I really enjoyed my Barbie playsets when I was a kid. I had plastic tubs full of Barbie dolls and sets to play with. So, I was naturally excited to get my hands on the new Barbie Pop-Up Camper Vehicle. As you might guess, Barbie goes camping in style, and this camper is over two-feet tall when fully opened!
The Barbie camper was easy enough to get out of the box. The real set-up was opening all the small plastic bags full of accessories and putting all the stickers on appropriately. There was no physical set-up or any batteries to install.
The Playtime Experience
The play experience with the Barbie Pop-Up Camper Vehicle is definitely more fun if you bring your own Barbie. There are no dolls included with the set, which I thought was rather strange. However, the set is large and very detailed. It is no surprise that Barbie camps in the lap of luxury! When closed, the Barbie camper has two seats in the front of the camper and a steering wheel. Everything closes compactly and the camper easily rolls to wherever you desire. Once you are ready to set-up camp, the Barbie camper transforms into a very large and detailed play area.
The front of the camper (where the driving was taking place) easily transforms into the camper bathroom. The steering wheel turns over and becomes a kitchen sink, and the seats are easily removed to reveal a toilet with moving lid. The seats have seatbelts attached, but they can be removed for them to fulfill their secondary purpose as seating at the rooftop table. In the back of the camper you will find the bedroom and kitchen. Included in the accessories are pillows, a comforter, and many dishes including plates, cups, cooking utensils, and even groceries. The kitchen is located on the back door of the camper and has a refrigerator that opens and closes. A great detail is each of the pieces have small indents on the bottom that fit into sliders and slots in the kitchen and throughout the camper. This keeps the pieces from falling all over the place while the camper is in motion.
On the second level of the camper there is a couch and hammock room, which is very luxurious with its adorable pink chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The second level also gives access to the water slide, which flows to the lower level pull out pool. With your two chairs from the front of the camper you can sit at the rooftop table and enjoy a nice cup of juice and the eggs you cooked in the kitchen downstairs.
Things I Liked
My favorite thing about the Barbie Pop-Up Camper is how the pieces had the indents to prevent moving and falling pieces. I also love that everything easily folds in and out, but only does so if you press the locking and unlocking buttons. Yay, no jammed fingers!
Things I Didn't Like
Sometimes when folding the camper back together it gets hung up the last ½ inch. You must make sure none of the kitchen accessories have fallen in the way of the slider, but most of the time you just have to give it a little “oomph” to get it shut all the way. I think the quality of the sliding mechanism could be better. Also, there is no Barbie included with this set, which was pretty disappointing.
Appropriate Ages
As with most Barbie sets, this Barbie camper is recommended for players over 3. Small pieces are choking hazards, so better to be safe and keep this away from the little people.
Final Note
I really liked playing with the Barbie Pop-Up Camper. It was on the expensive side, but really does have a lot to offer in terms of play. It is a great addition to any Barbie collection and is a great traveling Barbie house. I was disappointed that there wasn’t a doll included, but thankfully I had that trusty tub of my collected Barbie dolls to fall back on!