Nice reuse of the 3x3x2 cylinder from 75301.

The ice arch on 80109 spells spring (new year’s), neat

I really want that tiger suit and the tiger picture on the wall.

Awesome.. so many new prints & nice colours.

There are fishes under the ice in the ice rink! :) (you can see them on the images in jays brick blog linked above)

The ice festival looks very fun

ICE FESTIVAL???! Shut up and take my money! This'll go great next to my 80106!

They look great as CTF sets usually do but there seems to be an almost alarming amount of prints or stickers in each? So many great details though; the feather duster in 80108, the sign outside the skate rental in 80109 shows a minifig foot and skate. Even looks like the ice 'cut' from the fishing hole is on the side with a handle and could be replaced? One question though: are there penguins roaming free in China??

@V_14 said:
" @Legonk said:
"There are fishes under the ice in the ice rink! :) (you can see them on the images in jays brick blog linked above)"

Huh. He refers to the opal pieces as tiles but I believe they are 1X6X5 panels on its side."

Definitely this ^^. You can clearly see the square outlines on the surface. Man, I hadn't even looked at any of the details yet when I fell in love but the temptation is getting stronger with every second I look at it more! The only sets I can think of that had the same effect on me were The Scuttler and the Hydro Bounty, and a handful of others but to a much lower degree.

Why is there a Perry the Platypus bumper car?

Those of you talking about a minifig with a new Ice Planet torso might want to examine the rest of the set more closely...

@Legonk:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/28/anger-as-japanese-skating-rink-freezes-thousands-of-fish-into-ice-as-gimmick

@monty_bricks:
71013-7 already had them. 70909 had them with evil red eyes. The food you mention looks like it could be a fortune cookie, which seems like a logical addition if they seriously plan to make this an evergreen theme.

@Stoker_stu:
It’s probably dogs that have been shaved bald and painted to look like penguins.

What will these cost?

These sets are always so detailed!

I am interested (as always) in some of the pieces present, but rarely the full set. Spring Lantern Festival was really neat, but I still only ended up just buying select pieces from it. The Ice Festival is a possibility depending on price, or I'll convert to pieces again.

Gotta have that sweet Chinese mulah.

These look great! Like the earlier CTF sets these seem to be packed with great details... I particularly love the little mandarin orange tree.

I'm a little curious how that ice rink is done. It looks almost like a large tile in an opalescent color? That could be very cool if so!

@Stoker_stu said:
"They look great as CTF sets usually do but there seems to be an almost alarming amount of prints or stickers in each?"

This is what I love about the sets…the proliferation of printed tiles captures a lot of the vibe of the environment over there. Hong Kong and South China is all I’m basing this on…I’ve never been to the Northern parts of China though I’ve always wanted to visit.

I would’ve been more inclined to buy the Ice Festival if it were modular-compatible again.

I'm really looking forward to the upcoming CREATOR noodle shop - hoping it's a mini-modular that's an Asian themed noodle shop (I'm assuming it's Asian, as it would be pasta if Italian)

It would also be great to see vignettes of similar quality depicting other cultures too in mini-figure scale - for France a scene from Tour de France, for Canada a hockey game on frozen ice with lots of maple syrup and a Mountie or two (No depictions of the Toronto Maple Leafs however - we'd want the set to be successful you know...), for Japan a funky illuminated Tokyo street scene, etc...

Of course these don't have the buying power and political clout of China, but still. These sets do look great however, maybe not the 10/10 of round 1, but a solid 9/10 in my opinion....

The ice festival looks really amazing! Will probably get it if it's not ridiculously expensive in Sweden.

@Chilis_no said:
" @woosterlegos said:
"What will these cost?"

80108 will have 1066 pieces and retails for $79.99 and 80109 with 1519 pieces and retails for $119.99. Launch january 1st. (Correct pricing this time. Sorry for my previous typo)"

Oh, that's much better. Although I saw on Promobricks that 80109 will cost $80 US, the price you mention seems more likely.

