Disney Advent Calendar - Day 24
Posted by MeganL,
It's Christmas Eve!! I'm not sure what to expect for the final day, as yesterday's ice tree would have made for a very good finale. Here's hoping that as we finish the calendar, something even better is behind today's door.
I'll also show what everything looks like on the gameboard/place mat, and share some overall thoughts on the second Disney calendar.
This is a fitting end to the calendar - this is a mini Arendelle Castle. It's a very nice build, and resembles the castle with a handful of bricks. I like the pearlescent tiles used as accents.
For those who are curious, here's my take on what the builds look like on the play mat:
Overall thoughts
It's the second year of the Disney calendar, and so the first to focus on a single franchise. Frozen was a good choice - it is ridiculously popular - but I think LEGO made a rather large error in not promoting the fact that the calendar is based on Olaf's Frozen Adventure. Anyone who bought the calendar expecting scenes from the original movie would be quite confused. Why are there two kittens, and why are they wearing mittens? Why does Kristoff come with a carrot and a pot? Of course, those of us who had seen the movie had questions as well. Why is there an accordion? Why are there two trees (or buzzsaws, or feather dusters) on separate days? Why three houses?
I have empathy for the designer - it had to be tough designing an advent calendar that's based on a 20 minute movie. There are some nice entries in this calendar - the gingerbread castle from Day 2 was really lovely, as was Elsa's box of memories with the Olaf tile on Day 20. Cute animals were always a highlight, from the baby Sven in Day 5 and the kittens with their knitted mittens in Day 19 and Day 21. The ice tree from yesterday was worthy of being the finale.
I like the idea of the calendar also serving as a board game, with five characters serving as tokens. However, I don't know why microdolls were used - the Friends calendar has shown that four or five minidolls are possible in a calendar. Perhaps Sven would be too big?
During my last visit to a LEGO brand store, I noticed this calendar was offered at a discount, while the others were sold out. The Disney calendar has been fun, but I think having multiple princesses last year was a better calendar.
Thank you for sharing the Disney calendar with me, and joining me in speculation on some of the builds. In the meantime, I hope all of you find presents with appropriate sound effects under the tree.
Merry Christmas!
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27 comments on this article
This has been an unexpectedly good advent calendar for me. My favourites were the gingerbread castle on day 2, Olaf and his sweets on day 3, Sven on day 5, and the various objects on day 20.
Love the Disney Advent Calendars and I really hope they will bring it back next year. Hopefully, with the Disney theme expanding across several movies than they did when the theme first started, maybe we could get a more ordinary calendar next year, with figures and building from other franchises than Disney Princess and Frozen.
I didn't mind the calendar -- the icy tree yesterday was lovely, as was the catapult -- but, no, I think I did prefer last year's Disney calendar with multiple princesses. I mean, Disney has dozens of them, right? Even if you only focus on five or six at a time, you still have enough material for many years' worth of calendars before you need to repeat any.
Yes I'm still salty we didn't get a microdoll Belle last year. What?
@Zordboy said:
"I didn't mind the calendar -- the icy tree yesterday was lovely, as was the catapult -- but, no, I think I did prefer last year's Disney calendar with multiple princesses. I mean, Disney has dozens of them, right? Even if you only focus on five or six at a time, you still have enough material for many years' worth of calendars before you need to repeat any.
Yes I'm still salty we didn't get a microdoll Belle last year. What? "
Let's see - the official number of Disney Princesses is thirteen. There's Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tiana, Rapunzel, Moana, Merida and Raya. What anyone thinks of their actual position of ruling-class doesn't matter, this is "Word of God". Esmeralda and Tinker Bell were once part of this line-up, but they were unceremoniously booted from the list.
Jane (Tarzan), Giselle (Enchanted), Sofia (Sofia the First), Elena (Elena of Avalor), Anna and Elsa have been considered for the list, but are not officially on it. That's right: Anna and Elsa aren't Disney Princesses by Disney's own standards. Chew on that for a bit.
