71040 - Disney Castle

[jaisonline]

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=122532&st=25#entry2534055

Over at Eurobricks, CM4SCI posted a source revealed the next direct to consumer (aka "exclusive") will be Cinderella's Castle.  Brickfan reports it will contain minifigs (not the doll-like ones from Princess and Friends). Maybe a Sept, release...

By the way, I found this page at brickset. I expect it will be based on the castle at Disney World or the 2015 movie. Likely the WDW version  I also think this set will be huge if the design Is better than the last 3 2016 D2C sets. Disneymania will sweep through the LEGO community.

http://brickset.com/sets/71040-1/Disney-Cinderella-Castle

 

 

[Salimr]

I hope these reports are right and Lego does not make it as bad as their last few exclusive sets (hoth, mine craft, and bat cave) This castle would be a must buy for my family. I never buy sets over 200 for personal builds, but if this is good I would for sure buy it.

[Ed Mack]

It could be a stunning set if done correctly.  It could be the next Taj Mahal if taken seriously and designed for adult tastes.

[inversion]

If it is not huge and detailed it will flop. LEGO has to make it large, otherwise it will kind of lose its purpose.

[CoastaLego]

This would bring in more lego fans than star wars does if it was a Disney Parks castle.  Do not under estimate disney world/ disneyland fans. 

We are annual pass holders to disney world and go multiple times a year. This is our number 1 most anticipated set for sure. (Assuming it is based on the Walt Disney world castle and not the cinderalla movie) 

[cladner]

 

nvm

Edited April 17, 2016 by cladner

[BarryZola]

If they base it on the Disney World version and it's a large well done set, they'll need to produce a lot of these as sales would be astronomical.

[Alpinemaps]

This will be an awesome set, if done right.  We've had annual passes to Disneyland off and on for the last 20+ years.  Disney fans are insane, and they will love this.

[Rimmit]

I have long said that a if they did Cinderella's Castle in UCS scale it is the only thing that could rival the Millenium Falcon in terms of iconic nature.  (Not in terms of appreciation for investors as it would be #1 horded set of all time, and potentially never retire until a new replacement came along.)

Disney and Cinderella's Castle is only second only to McDonald's and Apple in terms of worldwide recognition.  This will be a gangbuster.

If done correctly, this will likely be the new 10188 in that it will NEVER retire, as the Disney Parks will always want it on hand to sell, and quite frankly, if it is Cinderella's Castle, is just flat out timeless and beautiful. 

This set could survive a $500 dollar price point and survive it well if it is done on a grand enough scale.  It and the Millenium Falcon are probably the only two sets that could.  That being said, it will likely be 199-250 unfortunately, but Disney commands a premium these days.  Just look at the 2017 Disney Cruise Line prices, and tell me they can't command whatever price they want. 

The only thing that can rival Star Wars in terms of fandom, is Disney, and Disney has a much broader appeal than Star Wars ever has. 

Edited April 17, 2016 by Rimmit

[KShine]

They better do this right, as it could be amazing.

A $200 set would be garbage - It should at least be a 400-500 set.

I really hope that they push things higher than ever before (both by the piece count and by the price).

[Deadfraggle]

14 minutes ago, KShine said:

They better do this right, as it could be amazing.

A $200 set would be garbage - It should at least be a 400-500 set.

I really hope that they push things higher than ever before (both by the piece count and by the price).

I have no basis here, other than wild speculation, to say it probably won't be a $400-$500 set. You have to figure, if it's a Disney World version, that WDW is going to feature prominently for gift shop sales. I just don't know that a price point above $299 sits well with the average consumer/parent as a souvenir.

[DadsAFOL]

I agree $299 seems about the highest realistic price point.  But that price does enable 2500-3500 pieces in the build. In general, we tend to see the license fee pull the piece counts down relative to retail price, but on the other hand Lego sometimes pushes piece counts up on large sets (e.g. 500 tan cheese in Tower Bridge).  I saw this comment over on Brickset, but I tend to agree -- my biggest fear for this set is whether the scale is minifig or architectural.  The rumor is that it will come with at least one figure.  If that's true, it seems highly likely that the set will include play features like some fold open sections, Cinderella's bedroom, etc.  I'm really hoping that they let Jamie Berard design this one, or at least have a heavy influence.  If we end up with an oversized version of the current Princess castle sets, it will be a garbage facade building just similar to the real castle.  Based on Arkham Asylum and Classic Batcave, a facade set is certainly a possibility.  if they approach this from the Modular Buildings design style, we should get a decent rendering of the castle that also has play features that don't distract from displaying the castle on a shelf.  Out of everything coming out this year, this one is by far the most exciting to me.

[Brian Briggs]

47 minutes ago, DadsAFOL said:

Out of everything coming out this year, this one is by far the most exciting to me.

I thought the same about the UCS Assault on Hoth before the first pictures of that set showed up.

[KShine]

 

[exciter1]

Well, we all know this ain't happening.

[inversion]

1 hour ago, DadsAFOL said:

I agree $299 seems about the highest realistic price point. 

After the GBHQ I would not be surprised at anything. That one is more niche than this castle. I feel that they went large with that one because they felt that anything less would cheese out. So my prediction is that this will be in the $300-$400 range.