Oh my goodness, I’m just now noticing the semi-top of the ice sculpture in 80109 has 1x2 plates with CLIPS in TRANS-BLUE?! And it seems there could well be even more than the two fully visible ones, because the way those 1x2 sections a little higher up stick out in different stud directions is very easily done by using a technique with clips. This just keeps getting better and better, I can’t wait to get my hands on one!

I've got a feeling I'll be getting 80108, at least. Not yet sure about the Ice Festival - it'll probably come down to price on that one

Meh. The last round was better. I really loved that garden from last year. I don't really have much sentimental attachment to these vignettes, but presumably people in China do, so hopefully they'll sell well and LEGO will keep this usually interesting theme going.

But I probably will get the Ice Festival, and add a chinatown to my winter village collection

I love how 80109 uses the same terrain colors as 80106, so they can easily combine, as well as more of those angled slopes in darktan.

The way the actual ice is made is pretty cool as well, and the ice planet figure gives me some inspiration for ice planet MOC (using nexo knight parts for neon orange)

I WANT BOTH OF THESE! Am sulking that I have to wait until January!

Ice Festival is definitely a must buy. Will be hitting up B&P for some of the new/recolored parts I'm seeing. The New Year Traditions has some interesting builds & parts so will probably be on my buy list also.

@lisqr:
Santa Claus has been completely and thoroughly secularized, and more people might observe just that side of the holiday than also observe the religious (same goes for Easter, and forget about Halloween).

@PubliusMaximum:
No, you’ve got a set that features a Marvel Comics space alien who calls himself a god.

@mr_Fikou:
There could be as many as 14. The two angled parts for sure, then the two pairs one plates above (lower ones right-side-up, and upper ones upside-down). Then on the sides of the big arch, you can see four clips peeking out in either side (half used, half open).

@Synthia1980:
12? I think you missed one...

Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I can't help but feel a touch betrayed by the inclusion of a modernized Ice Planet torso as an exclusive to a $200 set.

This feels like a repeat of the Orange Classic Space Astronaut where this tiny sliver of nostalgia is being locked behind an astonishingly high price wall for something an AFOL would presumably want multiples of without having to spend $20+ per figure.

As a long-time Ice Planet fan, I'd have infinitely preferred if they just released it as a Collectible Minifigure instead of what feels like unintentional extortion. I'm definitely not planning on dropping three figures on a set just for that.

Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful set in its own right, but from the perspective of a long-time fan of legacy Lego themes... could you maybe not keep doing this?

@krysto2002 said:
"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I can't help but feel a touch betrayed by the inclusion of a modernized Ice Planet torso as an exclusive to a $200 set.

This feels like a repeat of the Orange Classic Space Astronaut where this tiny sliver of nostalgia is being locked behind an astonishingly high price wall for something an AFOL would presumably want multiples of without having to spend $20+ per figure.

As a long-time Ice Planet fan, I'd have infinitely preferred if they just released it as a Collectible Minifigure instead of what feels like unintentional extortion. I'm definitely not planning on dropping three figures on a set just for that.

Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful set in its own right, but from the perspective of a long-time fan of legacy Lego themes... could you maybe not keep doing this?"

I understand your frustration, even as someone who was barely alive during Ice Planet's run, but I can't really help. Maybe try checking local sellers and such? I get that this probably won't help but there's a local video game/toy store near me that gets older figures that you can buy for $8 each. If there's anywhere like that close to you, it's worth a shot, I guess. Other than that, I've got nothing, all we can do is hope that they'll throw an Ice Planet torso in a cheaper set later on. I know this probably doesn't change anything but the set is gonna be $120, not $200, still three figures but not as expensive.