However, there are unofficial lists that simply look at actual princess-status, in which case, Anna and Elsa obviously count (and other official Disney Princesses... ought not).
But wait, there's more! The Kingdom Hearts-series of games feature the "Princesses of Heart", which include Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, Belle and Cinderella, Rapunzel, Elsa AND Anna, but also add Alice (Alice in Wonderland) and Kairi (original to Kingdom Hearts) as princesses, despite these two not actually being part of any ruling class that we know of.
And of course, now that Disney has expanded its reach to assimilate so many other branches of entertainment, it also encompasses Star Wars and Marvel, meaning that Princess Leia might qualify, as well Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, who can join Mulan on the list of "Disney Princesses with bodycounts".
Last and also there, is Vannelope (Wreck-It Ralph), who - according to the Disney Princesses themselves - effortlessly clears a list of criteria required to qualify as one of the gang.
It has been noted by the greater internet that Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, ALSO neatly clears that list of criteria, so that he might also be added to the "Murder-Princess"-list, along with his on-again-off-again girlfriend, Black Widow. Nobody cares about Nala, Megara, or Ariel's sisters for that matter.
TL;DR: The answer to "is this a Disney Princess?" seems to be "REPLY HAZY, TRY AGAIN LATER".
@Crux said: "Let's see - the official number of Disney Princesses is thirteen. There's Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tiana, Rapunzel, Moana, Merida and Raya."
But that's my point. Even last year, they included Mirabel. Hell, they also included Elsa. Not on the official Disney-determined list of princesses, but c'mon. C'mon.
Even without dipping into Marvel or SW lore, they have a lot more "princesses" than just those 13, enough to last them for years.
With that layout, right in the middle, it looks like the Snowmanator has 2 be-mittened minions.
Is this actually an escape game?
@Zordboy said:
" @Crux said: "Let's see - the official number of Disney Princesses is thirteen. There's Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle, Ariel, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Tiana, Rapunzel, Moana, Merida and Raya."
But that's my point. Even last year, they included Mirabel. Hell, they also included Elsa. Not on the official Disney-determined list of princesses, but c'mon. C'mon.
Even without dipping into Marvel or SW lore, they have a lot more "princesses" than just those 13, enough to last them for years."
They do! Which is why the qualification doesn't make sense. Then again, it's not like we're any better with the Friends-line. We only include a handful of OFFICIAL Friends, and once they're past their sell-by date, they can NEVER BE FRIENDS, EVER AGAIN. Even the friends-of-Friends are supplemental.
This does open the floor to spin-offs, though. I would suggest, for starters, "Acquaintances", "Colleagues", "Frenemies", "Nemeses" and "Social Media Followers".
@Crux said:
"This does open the floor to spin-offs, though. I would suggest, for starters, "Acquaintances", "Colleagues", "Frenemies", "Nemeses" and "Social Media Followers"."
And in Nova's case, "Victims"?
At the very least, last year's DAC ended with a more impressive castle.
@Crux said:"And of course, now that Disney has expanded its reach to assimilate so many other branches of entertainment, it also encompasses Star Wars and Marvel, meaning that Princess Leia might qualify, as well Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, who can join Mulan on the list of "Disney Princesses with bodycounts"."
I don't remember her having an actual bodycount, but if we're letting characters who did not originate in a Disney work be a Disney Princess, Shuri should absolutely be allowed in.
"Last and also there, is Vannelope (Wreck-It Ralph), who - according to the Disney Princesses themselves - effortlessly clears a list of criteria required to qualify as one of the gang."
But she herself want's nothing to do with that stuff, she prefers to be President!
"It has been noted by the greater internet that Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, ALSO neatly clears that list of criteria..."
You know what @PurpleDave's answer to that is. his hair disqualifies him. Is that princess hair? Not in the slightest! The subject of Bucky's hair reminds me of this: https://textsfromsuperheroes.com/image/179458349877
"We only include a handful of OFFICIAL Friends, and once they're past their sell-by date, they can NEVER BE FRIENDS, EVER AGAIN."
