Review: 41130 Amusement Park Roller Coaster
Posted by MeganL,
When the Friends Amusement Park series was announced, the idea of a roller coaster set was met with great excitement. However, when pictures of the set were revealed, they were met with disappointment in many quarters. There was dismay that it was not a bigger and better coaster, that it did not take advantage of previously made track, that it had other rides included as well the roller coaster, that it only had one hill: the list went on....
There was a lot of talk about what 41130 Amusement Park Roller Coaster wasn't. Today we will take a look at what the set is, and is it worth the ride?
The font of the box shows the roller coaster as well as the auxiliary rides that make up the set. The back of the box shows close-ups on several of the features of the set. The box art is the same for all the amusement park subtheme, with bright arcade lights surrounding the box.
There are a number of new pieces with the set. The track is new in a bright blue colour. There are two kinds of track: curved pieces that are flat, and straight pieces that rise in elevation about the height of three bricks. There are bright green base plates, the larger of which is only found in this and other Amusement Park sets. Bright pink supports for the rides are also new as well as translucent pink poles that are used for the Ferris wheel. Additionally there is the new watermelon slice in this set as well as the vaunted hot dog bun piece.
(I will apologize up front for some of the pictures for this review; this set is rather taller and takes up much more space than the average build, so is bigger than my typical "studio". I needed to improvise on the expanded background which you may notice in some of the pictures).
Inside the box we have eight numbered bags, three unnumbered bags (two with track, one with base plates), two long twizzlers (for lack of a better term - they are used in the spinning ride) and the instruction book with cardboard and a sparkly sticker sheet. And of course there is a brick separator!
There are four mini-dolls in the set. Two are the original Friends - Emma and Andrea. The others, Naya and Matthew, are recurring characters. All are dressed for a day at the park, though most of what they are wearing we have seen before, with the exception of Maya's and Matthew's shorts. All of the mini-dolls except Matthew come with some kind of accessory, either sunglasses or a flower for their hair (but how do they stay on when they get on the rides??)
The build starts with the construction of a popcorn cart. I like the use of a previous smoke piece to demonstrate popcorn. Next is the ticket booth that comes replete with a turnstile. There are many stickers for this portion of the build - the largest on top of the ticket booth shows graphically the rides that are included in the set.
Next we have a stand that is commonly found at the entrance of amusement parks - a large map of the park along with paper maps available to be taken by the park goers. A trash can completes this mini build.
We next get into building the roller coaster cars. They are identical builds with the exception of the lead car, which has a light brick placed in the front. The cars are constructed with bow pieces across the top. These serve as the mechanism to keep the mini-dolls in place as their feet are wedged underneath. The lead car is designed so that when a mini-doll is placed in the car, her feet press the switch of the light brick on.
For the remainder of the pictures it will look like Andrea is jumping out of her seat; however I wanted to take the remainder of the pictures of the set without the light brick activated.
After the coaster cars, we start work on the roller coaster itself. First is laying down a couple of curved tracks so we can build the queue mechanism and the control panel that are on opposite sides of the track. The operator panel has a printed tile for one part but not the other.
Next we add part of the raised portion of the track. After each portion of the track that increases in height, a brace is placed underneath. One of these braces provides the base for the camera stand, that ubiquitous accessory of major park rides. The camera stand also has a bright yellow antennae.
At the next joist, a couple of Technic pieces are used to put in a bobber with a map of the world on it. The bobber goes back and forth as the coaster goes by. This process is repeated as the oval is completed - at almost every joint between track pieces there is a brace along with some kind of decoration. Included in these are a large gate the cars run through, a spinner with a rocket and UFO, as well as some crystal decorations.
The far end of the coaster has a large poster that involves applying the largest sticker in the set showing a stylized version of the coaster. I found this to be by far the most difficult sticker in the set to apply. The adhesive on the stickers is quite strong and very resilient, which is a good thing as it took me a good dozen tries or more to get the sticker on the large plate somewhat suitably straight and even then it still is not right.
The coaster rolls smoothly throughout the track, and when let go at the top of the hill will circle about halfway around the oval. Considering the sloped portions of the track it seems like there maybe other permutations that could be a little more interesting than the straight loop that we have here. There are certainly lots of possibilities with the raised track portions. One of the criticisms of this set is that it does not look like a "real" roller coaster. While it does not have more than one hill, I do find it very reminiscent of roller coasters that are designed for little kids, and very appropriate as a build experience for the age range of the set.
And... we have built four out of eight bags even though we have finished the roller coaster. Still have four more bags to go!
The fifth bag builds the drop tower. The tower is built first with some greenery around the base, and using some of the new bright green base plates. A camera - that seemingly must have for every ride - is installed at the top of the first bright pink strut. The ride is two struts high, each of which is a 2x2x16 piece with holes and connected with a double snap with hole piece.
This is one of those rides where you can go to the top and spin on your way down. A few Technic parts are used to accomplish this along with the help of a rubber band. However there is no crank to get the cars to raise up; you have to manually lift the cars and then let them spin down. A nifty use of parts but it is a shame that the lifting has to be done manually.
The final portions of the build are for the Ferris wheel. A white 2x2x16 piece with holes is used as the supports for the ride. A sticker with a hot air balloon is added on a tile, perhaps to invoke the idea that the Ferris wheel ride is like taking a hot air balloon ride? One side of the Ferris wheel has a small control panel, and a small boarding staircase is built with some detail of neon lights to match the rest of the ride.