@Trigger_ said:
"I understand your frustration, even as someone who was barely alive during Ice Planet's run, but I can't really help. Maybe try checking local sellers and such? I get that this probably won't help but there's a local video game/toy store near me that gets older figures that you can buy for $8 each. If there's anywhere like that close to you, it's worth a shot, I guess. Other than that, I've got nothing, all we can do is hope that they'll throw an Ice Planet torso in a cheaper set later on. I know this probably doesn't change anything but the set is gonna be $120, not $200, still three figures but not as expensive."

$120 is a lot more palatable but still far more than I'd be willing to pay for what amounts to two torsos and a head, of course. I don't know where I got $200 from, I think someone mentioned it in the comments, so I'll admit I'm uninformed on that topic.

Even then, assuming I can pick up the torsos for $8 apiece - that's still a lot compared to if they came via a Collectible Figure with head, legs, accessories, etc all for less than $5. It's still a really raw deal.

It's mostly an issue on principle to me.

@legoapprentice said:
"I’ll wait to see better pictures and reviews, but my initial reaction is that these are nice enough but not anywhere near the level of the Temple Fair or the Spring Lantern Festival."
Completely agree. A little underwhelming compared to the previous years, but even at that level far superior to most other current LEGO offerings (18+, Monkie Kid and Ideas excluded).

@monty_bricks said:
"New penguin? And an ice/patronus version

Is that a new food piece that the minifgures are holding in the ice festival?

I'm also very intrigued by what parts are making the surface of the ice rink. 8x16 tile in trans opal clear or something? "

The food piece is a golden nugget from the LEGO City gold miners subtheme a few years back. But here the gold nuggets are recoloured to reddish brown.

The tiles that make up the ice floor seems to be 6x6 tiles in trans clear opal

The hypocrisy of LEGO knows no bounds.
Neither does the cowardliness of whomever is deleting comments on Brickset that point that out. Sell out much?

The wall panels that make the ice floor are cool (there are fish below them so I don't think they are tiles)

The opalescent effect is perfect for the ice rink

I would love to see these vignette sets in other themes. I think they would sell very well, especially if it were character based, like Star Wars for example.

I see a new Ice Planet 2002 torso!

@Murdoch17 said:
" 80109 has revised Ice Planet torsos!"

also the head of the old man

That set goes straight to my want list :)

Does China own the LEGO Group now?

@Lyichir said:
"For those wondering about the recolored hot dog buns, a quick bit of searching on Wikipedia makes me think they're likely to represent Chinese sycee/yuanbao—a type of gold and silver ingot-based currency used in Imperial China from its founding to the fall of the Qing dynasty in the 20th century. They're sort of boat-shaped, but the hot-dog bun isn't the most inaccurate choice for that. They're still also used as a common symbol of prosperity around the Lunar New Year."

Good catch! I'd wager that's exactly it!

@lisqr said:
" @DavidBrick said:
" @lisqr said:
" @Zander said:
"Chinese wealth deity? So much for no religious symbolism!"

How many Santas do we have now?"

Santa isn't religious, my public school told me so. Haha More so modern Santa is a Coke ad more than a religious symbol."
God of wealth is just like Santa. It’s not a religious figure. It’s always been a lucky charm kind of thing for business people
"

I assumed that was the case since Wikipedia considers him a “mythological figure” but I didn’t know for sure so I wasn’t gonna jump to conclusions. The last thing I want is to call a figure that people believe in “mythological” and I’m sure there are people who believe in him (for reference, there are about 1,000 Danes who believe in Thor, despite his religion being considered mythology) but if Wikipedia doesn't consider Caishen “religious” than I guess LEGO has that leeway.

@alyxavior I get that you’re probably joking but no, LEGO is still a Danish company. Tencent did make an app for LEGO instructions or something like that to my knowledge, though. The Lunar New Year sets keep coming because they sell well— if there was a China buyout, we’d know.

NOT SIMPLIFIED CHINESE. Thank God.