I think 42639 proves that they can.
@TheOtherMike said:
"At the very least, last year's DAC ended with a more impressive castle.
@Crux said:"And of course, now that Disney has expanded its reach to assimilate so many other branches of entertainment, it also encompasses Star Wars and Marvel, meaning that Princess Leia might qualify, as well Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, who can join Mulan on the list of "Disney Princesses with bodycounts"."
I don't remember her having an actual bodycount, but if we're letting characters who did not originate in a Disney work be a Disney Princess, Shuri should absolutely be allowed in.
"Last and also there, is Vannelope (Wreck-It Ralph), who - according to the Disney Princesses themselves - effortlessly clears a list of criteria required to qualify as one of the gang."
But she herself want's nothing to do with that stuff, she prefers to be President!
"It has been noted by the greater internet that Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, ALSO neatly clears that list of criteria..."
You know what @PurpleDave 's answer to that is. his hair disqualifies him. Is that princess hair? Not in the slightest! The subject of Bucky's hair reminds me of this: https://textsfromsuperheroes.com/image/179458349877
"We only include a handful of OFFICIAL Friends, and once they're past their sell-by date, they can NEVER BE FRIENDS, EVER AGAIN."
I think 42639 proves that they can."
That entire set is one ticking cluster-time-bomb of micro-aggressions, to the tune of "Look how much I've grown since I cut you out of my life, look at how much the quality and texture of my life has exponentially increased now that I no longer have to deal with your endless drama and dead weight, witness how superior I am to you - oh wait, only one of us actually became an astronaut. I HATE HER SO MUCH."
@TheOtherMike said: "You know what @PurpleDave's answer to that is. his hair disqualifies him. Is that princess hair? Not in the slightest!"
Bucky's hair is fabulous! You take that back, right now.
I was hoping the little mini-Arendelle builds might have looked better once all assembled and in place on the calendar rather than when just appearing as day-by-day snippets
I remain unconvinced.
Feels like a return to it being a Disney calendar rather than a Frozen calendar would give them more to work with
@Zordboy said:
"I didn't mind the calendar -- the icy tree yesterday was lovely, as was the catapult -- but, no, I think I did prefer last year's Disney calendar with multiple princesses. I mean, Disney has dozens of them, right? Even if you only focus on five or six at a time, you still have enough material for many years' worth of calendars before you need to repeat any."
But this one has two _queens_. And a potential prince-consort or whatever term they use in Arendelle.
@Crux:
Esmeralda got the boot, yes. Tink got promoted to lead her own Disney Fairies franchise. Elsa and Anna, besides no longer being princesses, are probably as valuable as the stand-alone Frozen franchise (three of the main cast just signed deals to do Frozen 3&4 for $60 million) as the entire Disney Princess IP, despite TLG’s inability to tell the two apart.
Not really a fan of this final model. It lacks the 'it's the 24th!' vibe
@Binnekamp said:
"Not really a fan of this final model. It lacks the 'it's the 24th!' vibe "
As I said, the castle in last year's DAC was better, even if (or maybe because) it took four days to build.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Binnekamp said:
"Not really a fan of this final model. It lacks the 'it's the 24th!' vibe "
As I said, the castle in last year's DAC was better, even if (or maybe because) it took four days to build."
Whoa, careful there. Rocket’s turkey took four days to cook, and this year’s scrap racks took the longest four days to build.
I really liked this calendar. The middle days had some filler, but in the end I’m very happy with how everything looks together. The micro dolls were cute, and I liked a lot of the builds (the ice fountain, the Gingerbread Arendelle Castle, the Olaf drawing).
I actually like that they decided to focus the theme of the calendar on a lesser-known Christmas special as opposed to the movies, but agree that it should’ve been advertised on the packaging.
Frozen is one of my favorite Disney IP’s, and I’m glad it got its own calendar, but I wouldn’t mind seeing TLG return to a multi-IP Disney calendar next year.
Merry Christmas, everyone!!