An efficient use of wheels, Technic parts, and bright pink spokes make up the internal part of the Ferris wheel. Neon lights are placed on one side but not the other, which is puzzling. Typically a Ferris wheel can be viewed from all angles in the park.
The passenger carriages are set in two colour schemes: purple canopies with teal, yellow and white accents and yellow canopies with lavender, purple and black accents. The carriages themselves are an elegant little build.
The Ferris wheel can be twirled quite easily and I think this is a very nice little build for a smaller scale ride. I also understand that it can be motorized. I actually like this part of the build so much I think it would have been a better choice for a stand alone set than 41128 Amusement Park Space Ride.
The build finishes with a pair of tables and some chairs with refreshments; fruit (including two of the watermelon slices) and some drinks with a hot dog (including bun).
Overall thoughts
I think the biggest issue this set suffers from is having a misleading name. Yes, there is a roller coaster in the set and it is the central part of the set but it is not the only ride. I am at a loss as to what would be a better set name, as "Amusement Park" is the name of the overall subtheme.
I wonder how much more could have been done with the coaster had the other rides not been included and the set kept at the same price point. More track, particularly of the raised pieces, would allow for a much more interesting coaster overall.
However, the set we have includes a roller coaster, drop tower, Ferris wheel, entrance turnstile and other features, and for the price (1124-pieces, $99.99, £89.99, 99.99€) it has a lot to offer. The build includes so much more than just the roller coaster and can provide a very rich play experience with lots of action - while other sets in the subtheme complement this, they are not needed as this set already has that variety. I particularly like the Ferris wheel in the smaller scale.
The roller coaster itself I think offers a lot of possibilities. While the original design only has the one hill, getting a supply of the blue track would allow the builder to construct some variations. However the coaster that is provided I think is a good one for the targeted age range for the set.
My favourite part of the set is the Ferris Wheel. An easy and fun build, it is colourful and as I said before, I think could have done well as a stand-alone set.
To evaluate the set on the roller coaster alone (going only by the name), many would likely be disappointed. However, I think when you take into account everything that is included in the set - I think it would be a very good choice as a Christmas present.
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16 comments on this article
Isn't the track for the roller coaster just a new color of 85977 from 7199 Temple of Doom?
The Friends theme doesn't interest me, but nice review. Maybe this set could have been named "Amusement Park Rides" to indicate that it has more than just the roller coaster.
^^The old 4 wide track slope went up 5 brick levels. This is only 3. Seems a shame as 5 would make it a more exciting coaster.
Great review!
I'm on the fence with this one. I've bought two of the other amusement park sets and think they're just too small for my liking. They don't go as well with the Creator amusement rides as I was hoping they would.
You can buy some more track from Bricks and Pieces. It's like $1.50 a piece. Even just 4-6 would make one hill higher or a small second hill.
This is my favorite set from this year. You get a lot at this price. Everything is sturdy, and only the signs around the coaster get knocked off at our house (I have a four year old). I was a first day buyer and we still play with it all the time. Added the rest of the park except the hot dog van (and after a day or two the bumper cars were disassembled - not as fun as the rest), and the Elves, the princesses, and the Friends are always lining up for the rides, often accompanied by minifigs. Our only problem is getting the kidlet not to leave the light brick on when she's done...
I think the problem as AFOL's many were disappointed. But if you look at it as a child's toy I think it may have a lot of potential. I saw it built at the Lego store and was more impressed with it than I had been just viewing online images. That all said I agree with the comment above that i don't think it would really fit in well with the Creator amusement park sets and I think this is where the problem is for many. Unless perhaps you viewed it as the rides for kids as I have experienced in real life where there are the rides for younger kids and then those for over a certain age including adults.
Great review! (minor nitpick: word order in "four our of eight")
I think the Ferris wheel looks quite odd without connections between the adjacent mountings of the carriages -- can that still be called a "wheel" if there is nothing wheel-shaped? Do such structures exist in real life?
btw: The (so far sole) user reviewing the set says that the figures fall out of the rides rather easily. Did you observe that, too?
ab21 - minidolls don't fall out. Minifigs do, on some rides (not the Ferris wheel, unless of course you decide that needs fast spins).
Thank you for this review. I wasn't interested in this set to begin with but after seeing at a toy- shop on Wednesday I was quite impressed, didn't realise so much came with one set! So I've been thinking about it and this review came right on cue, I'm going to look out for this one.
Oh and don't apologise for the pictures, they are great!
This review is great and spot on. The friends minidolls are growing on me. Hoping to see another friends review soon.
In the U.S., prior to the contemporary proliferation of major static amusement parks, there were traveling groups of carnivals that put on local and state fairs. Many still exist, but not in the same number. The people who put these on were called carnies. Many of these fairs had an agricultural component that was organized at and by the site, while the carnies provided the entertainment areas including rides, games, and exotic shows. These entertainment areas were often referred to as the Midway. I am not sure how this would work for an international audience, but Midway or Carnival might have been alternative names for this set.
Cool big set, have fun kiddies.
I really like the smaller set with the rocket ship merry go round or whatever it is.
I'm gonna say, one of the things I love most about the set is the new printed tiles with the yellow and black hazard stripes.
Those used to be only stickers, but the fact that they're now printed tiles is actually pretty amazing (I've already used some in a couple of custom trains I've built).