So in the ice rink we get "child versions" with short legs of the mother from 80101 and the girlfriend from 80107. The boy in the Platypus car, is that the father from 80101? Is 80109 a prequel to the other sets, showing how the family from 80101 met each other? If so, maybe it is a flashback to the year 2002? But 2002 was not a year of the tiger.

These are insanely cool! The 1x6x5 trans clear pearlescent panels are something I don’t ever that I’d get sick of seeing! There are some amazing builds & the new elements with great part recolours plus that tiger is awesome, as a fellow Chinese New Year Tiger it’s a must! Nicely done designers & LEGO!

I think I can manage to pass on the New Year Traditions but the Ice Festival is definitely on my want list--I think it will pair nicely with last year's Spring Lantern Festival. Not that I don't think the New Year Traditions is a good set, but since I already have several sets that incorporate those traditions (particularly the superb Chinese New Year's Eve Dinner) I can afford to skip this one. I can imagine how much fun it will be for anyone who does celebrate Lunar New Year, though, especially as the vignette style lends itself to an Advent Calendar-like spacing out of the build!

@Zander said:
"Chinese wealth deity? So much for no religious symbolism!"

Communists don't believe in religion.

@asherkobin:
Clearly you don’t know how things work in China. Officially, yes, all religions are banned, and practicing them will get you locked up. However, many high-ranking members of the ruling party favor one religion or another, so these have been granted exceptions to this policy. As long as you’ve got at least one “friend in high places”, anyone is allowed to practice that religion with impunity. If you don’t, better lay low.

Around this time of year, we start seeing billboards for Shen Yun, which is a Chinese stage show. Because it has ties to the Falun Gong religion, which has _no_ ruling-party sponsorship, they’re based out of New York, and perform around the world excluding China. Many Chinese nationals will schedule business trips to coincide with performances in the same area so they can catch a show when they’re in town. Some are members of the Falun Gong religion, and others just want to enjoy aspects of their historical culture that got banned with traditional religions that they happen to be associated with.

Another good example is Journey to the West, the book that Monkie Kid is based on. Movies depicting the supernatural are forbidden in China, but JttW gets a free pass because it’s one of their four most important classical literary works. It’s got supernatural oozing out of its pores, but derivative works share the same freedom as the book itself. If someone tried writing something similar with no attempt to tie it to the original text, they’d probably get arrested. Monkie Kid is fine, but Ninjago is probably unwelcome with all its skeletons and ghosts.

@PurpleDave said:
...
You don't have to be smug about it. If you hadn't used the first sentence, your post would be A+. A better way would have been: This is how things work in China...

You don't say "clearly you don't know xyz". Maybe you don't understand that this is a type of personal attack, like calling me an idiot or stupid. In fact your post agrees with me "religions are banned".

@asherkobin:
It’d take a cold-hearted bastard to be smug about human oppression on that scale. They definitely believe in religion, and allowing select religions to operate in what is falsely claimed to be a religion-free society, but not ceding one iota of power to a higher authority when they have no control over the message. This is a classic case of “rules for thee, but not for me”, that comes with a one-party system. There’s a lesson in here that we’ve clearly lost track of in the US, judging by the number of times I see op-eds (mostly via the LA Times) arguing that we need to pass laws that would effectively turn us into into a one-party system to prevent the other party from doing the same first.

The last Ice planet set 3014 was released 1999 which was a tiger year. This would make the mother and father of 80101 approx 6 years old.

@PurpleDave said:
" @asherkobin:
It’d take a cold-hearted bastard to be smug about human oppression on that scale. They definitely believe in religion, and allowing select religions to operate in what is falsely claimed to be a religion-free society, but not ceding one iota of power to a higher authority when they have no control over the message. This is a classic case of “rules for thee, but not for me”, that comes with a one-party system. There’s a lesson in here that we’ve clearly lost track of in the US, judging by the number of times I see op-eds (mostly via the LA Times) arguing that we need to pass laws that would effectively turn us into into a one-party system to prevent the other party from doing the same first."

One party system: Not me