What are LOL Surprise toys? The L.O.L Surprise! toys are an unboxing toy line launched in December 2016. L.O.L Surprise! toys started out as baby dolls in toy balls which children unwrap in layers containing stickers, secret messages, accessories, and finally a baby doll.
You would think L.O.L stands for laughing out loud, but with this toy line L.O.L. stands for “Lil Outrageous Littles”.
LOL Surprise toys have some of the same excitement and surprise as Easter eggs and to me, it seems like a Kinder surprise egg with a higher quality toy inside.
L.O.L Surprise! Toys
The company behind the L.O.L. Surprise! toys is MGA Entertainment Inc. (short for Micro-Games America Entertainment). The company is a manufacturer of children’s toys and entertainment products and is founded in 1979. MGA is perhaps best known for its Bratz fashion dolls which were are huge hit after they launched in 2001.
L.O.L Surprise! toys started out as baby dolls in toy balls to be unwrapped. Later on MGA added multiple series with animals, kids, adult size dolls and even doll houses.
The LOL Surprise dolls are released in series which are available for a limited time and most of the series are truly surprise boxes of which you know only the series but you don’t know which doll is inside. In addition to the toy balls some dolls are also in cylinder shaped containers and the larger adult size dolls come in regular boxes.
Age Range for LOL Dolls
What is the LOL doll age range? The boxes say not for children under 3 years. But the target age group seems to be more like for children over 5 years. Most likely children aged 5 to 10 are most interested in the LOL dolls.
My daughter just turned 9 and she is still super excited about LOL dolls and her number one birthday wish was a LOL dollhouse.
I think my daughter was 5 or 6 when she got her first LOL Surprise doll and it seemed that all her friends were into LOL dolls at that time and most of them still are.
LOL Surprise Dollhouses
At the time of writing there are two LOL Suprise dollhouses:
- L.O.L. Surprise! Chalet Winter Disco – Check current price on Amazon
- L.O.L. Surprise House – Check current price on Amazon
How tall is the LOL dollhouse? The LOL Surprise House and the LOL Surprise Chalet are both about 3 feet tall. More precisely the first is 3 feet and the second is 2.85 feet. So they are quite big but compared to other dollhouses on the market for the same price range the height is similar.
L.O.L. Surprise House
The LOL Surprise House was released in 2018 and has a retail price of $200. Usually, you can get it for less so check the above link for the current price.
It is very highly rated at 4.2 stars with over 1500 reviews on Amazon. It’s a wooden three-story house which is three feet tall & three feet wide so it’s quite big. Amazon lists the recommended age range at 5 to 13 years.
I haven’t assembled this dollhouse myself since my daughter preferred the Chalet Winter Disco which we build together. I’m glad we chose the winter disco since it feels like it has more things one can play with it.
If you are looking for the assembly instructions you can download the LOL Surprise House manual here from my website from the below link.
L.O.L. Surprise! Chalet Winter Disco
The LOL Surprise Chalet Winter Disco dollhouse was released in 2019 and has a retail price of $250. Usually, you can get it for a lot less so check the current prices from the above links. I bought one for my daughter for her 9th birthday and was really lucky to pay only around 150€ since normally it’s around 190€ on Amazon.de.
It’s very highly rated at 4.4 stars with over 1600 reviews on Amazon. It’s a wooden three-story house which is 2.85 feet tall & three feet wide so it’s quite big. Amazon lists the recommended age range at 6 to 10 years.
When the package arrived from Amazon I was surprised how huge and heavy it is. The package is so big that the dollhouse could almost be pre-assembled inside. However, it is in pieces and you do need to build it yourself. The package did have quite a bit of cushioning inside and the wooden pieces actually took quite little space but the bus with all the other little parts took quite a bit of space.
Where are the lol surprise house instructions? If you are looking for the assembly instructions you can download the LOL Surprise Chalet Winter Disco manual here from my website from the below link.
Batteries and Dolls for the LOL Dollhouse
Does the LOL surprise house come with dolls? Yes. The LOL surprise house comes with 3 figures: one doll, one Lil sister, and a pet. The Winter Disco Chalet comes with 3 figures: a doll girl, a boy, and a pet.
Does LOL doll house need batteries? Yes. The LOL surprise house uses AG13 and AG3 coin cell batteries which are included. The Winter Disco Chalet requires 6 x AA batteries and 3 x AAA batteries which are not included. It also uses AG13 and AG3 coin cell batteries but those are included.
LOL Surprise Dollhouse vs Other dollhouses
Is the LOL doll house worth it? My 9-year-old daughter would absolutely say yes. I was really hesitant to buy one seeing the $200 – $250 price tag. Now that I have assembled one and seen the joy it brings and how long my daughter plays with the dollhouse I would also say yes it’s worth it. But try to get it at a discount for 20% or more off.
Comparing the LOL dollhouse to a barbie dollhouse on Amazon the price is similar but the LOL dollhouse is wood composite compared to the plastic barbie dollhouse. However, if your child is not a LOL fan I think there are better options out there. The KidKraft dollhouses look like clearly better quality and they have some parts which are real wood and not just wood composite.
The LOL dollhouse’s build quality is not exactly high. I was able to assemble the unit we received without any major issues or splitting of the composite wood unlike some have reported. I just had a minor issue with two screw holes not being perfectly aligned. Anyhow the dollhouse quality doesn’t seem like something that I would confidently expect to last to the next child after 5+ years of use. The KidKraft dollhouses seem to be of higher quality and might last to the next child or generation.
LOL Surprise Chalet Winter Disco Assembly
How do you assemble a LOL doll house? Assembling the LOL dollhouse is quite similar to assembling IKEA furniture. You only need a screwdriver, everything else is included in the box. The instructions are pretty good step by step instructions on how to put together the wooden pieces with screws. I would say the IKEA instructions, however, are easier to follow.
Unlike the LOL ball toys and adult will need to open and assemble the doll house. The LOL balls are easy for a child to open by themselves but with the LOL dollhouses you need to follow detailed instructions and put the wooden pieces together with screws so it’s quite a different kind of gift and requires time commitment from and adult for assembling it. See estimated assembly times below.
On the LOL Surprise Chalet Winter Disco dollhouse after assembling the wooden pieces with the screws there were still some plastic pieces that needed to be put into place which didn’t have as good instructions. For example, the lights going around the house had no instructions but looking at the picture it was possible to figure out how to install them.
If you are looking for the LOL dollhouse manual with the assembly instructions check the download links provided earlier in this article.
Time required for assembling the LOL dollhouse
How long does it take to put the LOL surprise house together? If you mean the LOL Surprise House released in 2018 then the assembly time is around 1-1,5 hours. If you mean the newer 2019 LOL Suprise Chalet Winter Disco then the assembly time is around the same based on what I read but for me, it took more like 2,5 hours considering opening the box and cleaning up afterward.
How long does the LOL Doll House take to build? Approximately 1-2,5 hours, see above for more details.
