My little girl is My Little Pony mad. For the past three years, she has had her interest in dolls and "playing house" type role playing fun wane in the face of the glamour that surrounds these little multi coloured Ponies with the brushable flowing locks and cutie marks on the rump. Every year sees yet another large play set and smaller play sets come out, so that your child can empty your bank account and recreate the magical world of Pony Land in your very own home! So far, we have gotten the beauty parlour stable, the Dream castle, the show stable, the stable carry case, and two parts of the Butter Fly island Amusement park. two? yes, two. Don't be fooled! The toy this review about is actually the SECOND component of the Butterfly Island series! The first was a pink confection that mainly featured a roller coaster. This second one is the beach play set, where the ponies can surf, play in the "sand", have a cold drink at the cabana, pretend to have one of their famous luaus, ride a waterfall, surf, and other seaside holiday fun.

This, and most of the other play sets, takes up quite a chunk of space. It is roughly 1 foot wide, about the same again in height, roughly 8 inches in depth. The pieces all slot together, as do most of the other play sets, and so if this is an addition to a collection, you can easily dismantle the toy and stow it in a stackable toy crate, though afterwards, only a few ponies will fit in the large bucket with it.

It comes completely disassembled, and in the sort of packaging that makes you grit your teeth and the air turn blue. Plastic coated steel ties twisted together and then knotted impossibly, plastic bags and cellotape that is made of space age miracle stuff that doesn't peel off, and cannot be cut unless you use a craft knife (resist using the power saw!). None of the stickers are applied, and no diagrams for the same are there, so you have to reply on the box to avoid the eagle eye of your child spotting that something is amiss from the way it is "supposed" to look. The cabana, butterfly musical twirly bit, batteries, palm tree, and other island features all have to be snapped into place, along with a couple bits of signage that provide information for those Pony tourists as to what apart of the island they are at. A "grass skirt, snorkel, and hoof shaped fins are also provided, along with a bucket and spade for the Ponies to play with. Under the waterfall that the ponies can surf down, is a hidden storage compartment providing storage for these small loose items.The butterfly twirly bit is also a swing type ride for the Ponies. It took us an hour to open the box, get the pieces separated, and construct, with only about 10-15 minutes of that being put together time and the rest being a police action scenario with the packaging.

The batteries are there so that the party music is available to be played and the butterfly at the top can twirl about to the music. It plays a single chirpy song with a calypso beat that is also heard on the My Little Pony website when playing on the Butterfly Island game there.The battery compartment is not that easy to open, requiring a screw driver, and even then, careful attention needs to be paid so that you are opening it correctly, so smaller children are highly unlikely to be able to get to the batteries and harm themselves. I have to say that despite getting this last Christmas and being played with for hours practically every day since, the battery drain is very minimal even with the music on pretty nonstop as I ave only had to replace the batteries one since e have gotten it.

I should mention here that the play set comes with an exclusive bonus pony. It is a baby Pegasus type pony. This particular little Pony is not available separately, but other Ponies are, with related Butterfly Island cutie marks and accessories (read hair brush, hair clip,etc). The ponies don't HVAE to be Butterfly island themed Ponies to fit in the plays et, but they do need to be current Generation 3 ponies (the current slender shape), rather than the older fatter shaped Ponies of the past, as the butterfly ride use clips that fit about the Ponies' waists and will not fit the older style Ponies.

Would I recommend buying this et? Well, at the RRP of £40, I find that a bit steep, given its molded plastic construction. It is a very nice toy if your child is wild about MLP, but otherwise it would be an utter waste. I am not complaining however, as we shopped around, and found it at Pound Stretcher for £15, and they do pop up at this price at various similar type discount stores as it is not this year's current "big" playset.At £15, or even £20, this is a GREAT toy, given the many hours she has played with it and the many imaginary adventures she has gone on with her Ponies using it and the other play sets. This is where it excels, actually...as an accessory play set, used in conjunction with the other play sets. Get a Pony castle or Ponyville set of shops and houses first, then add this, otherwise its a one trick deal and not much scope for extra imaginary play, but its got quite catchy music....doo te doo te do, doo te doo te do..lalalalala...