The first thing I noticed about this doll was it's size. I have to be honest and say that for the price I was expecting a bit more. I immediately felt I'd been a little short changed and hadn't got a lot for my money. The dress she wears is detailed and pretty and the hair is far superior to any Barbie's...after being played with almost constantly for three weeks and being took to bed it still isn't tangled and knotted, and is a joy to play with.
Luckily the doll comes with batteries already included, but should you need to replace at anytime takes 3 AAA so not a huge problem. Ours was ready to go straight away and both of us were keen to see the lighting up dress and sing along with her. My daughter waved the wand and immediately the dress was like a pretty firework display and drew ooohs and ahhhs from us both. The singing was also impressive. I was expecting a tinny, annoying sound but it's incredibly clear and high quality...sounding just like the music in the film.
But then just as we got going with 'And at last I see the light...' it stops. The doll only sings 2 lines with every wave of the wand ...and it's the same two lines over and over again. Now my daughter hasn't mentioned being disappointed at this but I am. For the price I think the least we could have been given was an actual full chorus, maybe even a selection of lines from songs. Again I felt short changed.
Despite my adult complaints my daughter has expressed nothing but pleasure with this toy. The only thing that has damped her enjoyment is the fact that because of the lighting system in the dress, she can't take it off the doll. Now like all little girls the thing my daughter enjoys most about her dolls is dressing and undressing them and I think she has found this a little frustrating. Not enough to for her to turn her back on it, but in my opinion it is a very fundamental oversight on the part of the manufacturers.
Overall I'd say both my daughter and I's experience with this toy is just ok. There's little doubt she loves it, I just feel that it could have been so much more very easily by allowing the dress to be removed and adding a little more singing. The price tag doesn't match the product and is over inflated in my opinion. On the plus side it is a very nice quality, particularly the hair of the doll and there's a button that also activates the lights and singing should you misplace the wand (something I expect will happen quite easily).