In fact, this set SO impressed my Mom that she asked to write the whole review herself . . . so, the following is written entirely by her. She had been watching for Maryellen's Diner for ages, planning on getting that as her "big item" for her dolls. But read the following to find out why she changed her mind. :)
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I went to the store on debut day, after 30 minutes at home of staring at every small piece of this bowling set on the AG website, and was sure I’d find a really junky $$$ set. Boy, was I wrong! Walked in through the door, and the first display was 6-8 feet from the door. Looked at it (without halting my walk), ran my hand over the alley portion and pushed on the pins, and asked the nearby employee to have one brought from the warehouse and held behind the counter for us.
Everything about this set (and it’s all plastic) is high-class quality that you don’t often find in Mattel products. The colors are appealing and will suit both girl and boy dolls. (Let’s get the only negligible drawback out of the way – the alley is in one piece and doesn’t come apart. Be prepared to make room for 45" of fantastic AG fun.)
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Once you insert your 4 AA batteries, the little screen on the front actually keeps score. No kidding. You can choose a 1- or 2-player mode. All of the switches are on top of the unit, near the back, but they’re quite inconspicuous and feel sturdy. You set your play mode and adjust the volume of the background crowd noises (no kidding, they thought of almost everything on this set) and start bowling. The wood part of the lane is molded plastic in those colors/designs, NOT the paper that I expected.
Click on any photos to enlarge.
The balls are bigger than I expected and fit the dolls perfectly (same size as the old bowling set). Nicer this way, with the removable plastic handle for them to hold it, than the old magnetic glove which deteriorated and/or went missing over time.. If you’re careful removing and inserting the plastic ball handles, they should last a good long time, too (thicker and sturdier than I expected). You roll the ball (which rolls very easily and smoothly) and may or may not knock down the pins. You don’t get a strike every time. It appeared that the pins were separated in three sections (left, center and right). If you hit just one of the sides, you get a second turn. If you hit the center, they all go down.
The countertop is super nice and could be easily used for other playtime. There is a little microwave/convection oven in the back for heating the pretzels and making the popcorn. The popcorn containers are the same 2-piece ones that came with the discontinued 18" popcorn machine and the current Wellie popcorn stand. The nacho dips with the pretzels are unique and very nice. The check-in monitor with the reversible slide-in cardstock screen has a detachable card reader and reusable game card to use in it. (Very nice, and this is definitely going to be used at Bunty’s fiber show and in my Needlecraft store.)
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The shoes get an A+ for design and construction. They’re adorable! The t-shirts are nice (not too small), but I felt that the boy looked a bit “girly” in the purple design and won’t be using them on my boy bowlers. AG should offer the t-shirts and shoes as an add-on set (or include them in the $10 line) for those of us who would like to have full leagues.
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I can see myself needing a second alley later. It’s just the eternal question of where to store it. I’ll be working on this. BTW – My grandparents were huge league bowlers in the ‘50s and ‘60s. I spent every Friday night running around the alley and falling asleep on the back benches. When the ‘70s approached, I joined my own league and spent every Friday night at the lane. Bowling and eating French fries. In fact, the only thing missing from this are the French fries and the hand dryer. Ah, well, it’s hard to add to near-perfection. Methinks this set will appeal to everyone with a Maryellen, Melody or Julie doll. Wish I could give it 10 stars!
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A couple more quick notes here . . . now that Mom has been able to tell you all about this really cool set!
The box is large, but it's not very heavy. It fit into the trunk of our Chrysler 200 very well. The store put some stick-on handles on the box for us, and my sister and I had no trouble walking it to the parking garage.
As far as the batteries go in this thing . . . I would recommend investing in a set or two or rechargeable "Eneloop" battery sets. I've used them for years for cameras, and they hold a charge, last a long time, and are quite affordable. It'll definitely save $$ on this set, because once you play with this thing once, you won't be able to stop! Here's a link to the batteries as seen on Amazon: Eneloop Batteries and Charger
Hope this helps, and have fun figuring out what items you need to order!
