With the Disney 100 celebration continuing throughout the year, LEGO has been releasing sets to commemorate the event and the largest set to come out of it so far is the Disney Castle (43222). Coming in at 4,837 pieces, this set is an updated one from the one released back in 2016. The new one costs $50 more at $399.99.
Minifigures
While the old set featured the classic Mickey and Friends characters, the new castle showcases some of the Disney princesses and their companions which include Cinderella, Prince Charming, Snow White, Prince Florian, Princess Tiana, Prince Naveen, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider.
Cinderella is in her blue dress that has metallic silver stars on both sides of the torso and on the front of the dress piece. The arms are dual-molded with some white for her gloves. Her double-sided head shows her with smiles on both sides.
Prince Charming has on his cream royal jacket with pearl gold epaulettes. The red pants are pretty plain on the front but there are some stripes going down the sides. His double-sided head shows him with a smirk on one side and a smile on the other.
Snow White is in her iconic blue and yellow dress that metallic gold stars throughout. The arms are also dual-molded with the upper part showing the dress sleeves. There is a small white fabric for her collar as well. Her double-sided head shows her with a smile on one side and her sleeping on the other.
Prince Florian has on the blue sleeveless tunic that goes down to the legs. The legs are dual-molded for his brown boots. A dark red cape completes his look. His double-sided head shows him with a smile on one side a scared look on the other.
Princess Tiana is the only minifigure in the set that is not exclusive to it as she’s also in the Disney 100 Collectible Minifigures (71038), minus the accessories. She is in her Renaissance dress that she wore at the masquerade ball. It also has metallic stars on the torso and the dress piece. The arms are dual-molded for her yellow gloves. Her double-sided head shows smiles on both sides. She does wear a tiara that connects to the top of the hair.
The color of Prince Naveen’s formal attire has similar shades of green to match Tiana. Like Charming, he also has some epaulettes but in yellow. He has a yellow cape to complete his look. His double-sided head shows him with a regular smile on one side and a nervous smile on the other.
Rapunzel has on her purple dirndl that has metallic gold accents and stars. The front of the dress piece also has the same. Her double-sided head shows her with a smile on one side and a smirk on the other. Her braided hair piece has a pink bow in the back.
Lastly we have Flynn Rider has a turquoise vest with a white shirt underneath. The legs are dual-molded for his brown boots. He has a satchel that goes across his body. His double-sided head shows him with a smile on one side and a smirk on the other.
Build
The finished build has a pretty large footprint and it is a little bit bigger than the original set. The frame uses a Technic frame to keep everything on top stable. Although I didn’t try to roughly handle it, it seems that it’s pretty sturdy.
On the inside of the castle, there are sticker portraits of the four Disney princesses that are in this set. The middle of the floor has one play feature with the spinning dance floor which uses gears to turn it on the back. The left side has a reference for The Sword in the Stone.
To the right of the dance floor is a little area for Fantasia with the mop and water bucket. To the right of that on the outside lawn, we have some different colored leaves flying in the wind which is a reference to Pocahontas.
Next up, we have the front area of the castle along with some partial walls on either side. The front door has some blue curtain detailing above the balcony. Above the balcony is the large clock which is a printed piece in front of the tower. At the very top of the tower, there’s an apple hidden inside for Snow White.
The far left tower has references for three different movies. The bottom floor has the Dinglehopper from the Little Mermaid. The next floor up has an area for Mulan with her sword and a painting of Mushu. On the top floor, there’s pumpkin which represents Cinderella’s pumpkin carriage.
Following that, we have the second floor of the castle. There’s not much going on here as it uses a number of large plates that connect to the pillars below. In the middle below, there’s a chandelier attached to the ceiling.
A section of the sand-blue wall outer wall is assembled and attaches to the turntable piece at an angle. If you look closely, there’s a frog there which I believe represents Tiana after she got transformed by Dr. Facilier.
More of the castle wall is built next with the top of the wall along with the turrets.
On the right castle wall, there’s a square tower on the far end while the one closer to the middle has the round turret like on the opposite wall.
With most of the exterior of the Disney Castle assembled, we now turn our attention to the interior details which starts showcasing a number of classic Disney references. On this floor, we have pretty much a whole Beauty and the Beast floor with the kitchen area on the left and the banquet table on the right with a brick-built Lumiere.
To the side, there’s a little removable tower that reveals a hidden spot which is storing Walt Disney’s camera, a sketch tile of Steamboat Willie, and Tinkerbell’s wand.
Right above the kitchen area is a little library that has more Disney references which includes Genie’s lamp and the Magic Carpet from Aladdin, Maui poster on the wall and Moana’s oar, and the Enchanted Rose. Right next to it is a space for Rapunzel where you have the painting.
On to the front tower, the bottom level has a fun Sleeping Beauty reference with the spinning wheel on one side and the other has Maleficent’s green flames. A floor above is the Maleficent’s magic mirror and right above that is Cinderella’s shoe.
The room directly next to it has Sleeping Beauty’s bed.
The top of the spire has a lot of pearl gold detailing, a lot of which can be knocked off easily if you’re not careful.
There’s also some brick-built fireworks that are attached using some clear rods to simulate the fireworks show at night.
After the castle is put together, it is very tall and majestic. According to the specs, it stands at 31.5 inches which is taller than the previous one. The color scheme also pops with the more vibrant color choices. The updated colors also does match up with the real life castle at Walt Disney World.
The back of the castle is completely open to access all the various play features and details. As you saw earlier, there are a ton of Easter eggs throughout the set and I was surprised that LEGO was able to put all of them in.
If you already have the original set, it’s a hard choice on whether to pick up this new one or not but keep in mind that the original one has been retired so the secondary market price has been creeping up more as time goes by. You do get the updated paint job with all different interiors and minifigures for this castle. If you don’t have it yet, I do recommend it as it’s a very pretty set once completed and I do like all the hidden and non-hidden references. The building experience was quite pleasant as it wasn’t boring to build at all. The minifigure selection was okay and could’ve been a little better especially with the repeat Tiana.
Thank you to LEGO for sending in this set for me to review. The content above represents my own opinion and not the company. Review sets sent in does not guarantee a positive review.
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