create the $15 worth of vouchers and text them to me so they could scan the barcode. The fact that we cannot redeem points in the store without the added hassle is mind boggling to me. Almost in a New Coke or International House of Burgers kind of way.

A bit out of my price range right now, but I like the concept of choosing your season in the build along with the nice details.

Very interesting about the piano. Some might have simply voted for it for its display value, similar to the small piano that made it to review and did not pass. Then, there are those who probably voted for the functionality, but not necessary the sound. I think that in the submitted project, the keys actually work, yet they do not make a sound. Then, there are those who are hoping it is actually playable. If the latter possibility is in fact the case, I would be very interested. No doubt Lego is researching just what the expectations of the potential consumers are. You would not want to make something that is less than what many people expected and voted for(see The Flintstones), nor do you want to move to the other extreme and make something that costs 3x or 4x what people thought they were voting for (looking at you, Steamboat Willie). I think they are also trying to figure out if is really possible to have the keys produce a tone, which would be amazing. This will probably require specialized parts and some research, thus the extension for considering the piano.

The summer lineup looks really good. My son is salivating at the Space sets, especially the space station one. He is saving money for the Disney world trip for the visit to the Disney Springs Lego Store. I like the townhouse, the rocket ride, and the 3-in-1 cabin. There will definitely be some tough choices to make in June.

In the spirit of the most current modular, how about: First level: Amsterdam style coffee shop Second level: Day Care center Third level: tattoo parlor

Another minor thing, certainly not a dealbreaker in any case, but where are the Death Star plans?

So this thing is not a UCS? I must need a pay raise or something, because if charging a UCS or modular price for a playset is the new norm, I am in danger of being priced out of this hobby. Stickers and play features such as the trans-red bolts suggest a collector might not be the target audience after all. I really want a Tantive IV, and might be willing to save $200, but expect a top notch set for that kind of money. I guess kid's allowance money has kept up with inflation after all.

I think it is a combination of the following: (1) A lot of people voted for and were expecting something in the range of 20s-30s based on the original approved idea. I will not argue that the released version is perhaps more desirable to most, but it is roughly 3x the price people were expecting. The Ideas set was originally targeting both the casual and die hard collector. The version that they are selling lost a lot of the casual collectors. (2) The Flintstones set has 3 parts less than Steamboat Willie and 2 minifigures more than the set, yet it is $30 cheaper. Many people have found it easy to compare these two sets as they were released within a short time of each other. (3) Physical size of the build does seem fairly small. Brick Bounty was $10 more than this and completely towers over it. It is even less substantial than things like the X-Wing (same price and license holder) or the Thanos Ultimate Battle ship in the last Avengers wave ($20 cheaper for roughly a 100 less parts, plus more minifigs and a bigfig). (4) The parts in the kit are fairly unremarkable. There are some printed ones, but you seem to have a lot of very common black and white parts. The interior is made out of colored parts to help make the building process easier, but a lot of these seem as common as the ones you find on a PAB wall in the Lego store. In short, this does not seem to make a very good parts pack. Looking at some of the online reviews of the unboxing, it does not impress me at all. (5) They further devalued their own set by making essentially the same minifigures available in a collectible series. Naturally, I am relieved by this decision along with many others, but from a business standpoint, I am surprised they did it. Sure, they emphasized the silver details to point out you can only get them in this set. Yet, the CMF ones are actually more accurate to the original film! From what I am reading in multiple forums, apparently quite a few of us will be satisfied with the CMFs alone. Several people who had been planning on grudgingly paying the $90 to get the set changed their mind when they found out the minifigs were available elsewhere.

I doubt they would make a "new improved" version and upset the ones who bought the set already. Sure, it would have been nice to have Dino or the record player with dinosaur, but they pretty much included most of the important stuff and it looks good. The value of the set seems decent as well.

Depends on how they present him. If it is a manifestation of the four legged version in the animated Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, then he would have to come in a set. This one would probably be similar to the Scooby Doo mold. However, if they introduced him as a costumed character in the way he appears in park parades and meet and greets, then he would be on two legs, and could be made as a minifig.

My son and I are have a prediction for a viable D2C set. What if Disney released a monorail? You could essentially put in whatever characters you wanted. That might be how they introduce Goofy among others. There has always been a lot of support for a monorail set since the days of the famed airport set that included one. It appeals to all ages, genders, and Disney fans alike. Only bad thing is the price would likely be stratospheric even if it was the obligatory three car/round track model. Exactly what a lot of people would want, but a fraction could afford. Then again, hopefully Goofy is NOT in this thing.

Soon, in a D2C set that will cost triple digits in most currencies. If it is more than $300, Winnie the Pooh and Dino from the Flintstones will also be there

Very true, as a lot of us who were after mainly the black and white minifigs have a way of opting out of a very costly set or the Bricklink aftermarket. Yet, the inclusion of the minifigs in the Disney series further asserts my belief that these designs preceded the Lego Ideas Review. It probably takes a lot of time to design and prepare a minifig series, much more than just a couple of months. I think Lego Steamboat Willie (at the very least the minifig) already existed in Billund before the review board passed the Ideas design. The reality of the situation for the designer is likely the fact that their timing is extremely lucky. It sort of compelled Lego to greenlight the project unless they wanted to face the same kind of negativity they did with the Ghostbuster Firehouse. No passing the project would have led to bad press and accusations, which I am sure they wanted to avoid. This would also explain why the Ideas project and the the actual set are so different in design.