" @PurpleDave said:
Tink got promoted to lead her own Disney Fairies franchise."
Those Disney Fairies movies are actually really good. Very underrated, if you ask me.
@BabuBrick said:
"I really liked this calendar. The middle days had some filler, but in the end I’m very happy with how everything looks together. The micro dolls were cute, and I liked a lot of the builds (the ice fountain, the Gingerbread Arendelle Castle, the Olaf drawing).
I actually like that they decided to focus the theme of the calendar on a lesser-known Christmas special as opposed to the movies, but agree that it should’ve been advertised on the packaging.
Frozen is one of my favorite Disney IP’s, and I’m glad it got its own calendar, but I wouldn’t mind seeing TLG return to a multi-IP Disney calendar next year.
" @PurpleDave said:
Tink got promoted to lead her own Disney Fairies franchise."
Those Disney Fairies movies are actually really good. Very underrated, if you ask me."
I wouldn't mind seeing a Disney calendar that focused on Mickey & Friends.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @BabuBrick said:
"I really liked this calendar. The middle days had some filler, but in the end I’m very happy with how everything looks together. The micro dolls were cute, and I liked a lot of the builds (the ice fountain, the Gingerbread Arendelle Castle, the Olaf drawing).
I actually like that they decided to focus the theme of the calendar on a lesser-known Christmas special as opposed to the movies, but agree that it should’ve been advertised on the packaging.
Frozen is one of my favorite Disney IP’s, and I’m glad it got its own calendar, but I wouldn’t mind seeing TLG return to a multi-IP Disney calendar next year.
" @PurpleDave said:
Tink got promoted to lead her own Disney Fairies franchise."
Those Disney Fairies movies are actually really good. Very underrated, if you ask me."
I wouldn't mind seeing a Disney calendar that focused on Mickey & Friends."
I could probably be persuaded to buy several Darkwing Duck Advent Calendars.
" @TheOtherMike said:
I wouldn't mind seeing a Disney calendar that focused on Mickey & Friends."
Yeah, that’d be sweet!
Let's build a castle, a magical castle.
I could also take a Pixar AC.
DuckTales. Specifically the reboot, fight me.
Several of this year's Advent Calendars, including this one, are currently for sale at LEGO online for 50% off here in Germany. Friends, Star Wars and Harry Potter too.
@PurpleDave said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @BabuBrick said:
"I really liked this calendar. The middle days had some filler, but in the end I’m very happy with how everything looks together. The micro dolls were cute, and I liked a lot of the builds (the ice fountain, the Gingerbread Arendelle Castle, the Olaf drawing).
I actually like that they decided to focus the theme of the calendar on a lesser-known Christmas special as opposed to the movies, but agree that it should’ve been advertised on the packaging.
Frozen is one of my favorite Disney IP’s, and I’m glad it got its own calendar, but I wouldn’t mind seeing TLG return to a multi-IP Disney calendar next year.
" @PurpleDave said:
Tink got promoted to lead her own Disney Fairies franchise."
Those Disney Fairies movies are actually really good. Very underrated, if you ask me."
I wouldn't mind seeing a Disney calendar that focused on Mickey & Friends."
I could probably be persuaded to buy several Darkwing Duck Advent Calendars."
Cruel choice: You can have *either* a Darkwing Duck calendar or a calendar filled with TLBM Bet-suits. Which one do you want? (I have a feeling I know the answer, but you might surprise me.)
@PurpleDave also said:"I could also take a Pixar AC."
Oh, that one I'd buy, do question.
@Crux said:
"DuckTales. Specifically the reboot, fight me."
Eh, Darkwing was in the reboot, so as long as I get him and Negaduck, I’ll allow it.
@TheOtherMike:
I have 14 Batman/Batmobile shirts. I have 16 Darkwing/Thunderquack/Ratcatcher shirts, and those ones are a lot harder to find.
I'm really tempted to buy this one on discount, given the cute microdolls and kittens and the Olaf tile.
Thank you, MeganL, for escorting us through this magical landscape!