[Deadfraggle]

25 minutes ago, inversion said:

After the GBHQ I would not be surprised at anything. That one is more niche than this castle. I feel that they went large with that one because they felt that anything less would cheese out. So my prediction is that this will be in the $300-$400 range.

Because the $350 GBHQ appears more "niche" than a Cinderella's Caslte, that's the exact reason I expect them to go cheaper. I mean they also have a $350 Helicarrier as well, and until a few months ago, a $399 Death Star. What is the sales volume of a set at that price point vs. the $199 UCS set though?

No doubt some collectors will pay $400 or $500 all day long for this set. The question is will Disney want it priced that way? Maybe. After all they sell $1000+ framed animation glycee prints in the gift stores. Maybe this gets marketed at the flagship gift stores and LEGO brand stores for the more discriminating buyers.

Your prediction might be spot on, maybe LEGO is looking to fill the void in that RRP since DS retired.

 

[tacsniper]

I am hoping this will be a DS quality UCS... but I think Lego is going towards playability factor lately. I hope it is not going to be like the Angry Birds castle set where it looks great from the front and a flat wide open in the back.

[Curtis]

Just because it has minifigures doesn't mean that will be the scale right? The UCS Helicarrier has figures, the Tumbler too. They currently have a playable castle. I think they might go Tower Bridge scale with this set.

[inversion]

31 minutes ago, Deadfraggle said:

Because the $350 GBHQ appears more "niche" than a Cinderella's Caslte, that's the exact reason I expect them to go cheaper. I mean they also have a $350 Helicarrier as well, and until a few months ago, a $399 Death Star. What is the sales volume of a set at that price point vs. the $199 UCS set though?

No doubt some collectors will pay $400 or $500 all day long for this set. The question is will Disney want it priced that way? Maybe. After all they sell $1000+ framed animation glycee prints in the gift stores. Maybe this gets marketed at the flagship gift stores and LEGO brand stores for the more discriminating buyers.

Your prediction might be spot on, maybe LEGO is looking to fill the void in that RRP since DS retired.

 

These sets have nothing to do with each other. I doubt a castle would fill the spot of DS, entirely different target groups... and if a $350 GBHQ can pass their internal review, a $350 castle would too. Plus consider the fact that it is very much unlikely that you could create a viable castle under $300 that does not look straight-out stupid and disappointing. Some sets just have a minimum scale, like DS. 

[Deadfraggle]

3 minutes ago, inversion said:

These sets have nothing to do with each other. I doubt a castle would fill the spot of DS, entirely different target groups... and if a $350 GBHQ can pass their internal review, a $350 castle would too. Plus consider the fact that it is very much unlikely that you could create a viable castle under $300 that does not look straight-out stupid and disappointing. Some sets just have a minimum scale, like DS. 

I want to avoid a back and fourth argument here, because its counterproductive. Let's just agree to disagree on the probable price point. For the record, As you do, I think a $400 or $500 set is needed to do this rendering justice, I just don't think LEGO will come though.

GBHQ delivered in 2016, but the classic Batcave, Hoth UCS, and the Minecraft village suggest that LEGO is motivated by other factors than purely pleasing AFOLs with the exclusives.

[KShine]

This is such an iconic image for Disney, and the hard core Disney collectors know exactly how it should look - so LEGO won't get away with going half-assed with it.

This is a opportunity for LEGO to show a new group of collectors "Look what you can do with LEGO".

[fantomas007]

Main factors for predictions:

1) target group - children, not AFOLs as in ucs sets or landmarks,

2) this is not landmark or modular theme, so no need to have perfect building with also back side.

based on this logic, playability and appropriate price are important. So I expect facade-style set with many opening and fun options with around 2000-2500 pieces and price limit 250 eur. But still we can have a great set.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ed Mack]

Although a mini or micro version of the Cinderella's Castle would be cool, this would have to be a $400 set to do it justice.  Let's face it, Cinderella's Castle is about as iconic as it gets with Disney, so why cheese out?  I'm sure many of you that have visited Disney World/Land realize it is a vacation for the wealthy, with a stay in a Disney resort easily exceeding $5000.00 for a week for a small family.  If people can afford $5000.00 or more for a Disney vacation, they can afford $500.00 for a set that could be considered the "ultimate souvenir."

Price is not the issue with this set.  My gut tells me it would be so successful, that if done correctly, it would never retire...

[exciter1]

25 minutes ago, Ed Mack said:

Although a mini or micro version of the Cinderella's Castle would be cool, this would have to be a $400 set to do it justice.  Let's face it, Cinderella's Castle is about as iconic as it gets with Disney, so why cheese out?  I'm sure many of you that have visited Disney World/Land realize it is a vacation for the wealthy, with a stay in a Disney resort easily exceeding $5000.00 for a week for a small family.  If people can afford $5000.00 or more for a Disney vacation, they can afford $500.00 for a set that could be considered the "ultimate souvenir."

Price is not the issue with this set.  My gut tells me it would be so successful, that if done correctly, it would never retire...

I realize every time I visit Disney World I'm disappointed because Cinderella's Castle isn't a real attraction you can walk//tour through.  It's mostly just an object they can feature at the center of the park and do shows around.  I still think they missed the boat at the parks.  Entirely my opinion, of course.