Disney Store Classic Queen Elsa Doll

Well, winter is almost upon us, with snow, frost, and ice to come. What better way to herald the impending season than to review the Snow Queen herself? Welcome to the Hobby Haven, folks.

Like the rest of the country--no, the world--I was caught up in Frozen mania last year when the movie launched. It was probably the first time ever that I'd gone to see a movie and immediately went to buy the soundtrack once I left the theater. Of course, I didn't find out that dolls were available of the characters until after Christmas, because that's how my luck is. But I became determined to snag them so they could join my Belle and Ariel dolls.

 Well...if you don't have small children in your lives (or if you don't collect Frozen merchandise), you may not realize how crazy things were. Merchandise for Frozen sold out very quickly after the movie's launch, and Disney--who hadn't anticipated what a hit it would be--simply couldn't keep up with the demand. Disney Stores across the country would sell out of the small shipments of merchandise within hours once they arrived, and eBay scalpers began taking advantage of the situation by reselling NIB toys for upwards of 3 to 10 times what they originally cost. If you have a few minutes to kill, I suggest Googling "Frozen merchandise shortage," you'll find no less than a dozen articles on the subject.

Anyway, during the spring, there were periodic restocks on the Disney Store website. You had to be quick, because the toys would sell out within minutes to hours. I am not exaggerating. A lot of it came down to luck. After getting burned twice (putting a doll in my cart only to have it sell out once I got to the checkout), I managed to get my hands on the Frozen sisters, about two weeks apart during the late April/early May restock.

While they *should* be available at the Disney Store retail locations, your best bet is to grab these ladies from the Disney Store website. They retail for $16.95, which is a little more expensive than the average Barbie, but much cheaper than most Monster High or Ever After High dolls. Shipping is about $5, and takes roughly a week. A word of warning; a lot of customers have complained on the Disney Store Facebook page of packages arriving crushed or damaged, and with insufficient packing material. They seem to have died down (I feel a feeling most of this happened during the restock craze, where warehouse employees were probably under pressure to ship orders as quickly as possible), but be aware if you plan on buying from the website.

Elsa, as the eldest, will get to go first. Anna will be the next review.



Here, we see Queen Elsa in her box.

The front is decorated with an archway that makes it look like she is peering out of a window. It's patterned with swirling snowflakes in a nod to her icy magic. There's the requisite Disney logo, movie logo, and a picture of Elsa on the box. The cardboard background depicts her kingdom of Arendelle, although I think that a backdrop of her Ice Palace would have been far more appropriate.

This box opens with plastic tabs at the side. Be careful if you want to save the box--the plastic tucks into a folded cardboard panel and the whole thing tears easily while opening. There is no stand included with the dolls, since these are intended for playing rather than display. You'll need a stand for Barbie-style dolls; Monster High dolls have much thinner waists, and their stands do not open wide enough to hold Elsa. I learned this the hard way, after buying some MH stands on eBay for that purpose. (They do open just enough that you can sort of lean Elsa into it. I'll have to investigate.)

She is very impressive, though. She is so detailed that I'm surprised that this is a toy marketed for kids. The green tablecloth made her gown look turquoise in the prior shot, but hopefully you can see in the photos to come that it is a much cooler blue. Her dress in the movie is a very pale ice blue, while this is more of a metallic sky blue. Quibbles, I suppose.

Her hair had some flyaways that I smoothed down a bit. Her long braid is rubber-banded to one arm, which I left for now. I can't decide if it's useful or not.

She's wearing her "ice dress" from the movie, which she's most identified with. It's a long one-piece gown with a sweetheart neckline and a slit up one side, which you can't see in this picture. The sleeves and the very top of the gown's neckline are made of a soft white sheer material. It snags easily on her hands, which is a pain. The overskirt is attached to the dress up at the top of the bodice. It comes sewn together, like you can see in pictures of the box, but you can snip that apart easily. The dress is obviously not as intricate as the movie version, but it's a good adaptation of it, and looks very nice.

The overskirt is amazing. It's patterned in glittery blue snowflakes on a stiff, slightly scratchy material. No one snowflake is ever the same, and that holds true for her skirt. The snowflakes have different designs, which I love. It's not some generic repeating pattern. It's hard to spread the skirt out for photos without having a stand to hold the doll. I tried, though!

This is probably the best shot I was able to get of the full skirt. You can see how it has a large single snowflake at the top, with many small snowflakes at the skirt's hem. It's very elegant and majestic.

She's got roughly the same articulation as other fashion dolls: neck, shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees, and ankles. Elsa has some serious bowlegged issues, though. Oh, dear. Her little blue slippers are tied to her feet to prevent them from getting lost. I'm annoyed that they couldn't get anything close to the little crystal kitten heels she wears in the movie. I guess I'll have to go on eBay to find clear slippers for flat feet. ::groans::

Here you can see the slit in the dress, and Elsa's classy sitting style. How are her subjects supposed to take her seriously if she sits like a fraternity brother? 

Her skin is super duper ivory pale, which is fitting given that she's a Scandinavian Ice Queen. Her cheeks have a rosy blush, like she's been out in the cold. Her eye makeup is very simple purple eyeshadow, and she has berry-colored lips. Her facial features are small and delicate, with a wee little ski slope nose and thin lips. Her hair is actually a little paler than the photos show. The above photos make her hair seem like it's a very pale yellow gold, while it's actually a little closer to platinum. Her blue eyes are two-toned in different shades of blue and she's glancing to the side. She looks a little wonk-eyed at some angles, though.

Here's the braid attached to her arm. It's quite a bit longer than in the movie, actually.

And here's the back of her head. Elsa's hair is incredibly stiff with product, and is super crunchy to the touch. You can move it a bit, but not too much. It's really hard to imagine being able to play with Elsa's hair. Maybe that's why there's no brush? I doubt I'd be able to take her hair out of its braid and then be able to rebraid it, so maybe it's for the best. You can see the dress' velcro closure in the back. Be careful if you want to take the dress off, the sleeves tend to snag on the hands.

Elsa's weird leg situation aside, this is a solid doll, especially given the price. She's super detailed and articulated, and is just lovely. She's wonderful for children to play with (I'd say 3 or older), or for a collector to admire. You'll have to pick up a Barbie doll-style stand if you intend to display her, though. If you are lucky enough to find her, get her while you can! You never know how long it will take Disney to restock...

Miss Scarlett suggests: This is a must-have for any Frozen/Disney fan, or doll collectors.