Barbie 3-Story Dream Townhouse 4.2 5 183 210
Love it, but a few tips! I read a lot of negative reviews before purchasing this dollhouse, but I decided to purchase it anyway...mainly because it made me nostalgic of the dollhouse a friend of mine had when I was young. It was a bit pricey, but I got it when Toys R Us offered the free remote control corvette..so it was a great deal as my daughter loves it. We bought this for Christmas for my 3 year old daughter. My husband and I put this together on Christmas Eve and I have to say, yes the instructions are horrible. The most difficult part is the elevator. But just look at the picture on the box to guide you and pay attention to the columns. Some have slots for the elevator to slide up and down. Once you have strung the elevator, if it seems like the string is tight..make sure that the roof is on tightly and that will give you a little more leeway. There are working sounds and lights through out the house. On the 1st floor- the door bell rings, the chandelier lights up and the refrigerator lights up. We had a problem getting the chandelier to come on (as did many people), but found that you just need to make sure the chandelier is in tightly and properly. Also make sure you install the door tightly as well. There is a button in the top hinge that activates the chandelier when the door is open..so if it is not in good it will not work right. On the 2nd floor- the television pops up, fireplace lights and crackles, the shower makes water sounds and you hear Barbie singing and the toilet flushes. We had a problem with the fireplace. The Tv popped up when we pressed the button, but no light or sound from the fireplace. It seems that the fireplace is not completely installed. Check to make sure it is fitting snugly against the wall. There is a button behind the fireplace mantle that actives the lights and sounds. Click it into place so it is snug against the wall wand your lights and sounds should work. However if you are like us..once we did that the TV wouldn't pop up right. If that happens just fool around with it a bit to get the TV back on its track and you should be good to go. On the 3rd floor- the jacuzzi does not actually work unlike some of the pictures may lead you to believe. There is no bubbling mechanism. It does however hold water and the Tiki lights do work. The batteries for the Tiki lights were included, but I had to provide the ones for the house (I think 3 AA). Overall I think the house is really great. I think it was very sturdy unless your child plans to climb on it. No different from any other dollhouse made from Barbie. I was actually very pleasantly surprised at the space. There is plenty. I didn't expect the floors to be so wide. It is very tall and I don't think it will be very easy to take a part once put together, so make sure you pay attention. It is a beautiful house that best of all comes fully furnished. The furniture is not the greatest, but still nice. There are a lot of little pieces for the kitchen and bathroom, but you can always put them away like I did if you don't want your child to have them yet. If you want a beautiful house for your daughter with lights and sounds..buy it, follow these tips and I don't think you will be disappointed. I hope this helps someone! 12/27/2009
Excellent Puchase We purchased this Barbie Townhouse for our daughters for Christmas, we decided to open it prior because of hearing the fireplace doesn't work properly. We found that there was a button on the back of the fireplace to turn it on. Overall I believe it is an excellent product. The girls will get a blast out of it, plus it is as tall if not taller than our children. There is plenty of room for two children to play with the house at the same time. We really enjoyed the fact that it was fully furnished. 10/27/2009
HOW TO FIX THE FIREPLACE... The Townhouses have ONE FLAW: the fireplace is not hooked up completely, resulting in no sound or lights. The button on the front of the fireplace will activate the lights, the crackling and release the t.v. to go up. THIS IS WHAT YOU DO: If the fireplace can lean forward and you can fit your finger behind to press the button to activate the lights/crackling, then, it is off the hooks (2 in back). Get a flashlight, see where the two hooks are behind it? Gently, try to manuever the fireplace back onto the hooks by pushing the BACK side of the house with your left hand, and pushing the fireplace up and against the wall with your right. It may take a few tries, but eventually, it WILL CLICK COMPLETELY INTO PLACE. Then the button will work. Also, if the chandelier doesn't work properly, gently take it out and, using a flashlight, line up the prongs in the ceiling with the prongs in the chandelier, and replace. It can be perfect, just make sure things are lined up. It sits nicely next to our old Dream House. 12/26/2009
Good Buy This dreamhouse cost me 170$ with shipping and tax. I advise anyone wanting it quickly to just go with the regular shipping, do not pay extra for shipping, because I did not pay extra, I ordered it on Thursday evening and it got to me Monday evening via UPS...Yes, I would recommend this to friends.Pros: Barbie looks very stylish in her house. She can actually sit at the kitchen table. The sounds are pretty realistic, my daughter loves the sounds.Cons: Barbie gets stuck in the elevator going up, it isn't very big. And it already is showing some wear, it sometimes doesn't quite line up with the floors exactly. Also I don't like how it doesn't have stairs, we just pretend there are invisible stairs bc it's kind of a pain..Oh, set up time was probably 45 minutes, not that difficult I gather from watching my husband put it together.This completes my 5 year old daughters barbie ensemble. Overall I am mostly happy with my purchase. 08/12/2009
